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UC-NRLF 


B    3    DD7    575 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 
Accessions  No.  S-  Class  No. 


&  SCIENCES 


illiiwlra^dLr  upwarils  of  180  deg 


Pi-inter. 


AMERICAN  EDITION 


OF  THE 


BRITISH  ENCYCLOPEDIA. 


OR 


DICTIONARY 

I 

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. 
VOL.  VII.    IRQ MED. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

PUBLISHED  BY  MITCHELL,  AMES,  AND  WHITE. 

William  Brown,  Printer. 

^R-A^p-    1821. 

-Of  THH 


f  fn  m   v    «^ 

4&£IMS*^ 


A/6 

v,7 


THE 


BRITISH  ENCYCLOPEDIA. 


IRON-FOUNDEIIY. 


IRON-FOUNDERY,  the  ail  of  casting 
iron,  and  forming  moulds,  into  which 
it  is  poured  when  in  a  fluid  state. 

The  moulds  are  commonly  made  in 
sand,  held  in  wooden  frames,  (fig.  3  and 
4,  Plate  Iron-foundery.)  Two  of  these 
frames,  A  B,  (fig.  4.)  are  called  a  pair  of 
flasks,  and  fit  together  by  pins,  a  a,  in  one 
flask,  entering  eyes,  b  b,  in  the  other.  A 
wooden  pattern  of  whatever  is  to  be  cast 
must  first  be  made,  exactly  of  the  same 
dimensions  as  the  article  required.  For 
an  example,  we  have  chosen  to  describe 
the  manner  of  casting  a  roller,  such  as  is 
used  for  the  wheels  of  small  waggons, 
the  rolls  of  windmill  heads,  &c.  The  pat- 
tern is  shown  in  fig.  5,  6,  and  7  :  fig.  5  is  a 
plan,  fig.  6  a  section,  and  in  fig.  7  it  is 
shewn  edgeways.  This  pattern  is  exact- 
ly similar  to  the  wheel  which  is  to  be  cast, 
except  that,  in  place  of  the  hole  through 
the  centre  of  the  wheel,  a  pin,  my  is  stuck 
on,  projecting  from  each  side  in  the  same 
place  that  the  holes  will  be  :  the  use  of 
these  pins  will  be  shown  hereafter.  The 
lower  flask,  A,  (fig.  4.)  is  placed  on  a 
board  laid  on  the  ground;  it  is  then  filled 
with  sand,  and  rammed  down,  first  with 
the  rammer,  (fig.  9)  and  afterwards  with 
fig.  10,  which  is  broader,  and  smooths  the 
work.  The  workman  then  with  the  trow- 
el, (fig.  8)  digs  out  a  hole  in  the  sand, 
and  presses  the  pattern  into  it,  the  fiat 
surface  horizontal,  and  fills  the  sand  in 
round  the  pattern,  until  it  is  exactly  half 
buried ;  he  then  takes  out  the  pattern, 
and  if  there  are  any  holes  in  the  under 
part,  where  the  sand  is  not  filled  round 


close  to  the  pattern,  he  puts  in  a  small 
quantity  of  sand,  and  presses  the  pattern 
down  again,  until  a  perfect  impression  of 
it  is  left  in  the  sand,  as  in  fig.  1.  He  now 
returns  the  pattern,  and  sprinkles  some 
dry  sand,  which  has  been  burnt  in  the 
furnace,  over  the  pattern  and  flask,  and 
then  places  the  upper  flask,  B,  (fig.  4) 
upon  it :  two  small  sticks  are  placed  upon, 
the  pattern,  and  the  sand  filled  in  round 
them  ;  the  sand  is  rammed  down  by  the 
rammers  (fig.  9  and  10),  and  the  two 
sticks  drawn  out,  leaving  holes,  /  /,  (fig. 
2)  through  the  sand  in  the  upper  flask. — 
The  workman  now  takes  off  the  upper 
flask,  B,  by  its  two  handles,  leaving  the 
pattern  in  the  lower  flask;  the  burnt  sand 
causes  the  two  flasks  to  separate  exactly 
at  the  joining  of  the  flasks :  the  upper 
flask  is  now  completely  finished,  the 
holes,  / 1,  made  by  drawing  out  the  sticks, 
being  left  to  pour  in  the  metal,  and  the 
pattern  leaving  a  perfect  print  of  its  upper 
half  in  the  flask.  The  next  operation  is 
lifting  the  pattern  out  of  the  lower  flask, 
before  which  the  workman  wets  the  sand 
around  the  pattern,  that  it  may  adhere  to- 
gether, and  not  be  broken  by  lifting  the 
pattern.  The  two  pins  projecting  from 
the  wheel  where  the  hole  is  to  be,  leave 
their  impressions  in  the  sand,  forming 
two  holes,  e  f  (fig.  2)  one  in  each  flask. 
These  holes  receive  the  ends  of  a  core, 
which  is  exactly  the  shape  and  size  of  the 
hole  required  in  the  wheel :  the  core  is 
formt-d  of  a  mixture  of  plaster  of  Paris 
and  brick  dust,  and  is  made  just  the  length 
and  size  of  the  pins  in  the  pattern,  that  it 


IRR 


IRR 


may  be  truly  in  the  centre  of  the  wheel. 
Fig1.  2.  is  a  section  of  the  two  flasks  when 
put  together  ;  but  the  core  is  not  put  in  : 
1  1  are  the  holes  for  the  metal,  and  g  hik 
the  hollow  cavity  to  receive  it. 

The  iron  is  melted  in  a  furnace,  and 
brought  from  it  in  a  ladle  (fig-.  11)  which 
has  three  handles,  and  is  carried  by  two 
men,  the  forked  handle,  M,  giving  a  pur- 
chase to  the  man  holding  it,  to  turn  over 
the  ladle  to  deliver  its  contents.  If  the 
•work  is  very  small,  the  metal  is  conveyed 
to  the  flasks  in  common  ladles. 

The  more  intricate  cases  of  iron-found' 
ery,  as  the  casting  of  cylinders  for  steam 
engines,  crooked  pipes  with  various  pas- 
sages, &c.  are  cast  in  moulds  formed  of 
loam  or  clay,  and  are  done  nearly  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  moulding  of  plaster 
casts  from  busts,  &c.  but  our  limits  will  not 
allow  us  to  describe  these  curious  branch- 
es of  the  founder's  art. 

1ROXY,  in  rhetoric,  is  when  a  person 
speaks  contrary  to  his  thoughts,  in  order 
to  add  force  to  his  discourse. 

IRRATIONAL,  an  appellation  given  to 
surd  numbers  and  quantities.  See  SURD. 

IRREDUCIBLE  case,  in  algebra,  is 
used  for  that  case  of  cubic  equations, 
where  the  root,  according  to  Cardan's 
rule,  appears  under  an  impossible  or 
imaginary  form,  and  yet  is  real.  Thus, 
in  the  equation,  ,r3  —  90  x  —  100  =  0, 
the  root,  according  to  Cardan's  rule, 

will  be  a-  =  \/  50  -j-   </  —  24oOU    -f- 

\/  50  —  ^/  —  24500,  which  is  an  impos- 
sible expression,  and  yet  one  root  is  equal 
to  10  ;  and  the  other  two  roots  of  the 
equation  are  also  real.  Algebraists,  for 
two  centuries,  have  in  vain  endeavoured 
to  resolve  this  case,  and  bring  it  under  a 
real  form  ;  and  the  question  is  not  less  fa- 
mous among  them  than  the  squaring1  of 
the  circle  is  among  geometers.  See 
EQ.UATIOX. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  as,  in  some 
other  cases  of  cubic  equations,  the  value 
of  the  root,  though  rational,  is  found  under 
an  irrational  or  surd  form  ;  because  the 
root  in  this  case  is  compounded  of  two 
equal  surds  with  contrary  signs,  which 
destroy  eacli  other  ;  as  if  "r  =5  +  ^/5 
+  5  —  v'  5  J  tllen  x  =  10  ;  in  like  man- 
aier,  in  the  irreducible  case,  when  the  root 
is  rational,  there  are  two  equal  imaginary 
quantities,  with  contrary  signs,  joined 
to  real  ^quantities  ;  so  that  the  imaginary 
quantities  destroy  each  other.  Thus  the 
expression  :  _ 

V  50  -f  \/~= 


—  5  ;  and 
3/  50  -</--  24500  =  5  -^-5.  But 


5  +  v/—  5  +  5  —  Y/—  5  =  10  =  x,  the 
root  of  the  proposed  equation. 

Dr.  Wallis  seems  to  have  intended  to 
show,  that  there  is  no  case  of  cubic  equa- 
tions irreducible,  or  impracticable,  as  he 
calls  it,  notwithstanding  the  common  opi- 
nion to  the  contrary. 

Thus  in  the  equation  r3  —  63  r  =  162, 
where  the  value  of  the  root,  according  to 
Cardan's  rule,  is,  r  =*/  81  -f  Y/— 2700 
+  ^/8l  —  ^/  —  2700,  the  doctor  says, 
that  the  cubic  root  of  81  -f  v/  —  2700, 
may  be  extracted  by  another  impossible 
binomial,  viz.  by  ~  -f-  ^  \/  —  ;  ^"d  in  the 
same  manner,  that  the  cubic  root  of  81  — 
Y/ —  2700  may  be  extracted,  and  is  equal 
to  -|  —  3  \/  —  5 ;  from  whence  he  infers, 
that  §  +  is  £  ^/—  3  -f  |  —  1  Y/—  3  =  9, 
is  one  of  the  roots  of  the  equation  pro- 
posed. And  this  is  true  :  but  those  who 
will  consult  his  algebra,  p.  190,  191,  will 
find  that  the  rule  he  gives  is  nothing  but 
a  trial,  both  in  determining  that  part  of 
the  root  which  is  without  a  radical  sign, 
and  that  part  which  is  within  :  and  if  the 
original  equation  had  been  such  as  to  have 
its  roots  irrational,  his  trial  would  never 
have  succeeded.  Besides,  it  is  certain, 
that  the  extracting  the  cube  root  of  81 
-f-  Y/  —  2700  is  of  the  same  degree  of 
difficulty,  as  the  extracting  the  root  of  the 
original  equation  r3  —  63  r  =  162  ;  and 
that  both  require  the  tri-section  of  an  an- 
gle for  a  perfect  solution. 

IRREGULAR,  in  grammar,  such  in- 
flections of  words  as  vary  from  the  origi- 
nal rules  :  thus  we  say,  irregular  nouns, 
irregular  verbs,  &c. 

IRRIGATION  is  the  art  of  conducting 
water  at  pleasure  over  levels  or  inclined 
planes,  in  such  manner  that  the  whole 
may  receive  the  benefit  of  partial  immer- 
sion ;  whereby  the  surface  may  be  duly 
supplied  with  moisture, and  the  vegetable 
production^  intended  to  be  encouraged, 
should  be  enabled  to  put  forth  abun- 
dantly, and  to  yield  a  good  crop.  Irriga- 
tion  is  with  us  rather  a  novel  practice, 
but  was  well  understood  by  the  ancients, 
and  has  been  in  use  among  the  Chinese 
up  to  the  earliest  da\es  of  their  records. 
In  Hindostan,  the  whole  of  the  rubbee,  or 
small-grain  crop,  is  artificially  watered  ; 
the  grain  being  deposited  in  October, 
while  the  ground  remains  moist,  after  the 
heavy  rains  which  had  fallen  for  months 
previously  to  the  operations  of  tillage;  so 
that  the  seed  speedily  germinates.  But 
the  perfect  drought  atte'ndant  on  the  five 
successive  months, would  infallibly  destroy 
the  promising  verdure,  were  it  not  tlia^ 
the  peasants  divide  their  lands  into  small 


IRRIGATION. 


squares,  about  four  or  five  feet  each  way, 
between  each  pair  of  which  a  small  chan- 
nel, made  by  banking  the  so\],protempore, 
in  a  very  simple  manner,  conducts  the  lit- 
tle stream  supplied  from  numerous  wells 
made  expressly  for  the  occasion.  When 
the  ear,  or  blossom,  has  shot  forth,  wa- 
tering is  discontinued.  The  Chinese  pro- 
ceed on  the  grand  scale  ;  they  not  only 
divide  their  fields  by  numerous  channels, 
but  even  warp  whole  tracts  of  low  land ; 
whereby  they  insure  immense  returns. 
The  Africans,  in  some  parts,  follow  the 
Hindostanee  plan ;  but  raise  their  water 
chiefly  from  the  rivers,  or  obtain  their 
supplies  of  that  invaluable  element  from 
natural  reservoirs,  formed  by  the  hollows 
among  hills.  In  every  part  of  Asia,  but 
especially  in  the  Mysore  country,  former- 
ly under  the  dominion  of  the  late  Sultan 
Tippoo,  the  retention  of  water,  for  the 
purposes  of  irrigation,  is  a  matter  of  such 
importance  as  to  be  entirely  under  the 
auspices  and  controul  of  the  government. 
Tippoo  caused  banks,  or,  as  they  are 
called  in  India,  bunds,  to  be  made  be- 
tween the  bases  of  hills,  so  as  to  intercept 
the  copious  streams,  which,  during  the 
rainy  seasons,  flow  from  the  hilly  coun- 
try. An  example  worthy  of  imitation  ! 
Thus  immense  bodies  of  water  might  be 
collected  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdoms,  whence  mills  and  various 
machinery  might  be  worked,  without 
causing  any  waste  of  valuable  land  ;  the 
soil,  in  situations  appropriate  to  such 
purposes,  being  for  the  most  part  poor, 
and  unfit  for  tillage. 

The  Milanese  territory  exhibits  the 
greatest  expanse  of  irrigation  known  in 
Europe.  In  that  country  are  to  be  seen 
noble  canals  running  in  every  direction, 
totally  exempted  from  local  prejudice, 
private  pique,  or  self-interest.  All  are 
under  the  authority  and  protection  of  go- 
vernment, which  lets  out  the  water  to  the 
various  occupiers  of  meadows,  at  a  fixed 
rate,  according  to  the  quantity  supplied. 
Sometimes  these  canals  are  farmed  out, 
by  putting  up  the  several  sluices  to  auc- 
tion ;  in  other  instances  the  canals  go  with 
the  lands. 

Whatever  may  be  the  manner  in  which 
their  water  is  dispersed,  its  due  preserva- 
tion is  an  object  of  general  solicitude, 
on  account  of  the  benefits  which  indivi- 
duals derive  from  its  use  ;  while  the  go- 
vernment, both  from  that  motive,  and 
the  support  of  the  revenue  produced  by 
farming  of  the  canals,  do  not  allow  the 
smallest  despoliation  to  pass  unpunished. 
We  a.ve  assured,  by  the  best  authorities, 


that  the  whole  of  the  pasture  lands  in 
the  Milanese  exhibit  uncommon  fertility ; 
and  that  the  canals  are  so  very  extensive, 
and  the  branches  from  them  so  nume- 
rous, that  few  need  complain  of  a  want 
of  water  for  irrigation.  These  works  are 
known  to  be  of  no  modern  date  :  some 
have  existed  for  centuries,  chiefly  apper- 
taining to  monasteries ;  their  waters  be- 
ing let  out  by  measure  to  fertilize  their 
adjacent  lands.  The  great  canal,  known 
by  the  designation  of  Vecchiabbia,  was 
in  a  flourishing  state  early  in  the  eleventh 
century,  beyond  which  we  do  not  know 
what  might  have  been  its  age.  In  1220, 
the  great  canal  of  Adda,  which  waters 
the  plains  of  Lodi,  was  finished;  in  1305, 
the  canal  of  Trereglio,  which  communi- 
cated with  four  others  of  very  ancient 
workmanship,  was  completed  ;  and  in 
1460,  the  canal  of  Martesano,  extending 
thirty-two  English  miles:  in  this  aque- 
duct, besides  the  main  branch,  of  thirty- 
five  feet  in  width,  there  were  made  nine- 
teen scaricatori,  or  lesser  canals,  which 
served,  when  the  waters  rose  very  high, 
to  draw  off  the  surplus,  so  as  to  prevent 
injury  to  the  main  line,  and  to  prevent 
inundation  along  its  course :  when  the 
latter  returned  to  a  more  tranquil  state, 
the  scaricatori,  which  were  not  so  deep 
as  the  main  line,  served  to  supply  it  with 
what  remained  of  their  contents. 

It  is  worthy  our  notice,  that  although 
the  Italian  aqueducts  have,  to  our  cer- 
tain knowledge,  been  duly  supported 
for  upwards  of  eight  centuries,  by  a  race 
of  people  far  beneath  us  in  the  more 
noble  sciences,  in  wealth,  in  population, 
and  in  many  other  circumstances  in 
which  we  pride  ourselves  ;  yet  that  Bri- 
tain cannot  boast  of  one  aqueduct,  made 
exclusively  with  the  important  view  to 
improve  her  agriculture ;  though  it  would 
be  as  easy  to  shew  a  thousand  situa- 
tions where  such  canals  would  double 
the  value  of  the  lands  adjoining,  as  it 
would  be  to  prove  that  such  value  would 
be  doubled. 

It  is,  indeed,  only  in  a  few  counties, 
that  irrigation  is  carried  on  to  any  ex- 
tent ;  though  we  may  in  various  places 
see  partial  adoptions  of  this  most  benefi- 
cial practice  :  yet  we  daily  observe  situa- 
tions naturally  offering  this  advantage, 
without  the  smallest  attempt  being  made 
to  retain  streams  which,  from  elevated 
situations,  glide  with  some  velocity 
through  deep  vullies,  whose  very  borders, 
perhaps,  are  verdant,  but  whose  more 
retired  parts  would  be  doubled  or  trebled 
ia  value,  by  the  influence  of  that  element, 


IRRIGATION. 


which  is  allowed  to  pass  by  unheeded, 
to  be  lost  in  some  marsh,  or  eventually 
in  the  ocean  !  It  is  true,  that,  in  some 
parts,  irrigation  is  not  understood  ;  and, 
that  it  is  not  always  practicable  to  ob- 
tain proper  assistance ;  whence  many, 
who  would  willingly  water  their  mea- 
dows, are  prevented  from  taking-  advan- 
tage of  streams  capable  of  effecting  the 
intention.  For  the  benefit  of  such  per- 
sons, in  particular,  as  well  as  of  our  rea- 
ders in  general,  we  shall  endeavour  to 
simplify,  even  this  simple  process,  in  such 
a  manner  as  may  prove  perfectly  intelli- 
gible ;  and,  by  showing  with  what  ease 
irrigation  may  be  carried  on,  induce  a 
portion  of  our  landholders  to  attempt, 
even  without  professional  aid,  or  the  tui- 
tion of  experienced  persons,  that  reten- 
tion and  gradual  distribution  of  waters, 
whose  sources  are  sufficiently  elevated, 
which  may  favour  such  a  slight  and 
temporary  inundation,  as  may  give  vigour 
and  freshness  both  to  the  soil  and  to  its 
produce. 

We  shall  divide  this  subject  into  two 
distinct  heads,  viz.  simple  and  compound 
irrigation  ;  observing  that  the  former  may 
be  practical  in  various  modes  separately, 
as  will  be  shown,  and  that  they  may  be 
blended  so  as  to  come  under  the  second 
term.  We  shall  also,  by  way  of  prepara- 
tion, give  the  reader  an  insight  into  some 
modes  of  cutting  off,  or  of  supplying  wa- 
ter, from  sources  of  different  heights, 
and  under  different  circumstances :  by 
this  means,  with  a  moderate  portion  of 
judgment,  the  novice  in  this  art  may 
speedily  acquire  sufficient  of  the  princi- 
ples to  answer  his  own  purposes,  at  least, 
if  not  to  form  a  correct  opinion  of  most  of 
the  cases  which  may  come  under  his  ob- 
servation. 

The  greatest  difficulty  we  generally  ex- 
perience is,  from  the  water  lying  below 
the  level  of  the  lands  over  which  it  is  to 
be  conducted.  In  many  instances,  the 
springs  whence  streams  are  fed,  lie  wry 
deep ;  and,  though  copious,  for  want  of  a 
sufficient  inclination  of  their  beds,  move 
very  slowly.  In  other  parts,  jealousy  of 
improvement,  personal  enmity,  the  owner 
being  a  minor,  or  insane,  and  the  pro- 
perty in  the  hands  of  trustees,  or  the  es- 
tate being  in  Chancery,  mortgaged,  &c« 
perhaps  debars  the  possibility  of  taking 
advantage  of  some  peculiarly  favourable 
fall,  from  which  the  water  might  be 
conducted  with  perfect  facility  and  ef- 
fect, over  inclined  planes,  which,  by  their 
sterility,  seem  to  reproach  the  owner  with 
neglect ! 


In  treating  this  subject,  we  must  sup- 
pose the  speculator  to  be  a  free  agent, 
not  shackled  by  such  an  unhappy  neigh- 
bourhood ;  and  content  ourselves  with 
cautioning  him  not  to  injure  the  property 
of  others,  such  as  mills,  bleaching  grounds 
below  the  lands,  &c.  &c.,  by  drawing  off 
that  water  on  which  their  very  existence 
depends  :  a  want  of  attention  to  this  par- 
ticular, has  ruined  many  a  deserving  and 
enterprising  individual,  and  converted  a 
blessing  into  a  serious  mischief! 

Where  the  stream  is  rapid,  the  bed  has 
usually  a  very  marked  declivity,  such  as 
admits  of  throwing  the  water  over  the 
lands,  and  of  withdrawing  them  when 
they  have  flowed,  in  every  part,  to  a  suf- 
ficient height.  The  first  step  towards 
this,  is  to  hold  it  up  by  means  of  a  dam 
or  weir,  laid  across  the  stream,  (if  its 
breadth  admit,  and  that  it  be  not  naviga- 
ble), so  that,  in  the  first  place,  the  level 
may  be  raised  as  circumstances  may  ad- 
mit. In  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
guard  against  injury  to  the  property  of 
other  persons  above  the  dam;  for  the 
raising  a  head  of  water,  by  means  of  a 
dam,  might  subject  lands,  which  before 
were  perfectly  dry,  to  be  inundated ;  and, 
even  though  such  should  actually  prove 
beneficial  thereto,  the  owners  might  re- 
cover in  a  court  of  law,  under  various 
pleas  of  damage.  ^ 

The  water  should,  if  practicable,  be 
raised  to  one  foot,  at  least,  above  the 
level  of  the  highest  land  to  be  irrigated ; 
because  that  depth  may  be  then  kept  as 
a  surplus,  in  case  of  long-continued 
ell-ought;  being  let  in  upon  the  first  drain 
by  a  very  small  penstock,  made  only  to 
the  depth  of  the  first  level.  The  water, 
when  abundant,  may  flow  both  into  the 
upper  level,  and  over  the  weir,  so  as  to 
make  a  fall.  When  the  water  is  not 
wanted  over  the  land,  the  penstock  may 
be  shut  up  altogether.  It  is  to  be  re- 
marked, that  authors  of  eminence  in  this 
brunch  differ  in  opinion,  though  some 
suppose  water  to  be  more  richly  impreg- 
nated with  vegetable  sustenance,  in  pro- 
portion as  it  is  taken  nearer  to  the  spring; 
provided  the  water  be  clear.  The  lands 
over  which  it  is  made  to  flow,  will  be 
benefited  in  exact  proportion  as  they  may 
be  near  to  the  first  level,  which  w'ill  al- 
ways receive  the  most  obvious  benefit. 
In  foul  streams,  the  result  is  usually  found 
to  be  in  an  inverse  ratio ;  the  water 
being  richer,  in  proportion  as  it  is  more 
remote  from  its  source,  but  the  first  level 
will  still  receive  the  greatest  portion  of 
the  benefit.  Where  rivers  are  very  mud- 


IRRIGATION. 


dy,  and  of  any  magnitude,  it  is  common 
to  allow  their  flowing,  to  the  depth  of 
many  feet,  over  low  lands ;  so  that,  when 
kept  stationary  fora  few  hours,  the  fecula 
and  sediment  may  be  deposited;  as  is 
often  the  case,  to  the  depth  of  many 
inches  during  a  single  tide ;  and  give  a 
new  stratum  of  the  iinest  soil.  See 
WAIIPINB. 

These  points  must  be  well  understood, 
because  they  form  a  very  prominent  fea- 
ture in  the  practice  of  irrigation,  and 
will  be  found  highly  worthy  the  notice  of 
all  who  lay  their  lands  down  with  that  in- 
tention. But  we  must  observe,  that  many 
soils  laying  contiguous  to  streams,  and 
well  situated  for  irrigation,  are  naturally 
so  rich,  as  not  to  depend  on  any  deposit 
from  the  waters  for  their  annual  produce  : 
such  require  but  moderate  watering,  and, 
in  some  instances,  more  to  be  sheltered 
during  the  winter  by  complete  inundation, 
than  by  refreshing  flows.  Where  such 
prevail,  the  water  ought  to  be  admitted 
only  when  clear,  and  then  from  the  very 
surface  ;  in  centra-distinction  to  poor,  or 
dry  soils,  which  want  heart  as  well  as 
moisture.  The  fact  is,  that,  by  means  of 
an  artificial  supply  of  water,  the  grass 
will  shoot  out  far  more  early,  which  is  an 
object  of  the  utmost  importance  to  most 
farmers  and  graziers;  and  the  crop  will 
be  much  heavier  than  on  lands  not  so 
watered.  But  the  hay  from  watered 
meadows  is  frequently  coarse,  and  not 
much  relished  by  the  more  delicate  clas- 
ses of  cattle.  However,  store  cattle, 
which  indeed  scarcely  ever  refuse  what- 
ever is  offered,  will  consume  it  with 
avidity.  Another  objection  to  h»y  from 
watered  meadows  is,  that,  being  some- 
times gritty,  in  consequence  of  the  sedi- 
ment deposited  by  muddy  water,  it  is  in 
a  measure  injurious  to  the  teeth  of  those 
animals  by  which  it  is  eaten.  But  the 
great  importance  of  an  early  bite,  for  at 
least  a  month,  in  general,  before  other 
pastures  are  sufficiently  forward  to  re- 
ceive cattle,  is  of  itself  such  a  considera- 
tion as  outweighs  every  objection,  and 
causes  watered  meadows  to  yield  double 
the  rent  given  before  they  were  subjected 
to  irrigation.  In  many  places  the  grass 
of  watered  meadows,  from  the  fifteenth 
of  March  to  the  fifteenth  of  May,  lets 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  shillings  per 
acre.  The  crop  is  usually  two  tons,  in 
all  seasons  :  in  dry  ones  it  is  not  subject 
to  the  ordinary  risk  of  being  burnt  up  ; 
and,  not  only  proves  highly  serviceable 
to  the  farmer  himself,  but  to  his  neigh- 
bours ;  who  thus  obtain  a  supply  of  hay, 
when  their  own  meadows  have  failed. 


When  land  has  been  long  watered,  its 
qualities  are  meliorated  considerably  ; 
but  this  is  not  the  work  of  a  day ;  and 
when  the  adjoining  lands  abound  with 
coarse  herbage,  with  water  grasses  espe- 
cially, the  crops  will  too  frequently  suf- 
fer by  such  vicinity.  It  will,  at  first  view, 
appear  strange,  but  it  is  nevertheless 
true,  that  swampy  lands  become  firmer 
when  regularly  watered.  In  their  natural 
state  the  water  oozes  upwards,  and 
loosens  the  soil ;  but  after  the  proper 
levels  are  found,  and  the  catch  drains 
are  laid,  so  as  to  draw  off  the  surplus 
water,  the  moisture  is  drawn  downwards, 
and  the  finer  parts  get  into  the  interstices, 
so  as  to  compact  the  whole,  and  give  a 
firm  footing,  where  before  even  a  sheep 
would  have  been  bogged.  We  must, 
however,  state,  that  though  some  watered 
meadows  will  bear  cattle,  it  is  by  no 
means  adviseable  to  let  any  thing  heavier 
than  a  sheep  feed  upon  them :  the  latter 
do  little  injury  to  the  ridges,  and  by  their 
close  bite,  as  well  as  by  their  excellent 
manure,  cause  the  grass  to  tiller  forth, 
so  as  to  form  a  close  mat  upon  the  soil. 
Whereas  when  large  animals  are  allowed 
to  tramp  on  the  ridges,  the  borders  of 
the  drains  are  in  general  injured;  and 
whenever,  as  will  happen,  the  prints  of 
their  feet  are  left,  the  soil  will  become 
quaggy,  and  retain  little  pools,  which  in- 
fallably  sour  the  grass,  and  negative  the 
intention  of  watering.  Herfce  clay  soils 
are  extremely  difficult  to  improve  by 
this  operation  ;  nor  can  such  be  reclaimed 
but  by  a  very  expensive  course  of  drain- 
ing, manuring,  and  breaking  into  a  crum- 
bly state  :  certainly  clay  soils  may  be 
formed  into  ridges,  and  grass  may  be 
made  to  grow  upon  them  ;  but  they  will 
not  produce  sweet  herbage ;  their  sur- 
faces will  crack,  their  crops  will  be  pre- 
carious, and  their  seasons  for  feeding 
must  depend  entirely  on  the  dryness  of 
the  weather.  Hence  we  may,  in  general 
terms,  consider  clay  soils  to  be  unfit  for 
irrigation  ;  the  expense  being  great,  and 
the  money  being  more  likely  to  yield  a 
greater  profit  by  other  means;  while 
their  crops  and  pasturage  are,  in  various 
points,  of  an  inferior  value. 

But  to  proceed :  the  secondary  drain, 
which  supplies  the  whole  of  a  field 
through  which  it  passes,  should  be  inter- 
rupted at  every  fall  of  four  inches  at 
farthest,  by  small  sluices,  or  penstocks, 
and  have  small  branch -drains  cut  to  the 
right  and  left,  in  such  manner  as  may 
cause  the  water  to  branch  out  into  the 
whole  expanse  of  its  level.  The  turf  cut 
from  the  surface  of  each  drain,  ought  to 


IRRIGATION 


be  placed,  face  downwards,  between  it 
and  the  land  it  is  to  overflow;  being 
made  firm  and  level,  by  beating  with 
the  flat  of  a  spade.  As  the  penstocks  are 
situated  just  below  the  lines  of  the  branch- 
drains  above  described,  they  keep  up  the 
water,  so  as  to  fill,  and  to  cause  their 
overflowing  into  the  next  inferior  talus 
or  slope,  as  shown  m  fig.  1  and  2,  where 
A  is  the  mam  dram,  taken  from  the  water- 
head  or  river,  B  ;  the  drain  C,  C,  C,  C, 
shows  the  secondary  dram,  which,  being 
on  a  declivity,,  would  carry  off  all  the 
water,  were  it  not  kept  up  at  the  places 
where  the  catch-drains  or  branches,  D, 
D,  D,  D,  proceed  laterally  from  it,  by  the 
sluices  E,  E,  E  E  By  this  means,  any 


others;  the  water  being  kept  on  by  the 
sluice  above,  and  can-fed  away  by  the 
sluice  appertaining  to  each  level  re- 
spectivelv.  Or,  if  other  meads  at  some 
distance  are  to  be  watered,  the  secondary 
channel,  having  all  its  sluices  open,  will 
convey  it  to  them  without  interruption, 
when  all  its  sluices  are  opened. 

It  is  evident,  that  in  this  manner  the 
whole  of  the  water  is  carried  down  to 
the  lowest  level:  hence  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  no  small  importance  to  ascer- 
tain,  that  the  whole  shall  either  be  ab- 
sorbed  or  be  carried  off  ;  so  as  not  to  in- 
jure  the  last  level,  which  might  otherwise 
be  subjected  to  very  considerable  injury, 
were  the  inundation  to  be  too  lono-  sup- 
ported.  The  judicious  computer  will  be 
cautious  not  to  allow  so  much  to  remain 
as  may  rot  his  grass  ;  in  lieu  of  causing  it 
to  vegetate  vigorously.  This,  in  some 
situations,  presents  a'veiy  serious  diffi- 
culty  ;  for  if  the  water  is  debarred  free 
access  to  the  lowest  levels,  they  will  be 
less  fruitful  than  the  others,  which,  ex- 
elusive  of  the  great  fecundity  derived 
from  first  receiving  the  fluid,  receive  ab- 
solutely  a  larger  portion  of  moisture.  The 
greatest  care  is  therefore  requisite,  to  in- 
sure  that  the  tail,  or  spent-water,  shall  be 
carried  off.  Where  the  declivity  is  con- 
siderable,  and  that  the  stream,  or  any 
other  water-course,  offers  itself  to  receive 
such  tail-water,  at  a  due  level  beneath, 
there  is  no  difficulty  ;  but  where  the 
stream  takes  another  course,  and  the 
descent  is  trifling,  some  artificial  means 
must  be  resorted  to.  Perhaps  no  more 
simple  or  efficacious  plan  can  be  hit  upon, 
than  that  of  forming  a  fish-pond,  of  a  suit- 
able  extent  and  depth,  to  receive  the 
tail-water  ;  whereby  the  apprehended 
damage  may  be  avoided,  and  a  useful 
store  be  created. 


We  shall  show  what  we  may  term  a 
truly  ingenious  device,  whereby  water 
may  be  laid  upon  lands  that  are  above  the 
level  of  the  stream  :  it  consists  merely  of 
an  air-vessel,  A,  fig.  3,  into  which  the 
water  descends  forcibly  from  the  stream, 
B,  and  by  compressing  the  air  in  the  up- 
per  part,  C,  is  itself  forced  to  ascend 
through  the  conducting  pipe,  D,  with  such 
force  as  to  rise  to  a  level,  E,  far  above 
that  at  which  it  formerly  stood.  This  is 
the  principle  of  the  common  fire-engine, 
whjch  we  are  all  sensible,  can,  when  exert- 
ed,  throw  water  to  a  great  height.  By 
such  means,  the  tail-water  may  also  be 
forced  up  to  such  a  level  as  may  cause  it 
to  return  into  the  stream. 
,  Where  the  stream  runs  through  the 
lan  ds  tbat  al?  watered,  and  that  its  de- 
chvity  is  moderate,  it  will  sometimes  be 
found  difficult  to  restore  the  tail-water  to 
lts  level>  To  *****  this  with  as  little  ex- 
pence  as  possible,  wooden  pipes  should 
be  ******  pelowe*  level  of  the  land 
£lonS  the  bank  of  the  stream,  but  earned 
horizontally  on  a  bank,  to  such  extent  as 
"W  s^ce  *»  convey  the  tail-water  to 
the  •™ce  of  the  surface.  This,  how- 
ever,  is  not  applicable  to  all  situations  ; 
for  .where  tbe,  stream  is  very  slow,  its  de- 
chvity would  be  .very  trifling.  Where 
that  happens,  the  air  vessel  will  be  found 
a  Sood  Plan»  Prided  the  height  to  which 
the  water  1S  to  be  returned,  be  not  con- 
siderable.  In  many  situations,  a  water- 
wheel  miSht  answer  wel1  '  observing,  that 
m  deeP  slow  waters,  that  are  broad,  and 
under  the  speculator's  own  management, 
'A  will  be  best  to  throw  a  weir  across,  and 
then  to  let  the  whole  body  of  the  stream 
rusb  through  a  narrow  slip,  so  as  to  turn 
*  wheel  placed  immediately  in  the  line  of 
the  water's  run.  By  this  device,  the  cur- 
rent  may  be  made  to  pass  that  particular 
spot  with  sufficient  velocity  to  turn  a 
wheel;  whereby  water  might  either  be 
raised  out  of  the  river,  to  supply  a  main 
drai"»  or  the  tail-water  might  be  restor- 
ed  to  the  stream  :  in  either  case,  one  or 
more  pumps  would  be  necessary.  (See 
fig-  4.) 

The  second  mode  of  laying  water  over 
the  land  is  by  means  of  ridges,  whose 
centres  are  occupied  by  small  horizontal 
drains,  out  of  which  the  water,  furnished 
by  the  main  drain,  is  allowed  to  flow  to 
the  depth  of  about  an  inch  down  each 
side  of  the  pitch.  These  ridges  should 
be  from  four  to  six  feet  measurement  for 
each  face  ;  the  drain  being  about  a 
foot  broad,  and  four  inches  deep  ;  thus 
the  whole  breadth  of  a  pitch,  declining 


IRRIGATION. 


each  way  equally,  might  occupy  a  base 
of  about  ten  feet  at  the  utmost.  The  de- 
clivities ought  not  to  exceed  an  inch  to 
the  foot ;  in  loose  soils,  not  more  than 
half  an  inch  ;  else  the  finer  parts  will  be 
washed  away,  and  the  drains,  formed  by 
the  junctions  of  the  ridges,  will  be  filled 
up,  whereby  the  water  will  be  detained, 
and  pi-evented  from  passing  into  the  next 
level.  Fig.  5,  bhows  due  profile,  or  section 
of  a  range  of  ridges  on  the  same  level, 
and  fig.  6,  displays  an  inclined  plane, 
whereon  ridges  are  formed  in  regular 
succession,  the  catch-drains  being  a  little 
higlver  than  the  branch  drains  of  the  next 
lower  level,  so  that  the  latter  may  be  fill- 
ed from  the  former :  the  water  thus  gra- 
dually descending,  until  the  whole  is  gra- 
dually absorbed  by  the  successive  ridges ; 
or  the  surplus  is  carried  off'  by  a  large 
catch-drain,  made  to  direct  it  into  some 
other  succession  of  ridges,  as  seen  in  the 
ground-plan,  fig.  7. 

The  reader  will  perceive,  that  the  levels 
may  lay  in  any  direction,  according  to  the 
cast  of  the  land ;  and,  that  where  water 
can  be  had  at  a  due  height,  all  the  land 
below  it  may  be  watered.  It  matters  not 
if  a  deep  valley  lay  between  two  declivi- 
ties, to  be  watered  by  the  same  spring.  A 
pipe,  of  suitable  diameter,  being  made  to 
descend  one  face,  and  to  rise  up  the  other, 
will  convey  the  stream  with  facility  to 
any  part ;  so  as  to  re  assume  the  level  on 
the  opposite  side.  For  further  insight 
into  that  circumstance,  see  FLUIDS, 
HYDRAULICS,  and  HYDROSTATICS. 

It  often  happens,  that  small  rivers  have 
a  very  winding  course  among  little  hills, 
banks,  rocky  masses,  &c.,  and  that  they 
suddenly  lose  many  feet  of  their  altitude, 
owing  to  a  fall,  or  steep  declivity  ;  while 
the  lower  parts  of  the  stream,  being  more 
expanded,  and  the  water  being  kept  up 
by  another  impediment,  perhaps  a  Tew 
hundred  yards  lower,  offer  a  seemingly 
invincible  impediment  to  the  conducting 
it  over  the  finely-formed  planes,  which 
present  themselves  on  either  bank.  Here 
the  difficulty  is  far  less  than  at  first  sight 
is  supposed ;  since,  by  making  an  outlet 
from  the  superior  level  of  the  stream, 
through  the  bank  which  separates  it  from 
the  planes  to  be  watered,  an  abundant 
and  certain  supply  may  be  obtained. 
Thus  in  fig.  8,  the  upper  level,  A,  and  fall, 
B,  are  shown,  and  the  place  pointed  out 
where  a  cut,  C,  should  be  made,  whereby 
the  whole  of  the  inclined  plane,  D,  might 
be  irrigated  to  the  greatest  advantage  ; 
the  surplus-water,  draining  off  into  the 
lower  level  of  still  water,  Ji,  from  which 

VOL.  IV 


it  would  not  be  possible  to  raise  the  watei- 
to  the  superior  parts  of  the  inclined  plane, 
C,  D,  without  the  aid  of  expensive  machi- 
nery. This  section  vvill,we  trust,  prove  com- 
pletely satisfactory,  by  showing  how  ne- 
cessary it  is  to  look  back  to  superior 
levels,  often  within  reach. 

Under  the  head  of  compound  irrigation, 
we  consider  the  various  changes  of  direc- 
tion, attended  with  an  intermixture  of  the 
several  modes  laid  down  for  simple  irri- 
gation. In  the  former,  we  occasionally 
find  the  water  caught  several  times  by  the 
same  stream,  which,  being  obstructed  at 
its  several  turns  by  weirs,  sluices,  &c., 
enables  us  to  abbreviate  the  succession  ot' 
ridges.  This  is  a  matter  of  great  import- 
ance, because  it  renders  a  less  body  of  wa- 
ter, in  the  branch-drains  of  the  first  level, 
equal  to  every  purpose,  and  obviates  the 
mischief  that  sometimes  attends  upon  a 
numerous  succession  of  levels,  when  the 
quantity  of  water  required  for  the  whole 
is  forced  through  the  first,  in  which,  by 
its  weight  and  volume,  the  roots  of  the 
grass  are  denudated,  and  the  finer  parts  of 
the  soil  completely  washed  away.  It  is 
far  better  to  give  the  stream  a  second,, 
or  even  a  third,  turn  through  the  land, 
than  to  allow  all  the  water,  necessary  to 
moisten  six  or  seven  successive  levels,  to 

r  through  the  first.    A  reference  to 
„    9,  will  give  some  idea  of  this  mode ; 
by  the  courses  of  the  dotted  liaes,  and 
arrows,  the  various  descents  may  be  un- 
derstood. 

With  respect  to  the  season  for  watering 
land,  so  many  varieties  prevail,  in  con- 
sequence of  soil,  and  of  locality,  that  we 
can  only  observe,  in  general  terms,  that 
where  lands  are  to  be  inundated  com- 
pletely, by  letting  the  water  assume  an 
unlimited  range,  and  to  expand  over  all 
parts  which  come  under  its  level,  such 
places  require,  during  the  winter  season, 
to  be  kept  well  covered,  that  the  frost 
may  not  attack  the  plants  while  saturat- 
ed with  moisture :  if  that  were  to  happen, 
the  whole  would  be  destroyed ;  whereas, 
by  a  periodical  inundation,  the  grass  is 
sheltered  from  frost ;  and,  by  drawing  off 
the  water  as  the  spring  advances,  and  at 
intervals  of  about  ten  days,  when  the 
weather  is  fair,  such  grass  will  shoot  out 
vigorously,  and  afford  a  very  early  bite 
for  cattle,  at  that  season  when  green  food 
is  both  valuable  and  scarce.  The  same 
principle  may  be  followed,  though  th« 
practice  is  different,  in  places  watered  by 
drains.  In  such,  the  greatest  care  ought 
to  be  taken  to  avoid  throwing  on  the  wa- 
ter while  the  air  is  frost  y ;  but  so  §oon  a* 
B 


IRB 


IRR 


the  weather  opens,  the  ground  ought  to 
be  moderately  moistened.  The  sun's 
power  should  guide  us  to  the  frequency 
and  quantity  ofwater;  nor  should  its  quali- 
ty be  overlooked :  water  from  warm  soils 
will  produce  effects  widely  different  from 
the  streams  flowing  out  of  clay  lands,  or 
such  as  are  impregnated  with  iron,  &c. 
the  best  water  usually  rises  out  of  gravel- 
ly or  chalky  lands  It  is  better  to  throw 
the  water  on  early  in  the  day,  during  cold 
weather,  in  order  that  the  grass  may  dry 
well,  and  the  danger  apprehended  from 
frosty  nights  be  obviated ;  but  in  summer, 
the  watering  should  take  place  late  in  the 
evening,  whereby  the  ground  will  be  cold, 
without  danger  of  scorching  the  plants. 

We  have  dwelt  thus  long  on  the  sub- 
ject of  irrigation,  under  the  conviction  of 
its  extreme  importance  :  the  reader  may, 
under  the  head  of  AGRICULTURE,  find 
a  few  additional  remarks,  which  were 
given  with  the  view  to  bringing  all  matters 
relating  to  farming  under  one  general 
head,  while  we  reserved  this  mechanical 
part  to  be  separately  treated,  under  its 
proper  designation. 

IRRITABILITY,  in  physiology,  is  the 
property  peculiar  to  the  muscles,  by 
which  they  contract  upon  the  applica- 
tion of  certain  stimuli,  without  a  consci- 
ousness of  action.  Haller  and  other  phy- 
siologists denominate  that  part  of  the  hu- 
man body  irritable,  which  becomes  short- 
er by  being  touched  :  very  irritable,  if  it 
contracts  upon  a  slight  touch.  They  call 
that  a  sensible  part  of  the  human  body, 
which,  upon  being  touched,  transmits  the 
impression  of  it  to  the  mind :  on  the  con- 
trary, they  call  that  insensible,  which,  be- 
ing burnt,  torn,  cut,  &c.  occasions  no  sign 
of  pain  or  convulsion,  nor  any  sort  of 
change  in  the  situation  of  the  body.  It  is 
inferred  that  the  epidermis  is  insensible  ; 
that  the  true  skin  is  the  most  sensible  part 
of  the  body ;  that  the  fat  and  cellular 
membranes  are  insensible ;  and  the  mus- 
cular flesh  sensible,  the  sensibility  of 
which  he  ascribes  rather  to  the  nerves 
than  the  flesh  itself.  The  tendons,  hav- 
ing no  nerves  distributed  among  them, 
are  deemed  insensible.  Irritability  then 
is  the  distinguishing  characteristic  be- 
tween the  muscular  and  cellular  fi- 
bres. Irritability  differs  from  sensibility, 
and  is  not  proportioned  to  it:  the  intestines 
are  less  sensible  than  the  stomach,  but 
more  irritable ;  the  heart  is  very  irritable, 
though  it  has  but  a  small  degree  of  sen- 
sation. The  laws  of  irritability,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Crichton,  are :  1.  After  every 
action  in  an  irritable  part,  a  state  of  rest* 


or  cessation  from  motion,  must  take  place, 
before  the  irritable  part  can  be  again  in- 
cited to  action.  If  by  an  act  of  volition 
we  throw  any  of  our  muscles  into  action, 
that  action  can  only  be  continued  for  a 
certain  space  of  time ;  the  muscle  be- 
comes relaxed,  notwithstanding  all  our 
endeavours  to  the  contrary,  and  remains 
a  certain  time  in  that  relaxed  state,  before 
it  can  be  again  thrown  into  action.  2. 
Each  irritable  part  has  a  certain  portion 
or  quantity  of  the  principle  of  irritability 
which  is  natural  to  it,  part  of  which  it 
loses  during  action,  or  from  the  applica- 
tion of  stimuli.  3.  By  a  process,  wholly 
unknown  to  us,  it  regains  this  lost  quantity 
during  its  repose  or  state  of  rest.  In  or- 
der to  express  the  different  quantities  of 
irritability  in  any  part,  we  say  that  it  is 
either  more  or  less  redundant,  or  more 
or  less  defective.  It  becomes  redundant 
in  a  part,  when  the  stimuli  which 
are  calculated  to  act  on  that  part 
are  withdrawn,  or  withheld  for  a  certain 
length  of  time,  because  then  no  action 
can  take  place  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  application  of  stimuli  causes  it  to  be 
exhausted,  or  to  be  deficient,  not  only  by 
exciting  action,  but  by  some  secret  in- 
fluence, the  nature  of  which  has  not  yet 
been  detected ;  for  it  is  a  circumstance 
-extremely  deserving  of  attention,  that  an 
irritable  part  or  body  may  be  suddenly  de- 
prived of  its  irritability  by  powerful  sti- 
muli, and  yet  no  apparent  cause  of  mus- 
cular or  vascular  action  takes  place  at  the 
time.  Thus  a  certain  quantity  of  spirits 
taken  at  once  into  the  stomach  kills  al- 
most as  instantaneously  as  lightning  does : 
the  same  thing  may  be  observed  of  some 
poisons,  as  opium,  laurel-water,  the  juice 
of  some  poisonous  vegetables,  &c.  4. 
Each  irritable  part  has  stimuli  which  are 
peculiar  to  it ;  and  which  are  intended  to 
support  its  natural  action  :  thus  blood., 
which  is  the  stimulus  proper  to  the  heart 
and  arteries,  if  by  any  accident  it  gets 
into  the  stomach,  produces  sickness  or 
vomiting.  5.  Each  irritable  part  differs 
from  the  rest  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of 
irritability  which  it  possesses.  This  law 
explains  to  us  the  reason  of  the  great  di- 
versity which  we  observe  in  the  action  of 
various  irritable  parts :  thus  the  mus- 
cles of  voluntary  motion  can  remain  a  long 
time  in  a  state  of  action,  and  if  it  be  con- 
tinued as  long  as  possible,  another  consi- 
derable portion  of  time  is  required  before 
they  regain  the  irritability  they  lost ; 
but  the  heart  and  arteries  have  a  more 
short  and  sudden  action,  and  their  state 
of  rest  is  equally  so.  The  circular  mus 
cles  of  the  intestines  have  also  a  quick  ac- 


IRR 


ISE 


tion  and  short  rest.  6.  All  stimuli  pro- 
duce action  in  proportion  to  their 
irritating  powers.  Ajs  a  person  approaches 
his  hand  to  the  fire,  the  action  of  all  the 
vessels  in  the  skin  is  increased,  and  it 
glows  with  heat ;  if  the  hand  be  approach- 
ed still  nearer,  the  action  is  increased  to 
such  an  unusual  degree  as  to  occasion 
redness  and  pain ;  and  if  it  be  continued 
too  long1,  real  inflammation  takes  place  ; 
but  if  this  heat  be  continued,  the  part  at 
least  loses  its  irritability,  and  a  sphacelus 
or  gangrene  ensues.  7.  The  action  of 
every  stimulus  is  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the 
frequency  of  its  application.  A  small 
quantity  of  spirits  taken  into  the  stomach, 
increases  the  action  of  its  muscular  coat, 
and  also  of  its  various  vessels,  so  that  di- 
gestion is  thereby  facilitated.  If  the  same 
quantity,  however,  be  taken  frequently, 
it  loses  its  effect.  In  order  to  produce 
the  same  effect  as  at  first,  a  larger  quan- 
tity is  necessary;  and  hence  the  origin 
of  dram-drinking.  8.  The  more  the  irri- 
tability of  a  part  is  accumulated,  the 
more  that  part  is  disposed  to  be  acted 
upon.  It  is  on  this  account  that  the  ac- 
tivity of  all  animals,  while  in  perfect 
health,  is  much  livelier  in  the  morning 
than  at  any  other  time  of  the  day ;  for 
during  the  night  the  irritability  of  the 
whole  frame,  and  especially  that  of  the 
muscles  destined  for  labour,  viz.  the  mus- 
cles of  voluntary  action,  is  re-accumulated. 
The  same  law  explains  why  digestion 
goes  on  more  rapidly  the  first  hour  after 
food  is  swallowed  than  at  any  other  time ; 
and  it  also  accounts  for  the  great  danger 
that  accrues  to  a  famished  person  upon 
first  taking  in  food.  9.  If  the  stimuli 
which  keep  up  the  action  of  any  irritable 
body  be  withdrawn  tor  too  great  a  length 
of  time,  that  process  on  which  the  forma- 
tion of  the  principle  depends  is  gradually 
diminished,  and  at  last  entirely  destroy- 
ed. When  the  irritability  of  the  system  is 
too  quickly  exhausted  by  heat,  as  is  the 
case  in  certain  warm  climates,  the  appli- 
cation of  cold  invigorates  the  frame,  be- 
cause cold  is  a  mere  diminution  of  the 
overplus  of  that  stimulus  which  was  caus- 
ing the  rapid  consumption  of  the  princi- 
ple. Under  such,  or  similar  circumstances, 
therefore,  cold  is  a  tonic  remedy  ;  but  if 
in  a  climate  naturally  cold,  a  person  were 
to  go  into  a  cold  bath,  and  not  soon  re- 
turn into  a  warmer  atmosphere,  it  would 
destroy  life  just  in  the  same  manner  as 
many  poor  people,  who  have  no  comforta- 
ble dwellings,  are  often  destroyed  from 
being  too  long  exposed  to  the  cold  in 
winter.  Upon  the  first  application  of 
cold  the  irritability  is  accumulated,  and 
the  vascular  system  therefore  is  disposed 


to  great  action ;  but  after  a  certain  time 
all  action  is  so  much  diminished,  that  the 
process,  whatever  it  be,  on  which  the 
formation  of  the  irritable  principle  de- 
pends, is  entirely  lost.  See  Dr.  Crichton 
on  Mental  Derangement  for  more  on  this 
subject 

ISATIS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Te- 
tradynamia  Siliculosa  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Siliquosae  or  Cruciformes 
Cruciferae,  Jussieu.  Essential  character ; 
silicle  lanceolate,  one-celled,  one-seeded, 
deciduous,  bivalve  ;  valves  nivicular. 
There  are  five  species,  of  which  I.  tincto- 
ria,  dyer's  woad,  is  a  biennial  plant, 
with  a  fusiform,  fibrous  root;  stem  up- 
right, round  and  smooth,  woody  at 
bottom,  branched  at  top ;  stem  leaves 
from  two  to  three  inches  long,  and  scarce- 
ly half  an  inch  in  breadth ;  flowers 
small,  terminating  the  stem  and  branches 
in  a  close  raceme;  both  corolla  and 
calyx  yellow ;  petals  notched  at  the  end  ; 
seed  vessels  on  slender  peduncles,  hang- 
ing down,  chesnut  coloured  or  dark 
brown,  shining  when  ripe,  of  an  oblong 
elliptic  form,  compressed  at  top  and  on 
the  sides  into  a  sharp  edge,  swelling  like 
a  convex  lens  in  the  middle  ;  cotyledons 
ovate,  fleshy,  piano  convex ;  radicle  sub- 
cylindrical,  bent  in  upwards.  It  is  a  na- 
tive of  most  parts  of  Europe.  Woad  is 
much  used  by  dyers  for  its  blue  colour : 
it  is  the  basis  of  black  and  many  other 
colours. 

ISCHJEMUM,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polygamia  Monoecia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Gramina,  or  Grasses. 
Gramineae,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  : 
hermaphrodite  calyx ;  glume  two-flower- 
ed ;  corolla  two-valved ;  stamens  three  ; 
styles  three  ;  seed  one:  male,  calyx  and 
corolla  as  in  the  other ;  stamens  three. 
There  are  eight  species. 

ISERINE,  in  mineralogy,  a  species  ot 
the  Menachine  genus :  it  is  of  an  iron- 
black,  inclining  a  little  to  the  brownish- 
black  ;  it  occurs  in  small,  obtuse,  angular 
grains,  and  in  rolled  pieces,  with  a  rough 
glimmering  surface.  Internally  it  is  glis- 
tering, and  its  lustre  is  semi-metallic, 
Specific  gravity  4.5.  Before  the  blow- 
pipe, it  melts  into  a  blackish-brown 
coloured  glass,  which  is  slightly  attracted 
by  the  magnet.  It  is  composed  of 
Oxide  of  menachine  .  .  59.1 

iron 30.1 

uran.  ....  10.2 


Loss.  .  .  . 


99.4 
6 

100.0 


1SI 


ISI 


It  beat's  a  great  resemblance  to  iron 
sand  in  colour,  but  in  specific  gravity  it 
differs,  as  also  in  its  being1  very  slightly 
attractable  by  a  powerful  magnet.  It  is 
found  on  high  mountains  in  Germany. 

1SERT1A,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Hexandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character :  calyx  coloured,  four 
or  six-toothed ;  corolla  six-cleft,  funnel 
form  ;  pome  sub  -globular,  six  celled,  many 
seeded.  There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  I. 
coccinea,  a  tree  with  a  trunk  ten  ortwelve 
feet  in  height,  and  about  eight  inches  in 
diameter ;  the  bark  is  wrinkled,  and  of  a 
russet  colour  ;  the  wood  light,  and  of  a 
loose  texture ;  branches  quadrangular, 
straight,  with  opposite  branchlets,  chan- 
nelled and  covered  with  a  russet  down  ; 
each  branchlet  has  three  flowers,  of  which 
that  in  the  middle  is  sessile  ;  calyx  pur- 
plish ;  tube  of  the  corolla  two  inches  long 
of  a  bright  red;  border  yellow,  covered 
on  the  inside  with  hairs  of  the  same 
colour;  fruit  a  succulent  red  berry  or 
pome,  the  size  of  a  cherry,  sweet  and  good 
to  eat.  The  wood  is  bitter ;  a  decoction 
of  leaves  is  used  by  the  Creoles  in  fomen- 
tations. It  is  common  in  the  island  of 
Cayenne,  and  on  the  continent  of  Guia- 
na, flowering  and  bearing  fruit  a  great 
part  of  the  year. 

ISINGLASS,  used  in  medicine  and  do- 
mestic economy,  is  a  preparation  formerly 
made  only  from  a  fish  named  huso,  a  spe- 
cies of  the  Accipenser  genus.  We  have,  in 
the  sixty-third  volume  of  the  transactions 
of  the  Royal  Society,  a  full  account  of  the 
mode  of  preparing  this  substance,  of 
which  we  shall  give  an  extract. 

The  sounds,  or  air-bladders,  of  fresh 
water  fish  in  general,  are  preferred  for 
this  purpose,  as  being  the  most  transpa- 
rent, flexible,  delicate  substances.  These 
constitute  the  finest  sorts  of  isinglass ; 
those  called  book  and  ordinary  staple  are 
made  of  the  intestines,  and  probably  of 
the  peritoneum  of  the  fish.  The  belluga 
yields  the  greatest  quantity,  as  being  the 
largest  and  most  plentiful  fish  in  the  Mus- 
covy rivers ;  but  the  sounds  of  all  fresh 
water  fish  yield,  more  or  less,  fine  isin- 
glass, particularly  the  smaller  sorts,  found 
in  prodigious  quantities  in  the  Caspian 
sea,  and  several  hundred  miles  beyond 
Astracan,  in  the  Wolga,  Yaik,  Don,  and 
even  ar  far  as  Siberia,  where  it  is  called 
kle  or  kla  by  the  natives,  which  implies  a 
glutinous  matter;  it  is  the  basis  of  the 
Russian  glue,  which  is  preferred  to  all 
other  kinds  for  its  strength  The  sounds, 
which  yield  the  finer  isinglass,  consist  of 
parallel  fibres,  and  are  easily  re^  longitu- 
dinally ;  but  the  ordinary  sorts  are  found 


composed  of  double  membranes,  whose 
fibres  cross  each  other  obliquely,  resem- 
bling the  coats  of  a  bladder ;  hence  the 
former  are  more  readily  pervaded  and 
divided  with  subacid  liquors ;  but  the 
latter,  through  a  peculiar  kind  of  inter- 
woven texture,  are  with  great  difficulty 
torn  asunder,  and  long  resist  the  power 
of  the  same  menstruum  ;  yet,  when  duly 
resolved,  are  found  to  act  with  equal 
energy  in  clarifying  liquors. 

Isinglass  receives  its  different»shapes  in 
the  following  manner.  The  parts  of  whick 
it  is  composed,  particularly  the  sounds, 
are  taken  from  the  fish  while  sweet  and 
fresh,  slit  open,  washed  from  their  slimy 
sordes,  divested  of  every  thin  membrane 
which  envelops  the  sound,  and  then  ex- 
posed to  stifte'n  a  little  in  the  air.  In  this 
state,  they  are  formed  into  rolls  about 
the  thickness  of  a  finger,  and  in  length 
according  to  the  intended  size  of  the 
staple  :  a  thin  membrane  is  generally  se- 
lected for  the  centre  of  the  roll,  round 
which  the  rest  are  folded  alternately,  and 
about  half  an  inch  of  each  extremity  of 
the  roll  is  turned  inwards.  The  due  di- 
mensions being  thus  obtained,  the  two 
ends  of  what  is  called  short  staple  are 
pinned  together  with  a  small  wooden 
peg  ;  the  middle  of  the  roll  is  then  press- 
ed a  little  downwards,  which  gives  it  the 
resemblance  of  a  heart-shape,  and  thus  it 
is  laid  on  boards,  or  hung  up  in  the  air  to 
dry. 

The  sounds,  which  compose  the  long- 
staple,  are  longer  than  the  former ;  but 
the  operator  lengthens  this  sort  at  plea- 
sure, by  interfolding  the  ends  of  one  or 
more  pieces  of  the  sound  with  each  other. 
The  extremities  are  fastened  with  a  peg1, 
like  the  former ;  but  the  middle  part  of 
the  roll  is  bent  more  considerably  down- 
wards, and,  in  order  to  preserve  the  shape 
of  the  three  obtuse  angles  thus  formed,  a 
piece  of  round  stick,  about  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  diameter,  is  fastened  in  each  an- 
gle with  small  wooden  pegs,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  ends.  In  this  state,  it  is 
permitted  to  dry  long  enough  to  retain  its 
form,  when  the  pegs  and  sticks  are  taken 
out,  and  the  drying-  completed ;  lastly,  the 
pieces  of  isinglass  are  colligated  in  rows, 
by  running  pack-thread  through  the  peg- 
holes,  for  convenience  of  package  and 
exportation.  That  called  cake-isinglass, 
is  formed  ^fthe  bits  and  fragments  of  the 
staple-sorts,  put  into  a  flat  metalline  pan, 
with  a  very  little  water,  and  heated  just 
enough  to  make  the  parts  cohere  like  a 
pancake  when  it  is  dried ;  but  frequently 
it  is  overheated,  and  such  pieces,  as  be- 
fore observed,  are  useless  in  the  business 


IS1 


ISL 


of  fining.  Experience  has  taught  the  con- 
sumers to  reject  them. 

Isinglass  is  best  made  in  the  summer, 
as  frost  gives  it  a.  disagreeable  colour,  de- 
prives it  of  weight,  and  impairs  its  gela- 
tinous principles;  its  fashionable  forms 
are  unnecessary,  and  frequently  injurious 
to  its  native  qualities.  It  is  common  to 
find  oily  putrid  matter,  and  exuviae  of  in- 
sects, between  the  implicatedmembranes, 
which,  through  the  inattention  of  the  cel- 
larman,  often  contaminate  wines  and  malt 
liquors  in  the  act  of  clarification. 

These  peculiar  shapes  might  probably 
be  introduced  originally  with  a  view  to 
conceal  and  disguise  the  real  substance  of 
isinglass,  and  preserve  the  monopoly ; 
but,  as  the  mask  is  now  taken  off,  it  can- 
iiot  be  doubted  to  answer  every  purpose 
more  effectually  in  its  native  state,  with- 
out any  subsequent  manufacture  what- 
ever, especially  to  the  principal  consum- 
ers, who  hence  will  be  enabled  to  procure 
sufficient  supply  from  the  British  colonies. 
Until  this  laudable  end  can  be  fully  ac- 
complished, and  as  a  species  of  isinglass, 
more  easily  produceable  from  the  marine 
fisheries,  may  probably  be  more  imme- 
diately encouraged,  it  may  be  manufac- 
tured as  follows.  The  sounds  of  cod  and 
ling  bear  great  analogy  with  those  of  the 
accipenser  genus  of  Linnaeus  and  Artedi ; 
and  are  in  general  so  well  known  as  to 
require  no  particular  description.  The 
Newfoundland  and  Iceland  fishermen  split 
open  the  fish  as  soon  as  taken,  and  throw 
the  back  bones,  with  the  sounds  annexed, 
in  a  heap;  but  previously  to  incipient 
putrefaction,  the  sounds  are  cut  out, 
washed  from  their  slimes,  and  salted  for 
use.  In  cutting  out  the  sounds,  the  inter- 
costal parts  are  left  behind,  which  are 
much  the  best ;  the  Iceland  fishermen  are 
so  sensible  of  this,  that  they  beat  the  bone 
upon  a  block  with  a  thick  stick,  till  the 
pockets,  as  they  term  them,  come  out 
easily,  and  thus  preserve  the  sound  en- 
tire. If  the  sounds  have  been  cured  with 
salt,  that  must  be  dissolved  by  steeping 
them  in  water  before  they  are  prepared 
for  isinglass ;  the  fresh  sound  must  then 
be  laid  upon  a  block  of  wood,  whose  sur- 
face is  a  little  elliptical,  to  the  end  of 
which  a  small  hair-brush  is  nailed,  and 
with  a  saw  knife  the  membranes  on  each 
side  of  the  sound  must  be  scraped  oft'. 
The  knife  is  nibbed  upon  the  brush  oc- 
casionally, to  clear  its  teeth  ;  the  pockets 
ai'e  cut  open  with  scissars,  and  perfectly 
cleansed  of  the  mucous  matter  with  a 
course  cloth  ;  the  sounds  are  afterwards 
washed  a  few  minutes  in  lime-water,  in 
•  !•<<•>!•  to  absorb  their  oiiy  principle,  and 


lastly  in  clear  water.  They  are  then  laid 
upon  nets  to  dry,  but  if  intended  to  re- 
semble the  foreign  isinglass,  the  sound  of 
the  cod  will  only  admit  of  that  called 
book,  but  those  of  ling  both  shapes.  The 
thicker  the  sounds  are  the  better  the 
isinglass. 

ISIS,  coral,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
of  the  Vermes  Zoophyta  class  and  order. 
Animal  growing  in  the  form  of  a  plant ; 
stem  stony,  jointed,  the  joints  longitudi- 
nally striate,  united  by  spongy  or  horny 
junctures,  and  covered  by  a  soft  porous 
cellular  flesh  or  bark ;  mouth  beset  with 
oviparous  polypes.  There  are  six  species. 
I.  hippuris  ;  with  white  striate  joints  and 
black  junctures ;  it  is  found  chiefly  in  the 
Indian  seas,  growing  to  rocks,  and  is  from 
two  inches  to  two  feet  long.  I.  entrocha ; 
stem  testaceous,  round,  with  orbicular 
perforated  joints  and  verticillate  dichoto- 
mous  branches.  Inhabits  the  ocean.  The 
stem  is  about  the  thickness  of  a  finger, 
with  crowded  flat  orbicular  joints  perfo- 
rated in  the  centre,  the  perforation  is  pen- 
tangular, with  the  disk  substriate  from  the 
centre  ;  outer  bark  or  flesh  unequal,  and 
surrounded  with  a  row  of  tubercles ; 
branches  thin,  dichotomous,  continued, 
not  jointed. 

ISLAND,  or  ICELAND,  crystal,  a  body 
famous  among  the  writers  of  optics,  for 
its  property  of  a  double  refraction ;  but 
improperly  called  by  that  name,  as  it  has 
none  of  the  distinguishing  characters  of 
crystal,  and  is  plainly  a  body  of  another 
class.  Dr.  Hill  has  reduced  it  to  its  pro- 
per class,  and  determined  it  to  be  of  a 
genus  of  spars,  which  he  has  called,  from 
their  figure,  parallelopipedia,  and  of 
which  he  has  described  several  species, 
all  of  which,  as  well  as  some  other  bodies 
of  a  different  genus,  have  the  same  pro- 
perties-. Bartholine,  Huygens,  and  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  have  described  the  body  at 
large,  but  have  accounted  it  either  a  crys- 
tal or  a  talc ;  errors  which  could  not  have 
happened,  had  the  criterions  of  fossils 
been  at  that  time  fixed ;  since  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  has  recorded  its  property  of  mak- 
ing an  ebullition  with  aquafortis,  which 
alone  must  prove,  that  it  is  neither  talc 
nor  crystal,  both  those  bodies  being- 
wholly  unaffected  by  that  menstruum. 
See  CRYSTAL,  ORYCTOLOGY,  and  TALC. 

It  is  always  found  in  form  of  an  oblique 
parallelepiped,  with  six  sides,  and  is  found 
of  various  sizes,  from  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
to  three  inches  or  more  in  diameter.  It 
is  pellucid,  and  not  much  less  bright  than 
the  purest  crystal,  and  its  planes  are  ajl 
tolerably  smooth,  though,  when  nicely 
viewed,  they  are  found  to  be  waved  with 


ISO 


ISO 


crooked  lines,  made  by  the  edges  of  im- 
perfect plates. 

What  appears  very  singular  in  the 
structure  of  this  body  is,  that  all  the  sur- 
faces are  placed  in  the  same  manner,  and 
consequently  it  will  split  off  into  thin 
plates,  either  horizontally  or  perpendicu- 
larly ;  but  this  is  found,  on  a  miscroscopic 
examination,  to  be  owing  to  the  regularity 
of  figure,  smoothness  of  surface,  and  nice 
joining  of  the  several  small  parallelepiped 
concretions,  of  which  the  whole  is  com- 
posed ;  and  to  the  same  cause  is  probably 
owing  its  remarkable  property  in  refrac- 
tion. See  OPTICS,  and  REFRACTION. 

It  is  very  soft,  and  easily  scratched  with 
the  point  of  a  pin  ;  it  will  not  give  fire  on 
being  struck  against  steel,  and  ferments, 
and  is  perfectly  dissolved  in  aquafortis. 
It  is  found  in  Iceland,  from  whence  it  has 
its  name  ;  and  in  France,  Germany,  and 
many  other  places.  In  England,  fragments 
of  other  spars  are  very  often  mistaken  for 
it,  many  of  them  having  in  some  degree 
the  same  property. 

ISNARDIA,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
memory  of  Mons.  Antoine  Danti  d'Isnard, 
member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  a 
genus  of  the  Tetrandria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Calycan- 
themx.  Salicariae,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character :  calyx  four-cleft ;  corolla  none  ; 
capsule  four-celled,  covered  by  the  calyx. 
There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  I.  palustris, 
which  bears  a  great  resemblance  to  pep- 
lis  portulaca ;  it  is  creeping  and  floating  ; 
the  flowers  are  axillary,  opposite,  sessile, 
and  green.  It  is  a  native  of  Italy,  France, 
Alsace,  Russia,  Jamaica,  and  Virginia,  in 
rivers. 

ISOCHRONAL,  ISOCHROXE,  or  ISO- 
CHRONOUS, is  applied  to  such  vibrations  of 
a  pendulum  as  are  performed  in  the  same 
space  of  time  as  all  the  vibrations  or 
swings  of  the  same  pendulum  are,  whe- 
ther the  arches  it  describes  be  longer  or 
shorter :  for  when  it  describes  a  shorter 
arch,  it  moves  so  much  the  slower,  and 
when  a  long  one,  proportionably  faster. 

ISOCHRONAL  line,  that  in  which  a  heavy 
body  is  supposed  to  descend  without  any 
acceleration. 

M.  Leibnitz  shows,  that  an  heavy  body, 
with  a  degree  of  velocity  acquired  by  the 
descent  from  any  height,  may  descend 
from  the  same  point  by  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  isochronal  curves,  all  which  are  of 
the  same  species,  differing  from  one 
another  only  in  the  magnitude  of  their 
perimeters;  such  are  all  the  quadi*ato- 
cubical  paroboloids,  and  consequently 
similar  to  one  another.  He  shows  also 
there,  how  to  find  a  line  in  which  a  heavy 


body  descending  shall  recede  uniformlj 
from  a  given  point,  or  approach  uniformly 
to  it. 

ISOETES,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Cryptogamia  Filices  class  and  order.  Na 
tural  orde*  of  Filices,  or  Ferns.  Essentia 
character :  male,  anther  within  the  base 
of  the  frond :  female,  capsule  two-celled 
within  the  base  of  the  frond.  There  arc 
two  species,  viz.  I.  lacustris,  common 
quillwort,  and  I.  coromandelina,  Coroman 
del  quillwort,  both  natives  of  mountair 
lakes,  and  in  wet  places  that  are  inun- 
dated in  the  rainy  season. 

ISOPERIMETRICAL  figures,  in  geo 
metry,  are  such  as  have  equal  perimeters 
or  circumferences. 

Isoperimetrical  lines  and  figures  have 
greatly  engaged  the  attention  of  mathe- 
maticians at  all  times.  The  fifth  book  oi 
Pappus's  Collections  is  chiefly  upon  this 
subject ;  where  a  great  variety  of  curious 
and  important  properties  are  demon, 
strated,  both  of  planes  and  solids,  some  ol 
which  were  then  old  in  his  time,  and 
many  new  ones  of  his  own.  Indeed,  it 
seems,  he  has  here  brought  together  into 
this  book  all  the  properties  relating  to 
isoperimetrical  figures  then  known,  and 
their  different  degrees  of  capacity.  The 
analysis  of  the  general  problem  concern- 
ing figures,  that,  among  all  those  of  the 
same  perimeter,  produce  maxima  and 
minima,  was  given  by  Mr.  James  Ber- 
noulli, from  computations  that  involve  the 
second  and  third  fluxions.  And  several 
enquiries  of  this  nature  have  been  since 
prosecuted  in  like  manner,  but  not  al- 
ways with  equal  success.  Mr.  Maclaurin, 
to  vindicate  the  doctrines  of  fluxions 
from  the  imputation  of  uncertainty  or 
obscurity,  has  illustrated  this  subject, 
which  is  considered  as  one  of  the  most 
abstruse  parts  of  this  doctrine,  by  giving 
the  resolution  and  composition  of  these 
problems  by  first  fluxions  only  ;  and  in  a 
manner  that  suggests  a  synthetic  demon- 
stration, serving  to  verify  the  solution. 
See  Maclaurin's  Fluxions.  Mr.  Crane 
also,  in  the  Berlin  Memoirs  for  1752,  has 
given  a  paper,  in  which  he  proposes  to 
demonstrate,  in  general,  what  can  be  de- 
monstrated only  of  regular  figures  in  the 
elements  of  geometry,  viz.  that  the  circle 
is  the  greatest  of  all  isoperimetrical 
figures,  regular  or  irregular.  We  shall 
now  mention  a  few  of  the  properties  of 
isoperimetrical  figures. 

1.  Of  isoperimetricul  figures,  that  is 
the  greatest  that  contains  the  greatest 
number  of  sides,  or  the  most  angles,  and 
consequently  a  circle,  is  the  greatest  of  all 
figures  that  have  the  same  ambit  as  it  has 


ISS 


ITT 


2.  Of  two    isoperimetrical   triangles, 
having  the  same  base,  whereof  two  sides 
of  one  are  equal,  and  of  the  other  une- 
qual, that  is  the  greater  whose  two  sides 
are  equal. 

3.  Of  isoperimetrical  figures,   whose 
sides  are  equal  in  number,  that  is  the 
greatest  which  is  equilateral  and  equian- 
gular.   From  hence  follows  that  common 
problem  of  making  the  hedging  or  walling 
that  will  wall  in  one  acre,  or  even  any 
determinate  number  of  acres,  a  ;    fence 
or  wall  in  any  greater  number  of  acres 
whatever,  b.    In  order  to  the  solution  of 
this  problem,  let  the  greater  number,  b, 
be  supposed  a  square  ;  let  x  be  one  side 
of  an  oblong,  whose  area  is  a  :  then  will 

-  be  the  other  side  ;  and  2  -  -f  2  x  will 
x  x^ 

be  the  ambit  of  the  oblong,  which  must 
be  equal  to  four  times  the  square  root  of 

5  ;  that  is,  2  -  •+•  2  x  =  4  </  b.  Whence 
oc 

the  value  of  x  may  be  easily  had,  and  you 
may  make  infinite  numbers  of  squares  and 
oblongs  that  have  the  same  ambit,  and 
yet  shall  have  different  given  areas. 
Let  v/  b 


xx  —  dx  =  — 


_~ 

Thus  if  one  side  of  the  square  be  10, 
and  one  side  of  an  oblong  be  19,  and  the 
other  1  ;  then  will  the  ambits  of  that 
square  and  oblong  be  equal,  viz.  each  40, 
and  yet  the  area  of  the  square  will  be  100, 
and  of  the  oblong  but  19. 

ISOPYRUM,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polyandria  Polygynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Multisilique.  Ranuncu- 
laceae,  Jussieu.  Essential  character:  calyx 
none  ;  petals  five  ;  nectary  trifid,  tubular  ; 
capsule  recurved,  many-seeded.  There 
are  three  species. 

ISOSCELES  triangle,  in  geometry,  one 
that  has  two  equal  sides.  See  GEOMETRY. 

ISSUE,  in  law,  has  many  significations, 
sometimes  being  used  for  the  children  be- 
gotten between  a  man  and  his  wife  ; 
sometimes  for  profit  growingfrom  amerce- 
ments or  fines  ;  and  sometimes  for  profits 
of  lands  or  tenements  ;  sometimes  for 
that  point  of  matter  depending  in  a  suit, 
when,  in  the  course  of  pleading,  the  par- 


ties in  the  case  affirm  a  thing  on  one  side, 
and  deny  it  on  the  other,  they  are  then 
said  to  be  at  issue ;  all  their  debates  being 
at  last  contracted  into  a  single  point, 
which  may  be  determined  either  in  favour 
of  the  plaintiff  or  defendant. 

ISSUES,  in  surgery,  are  little  ulcers  made 
designedly  by  the  surgeon  in  various 
parts  of  the  body,  and  kept  open  by  the 
patient  for  the  preservation  or  recovery 
of  his  health. 

ITCH,  a  cutaneous  disease,  supposed 
to  be  caused  by  an  insect,  a  species  of 
the  genus  Acarus,  viz.  A.  scabiei,  which, 
when  viewed  by  a  good  microscope,  is 
white  with  reddish  legs ;  the  four  hind 
ones  having  a  long  bristle.  It  is  found  in 
the  small  pellucid  vesicles  with  which 
the  hands  and  joints  of  persons  infected 
with  the  itch  are  covered.  It  appears  to 
be  not  only  the  cause  of  the  disorder,  but 
the  reason  why  it  is  so  highly  infectious. 

ITCHING,  an  uneasy  sensation,  which 
occasions  a  desire  of  scratching  the  place 
affected.  It  is  frequently  a  troublesome 
sensation,  but  more  nearly  allied  to  plea- 
sure than  pain.  As  pain  is  supposed  to 
proceed  from  too  great  an  irritation,  so 
does  itching  proceed  from  a  slight  one. 
Certain  species  of  itching  excites  people 
to  many  necessary  actions,  as  the  excre- 
tion of  the  feces  and  urine  ;  coughing, 
sneezing,  &c. 

ITEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Pen- 
tandria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natu- 
ral order  of  Rhododendra,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character :  capsule  two-celled, 
two-valved,  many-seeded ;  stigma  emar- 
ginate.  There  are  two  species,  viz.  I. 
virginica.  Virginian  itea ;  and  I.  cyrilla, 
entire -leaved  itea.  These  are  both  shrubs. 
Linnxus  remarks,  that  the  itea  virginica 
has  the  appearance  of  the  Padus ;  that 
the  leaves  are  petioled  and  the  flowers  in 
terminating  racemes.  The  stigma  is  head- 
ed in  this  species,  whereas  in  the  other 
it  is  bifid  or  double ;  the  former  is  a  native 
of  North  America ;  the  latter  of  Carolina 
and  Jamaica. 

ITTRIA.  This  earth  was  discovered 
by  Gadolin,  a  Swedish  chemist,  in  a  fossil, 
found  at  Ytterby,  in  Sweden,  which  has 
since  received  the  name  of  gadolinite, 
and  in  which  it  is  combined  with  silex 
and  lime.  The  discovery  was  confirmed 
by  Ekeberg,  Klaproth,  and  Vauquelin ; 
and  the  same  earth  has  been  discovered 
in  some  other  fossils,  particularly  com- 
bined with  lantalium.  In  several  of  its 
properties  ittria  resembles  glucine,  par- 
ticularly in  forming  salts  of  a  sweet  taste, 
and  in  being  soluble  in  carbonate  of  am- 
mania ;  but  it  differs  entirely  in  others. 


ITT 


JUB 


The  process  followed  by  Vauquelin  to 
obtain  this  earth  from  the  gadolinite  was,  to 
dissolve  it,  with  the  assistance  of  heat,  in 
diluted  nitric  acid,  pouring1  off  the  solu- 
tion from  the  undissolved  silex.  The 
liquor  is  then  evaporated  to  dryness,  by 
which  any  remaining'  silex  and  any  oxide 
of  iron  is  separated  from  combination 
with  the  acid.  By  redissolving  the  resi- 
duum in  water,  the  compound  of  nitric 
acid  and  ittria  is  obtained :  if  there  are 
any  traces  of  iron,  the  liquor  is  either 
aga'ui  evaporated  to  dryness,  or  a  little 
ammonia  is  added  ;  and  after  the  separa- 
tion of  the  oxide  of  iron  by  yellow  flakes, 
the  solution  is  decomposed  by  ammonia, 
which  precipitates  the  new  earth.  (Philo- 
sophical Magazine,  vol.  viii.  p.  369.^  The 
process  employed  by  Klaproth  is  similar, 
nitro-nnmatic  acid  being  employed ;  the 
iron  being  removed  by  the  action  of  suc- 
cinate  of  soda  ;  and  the  ittria  being  pre- 
cipitated by  carbonate  of  soda.  (Analyti- 
cal Essays,  vol.  ii.  p.  47.) 

Ittria  is  obtained  in  the  form  of  a  white 
powder,  and  is  heaver  than  any  other 
earth  ;  its  specific  gravity  according  to 
Ekeberg  being  4  842.  It  is  not  fusible 
alone,  but  with  borax  it  forms  a  white 
glass.  It  is  not  soluble  in  water,  but  it 
retains  that  fluid  with  considerable  force. 

Ittria  combines  with  the  acids;  its  salts, 
as  has  beeu  remarked,  having  generally  a 
sweetish  taste.  Several  of  them,  too,  are 
coloured,  a  property  iu  which  it  differs 
from  all  the  other  earths. 

The  sulphate  of  ittria  crystallizes  in 
small  brilliant  grains,  according  to  Klap- 
voth,  of  a  rhomboidalform,  and  of  a  colour 
inclining  to  an  amethyst  red.  Their  taste 
is  sweet,  becoming  also  astringent.  They 
require  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  parts 
of  water,  and  are  not  more  soluble  in  hot 
water.  Their  specific  gravity  is  2.79. 
The  sulphuric  acid  is  expelled  by  a  red 
heat.  Nitrate  of  ittria  can  scarcely  be 
crystallized ;  it  assumes  a  gelatinous  con- 
sistence by  evaporation,  and  becomes 
brittle  when  this  jelly  cools.  Its  taste  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  sulphate.  The  mu- 
riate is  obtained  nearly  in  the  same  form. 
The  phosphate,  formed  by  complex  affi- 
nity, is  insoluble.  The  acetite  is  a  crys- 
tallizable  salt  of  a  pale  red  colour. 

The  salts  of  ittria  are  decomposed  by 
the  three  alkalies,  and  by  lime,  astronti- 
tes,  and  barytes. 

Ittria  is  not  dissolved  by  the  liquid  alka- 
lies, nor  do  they  redissolve  it  when  added 
in  excess,  after  having  precipitated  it  from 
its  solutions.  This  affords  a  distinguish- 
ing character  between  it  and  giucine. 


It  is  soluble  in  the  alkaline  carbonates, 
particularly  in  the  carbonate  of  ammonia. 

Prussiate  of  potash  throws  down  from 
its  solution  a  granular  precipitate,  of  a 
white  or  pearl-grey  colour.  It  is  also  pre- 
cipitated in  grey  flocculi  by  the  watery 
or  spirituous  infusion  of  galls ;  but  very 
slightly  by  the  pure  gallic  acid.  It  is  not 
affected  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  or 
hydro-sulphuret  of  ammonia,  added  to  its 
solutions. 

The  great  specific  gravity  of  this  earth, 
its  forming  coloured  salts,  and  being  pre- 
cipitated by  the  alkaline  prussiates,  and 
by  tannin,  from  its  solutions,  in  some 
measure  connect  it  with  the  metals,  and 
lead  to  the  suspicion  that  it  may  be  a  me- 
tallic oxide. 

The  gadolinite  is  the  only  fossil  that 
can  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  ge- 
nus of  wliich  this  earth  is  the  base,  for  the 
yttrotantalite  contains  it  in  small  quantity 
only,  and  is  properly  a  metallic  fossil  be. 
longing  to  the  genus  Tantalium.  The 
gadolinite  occurs  massive,  and  dissemi- 
nated ;  its  colour  is  a  deep  greenish  black. 
Its  internal  lustre  is  resplendent ;  it  is 
opaque ;  its  fracture  is  conchoidal ;  its 
hardness  is  such,  that  it  is  not  scratched 
by  th.e  knife ;  its  specific  gravity  is  4.2. 
It  intumesces  before  the  blow-pipe,  but 
is  not  fused.  With  nitric  acid  it  forms  a 
gelatinous  solution.  According  to  Klap- 
roth, it  consists  of  ittria  59.75,  silex  21.25, 
oxide  of  iron  17.5,  argil  0.5,  water  0.5. 
The  analysis  of  it  by  Ekeberg  and  Vau- 
quelin, give  the  proportion  of  ittria  rather 
less,  and  of  silex  and  iron  somewhat  more. 

IVA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Monoe- 
cia  Pentandria  class  and  order.  Natural 
order  of  Composite  Nucamentacese.  Co- 
rymbiferse,  Jussieu.  Essential  character : 
male,  calyx  common,  three-leaved;  co- 
rolla of  the  disk,  one-petalled,  five -cleft; 
receptacle  with  hairs  or  linear  chaffs  •  fe- 
male, in  the  ray,  five,  or  fewer ;  corolla 
none;  styles  two,  long;  seeds  naked, 
blunt.  There  are  two  species,  viz.  1.  an- 
nua,  annual  iva,  and  I.  frutescens,  shrubby 
iva,  or  bastard  Jesuits'  bark  tree. 

JUBILEE,  a  time  of  public  and  solemn 
festivity  among  the  ancient  Hebrews. 
This  was  kept  every  fiftieth  year :  it  be- 
gan about  the  autumnal  equinox,  and  was 
proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet  through- 
out all  the  country.  At  this  time  all  slaves 
were  released,  all  debts  annihilated,  and 
all  lands,  houses,  wives,  and  children, 
however  alienated,  were  restored  to  their 
first  owners.  During  this  whole  year,  all 
kind  of  agriculture  was  forbidden,  and 
the  poor  had  the  benefit  of  the  harvest. 


JUD 


JUG 


vintage,  and  other  productions  of  the 
earth,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  sab- 
batic, or  seventh  year.  As  this  was  de- 
signed to  put  the  Israelites  in  mind  of 
their  Egyptian  servitude,  and  to  prevent 
their  imposing  the  like  upon  their  bre- 
thren, it  was  not  observed  by  the  Gentile 
proselytes. 

The  Christians,  in  imitation  of  the  Jews, 
have  likewise  established  jubilees,  which 
began  in  the  time  of  Pope  Boniface  VIII. 
in  the  year  1300,  and  are  now  practised 
every  twenty-five  years  ;  but  these  relate 
only  to  the  pretended  forgiveness  of  sins, 
and  the  indulgences  granted  by  the 
church  of  Rome. 

J  UDGE.  The  judges  are  the  chief  ma- 
gistrates in  the  law,  to  try  civil  and  cri- 
minal causes.  Of  these  there  are  twelve 
in  England,  viz.  the  Lords  Chief  Justices 
of  the  Courts  of  King's  Bench  and  Com- 
mon Pleas ;  the  Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer;  the  three  puisne  or  inferior 
judges  of  the  two  former  courts,  and  the 
three  puisne  barons  of  the  latter.  By 
statute  1  Geo.  III.  c.  23,  the  judges  are  to 
continue  in  their  offices  during  their  good 
behaviour,  notwithstanding  any  demise  of 
the  crown,  (which  was  formerly  held  im- 
mediately to  vacate  their  seats)  and  their 
full  salaries  are  absolutely  secured  to  them 
during  the  continuance  of  their  commis- 
sions, by  which  means  the  judges  are  ren- 
dered completely  independent  of  the 
king,  his  ministers,  or  his  successors.  A 
judge,  at  his  creation,  takes  an  oath  that 
he  will  serve  the  king,  and  indifferently 
administer  justice  to  all  men,  without  re- 
spect of  persons,  take  no  bribe,  give  no 
counsel  where  he  is  a  party,  nor  deny 
right  to  any,  though  the  king  or  any  other, 
by  letters,  or  by  expressed  words,  com- 
mand the  contrary,  &c.  and  in  default  of 
duty,  to  be  answerable  to  the  king  in 
body,  laud,  and  goods.  Where  a  judge 
has  an  interest,  neither  he  nor  his  deputy 
can  determine  a  cause,  or  sit  in  court,  and 
if  he  do,  a  prohibition  lies. 

Judges  are  punishable  for  wilful  of- 
fences against  the  duty  of  their  situations ; 
instances  of  which  happily  live  only  in  re- 
membrance. 

A  judge  is  not  answerable  to  the  king, 
or  the  party,  for  mistakes  or  errors  in  his 
judgment,  in  a  matter  of  which  he  has 
jurisdictiotv 

JUDGMENT,  among  logicians,  a  facul- 
ty, or  rather  act,  of  the  human  soul,  where- 
by it  compares  its  ideas,  and  perceives 
their  agreement  or  disagreement. 

JUDGMENT.  The  opinion  of  the  judges 
is  so  called,  and  is  the  very  voice  and  final 
doom  of  the  law;  and,  therefore,  is  always 

VOL.  IV. 


taken  for  unquestionable  truth  ;  or  it  is 
the  sentence  of  the  law  pronounced  by 
the  court  upon  the  matter  contained  in 
the  record.  Judgments  are  of  four  sorts, 
viz.  1.  Where  the  facts  are  confessed  by 
the  parties,  and  the  law  determined  by 
the  court,  which  is  termed  judgment  by 
demurrer.  2.  Where  the  law  is  admitted 
by  the  parties,  and  the  facts  only  are  dis- 
puted, as  in  judgment  upon  a  demurrer. 
3.  Where  both  the  fact  and  the  law  aris- 
ing thereon,  are  admitted  by  the  defen- 
dant, as  in  case  of  judgment  by  confession 
or  default.  4.  Where  the  plaintiff  is  con- 
vinced that  fact  or  law,  or  both,  are  in- 
sufficient to  support  his  action,  and  there- 
fore abandons  or  withdraws  his  prosecu- 
tion, as  in  case  of  judgment  upon  a  non- 
suit or  retraxit.  See  WARRANT  of  AT- 
TORNEY. 

Judgments  are  either  interlocutory  or 
final.  Interlocutory  judgments  are  such 
as  are  given  in  the  middle  of  a  cause, 
upon  some  plea,  proceeding,  or  default, 
which  is  only  intermediate,  and  doth  not 
finally  determine  or  complete  the  suit ; 
as  upon  dilatory  pleas,  when  the  judg- 
ment in  many  cases  is,  that  the  defendant 
shall  answer  over,  that  is,  put  in  a  more 
substantial  plea.  Final  judgments  are 
such  as  at  once  put  an  end  to  the  action, 
by  declaring  that  the  plaintiff  hath  either 
entitled  himself,  or  hath  not,  to  recover 
the  remedy  he  sues  for. 

JUGLANS,  in  botany,  -walnut  tree,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Monoecia  Polyandria  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Amentacex. 
Terebintaceae,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter: male,  calyx  one-leafed,  scale- 
form  ;  corolla  six-parted  ;  filaments  eigh- 
teen ;  female,  calyx  four-cleft,  superior ; 
corolla  four-parted;  styles  two;  drupe 
with  a  grooved  nucleus.  There  are  eight 
species,  of  which  J.  regia,  common  wal- 
nut, is  a  very  large  and  lofty  tree,  with 
strong  spreading  boughs.  There  are  se- 
veral varieties,  but  they  all  vary  again 
when  raised  from  the  seed,  and  nuts  from 
the  same  tree  will  produce  different  fruit : 
persons,  therefore,  who  plant  the  walnut 
for  its  fruit,  should  make  choice  of  the 
trees  in  the  nurseries  when  they  have 
their  fruit  upon  them.  In  France,  Swit- 
zerland, &c.  the  wood  is  in  great  request 
for  furniture,  as  it  was  formerly  in  Eng- 
land, till  the  use  of  mahogany  superseded 
it  ;  it  is  in  great  repute  with  the  joiner, 
for  the  best  grained  and  coloured  wains- 
cot; with  the  gun-smith,  for  stocks ;  with 
the  coach-maker,  for  wheels  and  the  bo- 
dies of  coaches ;  with  the  cabinet-maker, 
for  inlayings,  especially  the  firm  and  close 
timber  about  the  root,  which  is  admirable 


JUL 


JUJL 


for  flecked  and  cambleted  works,  To 
render  this  wood  the  better  coloured, 
joiners  put  the  boards  into  an  oven,  after 
the  batch  is  out,  or  lay  them  in  a  warm 
stable  ;  and  when  they  work  it,  polish  it 
over  with  its  awn  oil  very  hot,  which 
makes  it  look  black  and  sleek,  and  the  ol- 
der it  is  the  more  estimable.  The  husks 
and  leaves  being1  macerated  in  warm  wa- 
ter, and  the  liquor  poured  on  grass  walks 
and  bowling-greens,  will  infallibly  kill  the 
worms,  without  endangering  the  grass. 
Not  that  there  is  any  thing  peculiai-ly 
noxious  in  this  decoction ;  but  worms  can- 
not bear  the  application  of  any  thing-  bit- 
ter to  their  bodies,  which  is  the  reason 
that  bitters,  such  as  gentian,  are  the  best 
destroyers  of  worms  lodged  in  the  bodies 
of  animals. 

JUGULAR,  in  anatomy,  an  appellation 
given  to  two  veins  of  the  neck,  which 
arise  from  the  subclavians.  See  AJTA- 
TOMY. 

JUGULARES,  in  natural  history,  an 
order  of  fishes,  according  to  the  Linnaean 
system.  The  fishes  of  this  order  have 
their  ventral  fins  situated  before  the  pec- 
toralfins,  and,  as  it  were,  under  the  throat. 
They  are  mostly  inhabitants  of  the  sea. 
Their  body  is  sometimes  covered  with 
scales,  and  sometimes  not.  With  a  very 
few  exceptions,  they  have  spines  in  the 
dorsal  and  anal  fins,  and  their  gills  have 
bony  rays.  Of  this  order  there  are  the 
following  genera : 


Blennius 

Callyonimus 

Gadus 


Kurtus 

Trachinus 

Uranoscopus 


JULIAN  period,  in  chronology,  a  sys- 
tem or  period  of  7980  years,  found  by 
multiplying  the  three  cycles  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  indiction,  into  one  another. 
See  CHUOXOLOGY. 

This  period  was  called  the  Julian,  not 
because  invented  by  Julius  Caesar ;  since 
the  Julian  epocha  wTas  not  received  till 
the  year  4669,  but  because  the  system 
consists  of  Julian  years.  This  epocha  is 
not  historical,  but  artificial,  being  invented 
only  for  the  use  of  true  epochas  ;  for 
Scaliger,  considering  that  the  calculation 
was  very  intricate  in  using  the  years  of 
the  creation,  the  years  before  Christ,  or 
any  other  epocha  whatever,  in  regard  that 
another  person  could  not  understand 
what  year  this  or  that  writer  meant ;  to 
remove  such  doubts  in  the  computation 
of  time,  he  thought  of  this  period  :  which 
commencing  710  years  before  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  the  various  opinions 


concerning  other  epochas  may  commodi- 

ously  be  referred  to  it.     See  EPOCHA. 

The  most  remarkable  uses  of  the  Ju- 
lian period  are  as  follow  :  1.  That  we  can 
explain  our  mind  to  one  another,  for  eve- 
ry year  in  this  period  has  its  peculiar  cy- 
cles, which  no  other  year  in  the  whole 
period  has  ;  whereas,  on  the  contrary,  if 
we  reckon  by  the  years  of  the  world,  we 
must  first  enquire  how  many  veurs  any 
other  reckons  From  the  creation  to  the  year 
of  Christ,  which  multiple-inquisition  is 
troublesome  and  fuU  of  difficulties,  accord- 
ing to  the  method  of  other  periods.  2. 
That  the  three  cycles  of  the  sun,  moon 
and  indiction,  are  easily  found  in  this  pe- 
riod. 3.  That  if  it  be  known  how  the 
chronological  characters  are  to  be  found 
in  this  period,  and  how  the  years  of  any 
other  epocha  are  to  be  connected  with 
the  years  of  it,  the  same  characters  also 
may*  with  little  labour,  be  applied  to  the 
years  of  ull  other  epochas. 

JULUS,  in  natural  history,  a  genus  of 
insects  of  the  order  Aptera.  Lip  cre- 
nate,  emarginate  ;  antennae  moniliform ; 
two  feelers,  filiform ;  body  long,  semi- 
cylindrical,  consisting  of  numerous  trans- 
verse segments;  legs  numerous,  twice  as 
many  on  each  side  as  there  are  segments 
of  the  body.  There  are  fourteen  species, 
of  which  we  shall  notice  the  J.  Indus,  or 
great  Indian  julus,  which  is  six  or  seven 
inches  long ;  found  in  the  warmer  parts 
of  Asia  and  America,  inhabiting  woods 
and  other  retired  places.  It  has  115  legs 
on  each  side  ;  the  body  is  ferruginous  ; 
legs  yellow  ;  the  last  segment  of  the  body 
is  pointed.  The  most  common  species  is 
the  J.  sabulosus,  about  an  inch  and  a 
quarter  long1;  the  colour  brownish  black, 
except  the  legs,  which  are  pale  or  whit- 
ish ;  it  is  an  oviparous  animal ;  and  the 
young  when  first  hatched  are  small  and 
white,  and  furnished  with  only  three  pair 
of  legs,  situated  near  the  head  ;  the  re- 
maining pairs,  in  all  120,  do  not  make 
their  appearance  till  some  time  after. 
This  species  inhabits  Europe,  and  is 
found  in  damp  places  and  in  nuts.  The 
juli  tribe  are  nearly  allied  to  the  scolo- 
pendrse,  or  centipedes,  but  their  body, 
instead  of  being  flattened,  as  in  those  in- 
sects, is  nearly  cylindrical,  and  every 
joint  or  segment  is  furnished  with  two 
pair  of  feet,  the  number  on  each  side 
doubling  that  of  the  segments,  but  in  the 
scolopendrae  the  number  of  joints  and  of 
feet  is  equal  on  each  side.  The  eyes  of 
the  juli  are  composed  of  hexagonal  con- 
vexities, as  in  most  of  the  insect  tribe, 
and  the  mouth  is  furnished  with  a  pair  of 
denticulated  jaws.  When  disturbed,  the 


JUN 


JUP 


juli  roll  lliemselves  up  into  a  flat  spiral; 
their  general  motion  is  rather  slow  and 
undulatory. 

JUNCUS,  in  botany,  rush,  a  genus  of 
theHexandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Tripetaloidex.  Junci, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  six- 
leaved  ;  corolla  none  ;  capsule  one-celled. 
There  are  twenty-nine  species.  The 
rushes  have  a  simple  grassy  stem,  with- 
out leaves  or  knots,  or  else  knotty,  with 
a  sheathing  leaf  at  each  knot ;  flowers 
terminating  or  lateral,  corymbed  or  pani- 
clcd,  with  the  branchlets  spathaceous  at 
the  base. 

These  plants  agree  with  the  grasses  in 
the  glumes  of  their  flowers,  and  the 
sheaths  of  their  leaves ;  they  differ  in 
having  the  stems  filled  with  pith,  whereas 
in  grasses  it  is  hollow.  The  rushes  form 
an  intermediate  link  between  the  grasses 
and  some  of  the  liliaceous  plants,  as  an- 
thericum,  &c. 

They  form  naturally  two  divisions,  one 
without  leaves  allied  to  scirpus,  &c.  and 
the  other  with  leafy  stems.  But  all  clas- 
sical botanical  writers,  says  Dr.  Smith, 
have  judiciously  preserved  this  very  na- 
tural genus  entire,  notwithstanding  the 
capsule  is  in  some  species  one  celled, 
in  others  three  celled.  The  sea  rushes 
are  planted  on  the  sea-banks  in  Hol- 
land ;  the  roots  running  deep  into  the 
sand,  and  matting  very  much,  so  as  to 
hokl  it  together.  In  the  summer,  when 
they  are  full  grown,  they  cut  them,  and 
when  dry,  work  them  into  baskets. 

JUNGERMANNIA,  in  botany,  so  nam- 
ed from  Louis  Jungermannus  of  Leipsic, 
Professor  of  Botany  at  Atorffi  a  genus  of 
the  Cryptogamia  Algae,  Linnseus,  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Hepaticae, 
Jussieu.  Thirty  species  of  these  mosses 
are  arranged  in  five  subdivisions,  in  the 
fourteenth  edition  of  "  Systema  Vegeta- 
bilUim."  Dr.  Withering  has  forty-eight 
species  in  the  third  edition  of  his  *'  Ar- 
rangement of  British  Plants ;"  he  says 
many  of  them  are  beautiful  microscopic 
objects. 

JUNGIA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Joachim  Jungius,  M.  D.  a  genus  of  the 
Syngenesia  Polygamia  Segregata  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Composite 
Oppositifolize.  Cinarocephalse,  Jussieu. 
Essential  character:  calyx  common, 
three  flowered;  receptacle  chaffy ;  flo- 
^  rets  tubular,  two-lipped  ;  outer  lip  ligu- 
'  late  ;  inner  two-parted.  There  is  but 
one  species,  viz.  J.  ferruginea,  the  stems 
of  which  are  woody,  covered  with  a  fer- 
ruginous down ;  leaves  alternate,  five- 
lobed,  cordate  at  the  base ;  lobes  rounded, 
blunt ;  they  are  hirsute,  and  underneath 


hoary;  panicle  terminating,  large,  de- 
compounded ;  heads  of  flowers  small, 
heaped.  It  is  a  native  of  South  America. 

JUN1PERUS,  in  botany,  juniper-tree,  a 
genus  of  the  Dioecia  Monadelphia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Conifers.  Es- 
sential character ;  male,  calyx  of  the  ament 
a  scale  ;  corolla  none  ;  stamina  three  :  fe- 
male, calyx  three-parted  ;  petals  three  ; 
styles  three ;  berry  three-seeded,  irregu- 
lar with  the  three  tubercles  of  the  calyx. 
There  are  twelve  species  ;  some  of  these 
are  lofty  handsome  trees;  but  the  J.  com- 
munis,  common  juniper,  is  a  low  shrub, 
seldom  more  than  three  feet  in  height, 
sending  out  many  spreading  tough  bran- 
ches, inclining  on  every  side,  covered  with 
a  brown  or  reddish  bark,  with  a  tinge  of 
purple.  The  male  flowers  are  sometimes 
on  the  same  plant  with  the  females,  but  at 
a  distance  from  them  ;  they  are  commonly 
on  distinct  plants.  The  female  flowers  are 
succeeded  by  roundish  berries,  which  are 
at  first  green,  and  when  ripe  are  of  a  dark 
purple  colour.  They  continue  on  the 
bush  two  years,  and  are  sessile  in  the  axil 
of  the  leaves.  Juniper  is  common  in  all 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  in  fertile  or 
barren  soils,  on  hills  or  in  valleys,  in  open 
sandy  plains,  or  in  moist  and  close  woods. 
In  England  it  is  found  chiefly  on  open 
downs,  in  a  chalky  or  sandy  soil. 

IVORY,  a  hard,  solid,  and  firm  sub- 
stance, of  a  white  colour,  and  capable  of 
a  very  good  polish.  It  is  the  tusk  of  the 
elephant,  and  is  hollow  from  the  base  to 
a  certain  height.  It  is  brought  to  us  from 
the  East  Indies,  and  from  the  coast  of 
Guinea.  Tusks  are  valuable  in  proportion, 
to  their  size  ;  and  it  is  observed,  that  the 
Ceylon  ivory,  and  that  from  the  island  of 
Achem,  do  not  become  yellow  by  wear, 
as  all  other  ivory  does  :  hence  the  teeth  of 
these  places  bear  a  larger  price  than  those 
of  the  coast  of  Guinea, 

IVORY  black,  is  prepared  from  ivory,  or 
bones  burnt  in  a  close  vessel.  This, 
when  finely  ground,  forms  a  more  beauti- 
ful and  deeper  colour  than  lamp-black  ; 
but,  in  the  common  methods  of  manufac- 
turing, it  is  apt  to  be  adulterated  with 
charcoal  dust,  so  as  to  be  almost,  or  alto- 
gether, unfit  for  use. 

JUPITER,  }/ ,  in  astronomy,  one  of  the 
superior  planets,  remarkable  for  its  great 
brightness.  See  ASTRONOMY. 

Jupiter  is  the  brightest  of  all  the  planets, 
except  Venus.  He  moves  from  west  to 
east  in  a  period  of  4332  days,  exhibiting 
irregularities  similar  to  those  of  Mars. 
Before  he  comes  into  opposition,  and  when 
distant  from  the  sun  about  115°,  his  mo- 
tion becomes  retrograde,  and  increases  in 


JUPITER. 


swiftness  till  he  comes  in  opposition.  The 
motion  then  becomes  gradually  slower, 
and  becomes  direct  when  the  planet  ad- 
vances within  115°  of  the  sun.  The  du- 
ration of  the  retrograde  motion  is  about 
121  days,  and  the  arch  of  retrogradation 
described  is  about  10°.  But  there  is  a 
considerable  difference  both  in  the  amount 
and  in  the  duration  of  this  retrograde 
motion. 

Jupiter  has  the  same  general  appear- 
ance with  Mars,  only  that  the  belts  on  his 
surface  are  much  larger  and  more  perma- 
nent They  are  said  to  have  been  first 
discovered  by  Fontana  and  two  other 
Italians ;  but  Cassini  was  the  first  who 
gave  a  good  account  of  them.  Their 
number  is  very  variable,  as  sometimes 
only  one,  and  at  others  no  fewer  than 
eight,  may  be  perceived.  They  are  gene- 
rally parallel  to  one  another,  but  not  al- 
ways so ;  and  their  breadth  is  likewise 
variable,  one  belt  having  been  observed 
to  grow  narrow,  while  another  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood has  increased  in  breadth,  as  if 
the  one  had  flowed  into  the  other,  and  in 
this  case  Dr.  Long  observes,  that  a  part 
of  an  oblique  belt  lay  between  them,  as  if 
to  form  a  communication  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  time  of  their  continuance  is 
very  uncertain,  sometimes  remaining  un- 
changed for  three  months ;  at  others, 
new  belts  have  been  formed  in  an  hour  or 
two.  In  some  of  these  belts  large  black 
s»pots  have  appeared,  which  moved  swift- 
ly over  the  disk  from  east  to  west,  and 
returned  in  a  short  time  to  the  same  place ; 
from  whence  the  rotation  of  this  planet 
about  its  axis  has  been  determined. 

The  figure  ot  Jupiter  is  evidently  an 
oblate  spheroid,  the  longest  diameter  of 
his  disk  being  to  the  shortest  as  1-3  to  12. 
His  rotation  is  from  west  to  east,  like  that 
ot  the  sun,  and  the  plane  of  his  equator  is 
very  nearly  coincident  with  that  of  his 
orbit ;  so  that  there  can  scarcely  be  any 
difference  of  seasons  in  that  planet.  His 
rotation  has  been  observed  to  be  some- 
what quicker  in  his  aphelion  than  his  pe- 
rihelion. The  axis  of  rotation  is  nearly 
perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic, 
and  the  planet  makes  one  revolution  in 
about  9h.  55'  and  37".  The  changes  in 
the  appearances  of  these  spots,  and  the 
difference  in  the  time  of  their  rotation, 
make  it  probable  that  they  do  not  adhere 
to  Jupiter,  but  are  clouds  transported  by 
the  wind,  with  different  velocities,  in 
an  atmosphere  subject  to  violent  agita- 
tions. 

Four  little  stars  are  observed  around 
Jupiter,  which  constantly  accompany  him. 


Their  relative  situation  is  continually 
chunging.  They  oscillate  on  both  sides 
of  the  planet,  and  their  relative  rank  is 
determined  by  the  length  of  these  oscilla- 
tions. That  one  in  which  he  oscillation 
is  shortest  is  called  the  firs  satellite,  and 
so  on.  These  satellites  are  analogous  to 
our  moon.  See  ASTRONOMY.  They  are 
all  supposed  to  move  in  ellipses ;  though 
the  eccentricities  of  all  of  them  are  too 
small  to  be  measured,  excepting  that  of 
the  fourth ;  and  even  this  amounts  to  no 
more  than  0.007  of  its  mean  distance  from 
the  primary. 

The  orbits  of  these  planets  were  thought 
by  Galileo  to  be  in  the  same  plane  with 
that  of  their  primary  :  but  M.  Cassini  has 
found  that  their  orbits  make  a  small  angle 
with  it ;  and  as  he  did  not  find  any  differ- 
ence in  the  place  of  their  nodes,  he  con- 
cluded that  they  were  all  in  the  same 
place,  and  that  their  ascending  nodes 
were  in  the  middle  of  Aquarius.  After 
observing  them  for  more  than  thirty-six 
years,  he  found  their  greatest  latitude,  or 
deviation  from  the  plane  of  Jupiter's  orbit, 
to  be  2°  55'.  The  first  ot  these  satellites 
revolves  at  the  distance  of  5.697  of  Ju- 
piter's semi-diameters,  or  1'  51",  as  mea- 
sured by  proper  instruments  ;  its  periodi- 
cal time  is  K  18^.  27'  34".  The  next 
satellite  revolves  at  the  distance  of  9.017 
semi-diameters,  or  2'  56",  in  3*.  13h.  13; 
43"  ;  the  third  at  the  distance  of  14.384 
semi-diameters,  or  4'  42",  in  7d.  3h.  42' 
36"  ;  and  the  fourth  at  the  distance  of 
25.266,  or  8'  16",  in  16«».  16»>  32'  09". 
Since  the  time  of  Cassini  it  has  been  found 
that  the  nodes  of  Jupiter's  satellites  are 
not  in  the  same  place  ;  and  from  the  dif- 
ferent points  of  view  in  which  we  have  an 
opportunity  of  observing  them  from  the 
earth,  we  see  them  sometimes  apparently 
moving  in  straight  lines,  and  at  other 
times  in  elliptic  curves.  A.H  of  them,  by 
reason  of  their  immense  distance,  seem  to 
keep  near  their  primary,  and  their  appa- 
rent motion  is  a  kind  of  oscillation,  like  that 
of  a  pendulum;  going  alternately  from 
their  greatest  distance  on  one  side  to  the 
greatest  distance  on  the  other,  sometimes 
in  a  straight  line,  and  sometimes  in  an 
elliptic  curve. 

When  a  satellite  is  in  its  superior  semi- 
circle,  or  that  half  of  its  orbit  which  is 
more  distant  from  the  earth  than  Jupiter 
is,  its  motion  appears  to  us  direct,  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  the  signs  ;  but  in  its 
interior  semi-circle,  when  it  is  nearer  to 
us  than  Jupiter,  its  motion  appears  retro- 
grade ;  and  both  these  motions  seem 
quicker  the  nearer  the  satellites  are  to 


JDP 


JUR 


the  centre  of  the  primary,  slower  the 
more  distant  they  are,  and  at  the  greatest 
distance  of  all  they  appear  for  a  short  time 
to  be  stationary. 

From  this  account  of  the  system  of  Ju- 
piter and  his  satellites,  it  is  evident  that 
occultations  of  them  must  frequently  hap- 
pen  by  their  going1  behind  their  primary, 
or  by  coming  in  betwixt  us  and  it.  The 
former  takes  place  when  they  proceed  to- 
wards  the  middle  of  their  upper  semi- 
circle ;  the  latter,  when  they  pass  through 
the  same  part  of  their  inferior  semi-circle. 
Occultations  of  the  former  kind  hap- 
pen to  the  first  and  second  satellites  ;  at 
every  revolution,  the  third  very  rarely 
escapes  an  occultation ;  but  the  fourth 
more  frequently,  by  reason  of  its  greater 
distance. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  satellite  can  be  dis- 
covered upon  the  disk  of  Jupiter,  even  by 
the  best  telescopes,  excepting  at  its 
first  entrance,  when,  by  reason  of  its  be- 
ing more  directly  illuminated  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun  than  the  planet  itself,  it  appears 
like  a  lucid  spot  upon  it.  Sometimes, 
however,  a  satellite  in  passing  over  the 
disk  appears  like  a  dark  spot,  and  is  easi- 
ly to  be  distinguished.  This  is  supposed  to 
be  owing  to  spots  on  the  body  of  these  se- 
condary planets ;  and  it  is  remarkable,  that 
the  same  satellite  has  been  known  to  pass 
over  the  disk  at  one  time  as  a  dark  spot, 
and  at  another  so  luminous  that  it  could 
not  be  distinguished  from  Jupiter  himself, 
except  at  its  coming  on  and  going  oft'. 
When  the  satellites  pass  through  their  in- 
ferior semi-circles,  they  may  cast  a  sha- 
dow upon  their  primary,  and  thus  cause  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  to  his  inhabitants,  if 
there  are  any  ;  and  in  some  situations  this 
shadow  may  be  observed  going  before  or 
following  the  satellite.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  passing  through  their  superior  semi- 
circles, the  satellites  may  be  eclipsed  in 
the  same  manner  as  our  moon,  by  pass- 
ing through  the  shadow  of  Jupiter;  and 
this  is  actually  the  case  with  the  first,  se- 
cond, and  third  of  these  bodies  :  but  the 
fourth,  by  reason  of  the  largeness  of 
its  orbit,  passes  sometimes  above  or  be- 
low the  shadow,  as  is  the  case  with  our 
moon. 

The  beginnings  and  endings  of  these 
eclipses  are  easily  seen  by  a  telescope, 
when  the  earth  is  in  a  proper  situation 
with  regard  to  Jupiter  and  the  sun  ;  but 
when  this  or  any  other  planet  is  in  con- 
junction with  the  sun,  the  superior  bright- 
ness of  that  luminary  renders  both  it  and 
the  satellites  invisible.  From  the  time  of 
its  first  appearing  after  a  conjunction, 


until  near  the  opposition,  only  the  immer^ 
sions  of  the  satellites  into  his  shadow,  or 
the  beginnings  of  the  eclipses,  are  visible  ; 
at  the  opposition,  only  the  occultations  of 
the  satellites,  by  going  behind  or  coming 
before  their  primary,  are  observable : 
and  from  the  opposition  to  the  conjunc- 
tion, only  the  immersions,  or  end  of  the 
eclipses,  are  to  be  seen.  This  is  ex- 
actly true  in  the  first  satellite,  of  which 
we  can  never  see  an  immersion  with  its 
immediately  subsequent  emersion  :  and 
it  is  but  rarely  that  they  can  be  both 
seen  in  the  second  ;  as,  in  order  to  their 
being  so,  that  satellite  must  be  near  one 
of  its  limits,  at  the  same  time  that  the 
planet  is  near  his  perihelion  and  qua- 
drature with  the, sun.  With  regard  to 
the  third,  when  Jupiter  is  more  than 
forty -six  degrees  from  conjunction  with, 
or  opposition  to  the  sun,  both  its  im- 
mersions and  immediately  subsequent 
emersions  are  visible;  as  they  likewise 
are  in  the  fourth,  when  the  distance  of 
Jupiter  from  conjunction  or  opposition  is 
twenty-four  degrees. 

JURATS,  magistrates  in  the  nature 
of  Aldermen,  for  the  government  of 
several  corporations.  Thus  we  meet  with 
the  Mayor  and  Jurats  of  Maidstone,  Rye, 
&c. 

JURY,  a  certain  number  of  persons 
sworn  to  inquire  of  and  try  some  mat- 
ter of  fact,  and  to  declare  the  truth  upon 
such  evidence  as  shall  be  laid  before 
them.  The  jury  are  sworn  judges  up- 
on all  evidence  in  any  matter  of  fact. 
Juries  may  be  divided  into  two  kinds, 
common  and  speciaf.  A  common  jury 
is  such  as  is  returned  by  the  sheriff; 
according  to  the  directions  of  the  statute 
3  George  II.  cap.  25,  which  appoints 
that  the  sheriff's  officer  shall  not  return 
a  separate  pannel  for  every  separate 
cause,  but  one  and  the  same  pannel  for 
every  cause  to  be  tried  at  the  same  as- 
sizes,  containing  not  less  than  forty-eight, 
nor  more  than  seventy-two  jurors  ;  and 
their  names  being  written  on  tickets  shall 
be  put  into  a  box  or  glass,  and  when  each 
cause  is  called,  twelve  of  those  persons, 
whose  names  shall  be  first  drawn  out  of 
the  box,  shall  be  sworn  upon  a  jury,  un- 
less absent,  challenged,  or  excused. 
When  a  sufficient  number  of  persons 
are  impannelled,  they  are  then  separate- 
ly sworn  well  and  truly  to  try  the  issue 
between  the  parties,  and  a  true  verdict 
give  according  to  the  evidence. 

Special  juries  were  originally  introduc- 
ed in  trials  at  bar,  when  the  causes  were 
of  too  great  nicety  for  the  discussion  of 


JUS 


JUS 


ordinary  freeholders.  To  obtain  a  special 
jury,  a  motion  is  made  in  court,  and  a 
rule  is  granted  thereupon,  for  the  sheriff 
to  attend  the  master,  prothonotary,  or 
other  proper  officer,  with  his  freeholder's 
book,  and  the  officer  is  to  take  indiffer- 
ently forty-eight  of  the  principal  free- 
holders, in  the  presence  of  the  attornies 
on  both  sides,  who  are  each  of  them 
to  strike  off  twelve,  and  the  remaining 
twenty-four  are  returned  upon  the  pan- 
nel. 

Jurors  are  punishable  for  sending  for, 
or  receiving  instructions  from,  either  of 
the  parlies  concerning  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion. 

In  causes  of  nisi  prius,  every  person 
whose  name  shall  be  drawn,  and  who 
shall  not  appear  after  being  openly  called 
three  times,  shall,  on  oath  made  of  his 
having  been  lawfully  summoned,  forfeit  a 
sum  not  exceeding  51.  nor  less  than  405., 
unless  some  reasonable  cause  of  absence 
be  proved,  by  oath  or  affidavit,  to  the  sa- 
tisfaction of  the  judge.  If  any  juror  shall 
take  of  either  party  to  give  his  verdict, 
he  shall,  on  conviction,  by  bill  or  plaint, 
before  the  court  where  the  verdict  shall 
pass,  forfeit  ten  times  as  much  as  he  has 
taken  ;  half  to  the  King,  and  half  to  him 
who  shall  sue.  A  man  who  shall  assault 
or  threaten  a  juror  for  giving  a  verdict 
against  him,  is  highly  punishable  by  fine 
and  imprisonment;  and  if  he  strike  him 
in  the  court,  in  the  presence  of  the 
judge  of  assize,  he  shall  lose  his  hand 
and  his  goods,  and  the  profits  of  his 
lands  during  life,  and  suffer  perpetual 
imprisonment. 

JURY  mast,  whatever  is  set  up  in  room 
of  a  mast  that  has  been  lost  in  a  storm  or 
in  an  engagement,  and  to  which  a  lesser 
yard,  ropes,  and  sails,  are  fixed. 

JUSSUEA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Antoine  de  Jussieu,  a  genus  of  the  De- 
candria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Calycanthemx.  Onagrx, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  four 
or  five  parted,  superior ;  petals  four  or 
five ;  capsules  four  or  five  ceiled,  oblong, 
gaping  at  the  corners  ;  seeds  numerous, 
minute.  There  are  eleven  species.  These 
are  mostly  herbaceous  plants,  natives  of 
North  and  South  America,  also  of  the 
East  and  West  Indies. 

JUSTICE  signifies  he  who  is  deputed 
by  the  King  to  do  right  by  way  of  judg- 
ment. 

JUSTICES  in  eyre,  in  ancient  times, 
were  sent  with  commission  into  several 
counties,  to  hear  such  causes  especially  as 
were  termed  pleas  of  the  crown.  And  this 


was  done  for  the  ease  of  the  people,  who 
must  otherwise  have  been  hurried  to  the 
King's  Bench,  if  the  case  were  too  high 
for  the  county  court  :  they  differed  from 
the  justices  of  over  and  terminer,  because 
they  were  sent  upon  one  or  for  special 
causes,  and  to  one  place  ;  whereas  the 
justices  in  eyre  were  sent  through  the  pro- 
vince and  counties  of  the  land,  with  more 
indefinite  and  general  commissions. 

JUSTICES  of  gaol  delivery,  such  as  are 
sent  with  commission  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine all  causes  appertaining  to  such  as 
for  any  offence  are  cast  into  the  gaol. 

JUSTICES  of  nisi  prius,  are  the  same 
with  justices  of  assize,  for  it  is  a  com- 
mon adjournment  of  a  cause,  to  put  it  off 
to  such  a  day,  nisi  prins  justiciarii  venerint 
ad  eas  partes  ad  capiendas  assisas  ,•  and 
upon  this  clause  of  adjournment,  they  are 
called  justices  of  nisi  prius,  as  well  as  jus- 
tices of  assize,  by  reason  of  the  writ  or 
action  they  have  to  deal  in. 

JUSTICES  ofoyer  and  terminer.  As  the 
justices  of  assize  and  nisi  priiis  are  ap- 
pointed to  try  civil  cases,  so  are  the  jus- 
tices ofoyer  and  terminer,  and  gaol  deli- 
very, to  try  indictments  for  all  crimes  all 
over  the  kingdom,  at  what  are  generally 
denominated  the  circuits  or  assiz,es  ;  and 
the  towns  where  they  come  to  exe- 
cute their  commission  are  called  the  as- 
size towns,  and  are  generally  the  county 
towns. 

JUSTICES  of  the  peace,  are  persons  ap- 
pointed by  the  King's  commission,  to  at- 
tend to  the  peace  of  the  county  where 
they  dwell.  They  were  called  guardians 
of  the  peace  till  the  thirty-sixth  year  of 
Edw.  III.  c.  12,  where  they  are  called  jus- 
tices. A  justice  of  the  peace  must,  be- 
fore he  acts,  take  the  oath  of  office,  which 
is  usually  done  before  some  persons  in  the 
county,  by  virtue  of  a  dedimiis  potestatem 
out  of  chancery.  Sheriffs,  coroners,  at- 
torneys, and  proctors^  may  not  act  as  jus- 
tices of  the  peace. 

The  power,  office,  and  duty  of  this  ma- 
gistrate extends  to  an  almost  infinite  num- 
ber of  instances,  specified  in  some  hun- 
dreds of  acts  of  parliament,  and  every 
year  accumulating.  The  commission  of 
of  the  peace  does  not  determine  by  the 
demise  of  the  King,  nor  until  six  months 
after,  unless  sooner  determined  by  the 
successor .-  but  before  his  demise,  the 
King  may  determine  it,  or  may  put  out 
any  particular  person,  which  is  most  com- 
monly done  by  a  new  commission,  leaving 
out  such  person's  name. 

Justices  of  the  peace  can  only  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  king's  special  commission, 


JUSTICES. 


and  such  commission  must  be  in  his 
name  ;  but  it  is  not  requisite  that  there 
should  be  a  special  suit  or  application  to, 
or  warrant  from  the  King  for  the  granting 
it,  which  is  only  requisite  for  such  as  are 
of  a  particular  nature,  as  constituting  the 
mayor  of  such  a  town  and  his  successors 
perpetual  justices  of  the  peace  within 
their  liberties,  &c.  which  commissions  are 
neither  revocable  by  the  King,  nor  deter- 
minable  by  his  demise,  as  the  common 
commission  of  the  peace  is,  which  is  made 
of  course  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  accord- 
ing- to  his  discretion. 

The  form  of  the  commission  of  the 
peace,  as  it  is  at  this  day,  was,  according 
to  Hawkins,  settled  by  the  judges  about 
23  Elizabeth. 

Justices  of  the  peace  have  no  power  to 
hear  and  determine  felonies,  unless  they 
are  authorised  so  to  do  by  the  ex- 
press words  of  their  commissions  ;  and 
that  their  jurisdictions  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine murder,  man-slaughter,  and  other 
felonies  and  trespasses  is  by  force  of  the 
express  words  in  their  commission. 

But  though  justices  of  the  peace,  by 
force  of  their  commission,  have  authority 
to  hear  and  determine  murder  and  man- 
slaughter, yet  they  seldom  exercise  a  ju- 
risdiction herein,  or  in  any  other  offences 
in  which  clergy  is  taken  away,  for  two 
reasons :  1.  By  reason  of  the  monition 
and  clause  in  their  commission,  viz.  in 
cases  of  difficulty  to  expect  the  presence 
of  the  justices  of  assize.  2.  By  reason  of 
the  direction  of  the  statute  of  1  and  2 
Philip  and  Mary,  c.  13,  which  directs 
justices  of  the  peace,  incase  of  manslaugh- 
ter and  other  felonies,  to  take  the  exami- 
nation of  the  prisoner,  and  the  information 
of  the  fact,  and  put  the  same  in  writing, 
and  then  to  bail  the  prisoner  if  there  be 
cause,  and  to  certify  the  same  with  the 
bail,  at  the  next  general  gaol  delivery  ; 
and  therefore  in  cases  of  great  moment 
they  bind  over  the  prosecutors,  and  bail 
the  party,  if  bailable,  to  the  next  general 
gaol  delivery ;  but  in  smaller  matters,  as 
petty  larceny,  and  in  some  other  cases, 
they  bind  over  to  the  sessions  ;  but  this  is 
only  in  point  of  discretion  and  convenience, 
not  because  they  have  not  jurisdiction  of 
the  crime. 

As  to  inferior  offences,  the  jurisdiction 
herein  given  to  justices  of  the  peace,  by 
particular  statutes,  is  so  various,  and  ex- 
tends to  such  a  multiplicity  of  cases,  that 
it  would  be  endless  to  endeavour  to  enu- 
merate them ;  also  they  have  as  justices 
vf  the  peace  a  very  ample  jurisdiction  in 


all  matters  concerning1  the  pence.  Ana 
therefore  not  only  assaults  and  batteries, 
but  libels,  barratry,  and  common  nighi- 
walking,  and  haunting  bawdy. houses,  ami 
such  like  offences,  which  have  a  duvet 
tendency  to  cause  breaches  of  the  peace, 
are  cognizable  by  justices  of  the  peace, 
as  trespasses  within  the  proper  and  natu- 
ral meaning'  of  the  word. 

On  renewing  the  commission  of  the 
peace  (which  generally  happens  when 
any  person  is  newly  brought  into  it)  a 
writ  of  dedimns  potestatem  is  issued  out  of 
chancery,  to  take  the  oath  of  him  who  is 
newly  inserted,  which  is  usually  in  a  sche- 
dule annexed,  and  to  certify  the  same 
into  that  court  at  such  a  day  as  the  writ 
commands.  Unto  which  oath  are  usually 
annexed  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  su- 
premacy. 

Justices  of  the  peace  are  to  hold  their 
sessions  four  times  in  the  year,  viz  the 
first  week  after  Michaelmas,  the  Epipha- 
ny, Easter,  and  St.  Thomas.  They  are 
justices  of  record,  for  none  but  justices 
of  record  can  take  a  recognizance  of 
the  peace.  Every  justice  of  the  peace 
has  a  separate  power,  and  may  do  all 
acts  concerning  his  office  apart  and  by 
himself;  and  even  may  commit  a  fellow 
justice  upon  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of 
the  peace.  By  several  statutes,  justices 
may  act  in  many  cases  where  their  com- 
mission does  not  reach ;  the  statutes 
themselves  being  a  sufficient  commission. 

Justices  of  the  peace  are  authorized  to 
do  all  things  appertaining  to  their  office, 
so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  laws  for  the 
relief,  maintenance,  and  settlement  of  the 
poor;  for  passing  and  punishing  va- 
grants ;  for  repair  of  the  highways,  or  to 
any  other  laus  concerning  parochial 
taxes,  levies,  or  rates :  notwithstanding 
they  are  rated  or  chargeable  with  the 
rates,  within  any  place  aflTected  by  such 
their  acts.  Provided  that  this  shall  not 
empower  any  justice  for  any  county  at 
large,  to  act  in  the  determination  of  any 
appeal  to  the  quarter  sessions  of  such 
county,  from  any  order,  matter,  or  thing', 
relating  to  any  such  parish,  township,  or 
place,  where  such  justice  is  so  charged  or 
chargeable,  16  Geo.  II.  c.  18  The  power 
of  justices  is  ministerial,  when  they  are 
commanded  to  do  any  thing  by  a  supe- 
rior authority,  as  the  court  of  Banco  He- 
gis,  &c.  In  all  other  cases  they  act  as 
judges;  but  they  must  proceed  accord- 
ing to  their  commission,  &c.  Where  a 
statute  requires  an  act  to  be  done  by  two 
justices,  it  is  an  established  rule,  that  if 


JUS 


1X0 


the  act  be  of  a  judicial  nature,  or  the  re- 
sult of  discretion,  the  two  justices  must 
be  present,  to  concur  and  join  in  it,  other- 
wise it  wi  •  be  void  :  as  in  the  orders  of 
removal  and  filiation,  the  appointment  of 
overseers,  and  the  allowance  of  the  in- 
denture of  a  parish  apprentice;  but 
\vhere  the  act  is  merely  ministerial,  they 
may  act  separately,  as  in  the  allowance  of 
a  poor-rate.  This  is  the  only  act  of  two 
justices  which  has  been  construed  to  be 
ministerial ;  and  the  propriety  of  this  con- 
struction has  been  justly  questioned. 

Where  a  justice  shall  exceed  his  au- 
thority in  granting  a  warrant,  the  officer 
must  execute  it,  and  he  is  indemnified  for 
so  doing  ;  but  if  it  be  in  a  case  wherein 
he  has  no  jurisdiction,  or  in  a  matter 
whereof  he  has  no  cognizance,  the  officer 
ought  not  to  execute  such  warrant ;  for 
the  officer  is  bound  to  take  notice  of  the 
authority  and  jurisdiction  of  the  justice. 
If  a  justice  of  the  peace  will  not,  on  com- 
plaint to  him  made,  execute  his  office,  or 
if  he  shall  misbehave  in  his  office,  the 
party  grieved  may  move  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench  for  an  information,  and  af- 
terwards may  apply  to  the  Court  of  Chan- 
eery  to  put  him  out  of  the  commission. 
But  the  most  usual  way  of  compelling 
justices  to  execute  their  office,  in  any 
case,  is  by  writ  of  mandamus  out  of  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench. 

^Where  the  plaintiff  in  an  action  against 
a  justice,  shall  obtain  a  verdict,  and  the 
judge  shall  in  open  court  certify  on  the 
back  of  the  record,  that  the  injury  for 
which  such  action  was  brought  was  wil- 
fully and  maliciously  committed,  the  plain- 
tiff shall  have  double  costs.  And  if  a  jus- 
tice of  peace  act  improperly,  knowingly, 
information  shall  be  granted.  No  justice 
shall  be  liable  to  be  punished  both  ways, 
that  is,  criminally  and  civilly  ;  but  before 
the  court  will  grant  an  information,  they 
will  require  the  party  to  relinquish  his 
civil  action,  if  any  such  be  commenced. 
And  even  in  the  case  of  an  indictment, 
and  though  the  indictment  be  actually 
found,  the  Attorney-General,  on  applica- 
tion made  to  him,  will  grant  a  noli  prosetjui 
upon  such  indictment,  if  it  appear  to  him 
that  the  prosecutor  is  determined  to  carry 
on  a  civil  action  at  the  same  time. 

If  any  action  shall  be  brought  against  a 
justice  for  any  thing  done  by  virtue  of  his 
office,  he  may  plead  the  general  issue, 
and  give  the  special  matter  in  evidence ; 
and  if  he  recover,  he  shall  have  double 
costs.  Such  action  shall  not  be  laid  but 
in  the  county  where  the  fact  was  com- 
mitted. And  no  suit  shall  be  commenced 


against  a  justice  of  the  peace  till  after  one 
month's  notice.  And  unless  it  is  proved 
upon  the  trial  that  such  notice  was  given, 
the  justice  shall  have  a  verdict  and  costs. 
And  no  action  shall  be  brought  against 
any  constable  or  other  officer,  or  any  per- 
son acting  by  his  order  and  in  his  aid,  for 
any  thing  done  in  obedience  to  the  war- 
rant of  a  justice,  till  demand  hath  been 
made,  or  left  at  the  usual  place  of  his 
abode,  by  the  party  or  by  his  attorney,  in 
writing,  signed  by  the  party  demanding 
the  same,  of  the  perusal  and  copy  of  such 
warrant,  and  the  same  has  been'  refused 
or  neglected  for  six  days  after  such  de- 
mand. And  no  action  shall  be  brought 
against  any  justice,  for  any  thing  done  in 
the  execution  of  his  office,  unless  com- 
menced within  six  months  after  the  act 
committed. 

JUSTICIA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
James  Justice,  a  genus  of  the  Dianclria 
Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natural  or- 
der of  Personate.  Acanthi,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character :  corolla  ringent  ;  cap- 
sule  two-celled,  opening  with  an  elastic 
claw;  stamina  with  a  single  anther.  There 
are  eighty  species,  mostly  natives  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  East  Indies. 
There  are  only  two  commonly  known  in 
our  English  gardens,  viz.  J.  adhatodar, 
Malabar  nut;  and  J.  hyssopifolia,  snap 
tree. 

JUSTICIES  is  a  writ  directed  to  the 
sheriff  to  do  justice  in  a  plea  of  trespass 
t'i  et  armis,  or  of  any  sum  above  40s.  in  the 
county  court,  of  which  he  hath  no  cogni- 
zance by  ordinary  power.  It  is  in  the 
nature  of  a  commission  to  the  sheriff,  and 
is  not  returnable. 

IXIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Trian- 
driu  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natural 
order  of  Ensatse.  Irides,  Jussieu.  Essen- 
tial character :  corolla  one-petalled,  tubu- 
lar ;  tube  straight,  filiform ;  border  six- 
parted,  bell-shaped,  regular;  stigmas 
three  or  six,  simple.  There  are  fifty -four 
species.  Ixia  differs  from  antholyza  in 
having  the  segments  of  the  corolla  nearly 
equal ;  from  gladiolus,  in  the  situation  of 
the  segments  of  the  corolla,  and  in  having 
the  tube  straight.  Almost  all  the  species 
are  natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

IXOltA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Te- 
trandria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Stellatae.  Rubiaceae,  Jus- 
sieu. Essential  character  :  corolla  one- 
petalled,  funnel-form,  long,  superior; 
stamina  above  the  mouth ;  berry  four- 
seeded.  There  are  nine  species,  of  which 
I.  Americana,  American  ixora,  has  a 
shrubby  stalk,  four  or  five  feet  high,  send- 


KAL 


KAM 


Ing  out  slender  opposite  branches  ;  leaves    scei 
nearly  six  inches  long1,  on  short  foot  stalks,     and  other 
Flowers  at  the  ends  of  the  branches  in  a 
loose  spike,  they  are  white,  and  have  a 


scent  like  jasmine,  whence  in  Jamaica, 
and  other  islands  of  the  West  Indies, 
where  it  is  a  native,  it  is  called  wild  jas- 
mine. 


KOr  k,  the  lentil  letter,  and  seventh 
?  consonant  of  our  alphabet;  being 
formed  by  the  voice,  by  a  guttural  expres- 
sion of  the  breath  through  the  mouth,  to- 
gether with  a  depression  of  the  lower  jaw, 
and  opening  of  the  teeth. 

Its  sound  is  much  the  same  with  that  of 
the  hard  c,  or  gu  ,•  and  it  is  used,  for  the 
most  part,  only  before  e,  i,  and  n,  in  the 
beginning  of  words ;  as,  ken,  kill,  know, 
&c.  It  used  formerly  to  be  always  joined 
with  c  at  the  end  of  words,  but  is  at  pre- 
sent very  properly  omitted :  thus,  for 
publick,  musick,  &c.  we  say,  public,  music, 
&c.  However,  in  monosyllables  it  is  still 
retained,  as  jack,  block,  mock,  &c. 

The  letter  k  is  derived  from  the  Greek 
kappa,  K  or  * ;  it  being  unknown  to  the 
Romans,  though  we  sometimes  meet  with 
kalendae  instead  of  calends. 

As  a  numeral,  K  denotes  250  ;  and  with 
a  line  over  it,  K  250,000. 

KJEMPFERIA,  in  botany,  so  named 
from  Engelbert  Ksempfer,  a  celebrated 
traveller,  a  genus  of  the  MonandriaMono- 
gynia  class  and  order.  Natural  order  of 
Scitamineee.  Cannx,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character:  corolla  six-parted,  three  of  the 
parts  larger,  spreading,  one  two-parted ; 
stigma  two-plated.  There  are  two  spe- 
cies, viz.  K.  galanga,  galangale ;  and  K. 
rotunda.  As  these  are  both  natives  of  the 
East  Indies,  they  require  a  warm  stove  to 
preserve  them  through  our  \yintei-. 
KALI.  See  ALKALI  and  POTASH. 
KALMIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  De- 
randria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Bicornes.  Rhododendra, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  five- 
parted  ;  corolla  salver-form,  with  the  bor- 
der five-horned  beneath ;  capsule  five- 
celled.  There  are  four  species ;  of  the  K. 
latifolia,  broad-leaved  kalmia,  we  shall 
give  some  little  account,  taken  from  the 
fifth  volume  of  the  American  Philosophi- 
cal Transactions.  The  leaves  of  this  shrub 
are  feasted  upon  by  the  deer  and  the 
ixmnd  horned  elk,butare  mortally  poison- 
YOL.  IV 


ous  to  sheep,  to  horned  cattle,  to  horses, 
and  to  man.  The  bee  extracts  honey, 
without  injury,  from  its  nectary,  but  the 
man  who  partakes  of  that  honey,  after  it 
is  deposited  in  the  hive  cells,  falls  a  victim 
to  his  repast. 

Some  very  singular  cases,  in  proof  of 
this  assertion,  occurred  at  Philadelphia  no 
longer  ago  than  the  year  1790,  in  the  au- 
tumn and  winter  of  which  an  extensive 
mortality  was  produced  amongst  those 
who  had  partaken  of  the  honey  that  had 
been  collected  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Philadelphia,  or  had  feasted  on  the  com- 
mon American  pheasant.  The  attention 
of  the  American  government  was  excited 
by  the  general  distress,  a  minute  exami- 
nation into  the  cause  of  the  mortality  en- 
sued, and  it  was  satisfactorily  ascertained, 
that  the  honey  had  been  chiefly  extracted 
from  the  flowers  of  kalmia  latifolia,  and 
that  the  pheasants,  which  had  proved  thus 
poisonous,  had  fed  harmlessly  on  its 
leaves :  in  consequence  of  which,  a  pub- 
lic proclamation  was  issued,  ^  prohibiting 
the  use  of  the  pheasant,  as  a  food,  for  that 
season.  See  Good's  Oration  before  the 
Medical  Society. 

KAM  SIN,  the  name  of  a  hot  southerly 
wind,  common  in  Egypt.  The  wind  is 
said  to  prevail  more  or  less  for  fifty  days, 
hence  it  is  called  "  the  wind  of  fifty  days." 
Travellers,  who  have  experienced  the  ef- 
fect of  it,  have  described  it  as  a  poison- 
ous wind.  When  it  begins  to  blow,  the 
atmosphere  assumes  an  alarming  appear- 
ance. The  sky,  at  other  times  so  clear  in 
this  climate,  becomes  dark  and  heavy ; 
the  sun  loses  its  splendour,  and  appears 
of  a  violet  colour ;  the  air  is  not  cloudy, 
but  grey  and  thick,  and  is  filled  with  a 
dust  so  subtile,  that  it  penetrates  every 
where. 

This  wind,  always  light  and  rapid,  is 
not  at  first  remarkably  hot,  but  it  increases 
in  heat  in  proportion  as  it  continues.  All 
animated  bodies  soon  discover  it  by  the 
change  it  produces  in  them.  The  lungs, 
which  a.  too  rarefied  air  no  longer  expands, 

D 


KAO 


KEE 


are  contracted,  and  become  painful.  Re- 
spiration is  short  and  difficult,  the  skin 
parched  and  dry,  and  the  body  consumed 
by  an  internal  heat.  In  vain  is  recourse 
had  to  large  draughts  of  water ;  nothing 
can  restore  perspiration.  In  vain  is  cool- 
ness sought  for ;  all  bodies,  in  which  it  is 
usual  to  find  it,  deceive  the  hand  that 
touches  them.  Marble,  iron,  water,  not- 
withstanding the  sun  no  longer  appears, 
are  hot.  The  streets  are  deserted,  and 
the  dead  silence  of  night  reigns  every 
where.  The  inhabitants  of  towns  and 
villages  shut  themselves  up  in  their 
houses,  and  those  of  the  desert  in  their 
tents,  or  in  wells  dug  in  the  earth,  where 
they  wait  the  termination  of  this  destruc- 
tive heat.  It  usually  lasts  three  days,  but 
if  it  exceeds  that  time  it  becomes  insup- 
portable. The  danger  is  most  imminent 
when  it  blows  in  squalls ;  for  then  the 
rapidity  of  the  wind  increases  the  heat  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  cause  sudden  death. 
This  death  is  a  real  suffocation.  The 
lungs  being  empty  are  convulsed,  the 
circulation  is  disordered,  and  the  whole 
mass  of  blood  driven  by  the  heat  towards 
the  head  and  breast;  whence  the  haemorr- 
hage at  the  nose  and  mouth,  which  hap- 
pens after  death.  This  wind  is  especially 
destructive  to  persons  of  a  plethoric  habit, 
and  those  in  whom  fatigue  has  destroyed 
the  tone  of  the  muscles  and  the  vessels. 
The  corpse  remains  a  long  time  warm, 
swells,  turns  blue,  and  soon  becomes 
putrid.  These  accidents  are  to  be  avoided 
by  stopping  the  nose  and  mouth  with 
handkerchiefs.  An  efficacious  method, 
likewise,  is  that  practised  by  the  camels. 
On  this  occasion  these  animals  bury  their 
noses  in  the  sand,  and  keep  them  there 
till  the  squall  is  over.  Another  quality 
of  this  wind  is  its  extreme  aridity ;  which 
is  such,  that  water  sprinkled  on  the  floor 
evaporates  in  a  few  minutes.  By  the  ex- 
treme dryness  it  withers  and  strips  all 
the  plants  ;  and  by  exhaling  too  suddenly 
the  emanations  from  animal  bodies,  crisps 
the  skin,  closes  the  pores,  and  causes 
that  feverish  heat  which  is  the  constant 
effect  of  suppressed  perspiration. 

KAOLIN,  in  the  arts,  the  name  of  an 
earth  used  in  the  manufacture  of  oriental 
porcelain  china.  A  specimen  of  this  earth 
was  brought  from  China,  and  examined 
by  Reaumur,  who  found  it  to  be  infusible 
by  fire.  He  thought  it  was  a  talcy  earth ; 
but  Mr.  Macquer  says  it  is  more  proba- 
bly of  an  argillaceous  nature,  from  its 
forming  a  tenacious  paste,  with  the  other 
ingredient  called  petunse,  which  has  no 
tenacity.  A  French  chemist,  M.  Bomaire, 
analyzed  it,  and  found  it  was  a  compound 


earth,  consisting  of  clay,  to  which  it  owed 
its  tenacity ;  of  calcareous  earth,  which 
gave  it  a  mealy  appearance  ;  of  sparkling 
crystals  of  mica  ;  and  of  small  gravel,  or 
particles  of  quartz-crystals.  He  found  a 
similar  earth  upon  a  stratum  of  granite, 
and  conjectures  it  may  be  a  decomposed 
granite. 

KEDGING,  in  the  sea-language,  is 
when  a  ship  is  brought  up  or  down  a 
narrow  river  by  means  of  the  tide,  the 
wind  being  contrary.  To  do  this,  they 
use  to  set  their  fore-course,  or  fore-top- 
sail and  mizen,  that  so  they  may  flat  her 
about;  and  if  she  happen  to  come  too 
near  the  shore,  they  let  fall  a  kedge-an- 
chor,  with  a  hawser  fastened  to  it  from 
the  ship,  in  order  to  turn  her  head  about ; 
which  work  is  called  kedging. 

KEEL,  the  lowest  piece  of  timber  in  a 
ship,  running  her  whole  length,  from  the 
lower  part  of  her  stem  to  the  lower  part 
of  her  stern-post.  Into  it  are  all  the 
lower  futtocks  fastened ;  and  under  part, 
of  it  a  false  keel  is  often  used. 

By  comparing  the  carcass  of  a  ship  to 
the  skeleton  of  a  human  body,  the  keel 
appears  as  the  back  bone,  and  the  tim- 
bers as  the  ribs.  Accordingly,  the  keel 
supports  and  unites  the  whole  fabric, 
since  the  stem  and  stern-posts,  which  are 
elevated  on  its  ends,  are,  in  some  measure, 
a  continuation  of  the  keel,  and  serve  to 
connect  and  inclose  the  extremities  of  the 
sides  by  transoms,  as  the  keel  forms  and 
unites  the  bottom  by  timbers. 

The  keel  is  generally  composed  of 
several  thick  pieces  placed  lengthways, 
which,  after  being  scarfed  together,  arc 
bolted  and  clinched  upon  the  upper  side. 

KEEL  hauling,  a  punishment  inflicted 
for  various  offences  in  the  Dutch  navy.  It 
is  performed  by  suspending  the  culprit 
by  a  rope  from  one  yard  arm,  with  a 
weight  of  lead  or  iron  upon  his  legs,  and 
having  another  rope  fastened  to  him,  lead- 
ing under  the  ship's  bottom,  and  through 
a  block  at  its  opposite  yard-arm ;  he  is 
then  repeatedly  and  suddenly  let  fall 
from  the  one  yard- arm  into  the  sea,  where, 
passing  under  the  ship's  bottom,  he  is 
hoisted  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
vessel  to  the  other. 

KEELERS,  among  seamen,  are  sma]-! 
tubs,  which  hold  stuff  for  the  caulking  oi 
ships. 

KEELSON,  a  principal  timber  in  :>. 
ship,  fayed  within-side  cross  all  the  floor- 
timbers;  and  being  adjusted  to  the  keel 
with  suitable  scarfs,  it  serves  to  strengthen 
the  bottom  of  the  ship. 

KEEP,  in  ancient  military  history,  a 
kind  of  strong  tower,  which  was  built  in 


KEII 


the  centre  of  a  castle  or  fort,  to  which 
the  besieged  retreated,  and  made  their 
last  efforts  of  defence. 

Of  this  description  is  the  keep  of  Wind- 
sor Castle. 

KEEPER  of  the  great  seal,  is  a  lord  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  and  styled  the  Lord 
Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England.  He 
is  one  of  the  King's  Privy  Council,  through 
whose  hands  pass  all  charters,  commis- 
sions, and  grants  of  the  King  under  the 
great  seal ;  without  which,  all  such  in- 
struments by  law  are  of  no  force,  the 
King  in  this  being  a  corporation,  whose 
acts  are  evidenced  by  his  seal.  This  Lord 
Keeper,  by  tiie  statue  of  5  Elizabeth,  cap. 
18,  has  the  same  place,  authority,  pre- 
eminence, 8cc.  as  the  Lord  Chancellor  of 
England  for  the  time  being.  He  is  con- 
stituted by  the  delivery  of  the  great  seal 
to  him,  taking  his  oath. 

KEEPEII  of  tlie  privy  seal,  is  a  lord  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  through  whose  hands 
pass  all  charters  signed  by  the  King  be- 
fore they  come  to  the  great  seal.  He  is 
of  the  King's  Privy  Council,  and  was  an- 
ciently called  Clerk  of  the  Privy  Seal. 

KEEPING,  in  painting,  signifies  the 
representation  of  objects  in  the  same  man- 
ner that  they  appear  to  the  eye  at  dif- 
ferent distances  from  it,  which  is  only  to 
be  done  with  accuracy  by  attending  to 
the  rules  of  perspective. 

KELP,  an  impure  alkali,  obtained  in  the 
north  of  Scotland,  from  different  kinds  of 
fuci,  or  sea-weed.  The  sea-weeds  being- 
dried,  are  put  in  pits  dug  in  the  sand,  or 
on  the  surface,  surrounded  with  loose 
stone,  forming  what  is  called  a  kiln,  fresh 
quantities  being  added,  and  the  whole 
being  frequently  stirred  until  it  become 
semi-fluid,  which,  when  cold,  forms  hard 
masses. 

KELP,  a  fixed  salt,  or  particular  species 
of  a  potash,  procured  by  burning  the 
weed  called  kali. 

KERMES,  in  natural  history,  a  species 
of  the  Coccus,  which  see. 

KERMES  imneral,  in  chemistry,  an  anti- 
monial  compound  of  great  celebrity  as  a 
medicine  about  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century  ;  in  the  new  chemi- 
cal, arrangement  it  is  denominated  hydro- 
sulphuret  of  antimony. 

The  substance  is  prepared  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:  sixteen  parts  of  sul- 
phuret  of  antimony,  eight  parts  of  potash, 
and  one  of  sulphur,  are  triturated  to- 
gether in  a  mortar,  melted  in  a  crucible, 
and  the  mass  poured  into  an  iron  vessel. 
When  cold  it  is  pounded,  and  boiled  in  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  water,  and  the  solu- 
tion is  filtered  while  Jjwt.  On  cooljng,  it 


deposits  the  kermes  abundantly  in  the. 
state  of  a  yellow  powder,  which  is  edul- 
corated with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water, 
and  dried.  The  true  kermes  consists  of 
Sulphuretted  hydrogen  .  .  .  20.30 

Sulphur 415 

Protoxide  of  antimony  .  .  .  72.76 
Water,  and  loss 2.79 

100.00 

KETCH,  a  vessel  equipped  with  two 
masts,  viz.  the  main-mast  and  the  mizen- 
mast,  and  usually  from  100  to  250  tons 
burthen.  Ketches  are  principally  used 
as  yachts  for  conveying  princes  of  the 
blood,  ambassadors,  or  other  great  per- 
sonages, from  one  place  to  another. 
Ketches  are  likewise  used  as  bomb-ves- 
sels, and  are  therefore  furnished  with  all 
the  apparatus  necessary  for  a  vigorous 
bombardment. 

KETCHES,  bomb,  are  built  remarkably 
strong,  as  being  fitted  with  a  greateV 
number  of  riders  than  any  other  vessel  of 
war ;  and  indeed  this  reinforcement  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  sustain  the  violent 
shock  produced  by  the  discharge  of  their 
mortars,  which  would  otherwise  in  a  very 
short  time  shatter  them  to  pieces. 

KEY,  a  well  known  instrument  for 
opening  and  shutting  the  locks  of  doors, 
chests,  &c.  See  LOCK. 

KEY,  or  key  uotet  in  music,  a  certain 
fundamental  note  or  tone,  to  which  the 
whole  of  a  movement  has  a  certain  rela- 
tion or  bearing,  to  which  all  its  modula^ 
tions  are  referred  and  accommodated, 
and  in  which  it  both  begins  and  ends. 
There  are  but  two  species  of  keys  :  one 
of  the  major,  and  one  of  the  minor  mode : 
all  the  keys  in  which  we  employ  sharps 
or  flats  being  deduced  from  the  natural 
keys  of  C  major  and  A  minor;  of  which 
they  are  mere  transpositions. 

KEYSC/CMI  organ,  those  moveable,  pro- 
jecting levers  in  the  front  of  an  organ,  so 
placed  as  to  conveniently  receive  the  fin- 
gers of  the  performer,  and  which,  by  a 
connected  movement  with  the  valves  or 
pallets,  admit  or  exclude  the  wind  from 
the  pipes.  When  a  single  key  of  an  or- 
gan is  pressed  down,  as  many  sounds  are 
heard  as  all  the  stops  which  are  then  out 
furnish  to  that  key ;  in  other  words,  all 
those  pipes  are  heard  which  are  permitted 
by  those  stops  and  that  key  to  receive 
the  wind. 

KEY  stone  of  an  arch  or  vault,  that 
placed  at  the  top  or  vertex  of  an  arch,  to 
bind  the  two  sweeps  together.  Tliis,  in 
the  Tuscan  and  Doric  orders,  is  only  a 
plain  stone,  projecting  a  little;  in  ths 


KIG 


KIN 


Ionic  it  is  cut  and  waved  somewhat  like 
consoles  ;  and  in  the  Corinthian  and  Com- 
posite orders  it  is  a  console,  enriched 
with  sculpture.  Keystones,  made  in  the 
manner  of  consoles,  and  placed  projecting 
in  the  middle  of  arches  and  porticos,  are 
particularly  designed  to  sustain  the  weight 
and  pressure  of  the  entablature,  where  it 
happens  to  be  very  great  between  the 
columns ;  for  which  reason,  they  should 
be  made  so  as  to  be  a  real  support,  and 
not  stand  for  mere  ornaments,  as  they 
too  frequently  do. 

KIDNAPPING,  is  the  forcibly  taking 
and  carrying  away  a  man,  woman  or  child, 
from  their  own  country,  and  sending  them 
to  another.  This  is  an  offence  at  com- 
mon law,  and  punishable  by  fine,  impri- 
sonment, and  pillory.  By  statute  11  and 
12  William  III.  c.  7,  if  any  captain  of  a 
merchant  vessel  shall,  during  his  being 
abroad,  force  any  person  on  shore,  and 
wilfully  leave  him  behind,  or  refuse  to 
bring  home  all  such  men  as  he  carried 
out,  if  able  and  desirous  to  return,  he 
shall  suffer  three  months  imprisonment. 
Exclusive  of  the  above  punishment  for 
this,  as  a  criminal  offence,  the  party  may 
recove't' upon  an  action  for  compensation 
in  damages  for  the  civil  injury. 

KTGG.ELAKTA,  in  botany,  so  named 
from  .Francis  Kiggelar  of  Holland,  a  genus 
of  the  Dioecia  Decandria  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Columniferx.  Euphor- 
bia;, Jussieu.  Essential  character:  male, 
ralyx  five-parted ;  corolla  five-petall- 
ed;  glands  five,  three-lobed;  anthers 
perforated  at  the  tip  :  female,  calyx 
and  corolla  as  in  the  male ;  styles  five  ; 
capsule  one-celled,  five  valved,  many- 
seeded,  There  is  but  one  species,  viz. 
K.  afric.sTi:i.  This  plant  grows  natural- 
ly at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  it 
rises  to  a  tree  of  middling  stature;  the 
branches  have  a  smooth  bark,  which  is 
at  first  green,  afterwards  it  changes  to  a 
purplish  colour:  the  leaves  are  about  three 
inches  long  and  one  broad,  sawed  on 
their  edges,  standing  upon  short  foot- 
stalks alternately.  The  Hewers  come  out 
in  clusters  from  the  side  of  the  branches, 
hanging  downwards;  they  are  of  an  her- 
baceous white  colour,  appearing  in  May, 
at  which  time  the  plants  are  thinly  gar- 
nished with  leaves,  most  of  the  old  ones 
dropping  off  just  before  the  new  leaves 
appear.  The  male  flowers  fall  away  soon 
after  their  farina  is  shed  ;  but  the  herma- 
phrodite, or  female  flowers,are  succeeded 
by  globular  fruit,  the  si/e  of  common  red 
cherries  ;  the  cover  of  these  is  very  rough, 
and  of  a  thick  consistence,  opening  in  five 


valves  at  the  top,  having  one  cell  filled 
with  small  angular  seeds.  These  fruits 
have  grown  to  their  full  size  in  the  Chel- 
sea garden  ;  but  the  seeds  have  rarely 
come  to  maturity. 

KILDERKIN,  a  liquid   measure,  con- 
taining two  firkins,  or  eighteen  gallons. 

KING  of  England.  The  executive 
power  in  England  is  vested  in  a  single 
person  by  immemorial  usage,  to  whom 
the  care  of  the  people  is  entrusted,  and 
to  whom,  therefore,  allegiance  is  due. 
Formerly,  the  succession  being  interrupt- 
ed, there  was  occasionally  a  distinction 
between  a  rightful  king,  or  king  dejure, 
and  a  king  rn  possession  of  the  throne, 
or  king  de  facto  ;  and  in  cases  of  trea- 
son, and  also  with  respect  to  many  acts 
done  by  kings  de  facto,  which  were  ne- 
cessary to  be  recognised  by  kings  de 
jure  afterwards,  this  distinction  was  of 
great  importance :  but  it  seems  now  on- 
ly necessary  to  consider  the  rightful 
power  and  authority  of  the  King,  law- 
fully and  peaceably  in  possession  of  the 
throne.  And  in  this  country  the  crown 
is  by  common  law  hereditary  in  a  pe- 
culiar manner,  but  not  de  jure  divi-uo  ,- 
and  it  may  be  changed  in  the  limitation 
of  its  descent  by  the  authority  of  the 
King,  Lords,  and  Commons,  in  parlia- 
ment assembled,  but  it  is  not  elective. 
As  to  the  mode  of  inheritance,  it  is  ge- 
nerally the  same  as  other  feodal  descents, 
but  it  differs  in  one.  or  two  particulars ; 
for  it  descends  regularly  to  lineal  descen- 
dants by  right  of  primogeniture  :  but  in 
case  of  no  male  heir,  it  descends  to  the 
eldest  daughter  only,  and  to  her  issue, 
and  not  in  coparcenary  to  all  the 
daughters.  In  failure  of  lineal  heirs  it 
goes  to  collateral  descendants,  but  there 
is  no  failure  on  account  of  half  blood. 
Lands  also  purchased  by  the  King  de- 
scend with  the  crown.  The  inheritance 
is  not  indefeasible,  but  may  be  altered 
as  above,  and  therefore  the  statutes  have 
expressed  "  his  Majesty,  his  heirs,  and 
successors."  But,  however  limited  or 
transferred,  it  still  retains  its  heredita- 
ble  quality  to  the  wearer  of  it  ;  and 
hence  the  King  never  dies,  but  his  right 
vests  ea  instanti  in  his  heir  ;  so  that  Hall 
says,  there  can  be  no  interregnum,  and 
the  death  of  the  King  is  called  the  de- 
mise of  the  crown,  which  ordinarily 
means  only  a  transfer  from  one  to  an- 
other. If  the  throne  becomes  vacant, 
whether  by  abdication,  as  in  the  time 
of  James  II.,  or  by  failure  of  all  heirs, 
the  two  houses  of  parliament  may,  it  U 
said  by  Blackstone,  dispose  of  it. 


KING. 


The  preamble  to  the  bill  of  rights  ex- 
pressly declares,  that  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  commons,  assembled 
at  Westminster,  lawfully,  fully,  and  freely 
represent  all  the  estates  of  the  people  of 
the  English  realm.  The  lords  are  not 
less  the  trustees  and  guardians  of  their 
country  than  the  members  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  It  was  justly  said,  when 
the  royal  prerogatives  were  suspended, 
during  his  Majesty's  illness  in  1788,  that 
the  two  houses  of  Parliament  were  the 
organs  by  which  the  people  expressed 
their  will  :  and  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, on  the  16th  of  December,  in  that 
year,  two  declaratory  resolutions  were 
accordingly  passed,  importing,  1.  The 
interruption  of  the  royal  authority ;  2- 
That  it  was  the  duty  of  the  two  Houses 
of  Parliament  to  provide  the  means  of 
supplying  that  defect.  On  the  23d  of 
the  same  month  a  third  resolution  pass- 
ed, empowering  the  Lord  Chancellor  of 
Great  Britain  to  affix  the  great  seal  to 
such  bill  of  limitations  as  might  be  ne- 
cessary to  restrict  the  power  of  the  fu- 
ture regent  to  be  named  by  Parliament. 
This  bill  was  accordingly  brought  tor- 
ward,  not  without  considerable  opposi- 
tion to  its  provisions,  as  well  from  pri- 
vate motives,  as  on  forcible  political 
grounds ;  and  at  length,  happily  for  the 
public,  arrested  in  its  progress,  by  the 
providential  recovery  of  his  Majesty,  in 
March  1789.  It  is  observable,  how- 
ever, that  no  bill  was  ever  afterwards  in- 
troduced  to  guard  against  a  future  emer- 
gency of  a  similar  nature :  on  the  grounds, 
undoubtedly,  of  delicacy  to  a  monarch 
Universally  beloved ;  in  the  hope  of  the 
improbability  that  such  a  circumstance 
should  recur  in  future ;  and  in  the  con- 
fidence of  the  omnipotence  of  Parliament, 
if  necessarily  called  upon  again.  See  Bel- 
sham's  "  Memoirs  of  George  III.,"  sub. 
an.  1788-9:  and  the  "Journals  of  the 
Lords  and  Commons." 

Towards  the  end  of  King  William's 
reign,  the  King  and  Parliament  thought  it 
necessary  to  exert  their  power  of  limiting 
and  appointing  the  succession,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  vacancy  of  the  throne  ;  which 
must  have  ensued  upon  their  deaths,  as 
no  further  provision  was  made  at  the  re- 
volution, than  for  the  issue  of  Queen  Ma- 
ry, Queen  Anne,  and  King  William.  It 
had  been  previously,  by  the  statute  1 
William  and  Mary,  stat.  2,  c.  2,  enact- 
ed, that  every  person  who  should  be 
reconciled  to,  or  hold  communion  with, 
the  see  of  Rome,  who  should  profess  the 
jPopish  religion,  or  who  should  marry  a 


Papist,  should  be  excluded,  and  fop 
ever  incapable  to  inherit,  possess,  or  en- 
joy the  crown  ;  and  that  in  such  case  the 
people  should  be  absolved  from  their  alle- 
giance (to  such  person),  and  the  crown 
should  desend  to  such  persons,  being 
protestants,  as  would  have  inherited  the 
same,  in  case  the  person  so  reconciled, 
holding  communion,  professing,  or  mar- 
rying, were  naturally  dead.  To  act, 
therefore,  consistently  with  themselves, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  pay  as  much  re- 
gard to  the  old  hereditary  line  as  their 
former  resolutions  would  admit,  they 
turned  their  eyes  on  the  princess  Sophia, 
Electress  and  Dutchess  Uowager  of  Han- 
over:  for,  upon  the  impending  extinc- 
tion of  the  Protestant  posterity  of  Charles 
I.,  the  old  law  of  legal  descent  directed 
them  to  recur  to  the  descendants  of  James 
I. ;  and  the  Princess  Sophia,  being  th« 
youngest  daughter  of  Elizabeth,  Queen 
of  Bohemia,  who  was  the  daughter  of 
James  I,,  was  the  nearest  of  the  ancient 
blood-royal,  who  was  not  incapacitated 
by  professing  the  Popish  religion.  On 
her,  therefore,  and  the  heirs  of  her  body, 
being  protestants,  the  remainder  of  the 
crown,  expectant  on  the  death  of  King 
William  and  Queen  Anne,  without  issue, 
was  settled  by  stat.  12  and  13  William 
III.  c.  2.  And  at  the  same  time  it  was 
enacted,  that  whosoever  should  hereafter 
come  to  the  possession  of  the  crown, 
should  join  in  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  by  law  establish- 
ed. 

This  is  the  last  limitation  of  the  crown 
that  has  been  made  by  Parliament;  and 
all  the  several  actual  limitations,  from  the 
time  of  Henry  YI.  to  the  present,  (stated 
at  large  in  1  Cornm.  c.  3.)  do  clearly  prove 
the  power  of  the  King  and  Parliament  to 
new-model  or  alter  the  succession.  And 
indeed  it  is  now  again  made  highly  penal 
to  dispute  it ;  for  by  stat.  6  Anne,  c.  7,  it 
is  enacted,  that  if  any  person  maliciously, 
advisedly,  and  directly,  shall  maintain,  by 
writing  or  printing,  that  the  kings  of  this 
realm,  with  the  authority  of  Parliament, 
are  not  able  to  make  laws  to  bind  the 
crown  and  the  descent  thereof,  he  shall  be 
guilty  of  high  treason  ;  or  if  he  maintains 
the  same  only  by  preaching,  teaching,  or 
advised  speaking,  he  shall  incur  the  penal- 
ties of  a  prsemuniTe.  The  Princess  Sophia 
dying  before  Queen  Anne,  the  inheritance, 
thus  limited,  descended  on  her  son  King 
George  I. ;  and  having  taken  effect  in  his 
person,  from  him  it  descended  to  his  late 
Majesty  King  George  II.,  and  from  him 
to  his  grandson  and  heir,  our  present  gra- 


KING. 


cious  sovereign  King  George  III.  Former. 
ly  the  common  stock,from  which  the  heirs 
to  the  crown  were  derived,  was  King  Eg-- 
bert,  then  William  the  Conqueror.  In  the 
time  of  James  I.,  both  stocks  were  unit- 
ed ;  and,  by  the  abdication  of  James  II., 
the  common  stock  is  the  Princess  Sophia, 
and  the  heirs  of  her  body,  being  Protes- 
tant members  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  married  to  such  as  are  Protestants. 
This  is  therefore  an  hereditary  monarchy, 
duly  constituted  between  the  extremes 
of  divine  hereditary,  indefeasible  right, 
and  elective  succession. 

With  respect  to  the  royal  family,  the 
first  branch  considered  in  the  law  is  the 
Queen,  as  to  whom,  see  title  QUEEN. 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  or  heir-apparent 
to  the  crown,  and  also  hi.s  royal  consort ; 
and  the  Princess  lloyal,  or  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  the  King-,  are  likewise  peculiarly 
regarded  by  the  laws.  For,  by  statute  25 
Edw.  III.  to  compass  or  conspire  the  death 
of  the  former,  or  to  violate  the  chastity 
of  the  latter,  is  as  much  high  treason  as 
to  conspire  the  death  of  the  king,  or  vio- 
late the  chastity  of  the  queen.  See 
TJIEASOJT. 

The  heir-apparent  to  the  crown  is  usu- 
ally made  Prince  of  Wales  and  Earl  of 
Chester,  by  special  creation  and  investi- 
ture ;  but  being  the  king's  eldest  son,  he 
is,  by  inheritance,  Duke  of  Cornwall,  with- 
out any  new  creation. 

The  observations  in  Coke's  Reports, 
however,  as  well  as  the  words  of  the  sta- 
tute, it  has  been  remarked,  limit  the 
dukedom  of  Cornwall  to  the  first  begotten 
(rather  first  born)  son  of  a  king  of  Eng- 
land, and  to  him  only.  But  although  from 
this  it  is  manifest  that  a  Duke  of  Cornwall 
must  be  the  first  begotten  son  of  a  king, 
yet  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  be 
born  after  his  father's  accession  to  the 
throne.  The  younger  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  king,  and  other  branches  of  the 
royal  family,  were  little  regarded  by  the 
ancient  law,  except  with  regard  to  their 
state  and  precedence,  which  was  direct- 
ed by  statute  31  Henry  VIII.  c.  10 ;  and 
it  was  agreed  by  all  the  judges,  in  1718, 
that  the  care  and  approbation  of  the 
marriages  of  the  king's  grand-children, 
as  well  as  of  the  presumptive  heir  to  the 
crown,  belonged  to  the  king,  their  grand- 
father. And  now,  by  statute  George  III. 
c.  11,  no  descendant  of  the  body  of  king 
George  II.  (other  than  the  issue  of  prin- 
cesses married  into  foreign  countries)  is 
capable  of  contracting  matrimony,  with- 
out the  previous  consent  of  the  king,  sig- 
nified under  the  Great  Seal ;  and  any 


marriage  contracted  without  sucb.  con- 
sent, is  void,  (a  marriage  accordingly, 
which  had,  in  fact,  taken  place  abroad, 
against  the  provisions  of  this  act,  between 
one  of  the  sons  of  George  III.  and  an  Eng- 
lish lady,  was  dissolved  in  1794,  by  sen- 
tence of  the  Ecclesiastical  Court  here)  ; 
but  it  is  provided  by  the  act,  that  such  of 
the  said  descendants  as  are  above  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  may,  after  atwelve  month's 
notice  given  to  the  King's  Privy  Council, 
contract  and  solemnize  marriage  without 
the  consent  of  the  crown,  unless  both 
Houses  of  Parliament  shall,  before  the 
expiration  of  the  said  year,  expressly  de- 
clare their  disapprobation  of  such  intend- 
ed marriage.  All  persons  solemnizing, 
assisting,  or  being  present  at  any  such 
prohibited  marriage,  shall  incur  the  pe- 
nalties of  praemumre. 

To  assist  the  king  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  and  maintenance  of  his  dignity, 
and  exercise  of  his  prerogative,  he  has  se- 
veral councils,  as  the  PARLIAMENT,  his 
P.EEIIS,  and  his  Pmvr  COUNCIX,  which 
see. 

For  law  matter  the  judges  are  his  coun- 
cil, as  appears  by  statute  14  Edward  III. 
c.  5,  and  elsewhere  ;  and  therefore,  when 
the  King's  Council  is  mentioned,  it  must 
be  understood  secundum  subjectam  mate- 
riam,  as  where  a  statute  enacts  a  fine  at 
the  king's  pleasure,  it  means  the  discre- 
tion of  his  judges. 

It  is  in  consideration  of  the  duties  in- 
cumbent on  the  king  by  the  constitution, 
that  his  dignity  and  prerogative  are  esta- 
blished by  the  laws  of  the  land ;  it  being 
a  maxim  in  the  law,  that  protection  and 
subjection  are  reciprocal.  And  these  re- 
ciprocal duties  are  most  probably  what 
was  meant  by  the  convention  parliament 
in  1688,  when  they  declared  that  king 
James  II.  had  broken  the  original  contract 
between  king  and  people.  But,  however, 
as  the  terms  of  that  original  contract  were 
in  some  measure  disputed,  being  alleged 
to  exist  principally  in  theory,  and  to  be 
only  deducible  by  reason  and  the  rules 
of  natural  law ;  in  which  deduction,  dif- 
ferent understandings  might  very  consi- 
derably differ ;  it  was,  after  the  revolu- 
tion, judged  proper  to  declare  these  du- 
ties expressly,  and  to  reduce  that  contract 
to  a  plain  certainty.  So  that  whatever 
doubts  might  be  formerly  raised  about  the 
existence  of  such  an  original  contract,, 
they  must  now  entirely  cease  ;  espe«ially 
with  regard  to  every*  prince  who  hath 
reigned  since  the  year  1688. 

The  principal  duty  of  the  king  is,  to  go- 
yern  bjs,  people  according  to  law.    And 


KING. 


tliis  is  not  only  consonant  to  the  principles  promise  to  do.  After  this,  the  king  or 
of  nature,  reason,  liberty,  tind  society,  but  queen,  laying  his  or  her  hand  npon  the 
has  always  been  esteemed  an  express  part  Holy  Gospels,  shall  say,  The  tilings  which 
of  the  common  law  of  England,  even  I  have  here  before  promised,  I  will  per- 
when  prerogative  was  at  the  highest,  form  and  keep,  so  help  me  God.  And 
But  to  obviate  all  doubts  and  difficulties  then  shall  kiss  the  book.  It  is  also  requir- 
concerning  this  matter,  it  is  expressly  de-  ed,  both  by  the  Bill  of  Rights,  1  William 
clared,  by  statute  12  and  13  William  III.  and  Mary, 'statute  2,  c.  2,  and  the  act  of 
c.  2,  That  the  laws  of  England  are  the  settlement,  12  and  13  William  III.  c.  2, 
birth-right  of  the  people  thereof;  and  all  that  every  king  and  queen,  of  the  age  of 
the  kings  and  queens  who  shall  ascend  twelve  years,  either  at  their  coronation, 
the  throne  of  this  realm,  ought  to  admi-  or  on  the  first  day  of  the  first  parliament, 
nister  the  government  of  the  same  accord-  upon  the  throne  in  the  House  of  Peers, 
ing  to  the  said  laws  ;  and  all  their  officers  (which  shall  first  happen)  shall  repeat  and 
and  ministers  ought  to  serve  them  respec-  subscribe  the  declaration  against  Pope- 
tively,  according  to  the  same  ;  and,  there-  ry,  According  to  30  Charles*!!,  statute  2, 
fore,  all  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm  c.  1. 

for  securing  the  established  religion,  and  The  above  is  the  form  of  the  coronation 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  oath,  as  it  is  now  prescribed  by  our  laws  ; 
thereof,  and  all  other  laws  and  statutes  of  the  principal  articles  of  which  appear  to 
the  same,  now  in  force,  are  ratified  and  be  at  least  as  ancient  as  the  mirror  of  jus-. 
Confirmed  accordingly.  See  LIBERTIES,  tices,  (c.  1.  sect.  2.)  ;  and  even  as  the  time 

1.  3.  tr.  1. 


As  to  the  terms  of  the  original  contract 
between  king  and  people,  these  it  seems 
are  now  couched  in  the  coronation  oath, 
which,  by  statute  1  William  and  Mary, 
c.  6,  is  to  be  administered  to  every  king 
and  queen,  who  shall  succeed  to  the  im- 


of  Bracton.  See  1.  3.  tr.  1.  c.  9,  the  act 
of  union,  statute  5  Ann,  c.  8,  recites  and 
confirms  two  preceding  statutes ;  the  one 
of  the  parliament  of  Scotland,  the  other 
of  the  parliament  of  England;  which  en- 
act, the  former,  that  every  king,  at  his  ac 


perial  crown  of  these  realms,  by  one  of  cession,  shall  take  and  subscribe  an  oath, 
the  archbishops  or  bishops  in  the  presence  to  preserve  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
of  all  the  people  ;  who,  on  their  parts,  do  Presbyterian  church  government  in  Scot- 
reciprocally  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  land ;  the  latter,  that  at  liis  coronation  he 
the  crown.  shall  take  and  subscribe  a  similar  oath  to 


As  to  the  king's  prerogatives,  revenues, 
civil  list,  and  authority,  see  the  title  PRE- 
ROGATIVE. 

This  coronation  oath  is  conceived  in  the 
following  terms  : 


preserve  the  settlement  of  the  church  of 
England,  within  England,  Ireland,  Wales, 
and  Berwick,  and  the  territories  there- 
unto belonging. 

KIXG  at  arms,  or  of  arms,  an  officer  who 

The  archbishop  or  bishop  shall  say,  will  directs  the  heralds,  presides  at  their  chap- 
you  solemnly  promise  and  swear  to  go-  ters,  and  has  the  jurisdiction  of  armory. 
vern  the  people  of  this  kingdom  of  Eng-  There  are  three  kings  of  arms  in  England, 
land,  (qucre  Great  Britain.  See  statute  5  namely,  Garter,  Clarencieux,  and  Norroy. 
Ann.  c.  8,  sect.  1.  and  this  dictionary,  title  KING,  Garter  principal,  at  arms.  He, 
Scotland  ;)  and  the  dominions  thereto  be-  among  other  privileges,  marshals  the  so- 
longing,  according  to  the  statutes  in  par-  lemnities  at  the  funerals  of  the  prime  no- 
liament  agreed  on  ;  and  the  laws  and  cus-  bility,  and  carries  the  garter  to  kings  and 
toms  of  the  same  ?  The  king  or  queen  princes  beyond  sea,  being  joined  in  com-. 
.shall  say,  I  solemnly  promise  so  to  do.  —  mission  with  some  peer  of  the  kingdom, 
Archbishop  or  bishop,  Will  you  to  your  See  GARTER. 

power  cause  law  and  justice,  in  mercy,  KING,  Clarencieux,  at  arms.  This  king 
to  be  executed  in  all  your  judgments?  (who  is  next  to  Garter)  is  called  CJaren- 
King  or  queen,  I  will.  Archbishop  or  cieux,  from  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  to 
bishop,  Will  you  to  the  utmost  of  your  whom  he  first  belonged;  for  Lionel,  third 
power  maintain  the  laws  of  God,  the  true  son  of  king  Edward  III.  marrying  the 
profession  of  the  gospel,  and  the  Protes-  daughter  and  heir  to  the  Earl  of  Ulster  in 
tant  reformed  religion  established  by  the  Ireland,  with  her  had  the  honour  of  Clare 
law  ?  and  will  you  preserve  unto  the  in  the  county  of  Thomond,  whereupon. 
bishops  and  the  clergy  of  this  realm,  and  he  was  afterwards  created  Duke  of  Cla- 
to  the  churches  committed  to  their  rence,  or  the  territory  about  Clare;  which 
charge,  all  such  rights  and  privileges  as  dukedom  escheating  to  Edward  IV.  6y 
by  law  do  or  shall  appertain  unto  them  or  the  death  of  his  brother  George  Duke  of 
any  of  them  J  King  or  queen*  All  this  I  Clarence,  (who  v/as  secretly  murdered 

• 


KIN 


KNA 


irt  the  Tower  of  London)  he  made  the 
herald,  who  properly  belonged  to  that 
duke,  a  king-  of  arms,  and  named  him 
Clarencieux. 

His  office  is  to  marshal  and  dispose  of 
the  funerals  of  all  the  lesser  nobility,  as 
Baronets,  Knights  of  the  Bath,  Knights 
Batchelors,  Esquires,  and  Gentlemen,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river  Trent,  and 
therefore  is  sometimes  called  Surroy,  or 
South-Roy. 

KivG,Norroytatartnt.  The  office  of 
this  King,  (who  is  called  Norroy  or  North- 
Roy)  is  to  do  the  like  on  all  the  north 
side  of  Trent,  as  Clarencieux  on  the  south; 
and  these  being  both  provincial  Kings  of 
Arms  have  the  whole  kingdom  of  England 
divided  between  them  ;  and  are  crea- 
ted by  letters  patents,  a  book,  a  sword, 
&c.  as  Garter,  and  with  almost  the  same 
ceremony. 

Note.  That  in  the  sixth  of  Edward  VI. 
Bartholomew  Butler,  York  Herald,  was 
created  Ulster  King  of  Arms  in  Ireland, 
at  which  time  Philip  Butler  was  made 
Athlone  Pursuivant  of  Arms  there;  and 
upon  their  creation,  a  warrant  was  issued 
to  Sir  Ralph  Sadler,  Knight  of  the  King's 
Wardrobe,  to  deliver  to  the  said  Bartholo- 
"mew  Butler,  alias  Ulster  King  of  Arms 
of  Ireland,  one  coat  of  blue  and  crimson 
velvet,  embroidered  with  gold  and  silver 
upon  the  same  with  the  King's  Arms  ; 
and  to  the  said  Philip  Butler,  Athlone 
Pursuivant,  one  coat  of  sarsnet  of  the 
King's  colours,  with  the  arms  laid  on  with 
gold  and  purple. 

KING  at  arms,  Lyon,  for  Scotland,  is 
the  second  king  at  arms  for  Great  Bri- 
tain ;  he  is  invested  and  solemnly  crown- 
ed. He  publishes  the  king's  proclamations, 
marshals  funerals,  reverses  arms,  ap- 
appoints  messengers  at  arms,  &c.  See 
COLLEGE  of  heralds. 

KING'S  Bench.  The  King's  Bench  is 
the  supreme  court  of  common  law  in  the 
kingdom  ;  and  is  so  called  because  the 
King  used  to  sit  there  in  person  :  it  con- 
sists of  a  chief  justice,  and  three  puisne 
justices,  who  are  by  their  office  the  sove- 
reign conservators  of  the  peace,  and  su- 
preme coroners  of  the  land.  This  court 
has  a  peculiar  jurisdiction,  not  only  over 
all  capital  offences,  but  also  over  all  other 
misdemeanors  of  a  public  nature,  tending 
either  to  a  breach  of  the  peace,  or  to  op. 
pression,  or  faction,  or  any  manner  of 
misgovernment.  It  has  a  discretionary 
power  of  inflicting  exemplary  punish- 
ment on  offenders,  either  by  fine,  imprison- 
ment, or  other  infamous  punishment,  as 


the  nature  of  the  crime,  considered  in  all 
its  circumstances,  shall  require. 

The  jurisdiction  of  this  court  is  so 
transcendant,  that  it  keeps  all  inferior  ju- 
risdictions within  the  bounds  of  their  au- 
thority ;  arid  it  may  either  remove  their 
proceedings,  to  be  determined  here,  or 
prohibit  their  progress  below :  it  super- 
intends all  civil  corporations  in  the  king- 
dom ;  commands  magistrates  and  others 
to  do  what  their  duty  requires  by  manda- 
mus, in  every  case  where  there  is  no  spe- 
cific remedy  ;  protects  the  liberty  of  the 
subject,  by  speedy  and  summary  interpo- 
sition ;  and  takes  cognizance  both  of  cri- 
minal and  civil  causes,  the  former  in  what 
is  called  the  crown  side,  or  crown  office  -r 
the  latter  in  the  plea  side  of  the  court. 
This  court  has  cognizance,  on  the  plea 
side,  of  all  actions  of  trespass,  or  other 
injury  alleged  to  be  committed  vz  et 
Minis  ;  of  actions  for  forgery  of  deeds, 
maintenance,  conspiracy,  deceit ;  and  ac- 
tions on  the  case  which  allege  any  falsity 
or  fraud.  In  proceedings  in  this  court 
the  defendant  is  arrested  for  a  supposed 
trespass,  which  in  reality  he  has  never 
committed,  and  being  thus  in  the  custody 
of  the  marshal  of  this  court,  the  plaintiff 
is  at  liberty  to  proceed  against  him  for 
any  other  personal  injury,  which  surmise 
of  being  in  the  custody  of  the  marshal  the 
defendant  is  not  at  liberty  to  dispute. 
This  court  is  likewise  a  court  of  appeal, 
into  which  may  be  removed,  by  writ  of 
error,  all  determinations  of  the  court  of 
Common  Pleas,  and  of  all  inferior  courts 
of  record  in  England.  It  is  now  usually- 
held  at  Westminster ;  but  was  formerly 
attendant  upon  the  King's  person,  and 
original  writs  are  returnable  "  wheresoe- 
ver we  (the  King)  shall  then  be  in  En- 
gland." 

KNAPSACK,  a  rough  leather  or  can- 
vass bag,  which  is  strapped  to  an  infantry 
soldier's  back  when  he  marches,  ancl 
which  contains  his  necessaries.  Square 
knapsacks  are  supposed  to  be  most  con- 
venient. They  should  be  made  with  a 
division  to  hold  the  shoes,  blacking-balls? 
and  brushes,  separate  from  the  linen 
White  goat-skins  are  sometimes  used ;  but 
we  do  not  conceive  them  to  be  equal  to 
the  painted  canvas  ones.  Soldiers  in  the 
British  service  are  put  under  stoppages 
for  the  payment  of  their  knapsacks,  which 
after  six  years  become  their  property. 
Knapsack  is  said  to  have  been  originally 
so  called  from  the  circumstance  of  a  sol- 
dier making  use  of  a  sack  which  had  been 
full  of  corn,  &c.  In  those  days  there  were 
no  roads,  and  every  thing  was  carried  on 


KNI 


KNI 


packhorses.  When  the  soldiers  reposed, 
they  hung  up  the  empty  sacks,  and  slept 
in  them.  The  word  should  be  napsack, 
from  napping,  &c.  to  slumber.  The  army 
was  supplied  by  packhorses,  and  all 
things  were  in  sacks,  so  that  every 
soldier  had  his  sack.  Such  is  the  ac- 
count given  by  a  very  worthy  and  re- 
spectable friend  ;  but  we  are  inclined  to 
to  think  that  knapsack  comes  from  the 
Saxon  word  snapsack,  a  bag  to  carry 
food.  See  James's  Dictionary. 

KNAUTIA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Christopher  Knaut,  a  genus  of  the  Tetran- 
dria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natu- 
ral order  of  Aggregate.  Dipsaceae,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character  ;  calyx  common 
oblong,  simple,  five  to  ten  flowered ; 
corollets  irregular;  receptacle  naked. 
There  are  four  species,  mostly  natives  of 
the  Levant. 

KNEE.     See  ANATOMY. 

KN  EE,  a  crooked  piece  of  timber,  having 
two  branches  or  arms,  and  generally  used 
to  connect  the  beams  of  a  ship  with  her 
sides  or  timbers.  The  branches  of  the 
knees  form  an  angle  of  greater  or  smaller 
extent,  according  to  the  mutual  situation 
of  the  pieces  which  they  are  designed  to 
unite.  One  branch  is  securely  bolted  to 
one  of  the  deck-beams,  and  the  other  in 
the  same  manner  strongly  attached  to  a 
corresponding  timber  in  the  ship's  side. 
Besides  the  great  utility  of  knees  in 
connecting  the  beams  and  timbers  into 
one  compact  frame,  they  contribute 
greatly  to  the  strength  and  solidity  of  the 
ship,  in  the  different  parts  of  her  frame  to 
which  they  are  bolted,  and  thereby  ena- 
ble her  with  great  firmness  to  resist  the 
effects  of  a  turbulent  sea. 

KNIGHT,  in  military  concerns.  This 
word  is  an  anglicism  of  the  German  word 
knecht,  signifying  a  person  possessing  the 
talents  and  bravery  of  a  soldier,  and  re- 
warded for  some  particular  acts  of  cou- 
rage and  address  by  the  sovereign. 

Knights,  or  Equites,  in  the  Roman  art 
of  war,  were  originally  instituted  by  Ro- 
mulus, who  selected  three  hundred  ath- 
letic young  men  from  the  best  families  of 
the  class  of  patricians,  and  had  them 
trained  to  serve  their  country  on  horse- 
back. This  politic  mode  of  securing  the 
services  of  the  most  important  part  of  the 
community  to  the  existing  government, 
was  improved  upon  by  Servius  Tullus, 
after  the  introduction  of  the  census,  who 
admitted  all  persons  worth  four  hundred 
sestertia  into  the  noble  order  of  the 
Equites,  whose  conduct  and  morals  were 
irreproachable,  a  precaution  hie-Illy  ho- 

VOL.  IV. 


s  performed  by  the  government,  calcu- 
jd  to  impress  the  members  with  the 


nourable  to  the  Roman  character,  and 
acted  upon  rigidly  by  monarchs,  consuls, 
and  censors.  Having  ascertained  this 
point,  by  regular  scrutiny,  the  name  of 
the  individual  approved  was  enrolled  with, 
those  of  the  order,  a  ring  was  presented 
to  him  as  a  pledge  ot  his  acceptance  into 
it,  and  he  received  a  horse  provided  at  the 
public  expense  :  thus  instituted  a  knight, 
he  was  required  and  expected  to  appear 
at  a  moment's  notice,  ready  to  execute  to 
the  utmost  of  his  ability  those  services 
which  the  state  demanded. 

There  were  three  distinct  and  solemn 
acts 
latec 

necessity  of  adhering  to  their  compact 
with  their  country ;  those  were  termed 
the  Probatio,  the  Transvectio,  and  the 
Recensio.  The  first  may  be  considered 
an  annual  examination  as  to  the  moral 
conduct  of  the  Equites,  the  state  of  their 
arms,  their  horses,  and  their  own  health  ; 
the  second,  an  universal  assemblage  of 
the  knights  in  the  forum,  is  thus  describ- 
ed by  Dyonisius  :  "  The  sacrifices  being 
finished,  all  those  who  are  allowed  horses 
at  the  expense  of  the  state,  ride  along  in 
order,  as  if  returning  from  a  battle,  being 
habited  in  the  Togx  Palmatse,  or  the  Trabae, 
and  crowned  with  wreaths  of  olive.  The 
procession  begins  at  the  temple  of  Mars, 
without  the  walls,  and  is  carried  on 
through  all  the  eminent  parts  of  the  city, 
particularly  the  Forum,  and  the  temple  of 
Castor  and  Pollux.  The  number  some- 
times reaches  to  five  thousand  ;  every 
man  bearing  the  gifts  and  ornaments  re- 
ceived as  a  reward  of  his  valour  from  the 
general.  A  most  glorious  sight,  and  wor- 
thy of  the  Roman  grandeur."  According 
to  Plutarch,  this  honourable  body  of  sol- 
diers,  and  the  rest  of  the  army  engaged 
in  battle  with  the  Latins,  about  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty-seventh  year  of  the  city, 
were  personally  assisted  by  Castor  and 
Pollux,  who  after  wards  appeared  in  Rome 
mounted  on  horses  foaming  with  exertion, 
near  the  fountain  where  their  temple  was 
subsequently  erected;  grateful  for  their 
supernatural  aid,  the  Romans  established 
the  Transvectio  in  honour  of  the  deified 
brothers. 

The  Recensio  resembled  the  Probatio 
in  some  degree,  except  that  more  import- 
ance was  attached  to  the  former,  as  it  was 
an  universal  mtiater  of  the  whole  people, 
including  the  Equites,  to  answer  the  use- 
ful military  purposes  of  ascertaining  the 
then  state  of  discipline  of  men  bearing- 
arms,  enrolling  of  new  names,  and  ex- 
punging others.  The  ceremony  occuri cd 

ti 


KNIGHTS. 


every  lustrum,  under  the  superintendance 
of  the  censors. 

When  the  Equites  had  accomplished 
the  term  for  which  their  services  were 
required,  it  was  the  established  custom  to 
lead  their  horses  to  the  place  where  the 
two  censors  were  seated  in  the  Forum,  to 
whom  they  related  the  circumstances  at- 
tending" their  various  campaigns,  and 
under  whom  they  served ;  they  were 
theu  discharged  either  with  honour  or 
disgrace,  as  their  conduct  was  approved 
or  considered  disgraceful. 

It  is  generally  admitted,  that  it  is  by  no 
means  correct  to  suppose  that  all  the  Ro- 
man soldiers  mounted  on  horses  were 
knights.  Sigonius,  and  others,  made  a 
distinction  in  the  cavalry  between  those 
who  served  equo  publico,  and  those  who 
served  equo  private ;  "  the  former,"  says 
Kennet,  "  they  allow  to  have  been  of  the 
order  of  knights,  the  latter  not.  They 
demonstrate  from  the  course  of  history, 
that  from  the  beginning  of  the  Roman 
state  till  the  time  of  Marius,  no  other 
horse  entered  the  legions  but  the  true 
and  proper  knights,  except  in  the  midst 
of  public  confusion,  when  order  and  dis- 
*  cipline  were  neglected." 

Like  all  other  institutions,  this  order 
began  to  degenerate,  the  life  and  soul  of 
honour  which  supported  it  died  and  faded 
away,  leaving  a  mere  shadow  of  its  pristine 
importance,  indolence  and  avarice  tempt- 
ed individuals  from  the  pursuit  of  mili- 
tary fame  to  the  more  innocent,  and,  per- 
haps, more  laudable  occupations  of  agri- 
culture, and  to  partake  of  the  emoluments 
<o  be  derived  from  places  of  trust  under 
the  government;  those  who  retained  suf- 
ficient vigour  of  mind  to  consider  them- 
selves as  still  belonging  to  the  order, 
obtained  commands,  and  the  mass  of  the 
cavalry  was  at  length  composed  of  foreign 
mercenaries.  Fully  sensible  of  the  de- 
graded state  of  the  Equites,  who  wished 
to  receive  the  honours  due  to  them  when 
deserving  of  honour,  and  a  horse  from 
their  country,  when  that  country  no  longer 
was  remunerated  by  their  services,  sub- 
sequent princes  deprived  them  of  the 
horse,  but  suffered  them  to  retain  the 
golden  ring. 

KNIGHTS'  service,  this  species  of  servi- 
tude was  the  consequence  of  the  weak- 
ness and  decay  of  the  feodal  system 
throughout  Europe,  and  was  invented  as 
a  remedy.  Fiefs,  which  had  previously 
been  held  for  long  terms  of  years,  were 
made  hereditary,  and  the  holder  was  com- 
pelled to  afford,  without  exception  or  a 
possibility  of  denial,  as  many  soldiers  to 
be  maintained  by  the  produce  of  the  lands, 


as  the  lord  proprietor  was  disposed  to 
think  proper;  this  became  the  tenure  of 
knights'  service  ;  but  a  single  soldier  de- 
rived, as  the  service  of  a  certain  portion 
of  land  was  termed,  a  knight's  fee,  and  an 
estate  furnishing  a  number  of  men  trained 
for  the  field  was  said  to  contain  an  equal 
number  of  knights' fees  ;  this  system,  ex- 
tending in  every  direction,  rendered  each 
nation  acting  under  it  formidable  and  dan- 
gerous to  the  adjoining,  as  numerous 
armies  might  be  assembled  at  a  very  short 
notice,  and  much  blood  spilt  before  reason 
had  time  to  subdue  sudden  resentment, 
besides  the  means  of  oppression  it  afford- 
ed to  men  of  large  possessions.  The  armies 
thus  assembled  were  commanded  by  the 
monarch,  the  nobles  acted  as  officers,  and 
all  the  varieties  of  vassals  were  considered 
and  sorted  as  private  soldiers.  Exclusive 
of  the  tyranny  of  exacting  personal  ser- 
vice, the  holders  of  knights'  tenures  were 
subject  to  all  the  ancient  hardships  of  the 
old  system,  under  the  name  of  incidents, 
for  chief  aid,  escheat,  wardship  and  mar- 
riage, and  they  were  compelled  to  bind 
themselves  to  their  oppressor  by  oaths  of 
homage  and  fealty. 

It  is  supposed  that  knights'  service  had 
been  universally  established  in  Europe 
by  the  year  987 ;  if  so,  there  cannot  be 
the  least  doubt  that  it  was  introduced  into 
England  by  William  of  Normandy  obtain- 
ing the  absolute  right  of  disposing  of  the 
territory  of  the  conquered  chiefs  of  this 
country ;  the  obvious  policy  of  the 
monarch  was  the  distribution  of  it  to 
those  persons  who  had  adopted  his  for- 
tunes ;  and  in  what  way  could  he  more 
firmly  bind  them  to  his  future  support 
than  by  compelling  them  to  furnish  men 
by  the  prevailing  tenure  ? 

Pursuing  this  policy,  the  old  tenants 
received  fresh  grants,  and  were  thus  se- 
cured by  the  subtle  king  from  attempting 
to  wrest  his  conquests  from  him  ;  indeed 
it  has  been  asserted,  that  the  system  was 
generally  approved,  as  but  few  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  fiefs  were  hereditary.  The 
knights  were  bound  to  appear  completely 
armed,  with  a  lance,  sword,  shield  and 
helmet,  and  well  mounted,  at  the  shortest 
notice  from  their  superiors,  and  to  re- 
main in  the  field  forty  days  at  the  expense 
of  the  chiefs  of  their  fees.  At  length 
similar  causes  to  those  which  have  been 
mentioned  to  have  actuated  the  Roman 
equites,  induced  the  English  knights  to 
commute  their  personal  services  for  fines, 
and  hence  arose  the  system  of  taxation. 

An  act  of  parliament  was  passed  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  II.  which  required  all 
persons  possessed  of  201,  per  annjim  to 


KNIGHTS. 


appear  and  receive  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood from  the  king.  This  cause  and 
others  operated  to  produce  such  numbers 
of  knights  throughout  Europe,  that  it  be- 
came necessary  to  invent  different  orders 
of  knighthood,  to  render  some  of  the 
members  at  least  of  importance  in  the 
estimation  of  the  community. 

Charles  I.  strangely  infatuated  and  mis- 
taken in  his  conduct,  adopted  the  obso- 
lete practice  of  his  ancient  predecessors, 
and  issued  "  a  warrant  to  the  sheriffs  in 
1626,  to  summons  all  persons  that  had  for 
three  years  past  held  40l.  per  annum,  or 
more,  of  lands  or  revenues  in  their  own 
hands,  or  the  hands  of  feoffees,  and  are 
not  yet  knights,  to  come  before  his  majes- 
ty by  the  thirty-first  of  January,  to  re- 
ceive the  order  of  knighthood." 

January  28,  1630,  the  king  issued  a 
commission  to  the  Lord  Keeper,  Lord 
High  Treasurer,  &c.  to  compound  with 
those  who  had  made  themselves  liable 
to  forfeiture,  by  neglecting  to  receive 
knightood  according  to  act  of  parliament; 
alluding  to  the  act  of  Edward  II.  This 
commission,  absurd  and  oppressive  be- 
yond modern  conception  or  endurance, 
produced  above  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  to  the  royal  treasury,  but  did  the 
king  infinite  injury  in  the  opinion  of  his 
subjects,  wlu)  had  long  considered  the 
statutum  de  JWilitibus  a  nullity,  and  which 
was  afterwards  repealed  by  parliament. 
Charles,  rather  alarmed  at  the  general 
expression  of  abhorrence  excited  by  his 
conduct,  published  "  a  proclamation  for 
the  ease  of  his  subjects,  in  making  their 
compositions  for  not  receiving  the  order 
of  knighthood  according  to  law,  dated  in 
the  preceding  July  ;"  this  however  was 
nothing  more  than  an  attempt  to  soften 
the  displeasure  of  the  public,  and  failed 
of  its  effect.  The  ancient  ceremony  of 
making  a  knight  consisted  of  giving  the 
party  a  blow  on  the  ear,  and  striking  him 
on  the  shoulder  with  a  naked  sword,  after 
which  he  had  a  sword  girded  round  him, 
and  spurs  attached  to  his  heels,  and  being 
otherwise  completely  armed  as  a  knight, 
he  was  conducted  in  solemn  procession 
to  hear  the  offices  of  religion. 

Since  the  above  period  knighthood  has 
been  considered  a  proper  method  of  re- 
warding persons  who  have  rendered  slight 
services  to  the  state,  but  the  very  fre- 
quent opportunities  afforded  of  confer- 
ring the  honour,  has  operated  in  produ- 
cing the  little  estimation  in  which  it  is 
held,  and  from  which  there  is  no  present 
prospect  of  its  recovering.  The  observa- 
tions just  made  must  not  at  the  same  time 
foe  supposed  to  apply  to  the  more  honoui  • 


able  orders  which  have  already  been 
noticed  under  the  article  of  Knights  of 
the  Bath,  and  Knights  of  the  Garter,  ex- 
clusive of  the  numerous  foreign  orders 
which  have  existed,  and  do  still  exist,  in 
different  parts  of  Europe. 

KxiGHTs'  templars.  This  order  has  been 
suppressed  for  many  centuries,  but  as 
they  were  once  considered  a  very  pow- 
erful body,  and  had  large  possessions  in 
England,  of  which  the  extensive  and 
valuable  domain,  still  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Temple,  in  London,  was  a 
part,  a  slight  sketch  of  their  history  ap- 
pears to  be  necessary. 

The  order  was  instituted  in  the  year 
1118,  for  the  actual  defence  of  the  places 
rendered  saci-ed  by  the  residence  and 
acts  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  city  of  Jeru- 
salem and  its  neighbourhood ;  and  the 
house  which  they  occupied,  being  pur- 
posely situated  near  the  temple  there, 
they  acquired  the  name  of  Templars ; 
and,  from  the  same  cause,  their  principal 
mansions  throughout  Europe  were  called 
temples.  The  Council  of  Troyes  con- 
firmed and  established  them  in  the  rule 
of  St.  Bernard,  in  the  year  1127,  and  the 
brethren  were  divided  into  two  classes,'- 
knights,  and  servitors.  Saladine  having 
invaded  and  conquered  the  territories 
they  had  bound  themselves  to  protect^ 
they  were  compelled  to  leave  the  Holy 
Land,  and  to  establish  the  order  where 
they  found  a  kind  reception,  which  was 
almost  in  every  part  of  the  world  then 
under  the  influence  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, as  they  had  double  claims  on  the 
pious,  proceeding  from  their  peculiar 
profession  and  sufferings  for  the  cause  of 
the  Saviour.  During  the  period  they  de- 
pended upon  the  alms  and  bounty  of  the 
public,  they  were  distinguished  for  their 
meek  and  meritorious  conduct,  which 
operated  so  greatly  in  their  favour,  that 
gifts  flowed  into  their  treasuries  from  the 
sovereign  to  the  peasant,  in  every  coun- 
try where  a  house  of  knights'  templars 
existed.  Matthew  Paris  asserts,  the  or- 
der possessed  9,000  rich  convents  ;  and 
other  writers  add,  that  they  had  16,000 
lordships,  with  subordinate  governors 
distributed  in  every  part  of  Europe. 

Under  these  prosperous  circumstances, 
they  became  inflated  by  pride,  and  inso- 
lence usurped  the  place  of  meekness  :  re- 
lying upon  their  presumed  consequence, 
they  did  not  attempt  to  conciliate  where 
they  had  offended ;  nor  did  they  seem 
to  suspect  the  hatred  they  had  generated, 
till  it  was  too  late  to  resist  or  retract ; 
such  is  the  general  tenor  of  the  accounts 
given  of  the  conduct  of  the  knights  temp- 


KNIGHTS. 


lars  by  historians ;  but  although  those 
may  be  founded  in  fact,  it  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  pride  alone  caused  the  disso- 
lution of  the  order :  avarice,  on  the  part 
of  their  oppressors,  was  the  grand  agent, 
and  the  riches  of  the  knights  the  tempta- 
tion to  plunder  them.  Some  of  the  mem- 
bers, resident  in  Paris,  were  indiscreet 
or  wicked  enough  to  cause  a  riot  in  the 
streets  of  that  city.  Philip  the  Fair,  then 
on  the  throne  of  France,  seizing  on  this 
opportunity,  determined  to  make  use  of 
it  to  accomplish  the  total  ruin  of  the  or- 
der ;  he  therefore  procured  the  evidence 
of  many  infamous  brethren,  either  by 
bribery  or  other  means,  who  charged  the 
knights  generally  with  the  most  shocking 
enormities.  Acting  upon  this  base  testi- 
mony, the  king  ordered  the  arrest  of 
every  templar  in  his  dominions,  abolish- 
ed the  order,  and  even  caused  fifty-seven 
of  them  to  be  burned  to  death  :  the  Pope, 
influenced  by  the  same  spirit  of  in- 
justice, and  probably  invited  to  partake 
of  the  plunder,  called  a  general  council 
at  Vienna,  by  which  the  order  was  laid 
under  an  interdict. 

Philip  immediately  communicated  his 
proceedings  to  our  monarch,  Edward  II. 
who  returned  an  answer,  dated  October 
30,  1307,  in  which  he  expressed  great 
"astonishment  at  the  accounts  received  of 
the  abominable  heresy  of  the  templars, 
and  declared  his  intention  of  obtaining 
further  information  through  the  Seneschal 
of  Agen.  Clement  directed  a  brief  to 
Edward,  dated  the  30th  of  November 
following,  explaining  the  conduct  of 
Philip,  and  asserting,  that  the  Grand 
Master  had  confessed,  that  the  knights, 
at  their  admission  into  the  order,  denied 
the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  spit  upon  the 
crucifix,  and  worshipped  an  idol  in  their 
chapters;  adding  other  charges,  which 
appear  equally  wicked  and  incredible, 
but  calculated  to  exculpate  Philip,  whose 
example  the  holy  father  recommended 
Edward  to  imitate  in  his  own  dominions. 
Edward  seems  to  have  acted,  on  this  de- 
licate occasion,  with  some  degree  of  wis- 
dom and  resolution ;  but  he  was  deficient 
in  that  firm  spirit  which  governed  Henry 
VIII.  This  is  proved  by  a  circular  letter 
from  him,  directed  to  the  Kings  of  Cas- 
tile, Arragon,  Portugal,  and  Sicily,  dated 
December  4th,  1307 ;  and  another  to  the 
Pope,  in  each  of  which  he  expressed  his 
disbelief  of  the  accusations  against  the 
templars,  and  mentioned  a  priest  who  had 
endeavoured  to  confirm  them  to  him,  but 
ineffectually,  as  he  was  convinced  the 
public  agreed  with  himself  in  approving 
their  manners  and  conduct ;  and  yet,  such 


is  the  weakness  and  instability  of  human 
nature,  this  very  king  was  prevailed  up- 
on to  issue  an  order,  addressed  to  the 
sheriffs,  for  the  apprehending  of  every 
templar  in  the  kingdom,  upon  the  feast  of 
the  Epiphany,  1308. 

The  Pope,  fearful  of  the  wavering  dis- 
position of  the  Monarch,  sent  another 
brief  into  England,  repeating  all  the  old 
charges,  and  producing  others,  which  he 
addressed  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  his  suffragans,  at  the  same  time 
informing  them  he  had  appointed  three 
cardinals,  four  English  bishops,  and  seve- 
ral of  the  French  clergy,  to  manage  the 
process  to  be  instituted  here  against  the 
unfortunate,  order.  After  the  arrival  of 
the  commissioners  alluded  to,  Edward  had 
the  good  sense  and  precaution  to  com- 
mand the  invariable  attendance  of  the 
British  part  of  it  on  every  day  the  business 
was  prosecuted,  by  a  letter  directedtothe 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  dated  September  13th, 
1309 ;  thus  shewing,  that  had  he  dared 
to  save  the  templars,  he  would  have  done 
so  without  hesitation  ;  but  the  king  and 
the  nation  were  equally  alarmed  at  the 
consequences  of  anathemas  and  interdicts, 
and  were  compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the 
dictates  of  the  commissioners,  who  sen- 
tenced the  knights  to  eternal  separation, 
and  the  loss  of  all  their  territories  in 
Great  Britain.  To  the  everlasting  honour 
of  Edward, he  rejected  the  cruel  example 
of  the  King  of  France,  and,  instead  of 
burning  the  knights,  he  merely  confined 
them  in  different  monasteries,  where  they 
resided,  secure  and  comfortable,  till  their 
deaths.  The  estates  of  the  Knights  Tem- 
plars having  been  confiscated,  the  king 
very  naturally  concluded  that  he  was  en- 
titled to  them,  and  consequently  proceed- 
ed to  sell  and  give  them  away ;  the  Papal 
see,  however,  thought  otherwise,  and  a 
fresh  bull  arrived,  demanding  them  for 
the  knights  of  the  order  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem  in  England;  as  the  same  causes 
existed  for  compliance  with  this  new  man- 
date, which  induced  the  suppression,  the 
property  in  question  was  conveyed  to  the 

KNIGHTS  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  The 
order  of  St.  John  originated  from  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  hospital  at  Jerusalem, 
in  the  year  1048,  by  certain  Italian  mer- 
chants, for  the  reception  of  pilgrims  and 
travellers,  which  they  dedicated  to  the 
Baptist.  The  subsequent  conquest  of 
Jerusalem,  by  Godfrey  of  Boulogne,  who 
wrested  it  from  the  Turks,  was  of  infinite 
service  to  the  hospital,  which  flourished 
in  the  same  proportion  with  the  facility 
thus  afforded  for  visiting1  the  holy 
city.  Raymond,  rector  of  the  brethren 


KNIGHTS. 


in  its  then  slate,  being  of  an  active  and 
military  turn,  formed  the  plan  of  convert- 
ing1 them  into  knights,  captains,  and  ser- 
vants; he  marshalled  them  into  bands, 
invented  banners,  and  led  them  on  against 
the  Turks,  as  knights  of  the  order  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem  ;  they  fought  with 
great  bravery  ;  but  the  inferiority  of  their 
numbers  occasioned  frequent  defeats,  and 
they  were  at  length  compelled  to  give  up 
their  possessions  to  the  conqueror  Sala- 
dine  :  after  a  continued  series  of  toils  and 
misfortunes,  and  a  constancy  in  the  cause 
of  religion  which  did  them  great  honour, 
they  were  finally  expelled  from  the  Holy 
Land,  in  the  year  1292. 

The  master  and  brethren  fled  to  the 
island  of  Cyprus,  where  they  employed 
their  leisure  in  framing  statutes  for  the 
government  of  the  order ;  but  recurring 
to  their  former  military  pursuits,  they  at- 
tacked Rhodes  in  1308,  which,  with  seven 
other  islands,  soon  fell  into  their  posses- 
sion ;  they  then  assumed  the  addition  of 
Rhodes  to  their  previous  titles;  there 
they  flourished  for  a  very  considerable 
length  of  time,  and  resisted  the  Turks 
with  equal  bravery  and  skill ;  but  Sultan 
Soliman,  having  determined  at  all  events 
to  dislodge  them,  he  assembled  an  army 
of  300,000  men,  with  which  he  invaded 
the  island,  and,  after  six  months  incessant 
fatigue  and  excessive  loss,  he  succeeded 
in  expelling  them.  The  Emperor  Charles 
V.  gave  them  Malta  at  this  critical  sera,  to 
which  island  the  knights  retired  in  1523. 
There  they  underwent  repeated  invasions 
from  the  Turks,  and  obtained  the  admi- 
ration of  all  nations,  for  their  invincible 
courage  and  address  in  repelling  their 
attacks.  The  Knights  of  Malta,  as  they 
were  now  called,  might  have  remained 
for  centuries  to  come  in  quiet  possession 
of  their  island,  had  they  not  been  disturb- 
ed by  a  power  they  had  little  reason  to 
dread  till  very  lately  r  their  surrender  of 
it  to  the  arms  of  France  has  been  the 
means  of  placing  it  in  the  possession  of 
England,  and  the  order  may  be  consider- 
ed as  almost  extinct. 

Jordan  Brisset  introduced  the  order  in- 
to England,  by  founding  the  Priory  of  St. 
John,  at  Clerkenwell,  where  it  flourished 
till  the  general  dissolution  of  religious 
houses  by  Henry  VIII.  It  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  add,  from  Malcolm's  "  Londini- 
um,"  "  Camden  says,  that  the  priors  were 
held  equal  in  rank  to  the  first  barons  of 
the  realm  ;  and  their  riches  certainly  en- 
abled them  to  support  their  splendour  of 
living.  Such  was  their  power  and  influ- 


ence, that  Edward  III.  thought  it  neces- 
sary, in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  reign,  to 
appoint  Richard  de  Everton  visitor  of  the 
hospitals  of  this  order  in  England  and 
Ireland,  to  repress  their  insolence,  and  to 
enforce  propriety  of  conduct ;  which  ap- 
pointment was  repeated  five  years  after 
by  the  same  king." 

KXIGHT  originally  signified  a  servant ; 
but  there  is  now  but  one  instance  where 
it  is  taken  in  that  sense,  and  that  is  knight 
of  a  shire,  who  properly  serves  in  parlia- 
ment for  such  a  county  ;  but  in  all  other 
instances,  it  signifies  one  who  bears  arms ; 
who  for  his  virtue  and  martial  prowess  is 
by  the  king  or  one  having  his  authority, 
exalted  above  the  rank  of  gentleman  to 
an  higher  step  of  dignity.  They  were 
called  milites,  because  they  formed  a  part 
of  the  royal  army,  by  virtue  of  their  feudal 
tenures ;  one  condition  of  which  was, 
that  every  one  who  held  a  knight's  fee 
immediately  under  the  crown,  (which,  in 
the  reign  of  Edward  II.  amounted  to  20/. 
per  annum)  was  obliged  to  be  knighted. 
He  was  also  to  attend  the  king  in  his  wars, 
or  fined  for  his  non-compliance.  The  exe- 
cution of  this  prerogative,  as  an  expedi- 
ent to  raise  money,  in  the  reign  of  Charles^ 
I.  gave  great  offence,  though  then  war-' 
ranted  by  law,  and  the  recent  example  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  :  it  was,  therefore,  abo- 
lished by  16  Charles  I.  c.  20.  Consider- 
able fees  accrued  to  the  king  on  the  per- 
formance of  the  ceremony.  King  Edward 
VI.  and  Queen  Elizabeth  had  appointed 
commissioners  to  compound  with  the  per- 
sons who  had  lands  to  the  amount  of  40Z. 
a  year,  and  who  declined  the  honour  and 
expence  of  knighthood. 

KNIGHTS  banneret.  These  knights  are 
only  made  in  the  time  of  war.  They  are 
ranked  next  after  the  barons  ;  and  their 
precedence  before  the  younger  sons  of 
viscounts  was  confirmed  by  James  I.  in 
the  tenth  year  of  his  reign.  But,  to  enti- 
tle them  to  this  rank,  they  must  be  creat- 
ed by  the  king  in  person  in  the  field,  un- 
der the  royal  banners,  in  time  of  open 
war ;  otherwise  they  rank  after  baronets. 

KNIGHT  service,  a  tenure  where  several 
lands  were  held  of  the  King,  which  draws 
after  it  homage  and  service  in  war,  escu- 
age,  ward,  marriage,  &c.  but  is  taken 
away  by  statute  12  Charles  II.  c.  24. 

KNOT,  means  the  divisions  of  the  log- 
line  used  at  sea.  These  are  usually  se- 
ven fathoms,  or  forty-two  feet ;  they  ought 
to  be  fifty  feet,  and  then  as  many  knots  as 
the  log-line  runs  out  in  half  a  minute,  so 
many  miles  does  the  ship  sail  in  an  hour, 


KOS 


KYA 


supposing-  her  to  keep  going  at  an  equal 
rate. 

KNOTS  o/«  ro/>e,  among  seamen,  are 
distinguished  i  .to  three  kinds,  viz.  whole- 
knot,  that  made  so  with  the  lays  of  a  rope 
that  it  cannot  slip,  serving-  for  sheets, 
tacks,  and  stoppers  :  bow-link  knot,  that 
so  firmly  made  and  fastened  to  the  crin- 
gles of  the  sails,  that  they  must  break  or 
the  sail  split  before  it  slips ;  and  sheep- 
shank-knot, that  made  by  shortening  a 
rope  without  cutting  it,  which  may  be 
presently  loosened,  and  the  rope  not  the 
wors,:  for  it. 

KNOWLEDGE,  is  defined,  by  Mr. 
Locke,  to  be  the  perception  of  the  con- 
nection and  agreement,  or  disagreement 
and  repugnancy  of  our  ideas. 

KNOXIA,  in  botany,  so  called  from 
Robert  Knox,  a  genus  of  the  Tetrandria 
Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natural  or- 
der of  Stellatae.  Itubiaceae,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character  :  corolla  one-petalled, 
funnel-form ;  seeds  two,  grooved  ;  calyx 
one,  leaflet  larger.  There  is  only  one 
species,  viz.  K.  zeylanica,  a  native  of 
Cevlon. 

KOELREUTERIA,  in  botany,  so  nam- 
ed in  honour  of  Joseph  Gottlieb  Koel ren- 
ter, a  genus  of  the  Polygamia  Monoecia 
class  artd-  order.  Natural  order  of  Tri- 
hilatx.  Sapindi,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter: calyx  five-leaved;  petals  four; 
nectary  double,  four  scalelets,  and  three 
glands  ;  stamens  eight,  fixed  to  a  column  ; 
germ  three-sided,  fixed  to  the  same  co- 
lumn ;  capsule  three-celled,  with  two  cells 
in  each  cell.  There  is  but  one  species, 
viz.  K.  paullinoides  ;  this  is  a  tree,  with 
an  arboreous,  upright,  trunk,  about  six 
feet  in  height ;  branches  scattered,  spread- 
ing, when  young  having  dotted  glands 
scattered  over  them  ;  buds  from  the  axils 
of  the  leaves,  resinous,  cone-shaped  with 
imbricate  scales  ;  peduncles,  terminating, 
scattered,  spreading,  branched  into  many 
pedicles  ;  flowers  panicled,  three  or  more 
on  each  pedicle-  According  to  LMIeritier 
it  is  a  polygamous  tree,  and  a  native  of 
China. 

KOENIGIA,  in  botany,  BO  named  in 
honour  of  John  Gerard  Koenig,  M.  D.  of 
Courland,  who  first  found  this  plant  in 
Iceland.  It  is  a  genus  of  the  Triandria 
Trigynia  class  and  order.  Natural  order 
of  Holoraceae.  Polygoneae,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character  :  calyx  three-leaved  ; 
corolla  none  ;  seed  one,  ovate,  naked. 
There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  K.  islan- 
dica 

KOS,  in  Jewish  antiquity,  a  measure  of 


capacity,  containing  about  four  cubic 
inches  :  this  was  the  cup  of  blessing,  out 
of  which  they  drank  when  they  gave  thanks 
after  solemn  meals,  like  that  of  the  pass- 
over. 

KRAMERIA,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
memory  of  John  George,  Henry,  and  Wil- 
liam Henry  Kramer,  botanists,  a  genus  of 
the  Tetrandria  Monogynia  class  and  or- 
der. Essential  character  :  calyx  none  ; 
corolla  four-petal  led  ;  nectary  upper  three- 
parted,  lower  two-leaved ;  berry  dry, 
echinated,  one-seeded.  There  is  bat  one 
species,  viz.  K.  ixina,  this  is  a  shrub  with 
lanceolate  leaves  :  flowers  alternate,  in 
terminating  racemes.  It  was  found  in 
South  America  by  Loefling. 

KUHNIA,  in  botany,  so  called  from 
Adam  Kuhnius,  a  genus  of  the  Syngenesia 
Polygamia  ./Equalis  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Composite  Discoideae.  Co- 
rymbiferse,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  : 
flowers  floscular ;  calyx  imbricate,  ob- 
long, cylindrical ;  down  plumose  ;  recep- 
tacle naked  ;  style  deeply  bifid  ;  stigmas 
club-shaped  ;  anthers  distinct.  There  is 
but  one  species,  viz.  K.  eupatorioides,  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania. 

KURTUS,  in  natural  history,  a  genus  of 
fishes  of  the  order  Jugularies.  Generic 
character  :  body  carinated  above  and  be- 
low, and  broad  ;  back  highly  elevated  ; 
gill  membrane,  with  two  rays.  This  con- 
sists, as  far  as  it  is  known,  of  only  a  sin- 
gle species.  It  inhabits  the  seas  of  India, 
and  is  supposed  to  live  on  insects,  shell 
fish,  and  particularly  young  crabs.  Its 
length  is  about  ten  inches,  and  its  breadth 
four.  Its  colour,  on  the  whole  bod}-,  is 
that  of  silver  foil,  and  its  back  is  tinged 
with  gold,  and  marked  on  its  ridge  with 
several  black  spots.  For  a  representa- 
tion of  the  kurtus,  see  Pisces,  Plate  V. 
fig  1. 

KYANITE,  or  CYANITE,  in  mineralo- 
gy, a  species  of  the  talc  genus  :  its  princi- 
pal colour  blue,  though  it  occurs  also 
white  and  grey ;  some  specimens  are  en- 
tirely blue,  others  are  only  spotted,  strip- 
ed, or  flamed  with  it,  Externally 
and  internally  its  lustre  is  shining  and 
splendent,  and  completely  pearly.  It  oc- 
curs in  wedge-shaped  concretions,  which 
are  often  very  promiscuous,  and  then 
pass  into  large  and  coarse  grained  dis- 
tinct concretions.  It  fee  Is  greasy -, 
ly  frangible,  and  the  specific  gravity  is 
from  3.5  to  3.6.  It  is  infusible  before 
the  blow-pipe,  and  is  found  to  consist 
of 


LAB 


LAli 


Silica     29.  2 

Alumina 55.  0 

Lime 2.25 

Magnesia 2.  0 

Oxide  of  iron 6.65 

Water  and  loss 4.  9 

100.00 


It  is  peculiar  to  the  primitive  moun- 
tains, where  it  occurs  imbedded  in  talc 
slate,  and  mica  slate,  accompanied  with 


grenatite.  It  is  found  in  many  parts  ot 
Europe.  It  is  reckoned  the  link  which 
connects  talc  with  actynolite  and  treno. 
lite. 

KYLLINGIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Triandriu  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Gramma.  Cyperoidex, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  ament 
ovate  or  oblong,  imbricate  ;  flowers  with 
a  bivalve  calyx  and  corolla.  There  are 
seven  species,  natives  of  the  East  and 
West  Indies. 


L. 


LOr  1,  the  eleventh  letter  and  eighth 
'  consonant  of  our  alphabet.  It  is  a 
semi-vowel,  formed  in  the  voice  by  inter- 
cepting the  breath  between  the  tip  of  the 
tongue  and  the  fore-part  of  the  palate, 
with  the  mouth  open. 

There  is  something  of  aspiration  in  its 
sound,  and  therefore  the  Welsh  usually 
double  it,  or  add  an  h  to  it ;  as  in  //an,  or 
Ihan,  a  temple. 

In  English  words  of  one  syllable,  it  is 
usually  doubled  at  the  end  ;  as  in  all,  ivull, 
mill,  &c.  but  in  words  of  more  syllables 
than  one,  it  is  only  single  at  the  end;  as 
in  foretel,  proportional,  &.c.  It  may  be 
placed  after  most  of  the  consonants,  as 
in  blue,  clear, fame,  &c.  but  before  none 
of  them.  As  a  numeral  letter,  L  denotes 
50 ;  and  with  a  dash  over  it,  thus,  L, 
50,000. 

LA,  in  music,  the  syllable  by  which 
Guido  denotes  the  last  sound  of  each 
hexachord  :  if  it  begins  in  C,  it  answers 
to  our  A ;  if  in  G,  to  E ;  and  if  in  F,  to 
D. 

LAUDANUM,  or  LADANUM,  is  a  resin 
obtained  from  the  surface  of  the  crystus 
creticus,  a  shrub  which  grows  in  Syria 
and  the  Grecian  islands.  It  is  collected 
while  moist  by  drawing  over  it  a  kind  of 
cake,  with  thongs  fixed  to  it,  from  which 
it  is  afterwards  scraped.  When  it  is  very 
good  it  is  black,  soft,  and  has  a  fragrant 
odour  and  a  bitterish  taste.  Water  dis- 
solves about  a  twelfth  part  of  it,  and  the 
matter  taken  up  possesses  gummy  pro- 
perties. When  distilled  with  water,  a 
small  quantity  of  volatile  oil  arises.  Al- 


cohol may  also  be  impregnated  with  a 
taste  and  odour  of  labdanum. 

LABATIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Tetrandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Guajacanse,  Jussieiu  Es- 
sential character  :  calyx  tour-leaved,  in- 
ferior ;  corolla  subcampanulate,  four-cleff, 
with  two  minute  segments  in  the  .division 
of  the  corolla  ;  capsule  four  celled  ;  seeds 
solitary.  There  are  two  species,  rtz.  L. 
sessilifiora,  which  is  a  native  of  Ilispa- 
niola  ;  anil  L.  guianensis  is  a  tree  exceed- 
ing forty  feet  in  height,  and  three  in  dia- 
meter; the  baik  is  of  a  russet  colour  ; 
the  wood  is  hard  and  white  ;  the  largest 
leaves  are  eight  inches  in  length,  and 
three  in  width ;  flowers  axillary,  or  on 
the  branches  in  pairs  or  threes  ;  each 
on  its  pedicle  ;  corolla  greenish.  It  is 
called  by  the  natives  of  Guiana,  pourama 
pouteri. 

LABEL,  in  heraldry,  a  fillet  usually 
placed  in  the  middle  along  the  chief  of 
the  coat,  without  touching  its  extremities. 
Its  breadth  ought  to  be  a  ninth  part  of  the 
chief.  It  is  adorned  with  pendants  ;  and 
when  there  are  above  three  of  these,  the 
number  must  be  specified  in  blazoning. 
This  is  a  kind  of  addition  to  the  arms  of  a 
second  brother,  to  distinguish  him  from 
the  first,  and  is  esteemed  the  most  honour- 
able of  all  differences. 

LABEL,  in  law,  a  narrow  slip  of  parch- 
ment hanging  from  a  deed,  writ,  or  other 
writing,  in  order  to  hold  the  appending 
seal. 

LABEL  of  a  rircwnferKntor,  a  long  thin 
brass  ruler,  with  a  sight  at  one  end,  and 


LAB 


LAB 


a  centre  hole  at  the  other;  chiefly  used 
with  a  tangent  line,  to  take  altitudes. 

LABIAL  letters,  those  pronounced 
chiefly  by  means  of  the  lips.  See  LET- 
TER. 

LABIATED^owers,  monopetalous  flow- 
ers, consisting  of  a  narrow  tube,  with  a 
wide  mouth,  divided  into  two  or  more 
lips.  See  BOTANY. 

LABORATORY.  A  laboratory,  pro- 
perly fitted  up  with  apparatus,  is  essen- 
tially necessary  to  a  chemist  whose  ob- 
jects lead  him  to  make  researches,  expe- 
riments, and  processes,  upon  all  the 
different  scales  of  operation.  That  great 
interest  which  the  important  science  of 
chemistry  has  excited  in  all  ranks  of  men, 
within  the  last  thirty  years,  has  rendered 
it  easy  to  procure  very  complete  sets  of 
apparatus  ;  which,  at  least  in  the  metro- 
polis, may  be  collected  in  a  short  time,  by 
tho.se  who,  like  Boyle,  Cavendish,  Levoi- 
sier,  and  other  great  men,  are  in  posses- 
sion of  ample  means.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  many  of 
our  greatest  discoverers,  such  as  Scheele, 
Priestley,  Berthollet,  Wollaston,  Dalton, 
Crawford,  and  a  numerous  set  of  emi- 
nent men,  have  from  choice,  or  from  mo- 
tives of  prudence,  made  use  of  very  sim- 
ple, cheap,  and  small  sized  apparatus.  It 
is  undoubtedly  true,  that  many  operations 
can  only  be  performed  upon  a  scale  of 
considerable  magnitude,  and  that  many 
facts  of  great  value  display  themselves 
upon  the  extensive  theatre  of  nature  or  in 
large  manufactories,  which  are  either  not 
seen,  or  require  uncommon  discernment 
to  perceive  them  in  the  contracted  space, 
and  during  the  short  time  employed  in 
the  performance  of  a  philosophical  expe- 
riment. But  it  is  no  less  true,  that  expe- 
riments upon  a  small  scale  do  likewise 
possess  their  exclusive  advantages.  Dur- 
ing the  fusion  and  combination  of  sub- 
stances, in  the  whole  no  larger  than  a 
pepper-corn,  before  the  blow-pipe,  the 
effects  take  place  with  rapidity,  and  many 
of  them,  such  as  the  escape  of  gas  by  ef- 
fervescence, the  changes  of  colour,  and 
transparency  by  differences  in  the  heat 
applied,  the  manner  of  acquiring  the  solid 
state,  &c.  which  cannot  be  seen  in  the 
furnace,  are  in  the  course  of  a  few  se- 
conds remarked  and  ascertained.  The 
saving  of  time  is  also  an  object  ot'leading 
importance.  The  same  considerations 
are  likewise  applicable  to  processes  of 
fusion,  or  other  applications  of  heat  in  a 
small  vessel,  such  as  a  tobacco-pipe,  pla- 
ced in  a  common  fire,  urged  by  the  bel- 
lows if  necessary.  Humid  operations  may 


alsolbe  very  advantageously  conducted  by 
single  drops  of  liquid,  and  small  particles 
of  solid  bodies  laid  upon  a  glass  plate,  or 
in  the  metallic  spoon,  and  the  lamp  for 
distillations,  and  other  works  even  upon 
a  scale  of  some  magnitude,  has  long  been 
a  favourite  instrument  with  chemists. 
These  will  come  under  our  notice  as  we 
proceed. 

Under  our  article  CHEMISTRY  we  have 
given  a  concise  sketch  or  enumeration  of 
the  practical  treatment  of  bodies,  which 
leads  us  to  point  out  the  instruments  in. 
this  place. 

For  the  mechanical  division  of  bodies 
it  is  requisite  the  chemist  should  have  the 
usual  instruments  for  cutting,  breaking, 
rasping,  filing,  or  shaving.  One  or  more 
mortars  for  pounding ;  the  best  are  made 
of  hard  pottery.  A  stone  and  muller  for 
levigating.  A  pair  of  rollers  for  lamin- 
ating metals.  A  forge  for  many  or  most 
of  the  purposes  in  which  the  blast  heat  of 
a  small  fire  is  required  ;  and  various  other 
tools  and  implements,  not  peculiar  to  che- 
mistry. 

Messrs.  Aikin,  in  their  Chemical  Dic- 
tionary, give  the  following  list  of  imple- 
ments and  materials  ;  which,  upon  deli- 
berate examination,  we  highly  approve  : 

A  gazometer,  with  the  connecting  tubes, 
blow-pipe,  &c. 

A  bladder,  or  silk  bag,  with  stop  cock, 
fitting  the  above. 

A  pneumatic  water  trough. 

A  copper  still  with  worm  tuo,  the  still 
fitting  into  the  top  of  the  Black's  furnace. 

A  blow-pipe,  with  spoon,  &c. 

Lamps — an  Argand,  and  others  of  com- 
mon construction,  for  oil  and  alcohol. 

An  apparatus  for  drying  precipitates  by 
steam. 

Scales  and  weights. 

Large  and  small  iron  stands  for  re- 
torts, &c. 

Mortars — one  of  hard  steel,  one  of  bell- 
metal,  and  one  or  two  of  Wedgwood  ware. 

A  silver  crucible  and  spatula. 

A  platina  crucible  and  spatula. 

A  jointed  iron  tube  for  conveying  gases. 

The  folio-wing  articles  in  glass  .-   • 

Retorts  of  different  sizes,  plain  and 
stoppered,  and  long  necked  for  guses. 

Receivers  to  fit  the  above,  plain  and 
stoppered,  with  or  without  an  adopter. 

Plain  jars  for  gases,  different  sizes. 

Lipped  jars  for  mixtures,  precipitates, 
&c. 

A  graduated  eudiometer  jar. 

Bell  receivers,  two  or  three  sizes. 


LABORATORY. 


Proof  bottles. 

Capsules,  or  small  evaporating  caps. 

Water  glasses  (such  as  are  used  at  ta- 
ble) which  are  very  convenient  for  gentle 
evaporations. 

Florence  flasks. 

Matrasses — two  or  three  very  small, 
and  others  of  common  size,  round  and 
flat  bottomed. 

Funnels — ribbed,  and  one  plain,  with  a 
very  long  neck  for  charging  retorts. 

Wine  glasses — common  or  lipped. 

Watch  glasses,  for  evaporating  minute 
quantities  at  a  very  gentle  heat. 

Common  decanters. 

A  bottle  for  specific  gravity  of  fluids. 

Phials  of  all  sizes,  plain  and  with 
ground  stoppers. 

Plain  glass  tubes  of  various  thickness 
and  bore,  out  of  which  may  easily  be 
made, 

Syphon  tubes, 

Bent  tubes  for  gases, 

Capillary  tubes,  for  dropping  liquids, 
and  various  other  useful  articles. 

A  gas  saturating  apparatus. 

A  Woulfe's  apparatus. 

A  tube  of  safety,  separate. 

A  barometer. 

Thermometers — common,  and  with  the 
bulb  naked,  to  dip  into  liquors. 

The  follotving  in  earthen  ware: 

Crucibles — Hessian,  common  and  black- 
lead,  of  different  sizes  and  shapes,  with 
stands  and  covers. 

Retorts. 

Retort  stands. 

Cupels. 

Wedgwood  evaporating  dishes — a  set. 

White  basins,  with  lips,  different  sizes. 

Common  white  cups  and  saucers. 

Tubes— straight  and  bent. 

Porcelain  spoons. 

Ditto  rods,  for  stirring  corrosive  fluids. 

Several  stone-ware  jars,  with  tin  covers, 
for  holding  salts,  &c. 

Jllso  the  folio-wing  sundries  : 

Wire — different  sizes  and  kinds,  viz. 
iron,  copper,  brass,  silver,  and  platina. 

Gold,  silver,  and  brass  leaf—  tinfoil. 

Wooden  tripod  stands  for  receivers,  &c. 

Fire  tongs — various  shapes. 

Steel  spatula  and  pallet  knives. 

Iron  ladles. 

Diamond  for  scratching  glass. 

Files— flat,  three-cornered,  and  rat-tail- 
ed. 

Hammers. 

VOL,  IV 


A  vice  and  anvil. 
Pincers. 

Shears  and  scissars. 

A  magnet. 

Sieves. 

Filtering  paper. 

Corks. 

Bladders — spirit  varnish — sponge — tow 
— linen — flannel. 

Windsor  and  common  bricks — tiles — 
sand. 

Lutes  of  various  kinds. 

For  more  extensive  and  delicate  re- 
searches it  is  also  necessary  to  have 

A  mercurial  pneumatic  trough. 

A  mercurial  gazometer. 

A  burning  lens  of  considerable  power. 

An  electrical  apparatus. 

A  Galvanic  apparatus. 

A  detonating  jar. 

A  glass  or  silver  alembic. 

The  fuel  to  be  employed  has  been  al- 
ready mentioned  under  that  article,  and  a 
supply  should  be  kept  near  at  hand, 
broken  down  ready  for  use. 

With  regard  to  the  diflerent  substances 
or  re-agents  to  be  kept,  the  chemist  will, 
of  course,  wish  to  have  a  specimen  of  all 
the  simple  or  individual  substances;  such 
as  the  acids,  earths,  metals,  &c.  but 
the  simple  and  compound  substances 
which  are  of  general  use,  ought  also  to 
stand  on  the  shelves. 

For  many  purposes  the  ordinary  degree 
of  purity  in  which  these  substances  are 
obtained  by  the  common  processes  are 
sufficient;  so,  for  example,  the  small 
quantity  of  potash  in  common  sulphuric 
acid,  and  of  iron  in  common  muriatic 
acid,  seldom  interferes  with  any  of  the 
uses  to  which  those  re-agents  are  applied ; 
but  it  is  also  necessary  frequently  to  have 
them  in  the  utmost  purity  when  employed 
as  tests  for  delicate  purposes.  The  che- 
mist will  therefore  find  it  of  advantage  to 
reserve  a  separate  set  of  a  few  of  the  most 
necessary  re-agents  in  their  utmost  puri- 
ty, and  if  only  employed  when  absolutely 
required,  a  very  moderate  quantity  will 
suffice.  In  the  subjoined  list  we  have 
distinguished  by  the  word  pure  those  sub- 
stances which  require  particular  pains  to 
be  obtained  absolutely  pure.  Mixtures 
of  each  of  the  stronger  acids  and  water 
in  two  or  three  different  and  known  pro- 
portions should  also  be  kept. 

N.  B.  The  letter  D  implies,  that  the  dry- 
substance  should  be  kept,  and  S,  that  it, 
should  be  in  solution, 

F 


LABORATORY. 


Sulphuric  acid,  pure. 

common. 

Nitric  acid,  pure  and  boiled. 

common  and  boiled. 

fuming1. 

Muriatic  acid,  pure. 

common. 

Ovy  muriatic  acid.  This  should  be  kept 
in  the  dark. 

Phosphoric  acid,  pure,  from  phospho- 
rus S. 

Acetic  acid. 

Distilled  vinegar. 

constrated  by  frost. 

Oxalic  acid.     S 

Tartareous  acid.     S. 

Sulphate  of  Potash.    D.  and  S. 

Soda     D.  and  S. 

Barytes.     D. 

Alumina.     S. 

Strontian.    D. 

Alum.    D  and  S. 

Nitrate  of  Potash.    D.  and  S. 

Ammonia.     D. 

Barytes.     S. 

Strontian.     S. 

Muriau-    of  Soda.    D.  andS. 

Ammonia.    D.  and  S. 

Strontian.     S. 

Barytes.     S. 

— s Lame.    D.  and  S. 

Alumina.     S. 

Oxymuriate  of  Potash.    D. 

Phosphate  of  Soda.     D.  and  S. 

Ammonia.    D. 

Acetite  of  Barytes.     S. 

Alumina.     S. 

Oxalate  of  Ammonia.     S. 
Cream  of  Tartar.    D. 
Crude  Tartar.     D. 
Tincture  of  Galls. 
Borax.    D.  and  S. 

vitrified. 

Fluate  of  Ammonia.    S. 
Succinate  of  Ammonia.     S. 
Prussiate  of  Potash,  pure  and  dry.  This 
should  be  kept  in  the  dark. 
Prussiate  of  Lime.    S. 
Plaster  of  Paris. 
White  marble. 
Bone-ash. 
Fluor  Spar. 
Potash,  pure.     S. 

-  common  caustic.    S. 
Pearl-ash.    D.  and  S. 

Salt  of  Tartar.    D.  and  S. 
Super-carbonate  of  Potash.    D. 
Carbonate  of  Soda.     D.  and  S. 

. fully  dried. 

Ammonia,  pure. 

Carbonate  of  Ammonia.    D.  and  S. 

Super-carbonate  of  ditto.    D. 


Lime. 

Lime-water. 

Barytic-water. 

Strontian-watei*. 

Carbonate  of  Magnesia. 

Hydro-sulphuretted  water. 

Hydro-sulphuret  of  Soda.     S. 

Ammonia.    S, 

Sulphuret  of  Potash.     D. 
White  Arsenic.    D.  and  S. 
Manganese,  black  oxide  of. 
Mercury. 

red  oxide  of. 

Nitrate  of  Mercury.     S. 
Corrosive  muriate  of  ditto.    D.  and  S, 
Zinc,  in  sticks  and  granulated. 
Tin. 

Muriate  of  Tin. 
Lead. 

Minium  and  Litharge. 
Nitrate  of  Lead.     S. 
Acetite  of  ditto.    S. 
Iron,  filings,  turnings,  wire. 
Sulphuret  of  Iron  for  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen gas. 

Sulphate  of  Iron.    D.  and  S. 

saturated  with  nitrous 

gas. 

Muriate  of  Iron. 
Copper,  sheet,  wire. 
Nitrate  of  Copper.    D.  and  S, 

Silver,  leaf  and  wire. 
Nitrate  of  Silver.     S. 

Sulphate  of  ditto.     S. 

Acetite  of  ditto.     S. 

Gold-leaf. 

Nitro-muriate  of  Gold. 

Platina. 

Sulphur. 

Phosphorus. 

Alcohol,  concentrated  and  common. 

Sulphuric  ether. 

Litmus  Tincture. 

Turmeric. 

Brazil  wood. 

Gall-nut 

Catechu. 

Isinglass. 

Olive-oil. 

Linseed-oil,  drying. 

Oil  of  Turpentine. 

Black  flux. 

Distilled  water,  in  great  plenty. 

The  most  convenient  arrangement  for 
a  laboratory,  where  space  is  not  wanted, 
seems  to  be  that  of  two  rooms,  and  a  shed 
or  apartment  which  can  be  thrown  open 
to  communicate  with  the  air.  The  first 
may  contain  the  books  of  register,  of  prac- 
tical reference,  together  with  the  more 
delicate  philosophical  and  chemical  in- 
struments, products,  and  preparations 


LABORATORY. 


The  second  ma)'  be  provided  with  the 
work-bench,  hammers,  anvil,  vice,  and 
other  tools,  and  the  different  furnaces  ; 
and  the  shed  may  be  devoted  to  expe- 
riments of  danger,  such  as  arise  from 
explosions,  noxious  vapours,  and  the 
breaking-  of  vessels.  It  will  be  most 
convenient  that  these  should  be  upon  the 
ground  floor,  to  secure  the  advantage  of 
a  ready  supply  of  water  or  fuel,  and  other 
articles  of  heavy  consumption.  The  first 
of  which  articles  may  be  largely  wanted, 
in  case  of  accidental  combustion,  as  well 
as  on  common  occasions.  But  it  is  likewise 
necessary  that  the  place  should  be  dry, 
in  order  that  labels  may  be  preserved, 
and  other  inconveniences  avoided.  This  is 
the  principal  general  argument  in  favour 
of  a  laboratory  above  the  ground  floor. 

It  would  carry  us  too  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  our  work,  if  we  were  to  give 
drawings  and  descriptions  of  the  great 
variety  of  vessels,  furnaces,  and  appara- 
tus, which  have  been  contrived  for  gene- 
ral and  particular  purposes  of  chemis- 
try ;  and  many  of  the  culinary  and  do- 
mestic vessels  may  also  be  applied  in 
experimental  chemistry.  We  shall  there- 
fore confine  ourselves  to  a  few  of  the  most 
simple  and  useful. 

In  Plate  Laboratory,  fig.  1,  represents 
a  retort,  a,  and  receiver,*  b.  These  ves- 
sels are  used  for  distillation.  The  sub- 
ject is  put  into  the  belly  of  the  retort,  a, 
and  exposed  to  heat,  and  the  volatile  pro- 
ducts pass  over  into  the  receiver,  b,  which 
may  be  kept  cool  by  the  application  of 
wet  cloths,  or  by  immersion  in  cold 
water,  or  otherwise,  if  needful.  The 
place  of  junction  is  secured  either  by 
fitting  the  necks  together,  by  grinding, 
or  by  means  of  a  lute,  which  see  far- 
ther  on.  At  c,  in  the  receiver,  is  a  neck 
closed  by  a  stopper.  Receivers  or  retorts, 
With  this  additional  neck,  are  said  to  be 
tubulated.  Fig.  2,  is  an  alembic,  of  which 
a  is  the  body,  b  the  head,  and  c  the  neck. 
Generally  speaking,  this  is  not  a  very  use- 
ful instrument,  In  large  distillations  an 
alembic  or  still  is  used,  but  the  condensa- 
tion is  effected  by  a  spiral  pipe,  called  the 
worm,  which  passes  through  a  tub  of 
cold  water  ;  in  the  use  of  the  alembic,  fig. 
2,  the  beak  is  inserted  into  a  receiver. 
When  the  volatile  product  of  a  body  ex- 
posed to  be  dried,  or  to  undergo  evapo- 
ration by  heat,  is  not  required  to  be  pre- 
served, the  process  is  performed  in  an 
open  vessel. 

The  application  of  heat  to  vessels  is 
made  either  by  naked  fire,  or  by  the  inter- 
vention of  some  heated  substance,  which 


is  then  called  a  bath.  Chemical  baths  are 
made  of  sand,  or  of  melted  lead,  or  the 
fusible  metal,  or  of  brine,  and  very  fre- 
quently of  water.  The  evaporable  liquids 
form  a  bath  which  cannot  be  heated  be- 
yond their  respective  boiling  points  ;  and 
the  other  buths,  the  most  common  of 
which  is  that  of  sand,  are  chiefly  valua- 
ble for  giving  a  regular  heat  without  sud- 
den changes. 

This  last  purpose  is  effected  likewise 
with  glass  vessels,  by  coating  them  with  a 
lute. 

A  very  great  number  of  furnaces  have 
been  constructed  for  chemical  and  manu- 
facturing puposes,  for  which  we  must  ne- 
cessarily refer  to  the  extensive  works  ap- 
propriated to  these  objects.  The  opera- 
tive chemist  may  have  occasion  for  them 
of  different  sizes  and  figures.  A  great 
deal  may  be  done  with  the  common  Ger- 
man stove,  and  witli  small  furnaces  made 
out  of  black-lead  pots.  But,  in  general, 
the  philosophical  chemist  will  be  well 
accommodated  with  one  good  furnace, 
convertible  to  different  uses  ;  and  out  of 
many  such  we  select  that  of  Dr.  Black,  for 
its  simplicity  and  efficacy,  as  described  in 
his  lectures. 

PI  ate -iron  is  by  far  the  best  material 
for  the  outside  of  an  experimental  fur- 
nace, but,  as  its  metal  communicates 
heat  very  fast,  this  must  be  cut  off  by 
a  proper  lute  lining.  The  Doctor  so  far 
succeeded  in  this  respect,  that  his  fur- 
nace though  only  two  inches  thick  in 
the  middle,  will  not  scorch  paper  ap- 
plied to  its  outside,  when  it  is  melting 
iron  within.  He  adopted  the  simplest 
rectilineal  shapes,  because  workmen  find 
great  difficulty  in  executing  curved  and 
uncommon  forms  ;  and  not  one  of  a  score 
of  them  will  do  it  with  accuracy.  In- 
deed, those  highly  praised  forms  seemed 
to  him  of  very  little  importance  in  most 
cases. 

The  body,  or  fire-place,  is  the  only  part 
of  this  furnace  that  requires  description ; 
the  ash-pit,  with  its  door  and  registers 
and  grate,  being  constructed  as  in  any 
other  furnace.  It  will  be  easily  under- 
stood by  considering  the  section  repre- 
sented in  fig.  3. 

The  base,  represented  by  the  dotted 
line  A  B  C,  and  the  top,  K  L  M,  are  oval 
plates  of  iron,  the  longer  diameter,  A  C, 
being  to  the  shorter  as  three  to  two 
nearly.  The  base  and  top  are  equal,  so 
that  the  sides,  K  A,  M  C,  are  upright,  the 
whole  body  forming  an  oval  cylinder. 
D  E  F,  is  half  of  the  hole  in  the  bottom, 
which  is  occupied  by  the  grate  fixed  on 


LABORATORY. 


the  lop  of  the  ash-pit.  G  H  I  is  half  of 
the  mouth  of  the  furnace,  which  receives 
a  still,  or  a  sand-pot,  for  distillation,  with 
a  retort.  This  is  a  little  nearer  to  the 
front,  K,  of  the  top,  than  the  grate-hole 
is  to  the  front,  A,  of  the  bottom,  so  that 
the  luting1  is  thicker  below  than  above. 
Near  me  back,  M,  of  the  furnace  is  a 
smaller  Hole  P,  for  the  vent.  The  luting 
at  Q  and  It  is  so  formed  that  the  cavity  of 
the  furnace  does  not  greatly  differ  from 
a  cylinder,  except  in  so  far  as  the  vent, 
PO,  does  not  communicate  with  it  abrupt- 
ly, but  is  gradually  curved  downwards, 
as  represented  in  the  figure,  making  the 
middle  of  the  cavity  more  roomy  back- 
wards, by  which  means  it  contains  a 
greater  quantity  of  fuel.  S  is  the  section 
of  the  luting,  which  forms  a  sort  of  an 
arch,  or  bridge,  contracting  the  entry  of 
the  vent.  An  iron  pipe  is  set  on  at  P  to 
increase  the  draught  of  the  chimney. 
The  fuel  is  put  into  the  furnace  by  the 
aperture  P,  and  the  sloping  form  of  the 
cavity  causes  it  to  distribute  itself  pretty 
uniformly. 

When  the  furnace  is  used  for  smelting, 
the  crucible  is  set  on  a  pedestal  standing 
on  the  grate,  and  the  fuel  is  placed  round 
it  with  great  case,  the  mouth  of  the  fur- 
nace being  open.  This  is  then  shut  up 
by  a  stopper  made  on  purpose,  or  by  a 
fiat  fire-tile  simply  laid  on  it. 

When  we  would  distil  with  a  naked  fire, 
the  retort  has  its  bulb  resting  on  a  ring 
•which  hangs  on  the  mouth  of  the  furnace 
by  three  hooks,  and  the  neck  of  the  re- 
tort lies  over  the  front  of  the  furnace. 
The  space  round  the  retort,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  furnace,  is  closed,  as  much  as  is 
necessary,  by  two  or  three  pieces  of  tile, 
shaped  so  as  nearly  to  fie  the  bulb  of  the 
retort  when  they  are  laid  on  the  mouth  of 
the  furnace.  A  quantity  of  light  ashes 
are  now  to  be  laid  on  these  tiles,  and 
heaped  up  so  as  to  cover  the  bulb  and 
part  of  the  neck  of  the  retort.  Dr.  Black 
found  that  this  produced  a  very  gradual 
diminution  of  the  heat,  as  it  recedes  from 
the  fuel,  and  is  less  liable  to  crack  the 
retort,  by  inequality  of  heat,  than  any 
other  contrivance.  Scarcely  any  proces's 
occurs  which  thisfurnace  does  not  answer 
with  great  ease. 

In  using  the  furnaces  most  convenient 
for  experimental  chemistry,  (namely, 
those  made  of  plate  iron)  it  is  necessary 
that  the  iron  be  defended  from  the  heat 
by  lining  or  lute,  as  we  call  it,  on  the  in- 
side ;  and  such  lutes  are  necessary  in 
other  occasions  in  chemistry ;  as  when  we 
have  occasion  to  close  the  joining  of  the 
vessels  with  one  another,  or  to  give  a 


coating  to  retorts,  or  even  to  crucibles, 
which  is  sometimes  done.  The  materials 
employed  for  these  purposes  have  their 
general  denomination  from  clay,  of  which 
some  of  the  most  useful  are  partly  com- 
posed, though  there  are  some  that  do  not 
contain  any  of  it.  They  may  be  divided 
into  such  as  contain  animal  or  vegetable 
matter,  of  the  glutinous  or  adhesive 
kind,  and  such  as  are  composed  only 
of  earthy  substances.  The  first  are 
used  for  closing  the  joining  of  vessels, 
when  the  heat  we  mean  to  apply  is  not 
to  be  strong,  nor  the  vapours  to  be  pro- 
duced corrosive.  The  second  serve  for 
the  lining  of  furnaces,  or  for  closing  the 
joinings  of  vessels,  in  operations  in  which 
the  vapours  are  very  corrosive,  or  in 
which  a  strong  heat  must  be  employed, 
which  would  scorch,  or  burn  and  destroy, 
any  animal  or  vegetable  glutinous  matter. 

The  joinings  of  vessels  with  one  another, 
which  we  have  the  most  frequent  occa- 
sion to  close  up  by  means  of  lutes,  are 
those  of  retorts  with  receivers.  And  we 
may  remark,  in  the  first  place,  with  re- 
gard to  these,  that  there  are  not  many 
operations  in  which  it  is  necessary  to 
make  the  joining  perfectly  close,  except 
when  the  receiver  is  provided  with  an 
air-pipe.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  dangerous, 
on  account  of  the  air  which  must  be  al- 
lowed to  escape  in  some  manner.  There- 
fore we  are  not  anxious  to  contrive  the 
most  close  and  compact.  They  are  suf- 
ficient and  better  if  they  be  moderately 
so,  and  in  some  cases,  when  we  think  the 
lute  too  close,  we  even  obviate  it  by  a  pin- 
hole.  The  animal  and  vegetable  lutes, 
employed  in  this  way,  are  glue  and  chalk 
mixed  in  thin  paste,  and  spread  on  slips  of 
paper  ;  or  gum  arabic  and  chalk,  used  in 
the  same  manner;  or  flour  and  water  ;  or 
a  bladder ;  or  linseed  meal ;  or  fat  lute. 
M.  Lavoisier  recommends,  for  joinings 
which  we  desire  to  be  air-tight,  but  which 
are  not  to  be  exposed  to  heat,  the  follow- 
ing: to  sixteen  ounces  of  bees-wax  add 
one  and  a  half  or  two  of  turpentine,  and 
keep  it  for  use.  When  used,  soften  and 
make  it  tough,  by  warming  and  working 
between  the  fingers  ;  then  put  it  on  the 
joint  in  little  rolls,  and  make  it  close;  and, 
lastly,  cover  it  with  slips  of  wet  bladder 
laced  with  pack-thread.  But,  if  the  joint 
is  liable  to  be  warmed,  or  heated,  during 
the  operation,  you  must  take  fat  lute. 
This  is  made  of  raw  pipe-clay  and  linseed 
oil,  beaten  together  very  hard,  to  the 
consistence  of  a  stiff  adhesive  paste. 

Of  the  second  kind  of  lutes,  called  the 
fire-lutes,  a  great  variety  have  been  pro- 
posed, and  some  of  them  compositions  of 


LABORATORY. 


many  ingredients,  but  none  are  equal,  or 
superior,  to  clay  and  sand ;  viz.  sand  3, 
or  4,  or  5,  or  6,  to  clay  1.  These  are 
for  luting  vessels  together,  and  for  coat- 
ings. But  in  lining  furnaces,  Dr.  Black 
used  a  double  lining;  first,  a  charcoal- 
lute  ;  secondly,  a  fire-lute. 

He  found  that  a  layer  of  powdered  char- 
coal, beaten  up,  or  kneaded,  with  as  little 
water  as  will  give  its  particles  adhesion 
enough  to  attach  itself  to  the  metal  sides 
of  the  furnace,  by  means  of  cautious  beat- 
ing, forms  a  firm  stratum,  which  is  the 
most  imperfect  conductor  of  heat  of  all 
that  he  had  tried.  When  this  layer  of 
charcoal  is  defended  from  the  action  of 
the  air  by  a  layer  of  fire-lute,  composed 
of  one  part  of  fine  clay,  and  three  or  four 
parts  of  sand,  carefully  put  on,  and  con- 
solidated by  gently  beating  it  from  day  to 
day,  till  it  no  longer  receives  an  impres- 
sion from  the  mallet,  it  will  last  as  long 
as  any  part  of  the  furnace.  Its  durability 
will  be  greatly  improved,  without  much 
change  in  its  conducting  power,  by  using, 
instead  of  pure  water,  water  made  mud- 
dy by  about  one-twentieth  of  pipe-clay. 
If  finely  powdered  charcoal  be  kneaded 
with  one-fifth  of  pipe-clay,  it  may  be 
kneaded  and  formed  into  any  shape,  and 
will  be  so  impervious  to  heat,  that  a  bit  of 
it  may  be  held  in  the  fingers  within  an 
inch  of  where  it  is  red  hot.  Such  a  com- 
position is,  therefore,  very  proper  for  the 
doors  of  furnaces,  and  for  stopples  for  such 
apertures  as  must  be  frequently  opened 
and  shut. 

Fig.  4,  represents  an  Argand's  lamp  ca- 

Eable  of  being  adjusted  at  different 
eights,  by  a  sliding  socket,  on  a  stem  or 
rod.  Another  similar  socket  is  seen  above, 
into  which  a  ring  of  wire  is  inserted  for 
supporting  the  retort,  a,  at  any  required 
distance  above  the  flame.  A  third  socket 
may  be  added,  still  higher  upon  the  stem, 
for  supporting  another  wire,  which  will 
afford  the  means  of  steadying  an  alembic, 
or  any  other  apparatus,  by  a  string  or 
small  flexible  wire  answering  the  same 
purpose.  This  is  a  very  convenient 
method  of  disposing  vessels  for  the  lamp 
heat,  upon  a  small  or  moderate  scale,  for 
distillations,  sublimation,  evaporation, 
drying,  and  the  like.  A  small  sand-bath 
may  be  placed,  when  needful,  in  the 
wire  above  the  flame  :  b  is  an  interme- 
diate condensing  vessel,  called  a  quilled 
receiver,  which  conveys  the  condensed 
product  into  a  bottle,  c.  The  rod  which 
supports  b  shows  how  useful  these  instru- 
ments are  in  their  various  applications. 

The  condensation  of  vapours  after  dis- 
tillation, and  the  transmission  of  gases, 


which  may  arise  along  with  them  to  their 
receptacles,  has  been  very  well  and  scien- 
tifically effected  by  the  late  Mr.  Woulfe, 
in  an  apparatus  of  bottles  which  is  dis- 
tinguished by  his  name.  The  original 
contrivance  will  be  easily  understood  by 
description,  and  instead  of  a  drawing  of 
that  arrangement  of  vessels,  we  shall  give 
one  of  the  most  simple,  safe,  and  conve- 
nient, of  all  the  improvements  which  have 
since  been  made  in  it ;  namely,  that  con- 
trived by  Dr.  Hamilton,  and  figured  at 
the  end  of  his  "  Translation  of  Bertholiet 
on  Dyeing."  Suppose  the  retort  and  re- 
ceiver, (fig.  1.)  or  any  other  distillatory 
apparatus,  to  have  a  communication  from 
the  upper  parts  of  the  receiver,  a,  at  c,  by 
a  tube  leading  into  a  bottle  having  three 
necks,  and  partly  filled  with  water,  be- 
neath the  surface  of  which  the  said  tube, 
after  passing  this,  an  air-tight  cork  was 
plunged.  Another  of  the  necks  of  the 
bottle  is  provided  with  an  upright  open 
tube,  also  passing  a  cork,  and  plunged  in 
the  water,  in  order  that  air  may  enter  in 
case  of  absorption,  or  the  liquid  may  rise 
a  little  in  it,  in  case  of  pressure  from  with- 
in. The  third  neck  of  the  bottle  affords 
a  communication  by  means  of  a  tube  with 
another  two  necked  bottle,  fitted  up  in 
all  respects  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
bottle  communicating  with  e.  And  in 
this  manner  we  may  conceive  a  series  of 
three  or  more  bottles,  the  last  of  which 
may  communicate  with  a  pneumatic  ap- 
paratus which  is  to  receive  the  incondens- 
able gas.  This  system  of  bottles  and 
tubes  is  sometimes  fitted  together  by 
grinding,  and  sometimes  made  secure  by 
lutes;  but  in  most  constructions,  though 
the  advantages  are  very  considerable,  the 
apparatus  is  difficult  to  be  put  together, 
and  easily  deranged  or  injured. 

Pig.  5,  represents  Dr.  Hamilton's  appa- 
ratus. A  is  the  retort  fitted  by  grinding 
into  a  plug  or  piece,  B,  represented  at 
b,  which  last  is  also  fitted  by  grinding  into 
the  neck  of  a  globular  receiver,  C. 

The  use  of  the  additional  piece,  bt  is 
to  afford  a  due  inclination  to  the  retort  by 
an  obliquity  of  its  perforation  or  hole,  in- 
stead of  allowing  it  to  remain  horizontal, 
as  it  would,  if  fitted  to  the  hole  in  C,  and 
also  to  facilitate  the  grinding  in  of  a  new 
retort,  in  the  case  of  breakage.  The  piece, 
1),  has  a  stopper,  a,  which  can  be  put 
whenever  the  retort  is  taken  out,  whether 
for  weighing  at,  or  for  any  other  purpose. 
The  first  receiver,  C,  has  a  smaller  neck 
opposite  to  B,  which  is  ground  into  a  cor- 
responding neck  of  D,  the  second  receiver, 
which  last  is  tubulated,  and  has  a  tube, 
H,  open  at  both  ends,  ground  into  its  ver- 


LABORATORY 


tical  neck,  for  the  purpose  of  permitting 
absorption,  and  re-acting,  by  its  contents, 
against  the  force  required  to  protrude  any 
gas  through  the  bended  tube  I  K  L. 
Every  one  of  the  range  of  the  receiver,  E 
F  G,  has  also  two  necks,  by  which  they 
are  successively  fitted  to  each  other,  and 
each  interior  neck  has  a  tube  of  about  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  fitted  into  it,  which,  by 
its  curvate,  reaches  nearly  to  the  bottom 
of  the  liquid  (usually  water)  placed  in 
each.  By  this  disposition,  the  usual  first 
product  of  condensation  is  received  in  C, 
and  the  purer  vapours,  proceeding  to  D, 
are  in  part  condensed  by  the  water  placed 
therein,  and  are  partly  urged  through  the 
tube  I,  into  contact  with  the  water  in  E : 
and  whatever  may  escape  condensation  in 
E,  will  be  urged  through  the  tube,  K,  into 
the  liquid  in  F ;  and  in  this  manner  the 
operation  may  proceed  through  the  whole 
set  of  vessels,  till  the  gasiform  remaining 
product,  if  any,  shall  pass  out  then  beneath 
the  mouth  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  three 
inverted  bottles  at  P,  which '  are  filled 
with  water,  and  have  their  mouths  im- 
mersed below  the  surface  of  the  water,  in 
a  dish  at  the  end  of  the  series.  S  and  s 
are  a  pair  of  pieces  of  wood  which  serve 
to  support  one  of  the  globes,  and  very 
conveniently  afford  an  adjustment,  by 
pressing  them  more  or  less  near  together. 
This  apparatus  is  drawn  upon  a  scale  of 
about  half  an  inch  to  a  foot,  which  is  a  pro- 
per size  to  be  worked  by  an  Argand's 
lamp ;  if  it  were  made  larger,  the  retort 
would  of  course  require  to  be  supported, 
as  usual,  by  the  parts  of  the  furnace,  or 
otherwise. 

The  dish  and  bottles  at  the  extremity  of 
this  apparatus  show  how  the  gases  or 
permanently  elastic  fluids  are  received  and 
managed.  For  such  gases  as  are  not  ab- 
sorbed by  water,  a  wooden  tub  may  be 
used,  having  a  shelf  therein,  at  such  a 
depth  as  to  stand  a  little  below  the  in- 
tended surface  of  the  water ;  or,  instead 
of  a  shelf,  a  short-legged  stool,  loaded 
with  lead,  may  be  used,  and  in  that  case 
any  tub  or  vessel  may  be  used.  Jars,  or 
vessels  of  any  convenient  figure,  being 
filled  with  water  by  immersion,  and  turn- 
ing them  bottom  upwards,  may  be  placed 
on  the  shelf,  which  should  have  holes  in 
it  for  the  convenience  of  pouring  up  any 
gas,  whether  from  another  jar,  bottle  or 
vessel,  or  from  the  neck  or  tube  of  a  re- 
tort, or  other  apparatus.  Jars,  &c.  thus 
filled  may  be  conveyed  away,  either  by 
corking  the  bottle,  or  by  putting  a  sau- 
cer, or  other  shallow  vessel,  beneath  the 


mouth  of  the  jar,  and  taking  both  out  to- 
gether, with  water  in  the  saucer. 

Gases  which  are  absorbed  by  water  are 
usually  received  over  mercury,  in  which 
case,  on  account  of  the  weight,  as  well  as 
the  expence  of  the  fluid,  the  vessels  are 
made  smaller,  and  the  trough  has  a  deep 
cavity  sufficient  for  immersion,  but  no 
larger,  and  a  broad  shallow  part  of  the 
trough  supplies  the  place  of  a  shelf  for 
the  jars  to  stand  upon ;  and  there  is 
an  actual  shelf  at  one  part  only  over  the 
end  of  the  deep  cavity.  Fig.  6,  represents 
a  trough  for  mercury,  which  may  be 
made  of  wood  or  of  stone.  The  space,  V, 
admits  the  jar,  A,  to  be  immersed,  and 
when  full  it  is  raised  and  placed  bottom 
downwards  upon  the  shallow  bottom. 
G  is  a  retort,  containing  some  materials, 
from  which  gas,  being  extricated,  rises 
beneath  A,  and  displaces  the  mercury.  X 
and  Y  are  grooves,  into  which  one  or  more 
wooden  shelves  may  be  slided,  as  occa- 
sion may  require,  in  which  application 
they  are  first  introduced  at  the  wider 
part,  T,  in  the  plan,  fig.  7. 

An  apparatus,  almost  indispensable  in 
experiments  on  the  gases,  is  a  gaxometer, 
which  enables  the  operator  to  receive  and 
preserve  large  quantities  of  gas  with  the 
aid  of  only  a  few  pounds  of  water.  These 
vessels  are  made  of  various  forms,  but 
one  of  the  most  simple  is  shown  in  fig.  8. 
It  consists  of  an  outer  fixed  vessel,  d,  and 
an  inner  moveable  one,  c,  both  of  japan- 
ned  iron.  The  latter  slides  easily  up  and 
down  within  the  other,  and  is  suspended 
by  cords  passing  pullies,  to  which  are  at- 
tached  the  counterpoises,  &c  To  avoid 
the  incumbrance  of  a  great  weight  of  wa- 
ter, the  outer  vessel,  d,  is  made  double,  or 
is  composed  of  two  cylinders,  the  inner  of 
which  is  closed  at  the  top  and  at  the  bot- 
tom. The  space  only  of  about  half  an 
inch  is  left  between  the  two  cylinders,  as 
shown  by  the  dotted  lines.  In  this  space 
the  vessel,  c,  may  move  freely  up  and 
down.  The  interval  is  filled  with  water 
as  high  as  the  top  of  the  inner  cylinder. 
The  cup  or  rim  on  the  top  of  the  outer 
vessel,  is  to  prevent  the  water  from  over- 
flowing when  the  vessel,  c,  is  forcibly  press- 
ed down,  in  which  situation  it  is  placed 
whenever  gas  is  about  to  be  collected. 
The  gas  enters  from  the  vessel  in  which 
it  is  produced,  by  the  communicating 
opening,  b,  and  passes  along  the  perpen- 
dicular pipe,  marked  by  dotted  lines  in  the 
centre,  into  the  cavity  of  the  vessel,  c, 
which  continues  rising  till  it  is  full. 

To  transfer  the  gas,  or  to  apply  it  to 
any  purpose,  the  cock,  bt  is  to  be  shut, 


LABORATORY. 


and  an  empty  bladder,  or  bottle  of  elas- 
tic gum,  furnished  with  a  stop  cock,  is  to 
be  screwed  on  a.  When  the  vessel,  c,  is 
pressed  down  by  the  hand,  the  gas  passes 
down  the  centnil  pipe,  which  it  had  be- 
fore ascended,  and  its  escape  at  b  being 
prevented,  it  finds  its  way  up  a  pipe 
which  is  fixed  on  the  outer  surface  of  the 
vessel,  and  which  is  terminated  by  the 
cock,  a.  liy  means  of  an  ivory  mouth-piece 
screwed  on  this  cock,  the  gas  included  in 
the  instrument  may  be  respired  ;  the 
nostrils  being  closed  by  the  fingers. 
When  it  is  required  to  transfer  the  gas 
into  glass  jars  standing  in  water,  a  crook- 
ed tube  may  be  employed,  one  end  of 
which  is  screwed  upon  the  cock,  b,  while 
the  other  aperture  is  brought  under  the 
inverted  funnel,  fixed  into  the  shelf  of  the 
pneumatic  trough. 

Several  alterations  have  been  made  in 
the  form  of  this  apparatus,  but  they  are 
principally  such  as  add  merely  to  its  neat- 
ness and  beauty,  and  not  to  its  utility ; 
and  they  render  it  less  easy  of  explana- 
tion. The  counterpoises,  e  e,  are  now 
generally  concealed  in  the  framing,  and 
the  vessel  c  is  frequently  made  of  glass. 

When  large  quantities  of  gas  are  re- 
quired (as  at  a  public  lecture)  the  gas 
holder,  fig.  9,  will  be  found  extremely 
useful.  It  is  made  of  tinned  iron  plate, 
japanned  both  within  and  without.  Two 
short  pipes,  a  and  c,  terminated  by  cocks, 
proceed  from  its  sides,  and  another,  6, 
passes  through  the  middle  of  the  top  or 
cover,  to  which  it  is  soldered,  and  reaches 
within  half  an  inch  of  the  bottom. 

It  will  be  found  convenient  also  to  have 
an  air  cock  with  a  very  wide  bore  fixed  to 
the  funnel  at  b.  When  gas  is  to  be  trans- 
ferred into  this  vessel  from  the  gazometer, 
the  vessel  is  first  completely  filled  with 
water  through  the  funnel,  the  cock  a  be- 
ing left  open  and  c  shut.  By  means  of  an 
horizontal  pipe,  the  aperture  a  is  connect- 
ed with  a  of  the  gazometer.  The  cock  b 
being  shut,  a  and  c  are  opened,  and  the 
Vessel  c  of  the  gazometer,  fig.  8,  gently 
pressed  downwards  with  the  hand.  The 
gas  then  descends  from  the  gazometer 
till  the  air-holder  is  full,  which  may  be 
known  by  the  water  ceasing  to  escape 
through  the  cock  c.  All  the  cocks  are 
then  to  be  shut,  and  the  vessels  disunited. 
To  apply  this  gas  to  any  purpose,  an 
«mpty  bladder  may  be  screwed  on  a; 
and  water  being  poured  through  the  fun- 
nel b,  a  corresponding  quantity  of  gas  is 
forced  into  the  bladder.  By  lengthening 
the  pipe,  b,  the  pressure  of  a  column  of 
Water  may  be  added ;  and  the  gas  being 


forced  through  at  with  considerable  velo- 
city, may  be  applied  to  the  purpose  of 
a  blow-pipe,  &c.  8cc. 

The  gazometer,  already  described,  is 
fitted  only  for  the  reception'of  gases  that  are 
confinable  by  water,  because  quicksilver 
would  act  on  the  tinning  and  solder  of 
the  vessel,  and  would  not  only  be  spoiled 
itself,  but  would  destroy  the  apparatus. 
Yet  an  instrument  of  this  kind,  in  which 
mercury  can  be  employed,  is  peculiarly 
desirable,  on  account  of  the  great  weight 
of  that  fluid ;  and  two  varieties  of  the  mer- 
curial gazometer  have  therefore  been  in- 
vented. The  one  of  glass  is  the  contri- 
vance of  Mr.  Clayfield,  and  may  be  seen 
represented  in  the  plate  prefixed  to  Mr. 
Davy's  researches.  In  the  other,  invent- 
ed by  Mr.  Pepys,  the  cistern  for  the  mer- 
cury is  of  cast  iron.  The  drawing  and 
representation  of  it  may  be  found  in  the 
fifth  volume  of  the  Philosophical  Maga- 
zine; but  as  neither  of  these  instruments 
are  essential  to  the  chemical  student,  and 
as  they  are  required  only  in  experiments 
of  research,  we  refer  to  the  minute  de- 
scriptions of  their  respective  inventors. 

Very  complete  sketches  of  chemical 
instruments  and  furnaces  may  be  seen  in 
Henry's  chemistry. 

After  the  general  description  we  have 
here  given  of  the  arrangement  and  appara- 
tus for  chemical  experiments,  we  shall 
conclude  with  a  short  account  of  the 
blow-pipe. 

It  is  a  tube  which  terminates  in  a  per- 
foration not  exceeding  the  hole  which 
might  be  made  by  a  small  pin.  There  is  no 
difficulty,  in  case  of  emergency,  in  making 
one  out  of  a  tube  of  glass,  and  the  com- 
mon blow-pipes  sold  at  the  ironmongers 
for  a  few  pence,  and  in  universal  use  with 
workmen,  are  very  good.  Others  more 
costly  and  elegant,  which  have  a  small 
space  for  the  condensation  of  the  vapour 
of  the  breath,  are  sold  by  the  makers  of 
chemical  apparatus.  It  requires  some 
address  to  produce  a  constant  stream  of 
air  by  blowing  through  this  pipe ;  but  the 
principal  artifice  consists  in  keeping  the 
tongue  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and 
using  the  breath  by  the  pressure  of  the 
muscles  of  the  face  instead  of  the  chest. 
Some  workmen  in  glass  contrive  to  hold 
the  pipe  steady  between  the  teeth,  and  by 
that  means  have  both  hands  at  liberty  tor 
use ;  but  as  this  requires  uncommon 
steadiness  in  the  head,  the  philosophical 
chemist  will  probably  prefer  fixing  his 
pipe  to  one  of  his  stands  Some  blow- 
pipes have  been  made,  through  which  a 
a  stream  of  vapour  from  boiling  alcohol  is 


LABORATORY. 


urged ;  but  these  instruments  seem  to  be 
rather  toys  than  of  use  to  the  actual  che- 
mical investigator.  It  appears  preiera- 
ble  to  use  bellows,  as  the  enamellers  do, 
where  an  extensive  application  of  this  im- 
plement is  required ;  though  in  this  case 
the  desirable  requisite  of  portability  is 
lost  sight  of. 

The  bodies  intended  to  be  heated  by 
the  blow-pipe  must  not,  in  general,  ex- 
ceed the  size  of  a  pepper-corn,  unless 
bellows  and  a  very  large  flame  be  used. 
The  proper  supports  are,  either  a  piece 
of  smooth,  close-grained  charcoal,  for 
such  bodies  as  are  not  subject  to  an  al- 
teration of  their  properties,  from  the  in- 
flammability of  the  coal,  as  might  be  con- 
trary to  the  nature  of  the  investigation. 
This  support  is  therefore  most  frequent- 
ly used ;  as  it  is  properly  adapted  for  sa- 
line, earthy,  and  many  metallic  bodies. 
The  other  support  consists  of  a  spoon, 
somewhat  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  made  of  a  metal  not  sub- 
ject to  oxydation  ;  that  is  to  say,  pure 
gold,  silver,  or  platina,  or  such  a  mix- 
ture of  these  metals  as  might  be  found 
to  be  least  deficient  in  the  requisite  de- 
gree of  hardness,  which  gold  or  silver 
alone  does  not  possess.  Bergman  advis- 
ed to  add  one-tenth  of  platina  to  a  given 
mass  of  silver.  There  is,  however,  no 
very  considerable  inconvenience  resulting 
from  the  use  of  a  small  spoon,  either  of 
gold  or  of  silver  ;  and  platina  possesses 
every  quality  which  can  be  wished  for.  The 
small  metallic  spoon  must  of  course  be 
properly  fixed  in  a  socket  of  metal,  pro- 
vided with  a  wooden  handle. 

Very  small  or  pulverulent  substances 
are  apt  to  be  carried  away  by  the  current 
of  flame.  These  may  be  secured  by 
making  a  small  hole  in  the  charcoal,  in- 
to which  the  powder  is  to  be  put,  and 
covered  with  another  small  piece  of  char- 
coal,  which  partly  protects  them  from  the 
flame.  Some  experiments  of  reduction 
are  made  by  binding  two  small  pieces 
of  charcoal  together,  cutting  a  channel 
along  the  piece  intended  to  be  the  un- 
dermost, and  making  a  cavity  in  the 
middle  ot  this  channel  to  contain  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  examination.  With  this 
apparatus  the  flame  is  urged  through  the 
channel  between  the  two  pieces  of  coal, 
and  violently  heats  the  substance  in  the 
cavity,  which  may  be  considered  as  a  clos- 
ed vessel. 

A  great  number  of  mineral  bodies  are 
not  fusible  by  mere  flame,  urged  by  com- 
mon air  through  the  blow-pipe  ;  though 


oxygen   gas  subdues  most  bodies.    See 
GAS  ojcygen. 

Whenever,  therefore,  the  fusion  of  any 
refractory  substance  is  to  be  attempted, 
some  other  substance  must  be  added 
which  is  more  fusible,  and  capable  of 
dissolving  the  former.  These  solvents  in 
the  dry  way,  are  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  fluxes,  and,  like  the  solvents 
used  in  the  humid  way,  are  mostly  sa- 
line. It  may  easily  be  imagined,  that 
the  nature  of  the  products  will  greatly 
vary,  according  to  that  of  the  flux,  which 
enters  into  combination  with  them ;  and 
accordingly  they  are  varied  in  experi- 
ments, as  well  as  in  operations,  in  the 
large  way.  The  blow-pipe  experiments, 
though  conducted  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  those  upon  a  larger  scale,  dif- 
fer nevertheless  from  them  in  two  par- 
ticulars ;  namely,  that  the  whole  of  the 
phenomena  are  visible  throughout,  and 
that  the  residues  are  of  no  value,  other- 
wise than  as  they  serve  to  indicate  facts. 
For  these  reasons,  every  flux,  without 
exception,  might  be  used  with  the  blow- 
pipe, provided  it  were  not  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  sink  into  the  charcoal.  We 
may  therefore  select  a  certain  small 
number  of  the  most  convenient  fluxes, 
and  note  the  effects  which  they  respec- 
tively produce  upon  the  various  mineral 
bodies  ;  and  these  will  serve  as  indica- 
tions to  enable  the  chemical  enquirer 
to  distinguish  them  again  with  a  great 
degree  of  accuracy,  not  to  mention,  that 
he  may  also  derive  much  advantage, 
with  regard  to  the  more  extensive  ope- 
rations he  might  be  disposed  to  under- 
take. A  considerable  part  of  this  pre- 
liminary labour  has  already  been  per- 
formed by  Engestrom,  Bergman,  Mon- 
gez,,  and  others ;  and  it  is  now  become 
usual  for  chemists,  among  their  other 
experiments  on  minerals,  to  mention  their 
habitudes  with  the  blow-pipe. 

The  fluxes  which  have  obtained  the  ge- 
neral sanction  of  chemists,  on  account 
of  the  extensive  use  they  have  been  ap- 
plied to  by  Bergman,  are  phosphoric 
acid  in  the  dry  or  glassy  state,  soda, 
and  borax,  or  the  native  borate  of  soda. 

LABOUR,  in  general,  denotes  a  close 
application  to  work  or  business.  Among 
seamen  a  ship  is  said  to  be  in  labour  when 
she  rolls  and  tumbles  very  much,  either  a 
hull  under  sail,  or  at  anchor.  It  is  also 
spoke  of  a  woman  in  travail,  or  child-birth. 
See  MIDWIFERY 

LABRADOR  stone,  in  mineralogy,  is  of 
a  grey  colour,  passing  into  a  dark  ash. 


LAB 


LAC 


It  exhibits,  however,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, a  great  variety  of  colours,  as 
blue,  green,  yellow,  red,  and  brown,  in 
their  different  shades.  It  shows,  like- 
wise, spotted  and  striped  delineations. 
Sometimes  the  same  spot  if  held  in  differ- 
ent directions  changes  its  colour  from  blue 
to  green,  &c.  The  beautiful  colours  seldom 
extend  over  a  whole  piece  ;  in  general, 
they  show  themselves  only  in  large  and 
smaller  spots  and  patches.  Different  co- 
lours are  presented,  according  as  the  piece 
is  held  between  the  light  and  the  eye,  or 
the  eye  and  the  light  '  It  occurs  massive, 
in  blunt  edged  and  rolled  pieces.  Its 
principal  fracture  is  shining,  passing  into 
splendent.  Specific  gravity  is  about  2.7. 
It  runs  into  a  white  enamel,  with  addition 
before  the  blow-pipe.  The  constituent 
parts  are 

Silica 69.5 

Alumina 13  6 

Sulphate  of  lime 12.0 

Oxide  of  copper 0.7 

Oxide  of  iron 0.3 

96.1 


It  makes  a  part  of  certain  kinds  of 
green  stone,  and  is  accompanied  with 
mica  and  shorl,  though  seldom  with  iron 
pyrites.  It  was  originally  discovered  by 
the  Moravians,  in  the  isla'nd  of  St.  Paul, 
on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  where  it  is  still 
to  be  met  with  in  plenty,  also  in  some 
parts  of  Denmark  and  Norway,  and  near 
the  romantic  Lake  of  Baikel  in  Siberia. 
It  is  used  for  many  ornamental  pur- 
poses. 

LABRUS,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
of  fishes  of  the  order  Thoracici.  Generic 
character:  teeth  strong  and  sharp;  the 
grinders  sometimes  convex  and  crowded  ; 
lips  thick  and  doubled  ;  rays  of  the  dor- 
sal fin  in  several  species  prolonged  into  soft 
processes  ;  gill-covers  unarmed  and  scaly: 
There  are  ninety-eight  species  enumerat- 
ed by  Shaw,  of  which  we  shall  notice 
merely  the  following :  L.  scarus,  is  about 
the  length  of  twelve  inches,  and  is  found 
in  the  Mediterranean  in  immense  shoals. 
It  was  well  known  to  the  ancients,  and 
highly  admired  by  them,  being  consider- 
ed as  one  of  the  most  luxurious  dainties. 
For  a  representation  of  the  blue-finned 
Labrus,  see  Plate  V.  fig.  2. 

LABYRINTH,  in  anatomy,  the  internal 
cavity  of  the  ear,  so  called  from  sinuosi- 
ties and  windings.  See  EAR, 

VOL  IV. 


LABYRINTH,  in  gardening,  a  winding 
mazy  walk  between  hedges,  through  a 
wood  or  wilderness.  The  chief  aim  is  to 
make  the  walks  so  perplexed  and  intri- 
cate that  a  person  may  lose  himself  in 
them,  and  meet  with  as  great  a  number  of 
disappointments  as  possible.  They  are 
rarely  to  be  met  with,  except  in  great 
and  noble  gardens,  as  Versailles,  Hamp- 
ton court,  &c.  There  are*  two  ways  of 
making  them ;  the  first  is  with  single 
hedges  :  this  method  has  been  practised 
in  England  ;  and  these  may,  indeed,  be 
best,  where  there  is  but  a  small  spot 
of  ground  allowed  for  making  them  ; 
but  where  there  is  ground  enough  the 
double  is  most  eligible.  Those  made 
with  double  hedges,  with  a  considera- 
ble thickness  of  wood  between  them, 
are  approved  as  much  better  than  sin- 
gle ones  :  this  is  the  manner  of  making 
them  in  France  and  other  places ;  of 
all  which  that  of  Versailles  is  allowed 
to  be  the  noblest  of  its  kind  in  the 
world.  It  is  an  error  to  make  them  too 
narrow  ;  for  that  makes  it  necessary  to 
keep  the  hedges  close  clipped  :  but  if,  ac- 
cording to  the  foreign  practice,  they  are 
made  wide,  they  will  not  stand  in  need 
of  it.  The  walks  are  made  with  gravel 
usually  set  with  horn -beam  :  the  palli- 
sades  ought  to  be  ten,  twelve,  or  four- 
teen feet  high  ;  the  horn-beam  should  be 
kept  cut,  and  the  walks  rolled. 

LAC,  gum,  in  chemistry,  is  a  very  sin- 
gular compound,  prepared  by  the  female 
of  a  very  minute  insect,  the  coccus  lacca, 
found  on  some  trees  in  the  East  Indies, 
particularly  the  banyan  fig  The  insect 
is  nourished  by  the  tree,  fixing  itself  upon 
the  twigs  and  extremities  of  the  succu- 
lent branches,  where  it  deposits  its  eggs, 
which  it  glues  to  the  branch  by  a  red 
liquid,  the  outside  of  which  hardens  by 
the  air,  and  serves  as  a  cell  for  the  parent 
insect.  This  increases  in  size,  and  the 
young  insects  at  first  feed  upon  the  en- 
closed liquid,  and  after  this  is  expended, 
they  eat  through  the  coat,  leaving  a  hol- 
low red  resinous  bag,which  is  "  stick-lac." 
The  best  lac  is  procured  from  the  pro- 
vince of  Acham,  but  it  is  obtained  in  great 
plenty  on  the  uncultivated  mountains  on 
each  side  of  the  Ganges.  There  are  four 
kinds  of  lac,  viz.  "  stick-lac,"  which  is 
lac  in  its  natural  state,  without  any  pre- 
paration ;  "  seed-lac,"  which  is  stick-lac 
broken  into  small  lumps,  awd  granulated  ; 
"  lump  lac,"  which  is  seed-lac  liquified  by 
fire  ;  "  shell-lac,"  which  is  a  preparation 
of  the  stick-lac.  By  a  number  of  very  ac- 


LAC 


LAC 


curate  experiments  made  by  Mr  Hatchett, 
it  is  found  that  lac  consists  of  a  colouring 
extract  of  resin,  gluten,  and  wax  ;  all  of 
them  in  intimate  combinations :  the  pro- 
portions of  the  stick-lac  are  as  follow  : 

Kesin 68.0 

Wax 6.0 

Gluten 6.5 

Colouring1  extract  .  .  .  10.0 
Extraneous  substances  .  6.5 

96.0 

Lac  is  employed  for  a  variety  of  pur- 
poses in  the  arts  :  the  finer  specimens  are 
cut  into  beads  for  necklaces.  It  enters 
largely  into  the  composition  of  sealing- 
wax,  and  hard  japans  or  varnishes :  and 
it  is  much  used  in  dying. 

LAC  sulphuris,  in  medicine,  a  sulphur 
separated  by  acid  from  its  alkaline  solu- 
tion. In  this  state  it  is  thought  to  be 
milder  and  a  more  efficacious  medicine 
than  in  its  crude  state,  and  is  certainly 
less  nauseous  to  the  taste.  See  SULPHUR. 

LACCIC  add,  in  chemistry,  a  white  or 
yellowish  production  of  insects,  called 
white-lac.  Some  of  this  substance,  brought 
from  Madras,  was  analyzed  by  Dr.  Pear- 
son, who  found  that  it  bore  a  considerable 
analogy  to  bees -wax.  A  full  account  of 
Dr.  p'earson's  experiments  may  be  seen 
in  the  eighty-fourth  volume  of  Philos. 
Trans.  The  component  parts  of  this  acid 
are  supposed  to  be  carbon,  hydrogen,  and 
oxygen. 

LACE,  in  commerce,  a  work  composed 
of  many  threads  of  gold,  silver,  or  silk,  in- 
terwoven the  one  with  the  other,  and 
worked  upon  a  pillow  with  spindles,  ac- 
cording to  the  pattern  designed.  The 
open-work  being  formed  with  pins,  which 
are  placed  and  displaced  as  the  spindles 
are  moved. 

LACK,  bone,  a  lace  made  of  fine  linen, 
thread,  or  silk,  much  in  the  same  manner 
as  that  of  gold  and  silver.  The  pattern  of 
the  lace  is  fixed  upon  a  large  round  pil- 
low, and  pins  being  stuck  into  the  holes 
or  openings  in  the  pattern,  th  ;  threads 
are  interwoven  by  means  of  a  lumber  of 
bobbins  made  of  bone  or  ivory,  each  of 
which  contains  a  small  quantity  of  fine 
thread,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the 
lace  exactly  resemble  the  pattern.  There 
are  several  towns  in  England,  and  particu- 
larly in  Buckinghamshire,  that  carry  on 
this  manufacture ;  but  vast  quantities  of 
the  finest  laces  have  been  imported  from 
Flanders. 

LACERTA,  the  lizard,  in  natural  his- 
tory, a  genus  of  Amphibia,  of  the  order 
Reptiles.  Generic  character :  body  four- 


footed,  tailed,  naked  and  long,  having  TIO 
secondary  integument;  legs  equal.  There 
are,  according  to  Gmelin,  eighty-one  spe- 
cies, of  which  the  following-  are  princi- 
pally deserving  of  attention.  L.  crocodi- 
lus  or  the  crocodile,  is  a  native  both  of 
Africa  and  Asia,  but  is  most  frequently 
found  in  the  former,  inhabiting  its  vast 
rivers,  and  particularly  the  Niger  and  the 
Nile.  It  has  occasionally  been  seen  of 
the  length  of  even  thirty  feet,  and  in- 
stances of  its  attaining  that  of  twenty  are 
by  no  means  uncommon.  It  principally 
subsists  on  fish,  but  such  is  its  voracity, 
that  it  seizes  almost  every  thing  within 
its  reach.  The  upper  part  of  its  body  is 
covered  with  a  species  of  armour,  so 
thick  and  firm,  as  to  be  scarcely  penetra- 
ble by  a  musket  ball,  and  the  whole  body 
exhibits  the  appearance  of  an  elaborate 
covering  of  carved  work.  It  is  an  ovipa- 
rous animal,  and  its  eggs  scarcely  exceed 
in  size  those  of  a  goose.  These  eggs  are 
regarded  as  luxuries  by  the  natives  of 
some  countries  of  Africa,  who  will  also 
with  great  relish  partake  of  the  flesh  of 
the  crocodile  itself.  When  young,  the 
small  size  and  weak  state  of  the  crocodile 
prevent  its  being  injurious  to  any  animal 
of  considerable  bulk  or  strength,  as  those 
which  have  been  taken  living  to  England 
have  by  no  means  indicated  that  ferocious 
and  devouring  character  which  they  have 
been  generally  described  to  possess,  a  cir- 
cumstance, probably,  owing  to  the  change 
of  climate,  and  the  reducing  effect  of 
confinement.  In  its  native  climate  its 
po\ver  and  propensity  for  destruction  are 
unquestionably  great,  and  excites  in  the 
inhabitants  of  the  territories  near  its 
haunts  a  high  degree  of  terror.  It  lies 
in  wait  near  the  banks  of  rivers,  and  with 
a  sudden  spring,  seizes  any  animal  that 
approaches  within  its  reach,  swallowing  it 
by  an  instantaneous  effort,  and  then  rush- 
ing back  into  its  watery  recesses,  till  re- 
newed appetite  stimulates  the  renewal  of 
its  insidious  exertions.  These  animals 
were  occasionally  exhibited  by  the  Ro- 
mans among  their  collections  of  the  natu- 
ral wonders  of  the  provinces,  and  Scaurus 
and  Augustus  are  both  recorded  to  have 
entertained  the  people  with  the  sight  of 
these  new  and  formidable  objects.  It  is 
reported  by  some  travellers,  that  croco- 
diles are  capable  of  being  tamed,  and  are 
actually  kept  in  a  condition  of  harmless 
domestication  at  the  grounds  and  artificial 
lakes  of  some  African  princes,  chiefly  as 
appendages  of  royal  splendour  and  mag- 
nificence. A  single  negro  will  often  at- 
tack a  crocodile,  and  by  spearing  it  be- 
tween the  scales  of  the  belly,  where  it  is 


LACERTA. 


easily  penetrable,  "secure  its  destruction. 
In  some  regions  these  animals  are  hunted 
by  dogs,  which,  however,  are  carefully 
disciplined  to  the  exercise,  and  are  armed 
with  collars  of  iron  spikes.  Aristotle  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  first  who  asserted 
that  the  under  jaw  of  the  crocodile  was 
immovable,  and  from  him  the  idea  was 
transmitted  and  believed  for  a  long  suc- 
cession of  ages.  But  the  motion  of  the 
jaw  in  this  animal  is  similar  to  that  of  all 
other  quadrupeds.  The  ancients  also 
thought  it  destitute  of  a  tongue,  an  idea 
equally  false.  The  tongue,  however,  is 
moi'e  fixed  in  this  than  in  most  animals  to 
the  sides  of  the  mouth,  and  less  capable 
therefore  of  being  protruded.  The  eggs 
of  the  crocodile  are  deposited  on  the 
mud  or  sand  of  the  banks  of  rivers,  and, 
immediately  on  being  hatched,  the  young 
move  towards  the  water,  in  their  passage 
to  which,  however,  vast  numbers  are  in- 
tercepted by  ichneumons  andbirds,  which 
watch  their  progress.  See  Amphibia, 
Plate  I  fig.  4. 

L.  alligator,  the  alligator,  differs  from 
the  former  species  principally  in  being 
more  smooth  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
head,  and  on  the  snout  being  much  wider 
and  flatter,  and  rounder  at  the  end.  It 
grows  to  the  length  of  eighteen  feet,  and 
abounds  particularly  in  the  torrid  zone, 
but  it  is  found  so  far  north  as  the  river 
Neus  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  met  with 
both  in  the  fresh  and  salt  parts  of  rivers, 
and  amidst  the  reeds  along  the  banks, 
lurks  in  ambush  for  its  prey,  seizing  upon 
dogs  and  cattle  which  approach  within 
the  reach  of  its  fatal  bound.  Alligators 
are  equally  formidable  in  their  appear- 
ance, and  ferocious  in  their  dispositions, 
seizing  both  man  and  beast  with  almost 
indiscriminating  voracity,  and  pulling 
them  to  the  bottom  to  lessen  their  means 
of  resistance,  and  devour  them  with  less 
interruption.  By  the  close  union  of  the 
vertebrae,  this  animal  can  proceed  with 
celerity  only  in  a  straight  forward 
direction,  so  that  the  intended  victims 
pursued  by  them,  are  enabled  to  elude 
this  destination  by  lateral  and  cross  move- 
ments. But  though  the  alligator  is  defi- 
cient in  flexibility,  it  supplies  this  defect 
in  a  great  degree  by  sagacity  or  cunning, 
and  appearing  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
like  the  stock  of  a  tree,  he  thus  attracts 
various  animals  within  its  grasp.  Fowls, 
fishes,  and  turtle,  all  are  drawn,  whether 
by  curiosity  or  for  convenience,  towards 
this  object,  supposed  completely  harm- 
less, but  from  which  the  jaws  of  destruc- 
tion are  instantly  opened  to  devour  them. 
Alligators  are  said  to  swallow  stones  and 


various  other  substances  incapable  of  af- 
fording nourishment,  merely  to  prevent 
the  contraction  of  their  intestines,  and 
thus  allay  their  hunger;  and  Catesby  ob- 
serves, that,  on  opening  a  great  number, 
he  has  seen  nothing  but  clumps  of  light 
wood  and  pieces  cf  pine  tree  coal  (in 
one  instance  a  piece  of  the  weight  of 
eight  pounds)  worn  by  attrition  to  a  sur- 
face perfectly  smooth,  implying  that  the}' 
had  long  remained  in  their  bodies.  Their 
eggs  are  deposited  on  the  banks  of  rivers, 
and  sometimes  in  a  nest  composed  of 
vegetables  with  considerable  care,  and  are 
hatched  by  the  sun,  and  the  young  ones 
are  not  only  devoured  by  fishes  and  birds, 
but  become  the  victims  often  of  their  own 
voracious  species.  In  Carolina  they  sel- 
dom attack  men  or  large  cattle,  but  are 
formidable  enemies  to  hogs.  From  Oc- 
tober to  March  they  continue  in  the  se- 
questered caverns  of  the  river  banks  in  a 
state  of  torpor,  re-appearing  in  the  spring 
with  the  most  violent  and  terrific  noises. 
Some  parts  of  them  are  used  by  the  In- 
dians for  food,  and  the  flesh  is  of  an  at- 
tractive whiteness,  but  has  a  very  strong 
flavour  of  musk.  The  growth  of  this  ani- 
mal, and  of  the  crocodile,  is  extremely 
slow,  and  both  are  imagined  to  be  long 
lived.  The  alligator  of  North  America  is 
without  doubt  specifically  distinct  from 
that  of  South  America,  and  the  West 
India  Islands.  See  Amphibia,  Plate  I. 
fiffS. 

L.  iguana,  or  the  great  American  guana, 
is  found  in  various  parts  of  America  and 
the  West  Indies.  Its  colour  is  generally 
green.  Its  back  exhibits  the  appearance 
of  a  saw,  and  it  is  distinguished  by  a  pouch 
under  the  throat,  which  it  is  able  to  ex- 
tend or  contract  at  pleasure,  and  which 
gives  it  occasionally  an  appearance  truly 
formidable.  It  is  formidable,  however, 
only  in  appearance,  being  in  fact  per- 
fectly inoffensive.  Its  general  length  is 
from  three  to  five  feet ;  it  inhabits  rocks 
and  woods,  and  subsists  on  vegetable  food 
and  .certain  species  of  insects.  The 
guanas  deposit  their  eggs  (which  have 
no  testaceous  covering,  and  are  much 
valued  for  food)  in  the  earth,  where  they 
may  be  warmed  by  the  beams  of  the  sun, 
and  leave  them  to  be  matured  solely  by 
its  influence.  The  natives  of  the  Bahamas 
train  dogs  to  the  pursuit  of  these  animals, 
and  a  well  disciplined  dog  will  take  them 
alive,  in  which  case  they  are  carried  for 
sale  to  the  markets  of  Carolina  in  the 
holds  of  vessels ;  those  which  are  des- 
troyed or  lacerated  by  the  dogs,  arc 
salted  and  barrelled,  and  kept  for  the 
home  consumption.  Their  flesh  is  re 


LACERTA. 


ported  to  be  easily  digestible,  delicate, 
and  well  flavoured.  They  will  keep  un- 
der water  for  nearly  an  hour  ;  when  they 
swim,  their  feet  are  kept  close  to  their 
bodies,  and  they  appear  to  produce  and 
regulate  their  motions  merely  by  their 
tails.  Whatever  they  eat  they  swallow 
whole.  They  have  been  kept  without 
food  a  very  considerable  time.  Their 
colour  is  much  affected  by  the  state  of 
the  weather,  or  the  dampness  or  dryness 
of  their  habitation.  They  may  be  easily 
tamed  if  taken  young1. 

L  basiliscus,  or  the  basilisk,  is  particu- 
larly distinguished  by  a  broad  wing-like 
process,  elevated  along  the  whole  length 
of  its  back,  somewhat  similar  to  the  fins 
of  fishes,  and  which  is  capable,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  animal,  of  being  extended 
or  contracted  It  lives  almost  solely  in 
trees,  feeding  upon  insects,  and  though 
somewhat  terrific  in  appearance,  is  as 
harmless  as  any  of  the  lizard  tribe.  It  is 
found  most  frequently  in  South  America, 
generally  about  a  foot  and  a  half  long, 
swims  with  g;  eat  ease,  and  moving  among 
the  branches  of  the  trees  wiih  extreme 
agility,  sometimes  apparently  with  a  short 
flight,  which  is  aided  by  the  remarkable 
process  above  mentioned,  on  its  back. 
The  basilisk  of  antiquity,  whose  bite  was 
supposed  to  be  moie  speedily  mortal  than 
that  of  any  other  creature,  and  whose 
look  even  carried  destruction  with  it,  is 
to  be  ranked  with  the  Sabulous  monsters, 
which,  in  the-  prevailing  ignorance  of  na- 
ture that  attended  those  times,  were  am- 
ply supplied  by  a  poetic  imagination, 
bee  Amphibia,  Plate  I  fig  3. 

L.  monitor,  or  the  black  lifcard,  mea- 
sures frequently  four  and  sometimes  five 
feet,  being  one  of  the  largest  as  well  as 
the  most  elegant  of  the  tribe.  It  is  found 
principally  in  woody  and  moist  situations 
in  South  America,  and  is  reported  to  give 
indications  of  attachment  and  gratitude 
to  those  by  whom  it  has  been  fed,  and  fa- 
nViliarUed  to  be  as  mild  in  its  manners  and 
temper  as  it  is  elegant  in  its  form. 

L.  agilis,  or  the  green  lizard,  is  abun- 
dant in  all  the  warmer  latitudes  of  Europe, 
sometimes  attaining  the  length  of  more 
than  two  feet,  but  in  general  not  exceed- 
ing one.  Its  colouring  is  more  be.  autifr.l 
than  that  of  any  of  its  tribe  in  this  quarter 
of  the  world.  About  the  southern  walls 
of  gardens,  it  is  particularly  seen  pursu- 
ing insects  wiih  great  alertness  and  Dex- 
terity, anil  both  in  attack  and  escape  its 
agility  is  truly  admirable.  It  may  to  a 
certain  degree  be  tamed  and  familiarised, 
and  in  this  state  is  by  many  considered 


not  only  as  a  perfectly  harmless,  but  as  a 
favourite  animal. 

L.  chameleon,  the  chameleon,  is  gene- 
rally of  the  length  of  ten  inches  without 
the  tail,  which  is  equally  long.  Its  food 
consists  of  insects,  which  it  procures  by 
protruding  the  tip  of  its  tubular  and 
lengthened  tongue  with  inconceivable  ce- 
lerity, and  never  failing  to  retract  with  it 
the  prey  at  which  it  was  darted.  In  In- 
dia and  Africa,  and  various  other  parts  of 
the  world,  these  animals  are  found  in 
great  abundance.  They  are  perfectly  in- 
offensive, and  can  endure  a  long  absti- 
nence, from  which  latter  circumstance  the 
idea  of  their  living  upon  air  alone,  may 
not  unnaturally  have  been  derived  They 
occasionally  retain  the  air  in  their  lung's 
for  a  very  considerable  time,  and  thus  as- 
sume an  appearance  of  fulness  and  rlesiii- 
ness,  which  is  in  perfect  contrast  to  that 
which  they  will  suddenly  exhibit,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  total  expulsion  of  the  air 
from  the  lungs,  during  which  they  are 
collapsed  and  seemingly  emaciated.  A. 
change  of  colour  is  sometimes  observed 
in  many  of  the  lizard  tribe,  but  particu- 
larly so  in  the  chameleon  ;  but  the  long 
prevailing  idea  of  the  adaptation  of  its 
colour  to  that  of  any  substance  with  which 
it  is  surrounded  is  totally  groundless.  Its 
varieties  in  this  respect  appear  to  extend 
(in  consequence,  principally,  of  varied 
health  or  temperature)  from  its  natural 
green-gray  into  very  pale  yellow,  with  ir- 
regular patches  of  red.  When  exposed 
to  the  sun,  considerable  changes  in  the 
shading  and  patching  of  its  colours  are 
observable  ;  and  when,  after  being  wrap- 
ped in  white  linen  by  some  members  of 
the  French  Academy,  it  reappeared  within 
two  or  three  minutes,  it  partook  some- 
what, but  very  far  from  completely,  of  the 
colour  of  it.  On  being  folded  up  in  sub- 
stances of  various  other  different  colours, 
it  borrowed  neither  of  them,  and  exhibit- 
ed no  interesting  change.  The  move- 
ments of  the  chameleon  are  extremely 
slow,  and  in  passing  from  branch  to 
branch  its  tail  is  coiled  for  security  round 
one  till  its  feet  have  been  extended  to  the 
other. 

L.  salamandra,  or  the  salamander,  is  of 
a  deep  brilliant  black  colour,  varied  wiih 
irregular  patches  of  bright  yellow.  It  is 
found  in  various  parts  of  France,  Germa- 
ny, and  Italy,  abounding  particularly  in 
moist  and  woody  situations,  and  making 
its  appearance  chiefly  during  rain.  In 
winter  it  secludes  itself  in  clefts,  or  hollow 
trees.  It  is  about  seven  inches  long, 
lives  principally  upon  insects  and  snails, 


LAC 


LAC 


can  subsist  by  water  as  well  as  land,  is 
slow  in  its  movements,  and  lethargic  in 
its  habits.  The  idea  of  its  being1  capable 
of  enduring  fire  without  injury,  can  be 
accounted  for  merely  from  its  possessing  a 
power  of  exuding,  in  any  state  of  irritation, 
a  white  and  glutinous  substance,  which 
must  of  course  tend  to  render  the  appli- 
cation of  fire  less  immediately  destructive 
to  it  than  to  some  other  animals;  and  con- 
sidering what  trifling  causes  have  led,  in 
innumerable  cases,  to  important  inferen- 
ces, this  fact  may  probably  have  given 
rise  to  the  notion  of  the  salamander  being 
insusceptible  of  destruction,  and  even  of 
injury,  in  the  midst  of  fUmes.  The  idea 
of  its  poisoning  any  large  animal  by  its 
bite  is  equally  exploded.  The  common 
lizard,  however,  is  stated  to  have  been 
poisoned  in  consequence  of  the  bite  of 
the  salamander,  from  sorne  particular 
fluid  contained  in  the  skin  of  the  latter. 
The  salamander  produces  its  young  living, 
hatched  from  internal  eggs,  and  frequent- 
ly upwards  of  thirty  in  number. 

L.  aquatica,  or  the  common  water  newt, 
is  generally  about  three  inches  and  a  half 
in  length,  and  is  found  in  Great  Britain 
in  almost  all  its  stagnant  waters.  Newts 
frequently  cast  their  skins  with  the  most 
complete  wholeness,  even  to  the  exqui- 
sitely delicate  and  filmy  coverings  of  the 
eye.  In  the  power  of  reproduction  they 
resemble  the  cancer  genus.  The  loss  of 
a  leg  is  reported  by  Dr.  Blumenbach  to 
be  easily  repaired  by  renovation,  and  it 
is  added  that  the  same  circumstance  oc- 
curs with  respect  to  the  eyes.  The  tena- 
ciousness  of  life  exhibited  by  these  ani- 
mals is  remarkable.  They  have  often 
been  found  inclosed  in  large  masses  of 
ice,  in  which  they  must  have  been  con- 
fined for  days,  weeks,  or  even,  in  some  in- 
stances, for  months  ;  and,  on  being  freed 
from  their  prison,  have  soon  displayed  all 
the  alertness  and  vigour  of  perfect  health. 

LACHENALIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  HexandriaMonogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Coronarije.  Asphodeli, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  corolla  six- 
parted  ;  the  three  outer  petals  diftbrm  ; 
capsule  three-winged ;  cells  many-seed- 
ed ;  seeds  globular,  affixed  to  the  recep- 
tacle. There  are  twelve  species,  all  bul- 
bous rooted  plants,  and  natives  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope. 

LACHES,  in  law,  signifies  slackness  or 
.negligence;  as  when  we  say,  "there  is 
a  laches  of  entry,"  it  means  the  same  as 
to  say,  there  is  lack  or  neglect  of  entry. 

LACHNJEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Octandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 


Natural  order  of  Vepreculae.  Thymelear* 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  none  ; 
corolla  four-cleft,  with  an  unequal  bor- 
der ;  seed  one,  like  a  berry.  There  arc 
two  species,  viz.  L.  eriocephala,  woolly- 
headed  Iachn?ea;  and  L.  conglomerate 
cluster-headed  lachnsea  ;  these  are  both 
shrubs,  and  natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

LACHRYMAL,  in  anatomy,  an  appel- 
lation given  to  several  parts  of  the  eye,, 
from  their  serving  to  secrete  the  tears. 
The  lachrymal  gland  is  situated  in  the 
orbit  above  the  smaller  angle,  and  its  ex- 
cretory duds  under  the  upper  eye-lid: 
these  are  much  more  easily  demonstrated 
in  the  eye  of  an  ox  than  in  a  human  one. 

LAC1S,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  t'oly- 
andria  Digynia  class  and  order.  Essential 
character  :  calyx  none  ;  corolla  none  ; 
filaments  winged  on  both  sides  below ; 
receptacle  girt,  with  twelve  spines ;  cap- 
sule ovate,  eight-streaked,  one-celled, 
two-valved,  many-seeded.  There  is  but 
one  species,  viz.  L.  fluviatilis ;  this  plant  is 
called  by  the  natives  mourerou ;  it  is  a 
native  of  Guiana,  and  has  been  found  only 
on  the  rocks  of  the  great  cascade  of  the 
river  Sinernari ;  it  is  always  under  water, 
except  the  flowering  branches ;  it  is  at- 
tached to  the  rocks  by  packets  of  small 
fibres. 

LACISTEMA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Monandria  Digynia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character":  calyx  scale  of  the 
ament;  corolla  four-parted;  filaments 
bifid;  berry  pedicelled,  one-seeded. 
There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  L.  myri- 
coides,  found  in  Surinam  and  Jamaica. 

LACTATES,  combinations  of  earths 
and  alkalies,  &c.  with  the  LACTIC  acid, 
which  see. 

LACTEAL  vessels,  in  anatomy,  fine  sub- 
tle canals  situated  in  the  intestines  and. 
mesentry,  and  serving  to  convey  the 
chyle  to  its  destined  place.  See  CHYLE. 

LACTESCENT,  in  botany,  a  term  ap- 
plied to  the  juices  of  plants,  of  whatever 
colour,  which  flow  out  of  plants,  when 
any  injury  is  done  them.  The  colour  is 
either  white,  as  in  the  campanula,  maple, 
dandelion,  &c.;  or  yellow,  as  in  the  celan- 
dine, &c. ;  or  red,  *as  in  the  bloody  dock. 
Most  latescent  plants  are  poisonous,  ex- 
cepting those  with  compound  flowers, 
which  are  generally  of  an  innocent  quality. 

LACTIC  acid,  in  chemistry,  is  contained 
in  milk,  and  was  discovered  by  Scheele, 
to  whom  modern  chemistry  is  indebted 
for  much  important  knowledge.  The  for- 
mation of  this  acid  depends  on  the  change 
of  the  saccharine  mucous  matter;  for 


LAB 


LAE 


after  the  acid  is  once  well  formed,  when 
the  serous  part  of  the  milk  reddens  vege- 
table blues,  no  more  is  obtained  by  evapo- 
ration and  crystallization.  Scheele  ob- 
tained this  acid  by  the  following  process  : 
he  evaporated  sour  whey  to  one-eighth 
of  its  bulk,  and  then  filtered  it  to  separate 
the  coagulated  cheesy  matter.  He  then 
added  lime  water  to  precipitate  the  phos- 
phate of  lime,  and  diluted  the  liquid  with 
pure  water.  He  next  precipitated  the 
excess  of  lime  by  means  of  the  oxalic  acid, 
and  then  evaporated  the  solution  to  the 
consistence  of  honey,  poured  on  a  quan- 
tity of  alcohol,  which  separates  the  portion 
of  sugar,  of  milk,  and  other  extraneous 
matter,  and  dissolves  the  lactic  acid,  and 
distilled  the  clear  filtered  liquor  till  the 
whole  of  the  alcohol  employed  be  driven 
off:  what  remains  is  the  lactic  acid.  This 
acid  is  never  crystallized,  but  always  ap- 
pears in  the  form  of  a  viscid  mucilaginous 
substance ;  it  has  a  sharp  taste  ;  it  red- 
dens tincture  of  turnsole ;  and  gives  a 
reddish  shade  to  the  syrup  of  violets.  It 
combines  with  alkalies,  earths,  and  metal- 
lic oxides  ;  and  forms  with  them  lactates. 

LACTUCA,  in  botany,  lettuce,  a  genus 
of  the  Syngenesia  Polygamia  JEqualis 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Com- 
positse  Semiflosculosx.  Cichoraceae,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  imbri- 
cate, cylindrical,  with  a  membranaceous 
margin  ;  receptacle  naked  ;  seeds  even, 
with  a  simple  stipitate  down.  There  are 
eleven  species,  of  which  L.  sativa,  the 
common  garden  lettuce,  with  its  several 
varieties,  are  too  well  known  to  need  a 
particular  description. 

LACUNAR,  in  architecture,  an  arched 
roof  or  ceiling,  more  especially  the  plank- 
ing or  flooring  above  porticos  and  piazzas. 

LADDERS,  seating,  in  the  military  art, 
are  used  in  scaling  when  a  place  is  to  be 
taken  by  surprise.  They  are  made  several 
ways ;  sometimes  of  fiat  staves,  so  as  to 
move  about  their  pins  and  shut  like  a 
parallel  ruler,  for  conveniently  carrying 
them  :  the  French  make  them  of  several 
pieces,  so  as  to  be  joined  together,  and  to 
be  capable  of  any  necessary  length:  some- 
times they  are  made  of  single  ropes  knot- 
ted at  proper  distances,  with  iron  hooks 
at  each  end,  one  to  fasten  them  upon  the 
wall  above,  and  the  other  in  the  ground; 
and  sometimes  they  are  made  with  two 
ropes,  and  staves  between  them  to  keep 
the  ropes  at  a  proper  distance,  and  to 
tread  upon.  When  they  are  used  in  the 
action  of  scaling  walls,  "they  ought  to  be 
rather  too  long  than  too  short,  :;nd  to  be 
given  in  charge  only  to  the  stoutest  of 
the  detachment. 


The  soldiers  should  carry  these  ladders 
with  the  left  awn  passed  through  the  se- 
cond step,  taking  care  to  hold  them  upright 
close  to  their  sides,  and  very  short  below, 
to  prevent  any  accident  in  leaping  into 
the  ditch.  The  first  rank  of  each  division, 
provided  with  ladders,  should  set  out 
with  the  rest  at  the  signal,  marching  re- 
solutely with  their  firelocks  slung,  to 
jump  into  the  ditch  ;  when  they  are  ar- 
rived, they  should  apply  their  ladders 
against  the  parapet,  observing  to  place 
them  towards  the  saliant  angle  rather  than 
the  middle  of  the  curtain,  because  the 
enemy  has  less  force  there.  Care  must 
be  taken  to  place  the  ladders  within  a 
foot  of  each  other,  and  not  to  give  them 
too  much  nor  too  little  slope,  so  that  they 
may  not  be  over-turned,  or  broken  with 
the  weight  of  the  soldiers  mounting  upon 
them.  The  ladders  being  applied,  they 
who  have  carried  them,  and  they  who 
come  after,  should  mount  up  and  rush 
upon  the  enemy  sword  in  hand ;  if  he 
who  goes  first  happens  to  be  overturned, 
the  next  should  take  care  not  to  be  thrown 
down  by  his  comrade ;  but  on  the  con- 
trary, immediately  mount  himself,  so  as 
not  to  give  the  enemy  time  to  load  his 
piece.  The  success  of  an  attack  by 
scaling  is  infallible,  if  they  mount  the 
four  sides  at  once,  and  take  care  to  shower 
a  number  of  grenades  among  the  enemy, 
especially  when  supported  by  some  gre- 
nadiers and  picquets,  who  divide  the  at- 
tention and  share  the  fire  of  the  enemy. 

LADEN  ;  the  state  of  a  ship  when  she 
is  charged  with  a  weight  or  quantity  of 
materials  equal  to  her  tonnage  or  burthen. 
If  the  goods  with  which  she  is  laden  be 
extremely  heavy,  her  burthen  is  deter- 
mined by  the  weight  thereof;  but  if  light, 
she  carries  as  much  as  she  can  stow  for 
the  purposes  of  navigation.  As  a  ton  in 
measure  is  generally  estimated  at  2000 
pounds  in  weight,  a  vessel  of  200  tons 
ought  accordingly  to  carry  a  weight  equal 
to  400,000  pound's  ;  therefore,  when  the 
matter  of  which  the  cargo  is  composed  is 
specifically  heavier  than  the  water  in 
which  she  floats ;  or,  in  other  words, 
when  the  cargo  is  so  heavy  that  she  can- 
not float  high  enough  with  so  great  a 
quantity  of  it  as  her  hold  will  contain,  a 
diminution  thereof  becomes  absolutely 
necessary. 

LAET1  A,  in  botany,  so  namedfrom  John 
de  Laet  of  Antwerp  ;  a  genus  of  the  Poly- 
andria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natural 
order  of  Tiliaceze,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter ;  calyx  five-leaved ;  corolla  five-pe- 
talled,  or  none ;  fruit  one-celled,  three 
cornered  ;  seeds  with  a  pulpy  aril.  There 


LAG 


LAM 


are  four  species,  of  which  L.  guidoniftis  a 

tree  which  grows  to  a  considerable  size  in 
Jamaica,  and  is  esteemed  highly  for  its  fine 
timber,  which  is  much  used  in  all  sorts  of 
building  ;  in  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  the  lines 
between  the  valves  are  of  a  beautiful  red 
colour,  as  well  as  the  placentae ;  the  fila- 
ments of  the  flower  are  very  numerous. 

LAGBHSTROEMIA,  in  botany,  so 
named  from  Magnus  Lagerstroem,  of  Got- 
tenburgh  ;  a  genus  of  the  Icosandria  Mo- 
nogynia  class  and  order.  Natural  order 
of  Salicariae,  Jussieu.  Essential  charac- 
ter :  calyx  six-cleft,  bell-shaped ;  petals 
six,  curled;  stamina  very  many,  the  six 
outer  thicker  than  the  rest,  and  longer 
than  the  petals.  There  are  four  species, 
of  which  L.  indica,  according  to  Linnaeus, 
is  a  tree  the  size  of  a  pomegranate,  with 
opposite  leaves,  sub-sessile,  oblong,  quite 
entire,  smooth ;  the  floral  leaves  roundish; 
flowers  flesh-coloured,  in  a  loose  termi- 
nating thyrse,  on  trifid  or  three-flowered 
pedicles ;  the  petals,  on  long  claws,  six 
in  number,  curled  and  waved.  Native  of 
the  East  Indies,  China,  Cochin  China,  and 
Japan. 

LAGOECIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Pentandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Umbellatae,  or  Umbelli- 
ferae.  Essential  character :  involucre  uni- 
versal, and  partial:  petals  bifid;  seeds 
solitary,  inferior.  There  is  but  one 
species,  viz.  L.  cuminoides,  wild  or  bas- 
tard cumin :  this  is  an  annual  plant,  about 
a,  foot  high ;  the  leaves  resemble  those  of 
honeywort :  the  flowers  are  collected  into 
spherical  heads,  at  the  extremity  of  the 
stalks,  and  are  of  a  greenish  yellow  colour. 
Native  of  the  Levant. 

LAGUNGEA,  in  botany,  so  called  from 
Andreas  Laguna,  a  Spanish  physician  and 
botanist;  a  genus  of  the  Monadelphia 
Polyandria  class  and  order.  Natural  or- 
der of  Columnifene.  Malvaceae,  Jussieu. 
Essential  character;  calyx  simple,  five- 
cusped ;  style  simple ;  stigma  peltated  ; 
capsule  five-celled,  five-valved.  There 
are  three  species,  of  which  L.  aculeata, 
prickly  laguncea,  has  a  round  tomentose 
stem,  armed  with  small  upright  prickles, 
a  little  branched,  and  is  about  a  foot  and 
a  half  in  height ;  leaves  alternate,  shorter 
than  the  petioles,  deeply  divided  into 
three  serrate-toothed  segments,  the  mid- 
dle one  longer  than  the  others ;  flowers 
on  short  peduncles;  calyx  tomentose, 
terminating  in  five  short  awl-shaped 
points,  bursting  on  one  side  to  the  mid- 
dle, when  the  corolla  expands,  which  is 
yellow,  and  twice  as  long  as  the  calyx ; 
filaments  short,  scattered  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  tube  ;  stigma  red,  peltate, 


scarcely  standing  out ;  capsule  oblong, 
acuminate,  five-cornered,  tomentose  ; 
seeds  kidney-form,  black.  It  is  a  native 
of  Coromandel,  near  Pondicherry,  where 
it  is  called  by  the  inhabitants,  Cattaca- 
cheree. 

LAGURUS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Triandria  Digynia  class  and  order.  Natu- 
ral order  of  Gramina,  Gramineae,  or  Gras- 
ses. Essential  character:  calyx  two- 
valved,  with  a  villose  awn ;  corolla  having, 
on  the  outer  petal,  two  terminating  awns, 
and  a  third  dorsal  one,  twisted  back. 
There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  L.  ovatus, 
an  annual  grass,  eighteen  inches  or  more 
in  height ;  very  soft  and  hoary,  as  are  also 
the  leaves  and  spikes.  Native  of  the 
South  of  Europe. 

LAKE,  in  the  arts,  is  a  combination  of 
colouring  extract,  with  an  earth,  or  me- 
tallic oxide,  formed  by  precipitation  from 
the  solution  of  the  colouring  matter.  If 
a  solution  of  alum  is  added  to  an  infusion 
of  madder,  a  mutual  decomposition  takes 
place,  and  part  of  the  alumine  falls  united 
with  the  colouring  matter  of  the  madder. 
Precipitates,  of  different  shades  of  colour, 
are  obtained  with  alum,  nitre,  chalk,  ace- 
tate of  lead,  and  muriate  of  tin.  The 
lakes  form  some  of  the  beautiful  pigments, 
and  are  highly  esteemed  in  water-colour 
painting,  and  other  purposes :  and  they 
are  almost  invariably  composed,  either  of 
alum,  or  sometimes  the  solutions  of  tin, 
and  some  other  watery  solution  of  a 
colouring  matter.  See  COLOUR. 

LAMA,  the  sovereign  pontiff',  or  rather 
god  of  the  Asiatic  Tartars,  inhabiting  the 
country  of  Barantola.  The  Lama  is  not 
only  adored  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
try, but  also  by  the  kings  of  Tartary,  who 
send  him  rich  presents,  and  go  in  pilgrim- 
age to  pay  him  adoration,  calling  him  La- 
ma congiu,  i.  e.  god,  the  everlasting  father 
of  heaven.  He  is  never  to  be  seen  but 
in  a  secret  place  of  his  palace,  amidst  a 
great  number  of  lamps,  sitting  cross- 
legged  upon  a  cushion,  and  adorned  all 
over  with  gold  and  precious  stones; 
where,  at  a  distance,  they  prostrate  them- 
selves before  him,  it  not  being  lawful  for 
any  to  kiss  even  his  feet.  He  is  called  the 
Great  Lama,  or  Lama  of  Lamas,  that  is, 
priest  of  priests :  and,  to  persuade  the 
people  that  he  is  immortal,  the  inferior 
priests,  when  he  dies,  substitute  another 
in  his  stead,  and  so  continue  the  cheat 
from  generation  to  generation.  These 
priests  persuade  the  people,  that  the 
Lama  was  raised  from  death  many  hun- 
dred years  ago,  that  he  has  lived  ever 
since,  and  will  continue  to  live  for  ever. 

LAMB.    See  Ovis. 


LAM 


LAM 


LAMINAE,  the  thin  plates  of  which 
any  thing  consists :  hence  the  epithet 
laminated,  which  is  applied  to  those 
bodies  whose  texture  discovers  such  a 
disposition  as  that  of  plates  lying  over 
one  another. 

LAAIIUM,  in  botany,  archangel,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Didynumia  Gymnospermia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Ver- 
ticiiiatx.  Labiate,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character  :  corolla  upper  lip  entire,  vault- 
ed ;  lower,  two-lobed  ;  throat  with  a  re- 
flex toothlet  on  each  side.  There  are 
thirteen  species,  several  of  which  are 
considered  as  weeds,  ratiier  than  garden 
plants.  The  L.  album,  white  archangel, 
or  dead  nettle,  is  common  in  hedges,  on 
banks,  and  byroad-sides;  flowering  in 
April  and  May,  when  it  is  much  resorted 
to  by  bees,  for  the  honey  secreted  in  the 
bottom  of  the  tube,  by  the  gland  that 
surrounds  the  'base  of  the  germ.  Tin's 
plant  has  a  disagreeable  smell  when 
bruised.  I'haljena  Chrysitis,  or  bnrnish- 
ed-brass  moth,  feeds  on  it :  Linn<eus  says, 
the  leaves  are  eaten  in  Sweden  as  a  pot- 
herb, in  the  spring;  no  cattle,  however, 
seen1,  to  touciiit;  and,  having  a  strong, 
creeping,  perennial  root,  it  should  be  ex- 
tirpated, which  is  not  difficult. 

LA  M P,  * li-gantrs.  This  is  a  very  inge- 
nious contrivance,  and  the  greatest  im- 
provement in  lamps  that  has  yet  been 
made.  It  is  the  invention  of  a  citizen  of 
Geneva ;  and  the  principle  on  which  the 
superiority  of  the  lamp  depends  is,  the 
admission  of  a  larger  quantity  of  air  to  the 
flame  than  can  be  done  in  the  common 
way.  This  is  accomplished  by  making 
the  wick  of  a  circular  form,  by  which 
means  a  current  of  air  rushes  through 
the  cylinder  on  which  it  is  placed  wilh 
great  force  ;  and,  along  with  that  which 
has  access  to  the  outside,  excites  the 
flame  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  smoke 
is  entirely  consumed.  Thus  both  the 
light  and  heat  are  prodigiously  increased, 
at  the  same  time  that  there  is  very  con- 
siderable saving  in  the  expense  of  oil, 
the  combustion  being  exceedingly  aug- 
mented by  the  quantity  of  air  admitted 
to  the  flame  ;  and  that  what  in  common 
lamps  is  dissipated  in  smoke  is  here  con- 
verted into  a  brilliant  flame.  This  lamp 
is  now  very  much  in  use  ;  and  is  applied 
not  only  to  the  ordinary  purposes  of  illu- 
mination, but  also  to  that  of  a  lamp  fur- 
nace for  chemical  operations,  in  which  it 
is  found  to  exceed  every  other  contriv- 
ance yet  invented.  It  consists  of  two 
parts  ;  viz.  a  reservoir  for  the  oil,  and  the 
lamp  itself.  The  reservoir  is  usually  in 


the  form  of  a  vase,  and  has  the  lamp  pro- 
ceeding from  its  side.  The  latter  con- 
sists of  an  upright  metallic  tube,  about 
one  inch  and  six-tenths  in  diameter, 
three  inches  in  length,  and  open  at  both 
ends.  Within  this  is  another  tube,  about 
an  inch  in  diameter,  and  nearly  of  an 
equal  length;  the  space  betwixt  the  two 
being  left  clear  for  the  passage  of  the  air. 
The  internal  tube  is  closed  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  contains  another  similar  tube, 
about  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  which  is 
soldered  to  the  bottom  of  the  second.  It 
is  perforated  throughout,  so  as  to  admit 
a  current  of  air  to  pass  through  it ;  and 
the  oil  is  contained  in  the  space  betwixt 
the  tube  and  that  which  surrounds  it.  A 
particular  kind  of  cotton  cloth  is  used 
for  the  wick,  the  longitudinal  threads  of 
which  are  much  thicker  than  the  others, 
and  which  nearly  fills  the  space  into 
which  the  oil  flows ;  and  the  mechanism 
of  the  lamp  is  such,  that  the  wick  may 
be  raised  or  depressed  at  pleasure. 
When  the  lamp  is  lighted,  the  flame  is 
in  the  form  of  a  hollow  cylinder;  and 
by  reason  of  the  strong  influx  of  air 
through  the  heated  metallic  tube  be- 
comes extremely  bright,  the  smoke  be- 
ing entirely  consumed,  for  the  reasons 
already  mentioned.  The  heat  and  light 
are  still  farther  increased,  by  putting 
over  the  whole  a  glass  cylinder,  nearly 
of  the  size  of  the  exterior  tube.  By  di- 
minishing the  central  aperture,  the  heat 
and  light  are  proporiiuuably  diminished, 
and  the  lamp  begins  to  smoke.  The  ac- 
cess of  air  both  to  the  external  and  inter- 
nal surfaces  of  the  flame  is  indeed  so  very 
necessary,  that  a  sensible  difference  is 
perceived  when  the  hand  is  held  even  at 
the  distance  of  an  inch  bejovv  the  lower 
aperture  of  the  cylinder ;  and  there  is 
also  a  certain  length  of  wick  at  which 
the  effect  of  the  lamp  is  strongest.  If  the 
wick  be  very  short,  the  flame,  though 
white  and  brilliant,  emits  a  disagreeable 
and  pale  kind  of  light ;  and  if  very  long, 
the  upper  part  becomes  brown,  and 
smoke  is  emitted.  The  saving  of  ex- 
pense in  the  use  of  this  instrument  for 
common  purposes  is  very  considerable. 
By  some  experiments  it  appears,  that  the 
lamp  will  continue  to  burn  three  hours 
for  the  value  of  one  penny  ;  and  the  fol- 
lowing was  the  result  of  the  comparison 
between  the  light  emitted  by  it  and  that 
of  a  candle.  The  latter  having  been  suf- 
fered to  burn  so  long  without  snuffing, 
that  large  lumps  of  coaly  matter  were 
formed  upon  the  wick,  gave  a  light  at  24 
inches  distance  equal  to  the  lamp  at  129 


LAMP,  ARGAND'S. 


inches :  whence  It  appeared,  that  the 
light  of  the  lamp  was  equal  to  28  can- 
dles in  this  state.  On  snuffing1  the  can- 
dle, however,  its  light  was  so  much  aug- 
mented, that  it  became  necessary  to  re- 
move it  to  the  distance  of  67  inches,  be- 
fore its  light  became  equal  to  that  of  the 
lamp  at  129  inches  :  whence  it  was  con- 
cluded, that  the  light  of  the  lamp  was  some- 
what less  than  that  of  four  candles  fresh 
snuffed.  At  another  trial,  in  which  the 
lamp  was  placed  at  the  distance  of  13 1^- 
inches,  and  a  candle  at  the  distance  of  55 
inches,  the  lights  were  equal.  In  these 
experiments  the  candles  made  use  of 
were  10£  inches  long,  and  2^  inches  in 
diameter.  When  the  candle  was  newly 
snuiTed  it  appeared  to  have  the  advan- 
tage; but  the  lamp  soon  got  the  supe- 
riority; and  on  the  whole  it  was  conclud- 
ed, that  the  lamp  is  at  least  equivalent  to 
half  a  dozen  of  tallow  candles,  of  six  in 
the  pound;  the  expense  of  the  one  be- 
ing only  2 \d.  and  the  other  8d.  in  seven 
hours. 

We  shall  now  give  a  more  particular 
description  of  Argand's  lamp,  with  re- 
ference to  figures.  Fig-.  1,  Plate  Argand's 
Lamp,  is  an  upright  elevation  ;  fig.  2,  a 
section  ;  and  figs.  3, 4,  and  5,  parts  of  this 
useful  instrument.  A  A  (fig.  1  and  2) 
is  a  reservoir  containing  oil,  whose  shape 
3s  immaterial ;  in  the  present  instance  it 
is  that  of  an  urn  :  B  is  a  tube  to  convey 
the  oil  to  the  lamp,  where  it  is  con- 
sumed. The  lamp  is  composed  of  seve- 
ral tubes,  one  within  the  other :  the  ex- 
ternal, a  at  is  only  a  case  to  defend  the 
others  within  it,  having  a  small  cup,  b  b, 
screwed  to  it  at  bottom,  to  receive  the 
dropping  of  oil :  at  « the  tube  is  enlarged 
by  a  projection  soldered  to  it,  and  into 
which  the  tube  B  delivers  the  oil  it 
brings  from  the  urn  A  A  :  e  e  (fig.  2)  is 
the  second  tube,  supported  concentrical 
with  the  other  by  the  enlargement  d, 
which  it  is  open  to  all  down  *  one  side; 
the  oil,  therefore,  has  free  passage  into 
this  tube ;  but  as  it  is  closed  at  bottom, 
and  the  cavity,  d,  tight,  it  cannot  get  in 
the  external  tube,  a  a  :ffh  the  internal 
tube,  supported  by  being  soldered  to  the 
bottom  of  the  second,  e  e\  another  move- 
able  tube  is  placed  between  the  tube  e  e 
and//,  as  seen  in  the  section  (fig.  2),  but 
belter  explained  in  a  separate  figure  (fig. 
4),  where  g  h  is  the  tube  ;  it  is  divided  by 
a  slit  from  top  to  bottom  on  the  side  ,f; 
on  each  side  of  this  slit  a  small  piece  of 
brass  plate,  /,  is  soldered  to  support  a 
frame,  A?,  in  which  a  small  pinion  works 
(as  shewn  in  fief.  2> ;  this  -pinion  crive-s 

VOL  IV 


motion  to  a  rack,  /,  (fig.  5)  bent  at  right 
angles  at  the  lower  end,  and  holding  a 
short  tube,  or  rather  ring,  m,  on  which 
the  wick,  n,  is  held ;  this  ring  and  the 
wick  slide  within  the  tubes  g  h,  and  out- 
side of  the  internal  tube,//,  its  arm  con- 
necting it  witli  the  rack,  /,  goes,  first 
through  the  slit  down  the  side,  g;  of  the 
tube  (fig.  4),  and  next  through  the  open- 
ing in  the  side  of  the  tube,  e  e,  where  it 
communicates  with  the  cavity  d.  At  the 
top  of  the  lamp  a  glass  chimney,  o  o,  is 
fixed,  (as  shewn  in  fig.  3),  where  o  o  is 
the  glass  tube,  with  a  small  enlargement 
or  ring  at  the  bottom  :  pp  is  a  brass  ring 
going  over  the  glass,  and  catching  the 
rim  at  the  bottom  ;  it  is  cut  into  a  female 
screw  withinsidc,  and  screwed  upon 
another  ring,  r  •.  this  presses  against  the 
bottom  edge  of  the  glass  tube,  and  thus 
holds  it  f:ist  between  them  :  the  ring  r 
fits  tight  by  friction  upon  the  top  of  the 
tube,  a  a  ;  but  so  as  to  be  easily  removed 
when  the  glass  is  to  be  cleaned  or  taken 
away.  The  great  advantage  of  this  lamp 
is,  that  the  wick  is  hollow,  and  the  air 
brought  to  it,  both  on  the  inside  by  the 
tubes//  and  outside  between  the  tubes 
c  e  and  a  a,  and  by  the  rarefaction  of  the 
air  in  the  glass  chimney,  a  considerable 
draught  is  created,  and  the  air  forming, 
which  is  forced  to  pass  through  the 
flame.  In  the  urn,  A,  is  a  contrivance  to 
regulate  the  quantity  of  oil  coming  from 
it,  that  the  lamp  may  not  be  overflowed  . 
it  unscrews  at  tt  (fig.  2)  and  terminates 
below  the  screw  in  a  small  pipe,  v}  closed 
at  bottom  :  a  hole  is  made  in  the  side  of 
this  pipe,  through  Which  the  oil  flows  :  it. 
is  closed  occasionally  by  a  small  tube 
sliding  upon  the  other,  v,  and  moved  by 
a  small  handle,  t,  corning  through  the 
screw,  t :  a  small  hole  should  be.  drilled 
tlrrough  the  screw  in  the  same  direction 
as  the  wire  of  the  handle,  t,  to  supply  air 
to  this  part.  When  the  urn  is  to  be  fill- 
ed with  oil,  it  is  unscrewed  at  t,  and  the 
oil  poured  in  at  the  hole  in  tube  v:  the 
hole  must  then  be  closed,  by  pushing 
down  the  handle,  t:  the  oil  cannot  now 
get  out,  and  the  urn  is  screwed  into  its 
place ;  when  the  handle,  f,  is  pushed 
down,  the  hole  is  opened  by  removing 
the  tube,  u,  from  before  the  hole  in  the 
pipe,  v ;  the  oil  now  runs  out,  the  air  .en- 
tering at  the  same  hole,  until  it  rises  in 
the  cistern  at  the  end  of  the  pipe,  13, 
above  the  level  of  the  hole;  the  air  can- 
not now  enter,  and  consequently  the  oil 
will  not  come  out,  until  by  the  burning  of 
the  lamp  the  oil  is  drawn  down  below  the 
hole  ;  a  bubble  of  air  then  gets  into  the 
H 


LAN 


LAN 


urn,  and  an  equivalent  drop  of  oil  runs 
down :  by  this  means,  though  the  lamp  is 
always  plentifully  supplied,  yet  it  never 
runs  over. 

LAMPA/acfr.     See  COLOUR. 

LAMPYUIS,  in  natural  history, /re /y, 
a  genus  of  insects  of  the  order  Coleoptera. 
Antennae  filiform ;  four  feelers ;  shells 
flexile;  thorax  flat,  semi-orbicular,  sur- 
rounding and  concealing  the  head  ;  seg- 
ments of  the  abdomen  terminating  in 
folded  papillae:  female  usually  apterous. 
There  are  nearly  sixty  species,  in  four 
divisions,  viz.  A.  feelers  subclavate :  B. 
fore-feelers  hatchet-shaped :  C.  feelers 
sub-filiform :  D.  first  joint  of  the  feelers 
thicker  and  truncate.  The  first  of  these 
divisions  is  subdivided  into  those  which 
have  entire  horny  lips ;  and  into  those 
with  an  emarginate  membranaceous  lip. 
The  body  of  the  insect  in  this  genus  is 
oblong,  \\iili  the  sides  formed  into  a  kind 
of  soft  papillx,  lapping  over  each  other. 
L.  noctiluca,  or  glow-worm,  is  seen  during 
the  summer  months,  in  England,  on  dry 
banks,  about  woods,  pastures,  and  hedge- 
ways,  exhibiting,  as  soon  as  it  is  dusk, 
vivid  and  phosphoric  splendour,  in  form 
of  a  round  spot  of  considerable  sixe. 
The  animal  itself,  which  is  the  female 
insect,  measures  about  three  quarters  of 
an  inch  in  length,  and  is  of  a  dull,  earthy- 
brown  colour  on  the  upper  parts,  and 
beneath  more  or  less  tinged  with  rose 
colour,  with  the  two  or  three  last  joints 
of  the  body  of  a  pale  or  whitish  sulphur 
colour.  It  is  from  these  parts  that  the 
phosphoric  light  proceeds.  The  body, 
exclusive  of  the  thorax,  consists  of  ten 
joints.  The  larva  arid  pupa  do  not  great- 
ly differ  from  the  complete  insect,  but 
the  phosphoric  light  is  strongest  in  the 
complete  animal.  The  male  is  smaller 
than  the  female,  and  is  provided  with 
wings  and  wing-sheaths  :  it  is  very  un- 
common ;  and  it  is  not  determined  whether 
it  be  luminous  or  not  Naturalists  have 
commonly  supposed,  that  the  splendour 
of  the  female  is  designed  for  the  purpose 
of  attracting  the  male.  In  Italy,  the  fly- 
ing glow-worm  is  extremely  common  ; 
and  it  is  said  that,  on  grand  occasions, 
ladies  use  them  as  ornaments  for  their 
head-dresses  in  evening  parties. 

LAX  A,  in  botany,  -u-vol,  a  species  of 
pubescence,  down,  or  velvet,  which  serves 
to  screen  the  leaves  covered  with  it  from 
the  heat:  this  appearance  is  very  conspi- 
cuous in  the  horehound,  woolly  thistle,  Sec. 

T,\XA  /j/iilosop/iicUf  flowers  of  zinc. 
Set-  /.INC. 

LAXAHIA,  in   botany,  a  genus  of  the 


Hexandria  Monogynia  class  and  order, 
Natural  order  of  Ensatae.  Irides,  Jussieu. 
Essential  character :  corolla  superior, 
woolly,  longer  than  the  filaments  ;  border 
six-parted,  somewhat  spreading;  capsule 
three-celled.  There  is  but  one  species, 
viz.  L.  plumosa,  woolly  lanaria,  a  native 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

LANCET,  a  chirurgical  instrument, 
sharp-pointed,  and  two-edged,  chiefly 
used  for  opening  veins  in  the  operation  of 
phlebotomy,  or  bleeding;  also  for  laying 
open  abscesses,  tumours,  &c. 

LANGUAGE.  1.  Man,  it  has  frequent- 
ly been  said,  is  the  only  animal  possessed 
of  speech,  and  if  we  use  this  term  as  im- 
plying the  expression  of  a  train  of  ideas 
by  articulate  sounds,  it  may  perhaps  be 
esteemed  the  best  criterion  of  distinction 
between  man  and  the  inferior  animals. 
It  is  not  easy  to  fix  upon  one  which  shall 
be  universally  applicable ;  but  the  same 
difficulty  frequently  occurs  in  the  attempt 
to  ascertain  the  exact  boundary  between 
the  characteristics  of  one  class  of  being 
and  those  of  another :  for  instance,  the 
naturalist  finds  it  a  puzzling  problem  to 
ascertain  the  characteristic  difference  be- 
tween the  animal  and  the  vegetable  king- 
dom. Some  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the 
brute  creation  often  astonish  us  by  actions, 
which  can  proceed  only  from  powers  of 
intellect  similar  to  those  which  we  pos- 
sess. All  the  mental  powers,  except 
sensation,  are  probably  the  modifications 
of  the  principle  of  association:  it  is  ac- 
knowledged that  brutes  possess  this  in  a^ 
considerable  degree,  and  it  is  probable, 
that  to  the  difference  in  the  extent  of  this 
principle  of  its  activity  and  direction  we 
are  to  attribute  the  mental  difference  be- 
tween one  animal  and  another.  There 
is,  perhaps,  less  difference  between  the 
most  uninformed  mind  of  the  human 
species  and  the  most  sagacious  of  the 
brutes,  than  between  the  brightest  orna- 
ments of  our  race  and  tlio.se  whose  minds 
have  received  the  least  culture  from  na- 
tural or  artificial  education.  We  gain 
greater  exactness  by  making  the  capacity 
of  speech  the  criterion  of  distinction  be- 
tween man  and  the  brute  creation.  .Many 
animals  are  capable  of  acquainting  others 
of  the  same,  and  even  of  a  (different 
species,  with  the  feelings  of  their  minds ; 
but  man  alone  has  the  power  of  express- 
ing a  train  of  ideas,  and  of  stating  the 
causes  of  those  feelings. 

2.  Articulation  furnishes  the  most  con- 
venient and  extensive  method  of  com- 
munication. It  would  be  possible  to  form 
a  language  of  signs,  and  in  many  instances 


LANGUAGE. 


i.his  is  done;  but  human  thought  would 
never  have  acquired  any  high  degree  of 
accuracy  and  extent,  it"  there  had  been  no 
other  language.  The  most  perfect  lan- 
guage of  signs  is  merely  a  representative 
of  the  language  of  speech.  What  are 
called  the  natural  signs  of  feeling  are 
very  simitar  to  the  language  of  brutes, 
u:.d  not  more  extensive.  To  give  speech 
all  the  energy  of  thought,  the  language 
of  tone  and  gesture  must  be  joined  to  it; 
but  it  will  generally  be  found  that  those 
who  have  words  for  all  their  ideas,  sel- 
dom have  recourse  to  gesticulation,  ex- 
cept when  the  warmth  of  feeling  calls  it 
forth.  Where  speech  is  defective  in 
energy,  it  is  usually  enforced  by  looks, 
gestures,  and  tones :  these  powerfully  ap- 
peal to  the  feelings,  because  they  are 
considered  as  an  indication  that  certain 
feelings  exist  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker, 
and  feeling  is  contagious;  but  our  limits 
will  not  allow  us  to  enter  into  the  consi- 
deration of  this  species  of  language,  and 
we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  that  of 
speech,  at  the  same  time  begging  our 
readers  to  refer  to  the  article  VOICE  for 
an  account  of  the  mechanism  by  which 
speech  is  effected,  and  to  WRITING, 
origin  of,  alphabetical,  for  the  methods 
which  men  have  adopted  for  a  permanent 
visible  denotement  of  speech,  which  lat- 
ter we  wish  to  be  considered  as  forming 
one  with  the  present  article. 

3.  Whatever  be  our  opinion  respecting 
the  progressive  melioration  of  brutes,  if 
the  capacity  of  language  were  communi- 
cated to  them,  there  can  be  no  hesitation 
in  admitting  that  there  would  be  a  pro- 
gressive deterioration  of  the  human  spe- 
cies, if  they  were  deprived  of  it.  Had 
not  man  possessed  this,  or  some  other 
extensive  power  of  communication,  that 
astonishing  system  which  we  call  the 
human  mind,  would  have  remained  in  in- 
activity, its  faculties  torpid,  its  energies 
unexcited,  and  that  capacity  of  progres- 
sive improvement  which  forms  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  the  mental  constitution, 
would  have  been  unknown  and  given  in 
vain.  But  in  every  part  of  the  creation 
we  discern  an  unity  of  design,  which 
equally  proves  the  wisdom  and  benevo- 
lence of  the  great  First  Cause.  The 
means  of  bringing  his  powers  into  activity 
are  bestowed  upon  man,  as  well  as  the 
powers  themselves ;  and  it  is  a  position 
which  will  bear  a  rigorous  examination, 
that  the  accuracy  of  human  thought,  and 
the  extent  of  human  intellect,  generally 
proceed  in  equal  steps  with  the  accuracy 
and  extent  of  language.  When  we  consi- 


der the  influence  of  language  upon  intel- 
lect, it  will  not  appear  too  much  to  affirm, 
that  if  those,  whose  genius  has  dazzled 
the  world  with  its  splendour  and  extent, 
had  been  from  the  first  destitute  of  the 
power  of  communication,  they  would  not 
have  risen  above  the  level  of  the  least 
cultivated  of  their  fellow  mortals.  "Con- 
ceive such  a  one  (to  use  the  ideas  of 
Condillac)  bereft  of  the  use  of  visible 
signs,  how  much  knowledge  would  be 
concealed  from  him,  attainable  even  by 
an  ordinary  capacity.  Take  away  from 
him  the  use  of  speech,  the  lot  of  the 
dumb  teaches  you  fn  what  narrow  bounds 
you  enclose  him.  Finally,  deprive  him 
of  the  use  of  all  kinds  of  signs,  let  him 
not  know  how  to  make  with  propriety 
any  gesture,  you  would  have  in  him  a 
mere  idiot." 

4.  We  are  far,  however,  from  believ- 
ing, with  Lord   Monboddo,  that  the  hu- 
man  race  have  actually  risen  from  the 
very  lowest  stage — that  of  mere  brutality. 
His  lordship  supposes,  on  the  authority 
of  several   travellers    whom    he   quotes, 
(and  of  whose  passion  for  the  marvellous 
his  quotations  leave   no  room  to  doubt), 
that  there  have  been  nations  without  laws 
or  any  of  the  arts  of  civilized  fife,  without 
even  language;   and  that  some  of  them 
(to  complete   their  resemblance   to  the 
monkey  tribe)  had  actually  tails.     This, 
with  other  opinions  which  display  rather 
the  credulity  of  the  man  of  system,  than 
the  sober  and  cc*>l  judgment  of  the  philo- 
sopher, has  exposed  his  lordship  to  the 
lively  ridicule  of  Mr.  Home  Tooke ;  and 
though  ricJicule  is  no  test  of  truth,  we 
must  ad-nit  that  this  is  one  of  those  dog- 
mata which  it  is  below  the  dignity  of  rea- 
son to  refute. 

5.  We  see  in  language  a  complicated 
whole,  which  we  are  usually  accustomed 
to  consider  as  it  is,  without  attempting  to 
ascertain  what  it  has  been.     We  see  all 
regularity  and  beauty,  and   we   do    not 
often    ask    ourselves    ihe    question,   lias 
language  always  been  thus  regular  and 
beautiful  t  When   we  look  back  into  the 
earlier  periods  of  human  nature,  we  find 
that  this,  which  now  wears  so  much  the 
appearance  of  art,  was  originally  the  in- 
vention of  necessity,  gradually  perfected 
and  brought  into  a  systematic  form  by 
causes  which    have  operated  generally, 
but  have  received  modification  from  the 
influence  of  local  or  temporary  circum- 
stances.   A  complete  history  of  the  origin' 
and  progress  of  language,  would  be   a 
history  of  the  human  mind.     Our  direct 
evidence  is  not  very  extensive,  and  indeed 


LANGUAGE. 


we  are  too  much  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  hypothesis  in  tracing  the  progress  of 
improvement  in  any  department  ot'science. 
We  are  unable  always  to  ascertain  (as 
Mr.  Stewart  observes)  how  men  have 
actually  conducted  themselves  on  parti- 
cular occasions,  and  we  are  then  ltd  to 
inquire  in  what  manner  they  are  likely 
to  have  proceeded,  from  the  principle  of 
their  nature,  and  the  circumstances  of 
their  external  situation.  In  such  inquiries 
the  detached  facts  which  the  remains  of 
antiquity,  or  the  narrations  of  travellers, 
or  the  actual  appearances  of  language  at 
present,  afford  us,  serve  as  landmarks 
lor  our  speculations.  "  In  examining  the 
history  of  mankind,  as  well  as  in  examin- 
ing the  phenomena  of  the  material  world, 
when  we  cannot  trace  the  process  by 
which  an  event  has  been  produced,  it  is 
often  of  importance  to  be  able  to  show 
how  it  may  have  been  produced  by  natural 
causes.  The  steps  in  the  formation  of 
language  cannot  probably  be  determined 
with  certainty;  yet  ».f  we  can  show,  from 
the  known  principles  of  human  nature, 
how  all  its  various  parts  might  gradually 
have  aj'isen,  the  mind  is  not  only  to  a  cer- 
tain degree  satisfied,  but  a  check  is  given 
to  that  indolent  philosophy,  which  refers 
a  miracle  whatever  appearances  both 
in  the  natural  and  moral  worlds  it  is  un- 
able to  explain." 

6.  Diodorus  Siculus  and  Vitravius  sup- 
posed, that  the  first  men  lived  for  some 
time  in  the  woods  and  caves,  like  the 
beasts,  uttering  only  confused  and  inar- 
ticulate sounds  ;  till,  associating  for  mu- 
tual assistance,  they  came  by  degrees  to 
JLISC  articulate  sounds,  mutually  agreed 
upon,  for  arbitrary  signs  or  nur'ks  of 
those  ideas  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker, 
which  he  wanted  to  communicate  to  the 
hearer.  By  what  degrees  they  proceeded 
from  inarticulate  to  articulate  sounds, 
these  writers  do  not  attempt  to  point  out, 
and  unless  we  admit  that  those  articulate 
sounds  were  connected  with  certain  feel- 
ings, in  the  same  manner  as  what  are 
called  the  natural  signs,  or,  that  they 
were  easily  produced,  (which  will  not  be 
allowed  by  any  who  have  attended  to  the 
structure  of  the  organs  of  speech)  the 
account  we  have  received  from  a  better 
informed  historian  will  not  lose  its  ground. 
Moses  leads  us  to  understand  that  the  ru- 
diments of  language  were  given  to  man 
by  his  Maker.  Here  was  the  first  step, 
and  here  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  the 
divine  communication  ceased,  and  that 
man  was  left  to  complete  what  he  had 
been  taught  to  begin.  Let  us  then  sup- 


pose  the  u^e  of  articulation  given,  and  its 
application  in  some  instances  pointed  out, 
in  the  invention  of  the  names  of  animals  ; 
which,  we  may  observe,  is  in  fact  the  first 
step  which  would  probably  have  been 
taken,  presupposingthe  use  of  articulation, 
if  no  divine  interposition  had  taken  place. 

7.  Words   would  originally  be  simply 
the  signs  of  things,  and  further,  of  indi- 
viduals. New  objects,  for  which  necessity 
required  a  name,  would  receive  different 
names  from  those  already  given ;  but  if 
there  were  a  striking  similarity  between  a 
new  object,  and  one  which  had  already- 
received  a  name,  the  old  name  would  be 
transferred.     One  of  the  principles  of  as- 
sociation  is  similarity,  and  the  new  im- 
pression would  recal  the  ;deu  of  a  former 
object  which  it   resembled,    and  conse- 
quently the  word  with  which  that  object 
was  connected;  and  thus,  what  originally 
was  a  name  for  an  individual  only,  would 
gradually  become  the  name  of  a  multi- 
tude.    Thus   Lee    Boo,    who   had   beeii 
taught  by  his   fellow  voyagers  to  call  a 
great  Newfoundland  dog  by  the  name  of 
Sajlor,   used  to   call  every  dog  he   saw 
Sailor.     There  is  little  or  no  difficulty  at- 
tending the  appellation  and  classification 
of  sensible  objects  :  it  is  an  operation  sim- 
ple and  easy,  if  some  articulate  sounds 
were  known. 

8.  When  several  objects  had  received 
the  same  name,  it  would  sometimes  be 
necessary  to  distinguish  them.     Our  pro- 
cedure in  such  cases  is,  to  connect  with 
the  name  of  the  object  the  name  of  a  dis- 
tinguishing quality,  or  some  word  of  a 
restrictive  force,  or  to  specify  some  rela- 
tion which  it  has  with  other  objects  ;  but 
this   supposes  that  to  be  already  done, 
which  we    must  suppose  is  to  be  done. 
Now  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  similarity 
(sensible,  external  similarity)   and  local 
connection,  are  those  principles  of  asso- 
ciation which  are  known  to  be  most  active 
in  the  minds  of  the  illiterate  and  unculti- 
vated, and  that  they  must  also  have  been 
the  most  active  in  the  minds  of  all  men  in 
the   rude  states  of  society.     A  peculiar 
colour  (which  would  furnish  one  criterion 
of  distinction)  would,  therefore,  suggest 
the  idea  of  .some  object  remarkable  for 
that  colour ;  and  the  name  of  this  second 
object,  joined  with  the  name  which  the 
first  had  in  common  with  others,  would 
confine  this  general  term  to  the  particu- 
lar object  which  it  was  intended  to  spe- 
cify.    This  is  a  procedure  so  simple,  that 
we  may  expect  to  find  some  traces  of  it 
still  remaining  to   us ;  and  accordingly, 
among  others,  we  have  the  expression, 


LANGUAGE. 


•j.'i  orange  ribbon,  which  will  exemplify 
what  has  been  said:  if  we  wish  to  dis- 
tinguish a  ribbon  by  its  colour,  we  are  in 
this  case  able,  agreeably  to  the  custom  of 
our  language,  to  connect  with  the  word 
ribbon,  the  name  of  an  object  remarkable 
for  that  colour.  It  must  however  be  ob- 
served, when  tracing1  out  other  examples 
of  this  contrivance,  and  the  application  of 
it  to  other  qualities^  that  sensible  qualities 
were  those,  and  those  only,  which  would 
be  first  noticed,  and  most  requisite  to 
be  noticed.  Local  situation,  or  vicinity 
to  some  object,  would  furnish  another 
ground  for  distinction  ;  the  fountain  near 
the  cave,  for  instance.  Now  to  express 
this,  the  procedure  would  be  simple  and 
intelligible,  if,  immediately  preceding  or 
following-  the  term  denoting1  fountain,  the 
term  denoting  cave  were  added  ;  in  like 
manner  as  we  at  present  use  the  expres- 
sions, barn-yard,  &c.  This  juxtaposition 
of  the  signs,  to  signify  the  contiguity  or 
similarity  of  the  objects  which  they*  de- 
note, is  natural,  and,  in  a  language  little 
extended,  sufficiently  adequate  for  all  the 
purposes  of  common  life :  but  it  is  obvious 
that  it  would  allow  of  great  latitude  of  in- 
terpretation ;  and  hence,  as  languages  be- 
came more  copious,  contrivances  were 
used  to  denote  the  nature  of  the  connec- 
tion which  existed  between  objects  de- 
noted by  the  signs  employed.  The  chief 
of  these  is  the  employment  of  preposi- 
tions ;  and  these,  in  the  outset,  furnish 
additional  proof  that  the  procedures  we 
have  spoken  of  were  in  reality  those  of 
the  early  framers  of  language,  (see  GH.VM- 
MAR,  §  41,  particularly  respecting  J'ranJ ; 
but  these  were  contrivances  of  a  later 
date  than  those  of  which  we  here  speak. 
By  degrees  it  was  by  some  tribes  found 
convenient  to  designate  those  names 
which  were  employed  in  connection  with 
other  names  to  point  out  some  quality  or 
restricting  circumstance  of  the  thing* sig- 
nified, by  some  note  that  they  were  so 
employed.  They  might  without  any  dis- 
advantage have  left  the  inference  to  sim- 
ple juxtaposition  ;  but  this  appears  to 
have  been  done  in  few  languages  after  im- 
provements began  to  take  place:  and  to 
effect  such  designation,  words  (h 
cases  denoting  tuld,  join,  Sec.)  were  sub- 
joined to  the  particularizing  names,  and 
they  then  became  adjective.  (See  GUAM- 
MAR,  §_22.)  The  Chinese,  however,  make 
no  distinction  between  words  when  em- 
ployed as  nouns  and  as  adnouns;  the  same 
word  when  placed  first  being  an  adjec- 
tive, and  when  placed  last,  a  substantive. 
We  do  the  same  in  many  instances  ;  but 
a  large  proportion  of  our  simple  adjec- 


tives are  formed  as  above,  and  are  i.ever 
employed  as  substantives;  the  Chinese, 
on  the  other  hand,  when  a  substantive  is 
not  to  be  used  adjectively,  add  a  desig- 
nating syllable  to  it. 

9.  As  far  as  respects  sensible  objects 
and  their  connections,  all  seems  very  plain: 
in  order  to  express  objects  which  were 
not  sensible,  so  as  to  convey  to  others  the 
feelings  which  existed  in  the  mind  of  the 
speaker,  words  were  used  which  had  pre- 
viously been  appropriated  to  objects,  to 
which  those  objects  of  the  mind's  eye  ap- 
peared to  have  some  resemblance  or 
other  connection.  This  resemblance  or 
connection  was  frequency  forced,  and  to 
those  whose  situation  was  different  would 
not  be  at  all  striking;  in  other  cases  it 
was  correct,  and  the  justness  of  the  ap- 
plication is  proved  by  a  similar  procedure 
of  unconnected  inventors.  We  may  de- 
rive great  light  here  from  the  hiero- 
glyphics :  for  there  cannot  be  a  doubt, 
that  where  the  visible  sign,  which  origi- 
nally represented  only  a,  sensible  object, 
was  applied  to  denote  some  quality  dis- 
covered by  reasoning  and  observation, 
that  the  audible  sign  or  word  was  applied 
in  like  manner.  Several  instances  will 
be  adduced  when  we  come  to  consider 
the  hieroglyphical  mode  of  communica- 
tion: at  present  we  shall  adduce  one  or 
two  examples  as  illustrations  of  the  prin- 
ciples here  slated.  The  term  used  to 
denote  the  mouth  would  also  denote  speech,- 
this  connected  with  the  word  dog,  would 
signify  the  dog's  voice,-  and  this  com- 
pound the  Egyptians  employed  to  signify- 
itiMMiiati'jn,  and  the  sorrow  which  pro- 
duced it.  In  the  uncultivated  periods  a." 
society,  grief  is  loud  and  clamorous;  and. 
we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  the 
term  fio-i'l  employed  lo  denote  the  ex- 
clamations of  pain,  and  even  of  sorrow 
.Hy  a  similar,  but  more  obvious  procedure, 
the  words  dog,  field,  placed  together,  de- 
noted hunting.  Our  readers  will  be  able., 
even  in  the  present  refined  period  of  our 
language,  to  trace  numerous  instances  in 
which  the  names  of  intellectual  thing* 
have  been  obviously  transferred  from 
sensible  things;  and  to  those  who  have 
attended  to  the  subject  it  will  not  appeu. 
too  much  to  affirm,  that  in  every  instance; 
where  a  word  is  not  the  name  of  a  sens;' 
ble  object,  it  has  acquired  its  preseni 
force  by  a  gradual  transition  from  it;.-, 
primary  application  to  sensible  objects. 
In  every  known  language  the  transition 
has  been  begun  -,  but  it  is  only  amo;ur 
the  more  refined  that  it  lias  been  com- 
plete: in  our  own,  we  find  abundance  oi 
23  in  almost  ever  inte 


LANGUAGE. 


stage  of  the  progress,  as  \vell  as  in  its 
termination. 

10.  Language  would  proceed  but  awk- 
wardly without  those  wheels  which  have 
been  gradually  made  for  it :  but  all  which 
can  be  thought  necessary  for  communica- 
tion, are  the  noun  and  the  verb;  and  even 
of  the  latter  the  necessity  may  be  justly 
doubted.  We  think  it  next  to  certain, 
that  the  whole  of  what  is  now  (by  asso- 
ciation) implied  or  denoted  by  the  verb, 
beyond  what  is  denoted  by  the  acknow- 
ledged noun,  was  originally  mere  infer- 
ence from  the  juxtaposition  of  the  verb- 
noun  with  another  noun.  J\fen  fight,  are 
names,  and  are  still  acknowledged  as 
such  ;  placed  together,  especially  if  ac- 
companied by  distinguishing  tones  of 
voice,  it  would  be  naturally  inferred  that 
the  speaker  intended  to  raise  in  his  hear- 
er's mind  that  belief  which  exists  in  his 
own  ;  in  other  words,  to  direct  his  hearer 
to  make  a  connection  which  circumstan- 
ces has  formed  in  his  own  mind.  By  de- 
grees, at  least  in  some  nations,  some  of 
those  names  which  were  frequently  thus 
employed  with  the  inference  of  affirma- 
tion, became  somewhat  appropriated  to 
convey  this  inference,  and  the  inference 
would  then  be  made  whenever  such  a 
word  was  employed  ;  but  in  the  earliest 
stages  of  language,  the  great  body  of 
*~<"rbs  must  have  been  merely  nouns,  and 
iu  the  more  simple  languages  many  of 
those  words  which  are  employed  as  verbs 
(i.  e.  conveying  the  inference  of  affirma- 
tion) are  still  immediately  recognised  as 
nouns.  In  the  Chinese  very  few  names 
are  appropriated  as  verbs,  but  are  used 
indiscriminately,  and  without  any  change 
of  form  either  as  nouns  or  as  verbs :  in  the 
Hebrew,  the  root  (which  docs  not,  like 
every  part  of  the  indicative  in  the  Greek 
and  Latin  verbs,  include  a  pronoun)  is  a 
simple  name,  and  is  in  many  cases  used  as 
a  noun  ;  and  in  our  own  language  many 
names  are  used  either  as  nouns  or  as 
verbs.  When  we  have  advanced  to  the 
frequent  use  and  gradual  appropriation 
of  some  names  to  convey  the  inference 
of  affirmation,  the  rest  is  easy  and  almost 
certain.  With  respect  to  the  simple  af- 
firmation, the  subject  of  it  would,  in  the 
case  of  the  first  and  second  persons,  al- 
ways be  a  pronoun,  and,  in  the  same  dis- 
trict, the  same  pronoun.  This,  where 
spoken  language  made  material  progress, 
would  gradually  coalesce  with  the  verb  ; 
and  the  word  so  formed  would  be  com- 
pletely invested  with  the  verbal  charac- 
ter, and  never  be  employed  but  with  the 
inference  of  affirmation.  The  same  might 
also  be  the  case  respecting  the  third  per- 


son; but  the  coalescence  would  in  this 
instance  be  more  slowly  formed,  and  in 
some  languages,  where  the  coalescence 
took  place  in  the  other  persons,  it  did  not 
in  this:  it  must  however  be  admitted,  that 
in  others  the  contrary  is  the  fact.  But 
we  have  already  enlarged  on  these  points 
as  much  as  our  limits  will  permit;  and  we 
therefore  beg  our  readers  to  refer  to 
C-iHAMMAR,  §29,33,  for  some  additional 
remarks  respecting  those  changes  which 
the  verb  has  undergone  in  order  to  make 
it  more  expressive. 

11.  We  do  not  think  it  necessary  to 
enter  any  farther  into  the  subject  of  the 
origin  of  oral  language.  It  can  scarcely 
be  doubted  by  those  who  have  studied 
the  nature  of  the  other  parts  of  speech, 
by  means  of  the  light  which  the  re- 
searches of  Mr.  Tooke  have  afforded, 
that  all  have  been  derived  from  the  noun 
and  the  verb ;  and  admitting  this,  all  that 
is  incumbent  upon  those  who  profess  to 
show  the  original  causes  of  languag-e  is, 
to  present  a  probable  origin  of  those 
classes  of  words.  In  those  procedures 
which  have  been  here  stated,  there  is 
nothing  which  supposes  metaphysical 
research  or  much  observation ;  and  to 
render  any  procedure  probable,  it  must 
wear  the  marks  of  simplicity.  In  the 
present  period  of  the  language,  we  see 
the  grammarian  pointing  out  the  analo- 
gies which  are  found  to  exist  in  language, 
and  thence  proceeding  to  the  formation 
of  new  words  upon  those  analogies:  this 
is  art ;  but  the  early  formers  of  language, 
in  their  inventions,  followed  only  the  dic- 
tates of  circumstances,  and  whatever  re- 
gularity we  may  perceive  in  their  inven- 
tions, must  be  attributed  to  the  similarity 
of  those  circumstances.  We  see  the  phi- 
losopher inventing  a  new  term,  agreea- 
bly to  prevailing  analogies,  to  express 
some  power  of  the  mind,  or  some  emo- 
tion which  had  not  received  any  denomi- 
nation ;  but  those  who  originally  gave 
names  to  mental  feelings  derived  them 
simply  from  some  analogy,  fancied  or 
real,  between  the  internal  and  an  exter- 
nal object :  and  those  names  which  now 
suggest  to  us  ideas  the  most  subtle  and 
refined,  were  originally  only  the  names 
of  objects  obvious  to  the  senses.  The 
reasoner,  when  he  uses  a  word  whose 
meaning  has  not  been  accurately  ascer- 
tained, defines  the  ideas  which  he  in- 
tends to  attach  to  it,  and  uses  it  accord- 
ingly :  in  the  early,  and  even  in  the 
more  refined  periods  of  language,  the 
ideas  connected  with  words  have  been 
the  result  of  casual  associations,  produced 
by  local  circumstances,  by  the  customs  of 


LANGUAGE. 


the  age,  or  the  appearances  of  nature  in 
particular  situations. 

12.  In  languages,  in  which  the  coales- 
cence between  the  verb  and  its  adjuncts 
has  taken  place,  and  also  the  coalescence 
between  nouns  and  its  connective  words, 
(GRAMMAR,  §  19),  much  greater  liberty 
of  inversion  is  practicable  than  in  those 
in  which  such  coalescence  has  not  at  all 
occurred,  or  but  incompletely.  In  other 
words,  where  the  noun,  adnoun,  and 
verb,  admit  of  flexion,  there  the  arrange- 
ment depends  in  many  instances  more 
upon  the  sound  than  upon  the  sense; 
and  nearly  in  all  cases  may  be  made  sub- 
servient to  the  former.  This  gives  such 
languages  considerable  advantage  over 
those  which  admit  of  but  few  changes,  so 
far  as  respects  their  modulation;  and 
further,  the  coalescence  renders  them 
much  more  forcible,  where  emphasis  on 
any  of  the  fractional  parts  is  not  required. 
\Vhenever  flexion  increases  perspicuity, 
the  advantage  is  decisive  and  obvious : 
with  respect  to  modulation,  though  an 
object  of  some  consequence,  (since  we 
may  sometimes  find  the  way  to  the  head 
and  heart  by  pleasing  the  ear)  yet  all  cul- 
tivated languages  will  be  found  to  pos- 
sess sufficient  power  of  pleasing  the  na- 
tive ear ;  and  among  those  who  made 
sound  so  much  an  object,  sense  was  often 
sacrificed  to  it :  with  respect  to  force,  it 
may  fairly  be  doubted  whether  the  ad- 
vantage of  greater  precision,  by  means  of 
more  accurate  emphasis,  does  not  coun- ' 
terbaiance  it.  We  are  willing  to  admit  on 
the  whole,  that  the  advantage  is  some- 
what in  favour  of  those  languages  in 
which  flexion  is  extensively  adopted ; 
but  we  can  by  no  means  admit  the  opi- 
nion of  those  who  think  it  necessary  to  a 
perfect  language.  That  language  is  not 
the  most  perfect,  which  enables  us  to  ex- 
press one  thought  in  a  great  variety  of 
ways,  but  that  which  enables  us  to  ex- 
press any  thought  with  precision  and 
perspicuity:  and  contemptible  as  our 
own  uninflected  language  may  appear  to 
those  who  can  think  nothing  good  but 
what  accords  witli  the  objects  of  their 
early  taste,  we  are  disposed  to  believe 
that  in  its  real  powers  it  rises  beyond  all 
the  ancient  languages,  and  beyond  most 
ot  tiie  modern. 

1  -.  Hetbre  we  leave  the  subject  of  oral 
language,  we  shall  pay  some  attention  to 
the  three  following  inquiries;  whether 
words  were  originally  imitative  ;  whether 
they  were  long ;  and  of  what  kind  of  ar- 
ticulations they  were  composed.  The 
iilter  of  these  are  of  importance  in  trac- 
i. it  ion  JVoni  hieroghyphjcalto 


alphabetical    writing.     Words,   in  their 
present  state,  are  simply  arbitrary  marks. 
The  sound  of  some  appears  to  be  "  an 
echo  of  the  sense  ;"  but  in  the  greater 
number  of  instances  in  which  there  is 
supposed  to   be  this  resemblance,  very 
much  may  be  attributed  to  the  fancy  of 
the   observer.     It  is   obvious,   however, 
that  some  words  are  truly  imitative,  such 
e.  g.  as  denote  the  various  sounds  of  ani- 
mals.    When  we  carry  our  inquiries  far- 
ther back,  we  are  led  to  suppose  that  the 
original  words  would  be  formed  upon 
some  resemblance,  real  or  supposed,  be- 
tween their  sound  and  the  thing  signi- 
fied.    What  else,  at  first,   could  induce 
men  to  fix  upon  one  sound  rather  than 
another  ?  Sensible  objects  were  the  first 
which  obtained  names;  and  of  these  the 
number  is  considerable,  which  either  emit 
some  imitable  sound,  or  perform  such 
motions  as   are  generally   accompanied 
with  sound.     These  would  probably  be 
denoted  by  words  imitative  of  the  sound, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  Otaheitans 
gave  to  the  gun  the  appellation  of  tick- 
tick-boo,  evidently  imitating  the  cocking 
and  report  of  the  gun,  and  as  we  give 
the  cuckoio  its  name  from  its  note.     With 
respect  to  qualities  totally   unconnected 
with  sound,  particularly  mental  qualities, 
this  principle  of  imitation  is  not  directly 
applicable:  we  immediately  see  the  in- 
congruity of  sound  and  colour,  for  in- 
stance, when  we  call  to  mind  the  idea  of 
the  blind  man,  that  a  scarlet  colour  was 
very  much  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet. 
Yet  there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that 
funded  resemblances  would,  as  much  as 
real    ones,    direct    the    application    of 
names.     Some  ingenious  writers  on  this 
subject  have  observed  certain  letters  ap- 
plied to  denote  a  certain  class  of  ideas, 
which  have  some  common  features  of  re- 
semblance, and  have  inferred  that  those 
letters  were  significant  of  that  common 
feature  ;  e.  g.  that  c  denotes  hollowiess, 
This  particular  coincidence  arises  proba- 
bly from  the  circumstance,  that  the  ori- 
ginal word  denoting  hollowness,  which 
has  entered  variously  modified  into  the 
words  in  question,  was  c  with  some  vocal 
sound,     This  appears  to  be  the  extent  of 
the     inference    which    may    be    justly 
drawn;  that  it  was  so  applied,  but  no't 
that  the   sound   was   significant   of  the 
idea.     We  are  accustomed  to  rise  sounds 
in  particular  connections  with  such  regu- 
larity and  constancy,  that  they  appear  to 
have  a  signification"  of  themselves  consi- 
dered ;  but  this  inference  arises  from  i,t 
attention  to  the  matter  of  fact.  Frequen 
ly,  from  our  acquaintance  wi< •': 


LANGUAGE. 


we  read  a  combination  of  words  as  the 
sense  dictates,  and  suppose  the  imitation 
in  the  words,  which  really  exists  only  in 
our  mode  of  enunciation ;  but  these  in- 
stances, however  just,  afford  no  ground 
tor  argument  in  the  present  discussion, 
which  refers  only  to  single  words :  and 
with  respect  to  them,  we  cannot  but  con- 
fine the  resemblance  of  their  sound  to 
their  sense,  to  cases  in  which  they  de- 
note sound  or  motion  usually  acconnpa- 
nied  with  sound. 

14.  The  chief  importance  of  the  inquiry, 
whether  the  original  words  of  language 
were  long,  is  principally  confined  to  that 
language,  in  which  the  transition  took 
place  from  hieroglyphics  to  letters.  This 
is  usually  supposed  to  have  been  the 
Egyptian;  but  as  of  this  language  only  a 
lew  words  are  preserved  in  the  Coptic,  (of 
which  however  a  large  proportion  are  mo- 
nosyllables) we  may  make  tiie  inquiry 
more  general.  Lord  Monboddo  supposes, 
that  the  first  articulate  sounds  were  imita- 
tions of  the  cries  of  animals,  and  that  con- 
sequently they  were  of  great  length,  "for 
such  cries  of' almost  all  animals  have  a 
certain  tract  or  extension  :  and  that  we 
may  not  think  man  an  exception  to  this 
rule,  we  need  only  attend  to  the  dumb 
persons  among  us,  who  utter  inarticulate 
cries,  sometimes  very  loud,  but  always  of 
considerable  length."  Leaving  the  latter 
argument,  which  surely  is  nothing  to  the 
purpose,  we  may  observe,  that  if  the  cries 
of  animals  were  imitated  to  denote  those 
animals,  great  length  of  words  was  unne- 
cessary and  improbable  :  unnecessary, 
because  one  or  two  distinct  articulations 
would  usually  answer  every  purpose  ;  im- 
probable, because  articulation  is  difficult. 
If  we  extend  the  principle  of  imitation  far- 
ther, and  suppose  the  cries  of  animals 
imitated  by  man,  in  order  to  express  feel- 
ing merely,  his  cries  would  surely  be  un- 
deserving the  name  of  words,  and  at  any 
rate  would  throw  no  light  on  our  inquiries. 
The  theory  of  long  words  appears  to  de- 
rive confirmation  from  the  vocabularies  of 
the  North  American  Indians.  For  in- 
stance, of  three  which  are  given  by  Mac- 
kenzie, two  appear  to  be  composed  of 
words  of  from  two  to  seven  syllables,  with 
scarcely  any  words  of  one  syllable.  The 
third,  however,  is  composed  principally  of 
\vords  of  one  or  two  syllables.  With  re- 
spect to  the  former,  even  where  the  words 
actually  denote  sensible  objects,  our  in- 
ference, that  they  are  uncompounded, 
should  be  cautiously  drawn.  The  moon 
is  expressed  by  two  words,  tibiscapesim, 
night-sun  ;  and  several  others  appear  to 


be  circumlocutions.  The  catholic  savage? 
on  the  river  St.  Lawrence  call  the  priest, 
the  master  of  life's  man ;  and  it  is  very  pro- 
bable that,  in  uncultivated  nations,  names 
of  new  objects  would,  where  possible,  be 
formed  rather  by  significant  combinations 
of  words  in  use, thati  by  the  formation  of 
new  words.  Thus  we  learn  from  Mr. 
Parke,  that  the  Mandingo  nation  use  the 
following  (among  many)  circumlocutions  "- 
fruit  is  eree-ding,  child  of  the  tree;  finger, 
boullakon  ding,  child  <>f  the  hand  or  arm  ; 
noon  teeleekoniata,  the  o?w  overhead',  bro- 
ther, ba  ding  kea,  mother's  male  child; 
proud,  telingabalid,  straight- bodied  ;  angry. 
jusu  bota,  the  heart  comes  out .-  we  think  it 
almost  unnecessary  to  remark,  how  much 
the  last  two  instances  countenance  the  po- 
sitions before  laid  down,  respecting  the 
transference  of  names  from  external  to 
internal  things. 

15.  The  words  which  Lord  Monboddo 
adduces  in  proof  of  his  opinion  are,  won- 
naweucktuckluit,  much,  and  mikkeuawk- 
rook,  little,  from  the  Esquimaux ;  and 
poellarrarorincourac,  three >  among  some. 
South  American  Indians.  The  above  ex- 
amples lead  us  to  class  the  two  former 
among  the  descriptive  circumlocutions 
with  which  all  languages  are  filled.  With 
respect  to  the  last,  we  may  observe,  that 
the  names  of  numbers  were  probably  ori- 
ginally significant  in  all  languages  ;  and 
that  the  length  of  those  names  would  de- 
pend upon'  the  length  of  the  original 
words,  and  the  manner  of  combining  them: 
thus,  six  is  among  the  Kamschatkans  ex- 
pressed by  innen-milchin,  that  is,  five  and 
one.  Numbers  are  so  familiar  to  us,  and 
so  distinctly  arranged  in  groups,  that  per- 
haps  in  no  case  are  our  ideas  more  clear  ; 
but  this  clearness  entirely  depends  upon 
the  distinctness  of  the  signs,  and  of  the 
manner  of  using  them.  We  speak  of  ten 
and  twenty,  &,c.  and  all  seems  very  clear ; 
but  it  is  evident,  if  we  attempt  to  form  a 
conception  often  or  twenty  things,  we 
must  pass  over  every  one  singly,  and  en- 
deavour to  combine  them  by  processes 
which  will  be  varied  by  the  habits  of  the 
individual.  If  we  give  a  fresh  name  to 
every  group  of  objects,  and  then  consider 
those  groups  as  units,  and  so  on,  we  arc 
capable  of  extending  our  ideas  of  number 
indefinitely,  and  of  speaking  and  thinking 
of  them  with  accuracy:  but  if  the  small 
extent  of  intellect,  or  the  circumstances 
of  situation,  prevents  this  grouping,  and 
our  attention  be  confined  to  individuals, 
our  arithmetic  must  be  very  confined. 
Those  nations  which  reckon  only  by  com 
pat-ison  with  their  fingers,  without  group- 


LANGUAGE. 


ing  numbers,  carry  their  ideas  of  number 
no  farther  than  ten  ;  those  who  take  in  the 
toes,  go  as  far  as  twenty.  The  Kamschat- 
kans  can  count  no  farther;  and  when  they 
have  advanced  to  this  limit,  they  say, 
"  where  shall  we  go  now  ?"  It  is  difficult 
to  conceive  what  circumstances  coaid 
bound  the  arithmetic  of  Lord  Monboddo's 
Indians  to  three,  or  rather  what  should 
induce  them  to  choose  so  troublesome  a 
mode  of  procedure;  but  it  appears  high- 
ly probable,  that  they  joined  together  the 
names  of  three  different  men  or  other  ani- 
mals, and  if  they  had  proceeded  further 
(which  however  Condamme  informs  us 
they  did  not)  they  would  have  joined  four 
together,  ike.  Perhaps  their  tribe  origi- 
nally consisted  of  three  only;  and  then, 
in  order  to  speak  of  three,  they  might  use 
thethree  names  combined  together,  which 
combination,  losing  its  primary  applica- 
tion, would  become  a  general  denotement 
of  three. 

16.  If  Lord  Monboddo  had  looked  into 
the  vocabulary  of  the  Mexicans,  he  would 
have  thought  that  his  theory  derived 
great  confirmation  from  their  words.  Cla- 
v'r/,ego  informs  us,  that  they  had  words  of 
fifteen  or  sixteen  syllables  :  but  he  ex- 
pressly says  they  are  compounds.  He 
gives  one  as  a  specimen  of  their  combina- 
tions, viz.  not^omahuitzteopixcatalzin  ; 
this  signifies  my  very  -u-orthii  father,  or  re- 
vtred  priest,  and  is  compounded  of  seven 
words.  The  language  of  the  Mexicans  is 
very  copious  ;  and  one  cause  of  the  length 
of  their  words  is  probably  the  deficiency 
of  consonants,  which  renders  a  combina- 
tion of  sounds  necessary  for  distinctness. 
After  all,  we  may  admit  that  the  languages 
of  the  American  Indians  favour  the  hypo- 
thesis of  long  words  without  any  injury, 
for  among  them  alphabetical  writing  never 
existed ;  and  we  should  have  enlarged 
less  on  this  point,  if  it  had  not  led  us  to 
notice  some  curious  procedures  of  lan- 
guage :  but  it  seems  reasonable  to  admit, 
as  an  inference,  that  the  original  or  rather 
the  secondary  words  in  language  might 
be  Iqng,  though  not  to  the  degree  that 
Monboddo  supposes.  When,  however, 
we  advance  further,  and  inquire  of  what 
kind  the  original  words  of  man  really 
were,  we  see  sufficient  reason  to  conclude 
them  to  be  short.  Language  was  first 
used  in  the  east,  and  there  too  writing 
was  invented.  Besides  the  evidence  to  be 
derived  from  the  ancient  Egyptian  (§  13), 
we  may  cite  the  following.  The  Chinese, 
Which  as  far  as  oral  language  is  concern- 
ed, uppears  to  have  undergone  very  little 
alteration,  and  to  be  wear  I  v  an  original 

VOL.  IV 


language,  is  composed  entirely  of  what 
are  at  present  monosyllables.  The  origi- 
nal words  of  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  &c.  (that 
is,  those  which  have  not  been  varied  by 
the  addition  of  other  words)  are  short, 
frequently  only  of  one  syllable,  seldom  of 
more  than  two.  And  to  conclude,  of  the 
various  vocabularies  which  we  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  consulting,  of  the  un. 
civilized  nations  of  the  east,  the  words  are 
generally  monosyllabic  or  dissyllabic. 

17.  Our  last  object  is  to  consider  the 
position,  that,  in  the  early  languages,  con- 
sonant sounds  were  at  least  generally  ac- 
companied by  vowel  sounds  :  but  though 
this  is  a  material  point  in  tracing  the  tran- 
sition from  hieroglyphics  to  alphabetical 
writing,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  en- 
large much  upon  it.  We  think  this  posi- 
tion proved  by  the  following,  in  some 
measure  unconnected,  considerations.  1. 
Vowel  sounds  are  by  far  the  most  easy  ; 
and  consequently  they  constitute  the 
earliest  vocal  sounds  of  children,  and  a 
large  proportion  of  the  vocal  sounds 
of  uncivilized  nations.  Several  words 
among  the  South  Sea  islanders  are  com- 
posed entirely  of  vowel  sounds ;  and  so 
great  is  the  difficulty  which  these  people 
find  in  pronouncing  consonants  together, 
that  they  called  Sir  Joseph  Banks  Opa- 
no.  From  this  consideration  we  may 
fairly  infer,  that  vowel  sounds  would  be 
frequent  in  the  original  words  of  the  early 
languages,  which  were  formed  before  ar- 
ticulation was  become  easy.  Yet,  2.  as 
the  shades  of  distinction  between  them, 
when  employed  alone  or  together,  are 
too  nice  to  furnish,  at  least  to  the  un- 
practised ear,  many  obviously  different 
words ;  and  as  man  was  not  at  first  in  that 
low  state  of  intellect  in  which  he  has 
sometimes  appeared,  a  vocabulary  form- 
ed of  such  sounds  would  be  very  inade- 
quate to  his  wants;  and  therefore  we 
must  suppose  that  in  the  early  languages 
there  would  be  very  few  words  without 
consonant  sounds.  3.  Some  of  the  first 
articulations  of  man  were,  without  doubt, 
employed  in  naming  those  of  the  inferior 
animals  with  which  he  was.  concerned. 
Now  their  names  would  almost  certainly 
be  given  from  their  distinguishing  cries ; 
and  the  cries  of  such  animals  consist  of 
consonant  sounds,  each  followed  by  a 
vowel  sound.  4.  As  ai'ticulation  would 
at  first  be  nearly  as  difficult  as  we  now 
perceive  it  to  be  in  children,  the  first 
words  would  be  composed  of  simple  arti- 
culations, that  is,  of  consonant  sounds 
following  each  by  a  vowel ;  and  new 
words  would  be  formed  by  the  combiua- 

I 


LAN 


LAN 


tion  of  such  words  :  so  that  in  the  early 
languages  all  compounds  would  be  form- 
ed by  the  combination  of  simple  articula- 
tions. 5.  The  greater  part  of  consonant 
sounds  cannot  be  sounded  singly  without 
vowels,  nor  together,  without  vowels  in- 
tervening. In  many  cases  this  is  evident 
to  the  ear ;  and  where  it  is  not  perceived, 
it  often  is  the  fact,  though  the  acquired 
rapidity  of  utterance  may  render  it  very 
little  perceptible.  6.  Some  languages  do 
not  admit  of  an}-  two  consonant  sounds 
tog-ether.  The  Tartar  language  always 
requires  a  vowel  between  two  conso- 
nants The  Russian,  we  believe,  does 
the  same.  The  Chinese  never  join  two 
consonants,  unless  we  must  except  tig  ; 
but  this  appears  to  be  only  a  simple 
sound,  though  represented  by  two  of  our 
letters.  VA  ith  respect  to  the  Chinese 
the  point  is  of  consequence ;  because 
there  is  great  reason  to  believe  that  they 
came  from  the  stock  of  the  Egyptians, 
before  there  had  been  any  considerable 
addition  to  their  vocabulary  by  combina- 
tions of  sounds,  and  before  the  transition 
had  been  made  from  hieroglyphical  to  al- 
phabetical writing.  It  is  true,  many  of 
the  Chinese  words  end  in  consonants, 
which  seems  to  render  improbable  the 
position  advanced:  but  it  is  to  be  observ- 
ed, that  in  such  cases  the  words  should  be 
considered  as  of  two  syllables  ;  for  it  is 
impossible,  in  continued  speaking,  to 
utter  a  complete  consonant  sound  at  the 
end  of  a  word,  without  emitting  a  vowel 
sound.  /.That  the  Hebrew,  which  is  to 
be  considered  as  a  representative  of  all 
the  cognate  eastern  languages,  never 
sounded  a  consonant  without  a  vowel, 
may  be  inferred  from  this  circumstance, 
that  those  who  invented  denotements  of 
vowel  sounds,  while  at  least  the  leading 
features  of  the  pronunciation  remained, 
thought  it  necessary  to  add,  or  suppose 
understood,  a  vowel  sound  afier  every 
consonant. 

Respecting  the  Chinese  language,  our 
readers  will  find  many  particulars  in  the 
article  before  referred  to,  viz.  WB.ITIXG, 
origin  of,  alphabetical. 

LANIARD,  a  short  piece  of  rope  or 
line  fastened  to  several  machines  in  a 
ship,  and  serving  to  secure  them  in  a  par- 
ticular  place,  or  to  manage  them  more 
conveniently;  such  are  the  laniards  of  the 
gun-ports,  the  laniard  of  the  buoy,  the 
laniard  of  the  cat-hook,  &c. 

The  principal  laniards  used  in  a  ship 
are  those  employed  to  extend  the  shrouds 
and -stays  of  the  rnasts  by  their  communi- 
cation with  the  dead-eyes  and  hearts,  so 


as  to  form  a  sort  of  mechanical  power,  re- 
sembling that  of  a  tackle. 

LANUJS,  the  shrike,  in  natural  histo- 
ry, a  genus  of  birds  of  the  order  Pico?. 
Generic  character:  bill  straight! sh,  with 
a  tooth  or  notch  near  the  end  of  the  upper 
mandible  ;  the  tongue  jagged  at  the  end  ; 
outer  toe  connected  with  the  middle  one 
so  far  as  the  first  joint.  These  birds  are 
ranked  by  Gmelin  with  the  Accipitres, 
and  have  been  by  others  placed  in  the  or- 
der Passeres ;  according  to  Kramer,  Sco- 
poli,  and  Pennant,  however,  they  most 
appropriately  attach  to  the  Picae.  There 
are,  according  to  Gmelin,  fifty-six  spe- 
cies. Latham  enumerates  forty-nine,  of 
which  it  will  be  sufficient  to  notice  the 
following  :  L.  excubitor,  the  great  shrike, 
is  about  the  length  of  ten  inches,  and 
found  in  France  in  great  numbers,  but 
rare  in  England.  It  subsists  on  insects 
and  small  birds,  seizing  the  last  by  the 
throat  and  strangling  them,  and  then  fix- 
ing them  (as  some  naturalists  have  re- 
ported) on  a  thorn,  from  which  it  tears 
them  piece-meal  and  devours  them.  To 
decoy  them  within  its  reach,  it  imitates 
the  songs  of  many  birds,  which  approach, 
delighted  by  the  sounds,  and  unsuspi- 
cious of  the  danger.  It  is  a  favourite 
bird  with  husbandmen,  as  it  is  consider- 
ed by  them  a  mortal  enemy  to  rats,  mice, 
and  other  species  of  vermin.  It,  how- 
ever, prefers  mountainous  and  secluded 
situations  to  the  neighbourhood  of  man- 
kind. It  appears  contented  in  confine- 
ment, but  is  completely  silent  in  it  with 
respect  to  any  song.  It  may  often  be 
perceived  to  hang  its  food,  before  de- 
vouring  it,  on  the  wires  of  its  cage.  See 
Aves,  Plate  VIII.  fig.  4. 

L.  colluris,  or  the  reel-backed  shrike,  is 
much  more  frequently  to  be  met  with  in 
England  than  the  last  species.  It  is  par- 
ticularly fond  of  grass  hoppers  and  bee- 
tles, which,  as  indeed  various  other  arti- 
cles of  its  food,  it  will  stick  upon  a  thorn. 
The  manners  of  this  species  and  the  last 
are,  in  fact,  extremely  similar.  It  imi- 
tates the  sounds  of  other  birds,  to  decoy 
them  to  destruction.  During  incubation, 
the  female  discovers  herself  to  any  per- 
son approaching  her  nest  by  violent  cla- 
mours of  alarm.  In  St.  Domingo  there  is 
a  species  of  these  birds  daring  in,  the  ex- 
treme, particularly  in  the  breeding  sea- 
son, in  which  they  will  attack  every  bin! 
that  approaches,  without  hesitation  or 
distinction.  In  Carolina  there  is  another 
species  equally  intrepid  and  ferocious. 
They  will  assail  the  crow,  and  even  the 
eagle,  if  it  attempts  to  intrude  upon  thtir 


LAN 


LAN 


premises,  collecting  in  considerable  num- 
bers against  the  aggressor,  and  seldom 
failing- to  make  him  repent  of  his  temeri- 
ty. These  are  denominated  the  tyrants 
of  Carolina  ;  L.  tyrunnus,  Lin. 

LAN  TANA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Didynamia  Angiospermia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Personate.  Vitices,  Jus- 
sleii.  Essenti.il  character:  calyx  obscure- 
ly, Four-toothed ;  stigma  hook,  refracted ; 
drupe  with  a  two-celled  nucleus.  There 
are  nineteen  species.  These  are  mostly 
shrubs,  very  few  being  herbaceous.  The 
branches  are  quadrangular ;  the  leaves 
opposite,  in  pairs,  except  in  a  few  cases, 
where  there  are  three  or  four  together, 
ovate  and  wrinkled;  flowers  aggregate, 
in  axillary  and  peduncled  heads,  eacli 
flower  bract  eel. 

L  ANTERLOO,  or  Loo,  a  game  at  cards, 
played  several  ways,  whereof  we  shall 
only  mention  two. 

The  first  way  is  this  :  lift  for  dealing, 
and  the  best  put  carries  it :  as  many  may 
play  as  the  cards  will  permit ;  five  being 
dealt  to  each,  and  then  turning  up  trump. 
Now,  if  three,  four,  five,  or  six  play,  they 
may  lay  out  the  threes,  fours,  fives,  sixes, 
and  sevens,  to  the  intent  they  may  not  be 
quickly  loocd  ;  or  if  they  would  have  the 
loos  come  fast  about,  then  they  are  to  play 
with  the  whole  pack. 

Having  dealt,  set  up  five  scores,  or 
chalks.  Then  ask  every  one,  beginning 
with  the  eldest  in  hand,  whether  they 
will  play,  or  pass  from  the  benefit  of  the 
game  :  and  here  it  is  to  be  observed,  that 
the  cards  have  the  same  values  as  in  ho- 
nours. You  may  play  upon  every  curd 
what  sum  you  please,  from  a  penny  to  a 
pound;  and  if  looed,  that  is,  win  never  a 
trick,  you  must  lay  down  to  the  stock  so 
much  for  your  five  cards,  as  }  on  played 
upon  every  one  of  them.  Every  deal  rub  off' 
a  score,  and  for  every  trick  you  win  set 
up  a  score,  till  the  first  scores  are  out; 
then  counting  your  scores,  or  the  num- 
bers of  the  tricks  you  have  won,  you  are 
to  take  from  the  stock  in  proportion  to 
the  value.  A  flush,  or  five  cards  of  a 
suit,  loos  all  the  other  hands,  and 
sweeps  the  boards;  and  if  there  be  two 
Hushes,  the  eldest  in  hand  hath  the  ad- 
vantage: the  knave  of  clubs,  called  paam, 
has  this  privilege,  that  he  makes  a  suit 
with  any  other  cards,  and  saves  the  per- 
son who  has  him  from  being  looed. 

The  other  way  is  this  :  the  dealer  lays 
down  so  much  for  every  card  as  the  com- 
pany please  to  play  for  •  and  the  cards  be- 
ing dealt,  all  must  play;  if  any  be  looed, 
they  must  each  lay  down  so  much  as  the 
cards  are  valued  at,  for  their  loo  ;  and  if 


the  person  next  dealing  be  looed,  he 
must  lay  down  double  the  said  sum,  viz. 
one  for  dealing,  and  the  other  for  his 
loo.  In  case  of  a  loo,  the  gamesters  are 
asked  whether  they  will  play  or  not,  be- 
ginning at  the  eldest  hand ;  but  if  there 
is  no  loo,  they  must  all  play  as  at  first ; 
and  this  necessity  they  justly  call  f«ree. 

If  there  be  never  a  loo,  the  money  may 
be  divided  by  the  gamesters,  according 
to  the  number  of  their  tricks,  or  left  till 
one  be  looed,  as  they  shirtl  judge  proper. 

LANTERN,  mug-ic,  an  optic  machine, 
whereby  little  painted  images  are  repre- 
sented so  much  magnified  as  to  be  ac- 
counted the  effect  of  magic  by  the  ig- 
norant. See  OPTICS. 

The  contrivance  is  briefly  this:  A  B  C 
D  (Plate  VIII.  Miscel.  fig.  1.)  is  a  tin  lan- 
tern, from  whose  side  there  proceeds  a 
square  tube  bn  k  I  m  c,  consisting  of  two 
parts;  the  outermost  of  which,  nklni, 
slides  over  the  other,  so  as  that  the  whole 
tube  may  be  lengthened  or  shortened  by 
that  means.  In  the  end  of  the  arm,  n  k  lm, 
is  fixed  a  convex  glass,  k  /;  about  d  e  there 
is  a  contrivance  for  admitting  and  placing 
an  object,  de,  painted  in  dilute  and  trans- 
parent colours,  on  a  plane  thin  glass ; 
which  object  is  there  to  be  placed  inverted. 
This  is  usually  some  ludicrous  or  fright- 
ful representation,  the  more  to  divert  the 
spectators;  b  he  is  a  deep  convex  glass, 
placed  in  the  other  end  of  the  prominent 
tube,  the  only  use  of  which  is  to  cast  the 
light  of  the  flame,  a,  strongly  on  the  pic- 
ture, d  e,  painted  on  the  plane  thin  glass. 
Hence,  if  the  object,  d  e,  be  placed  fur- 
ther from  the  glass,  k  I,  than  its  focus,  it  is 
manifest  that  the  distinct  image  of  the 
object  will  be  pi-ojected  by  the  glass, 
k  /,  on  the  opposite  white  wall,  F  11,  at 
fg ;  and  that  in  an  erect  posture  :  30 
that,  in  effect,  this  appearance  of  the 
magic  lantern  is  the  same  with  that  of  the 
camera  obscura,  or  darkened  room;  since 
here  the  chamber,  E  F  G  II,  is  supposed 
quite  dark,  excepting  the  light  in  the  lan- 
tern A  IJ  C  D.  And  here  we  may  ob~ 
serve,  that  if  the  tube,  bnklm  c,  be  con- 
tracted, and  thereby  the  glass,  &  I,  brought 
nearer  the  object,  d  e,  the  representa- 
tion, fg,  will  be  projected  so  much  the 
larger,  and  so  much  the  more  distant 
from  the  glass  k  I ;  so  that  the  smallest 
picture  at'rf  e  may  be  projected  at  fg  in 
any  greater  proportion  required,  within 
due  limits  :  whence  it  is,  that  this  lantern 
got  the  name  of  lant-erna  -megalographica. 
On  the  other  hand,  protracting  the  tube 
will  diminish  the  object. 

Instead  of  the  convex  glass  to  heighten 
the  light,  some  prefer  a  concave  specu- 


LAP 


LAR 


lum,  its  tbcus  being  nearer  than  that  of  a 
lens;  and  in  this  focus  they  place  the 
candle. 

LAPIDARY  style,  denotes  the  style  pro- 
per for  monumental  or  other  inscrip- 
tions ;  being  a  sort  of  medium  between 
prose  and  verse.  The  jejune  and  bril- 
liant ate  here  equally  to  be  avoided.  Ci- 
cero has  prescribed  the  rules  of  this  style. 
"  Accedat,  oportet  oratio  varia,  vehemens, 
plena  spiritus.  Ominum  sententiarum 
gravitate,  omnium  verborum  ponderibus, 
estutendum."  The  lapidary  style,  which 
was  lost  with  the  ancient  monuments,  is 
now  used  in  various  ways,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  books  ;  and  even  epistles  dedica- 
tory are  composed  in  it,  whereof  we  have 
no  example  among  the  ancients. 

LAPIS  lazuli.     See  LAZURSTEIN. 

LAPIS  inf emails.     See  LUNAR  caustic. 

LAPLISlA,  in  natural  history,  sea-hare, 
a  genus  of  the  Vermes  Mollusca  class  and 
order.  Body  creeping,  covered  with  re- 
flected membranes,  with  a  membranace- 
ous  shield  on  the  back,  covering  the 
lungs  ;  aperture  placed  on  the  right  side, 
vent  above  the  extremity  of  the  back ; 
four  feelers,  resembling  ears.  There  are 
two  species,  viz.  L.  depilans  ;  body  pale- 
lead-colour,  immaculate,  it  inhabits  the 
European  seas ;  from  two  to  live  inches 
long;  is  extremely  nauseous  and  fetid, 
and  is  said  to  cause  the  hair  to  fall  off 
from  the  hands  of  those  who  touch  it. 

L.  fasciata,  black ;  the  edges  of  the 
membranaceous  coverings,  and  of  the  feel- 
ers scarlet ;  it  inhabits  the  shores  of  Bar- 
bary,  among  rocks ;  when  touched  it  dis- 
charges a  black  and  red  sanies,  which, 
however,  is  neither  fetid  nor  depilatory 
like  the  last.  It  is  frequently  to  be  met 
with  ofFAnglesea. 

LAPP  AGO,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Triandria  Digynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Gramina.  There  is  but  one 
species. 

LAPSANA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Syngenesia  Polygamia  JEqualis  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Composite,  Se- 
miflosculosi.  Cichoracese,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character :  calyx  calycled ;  each 
of  the  inner  scales  channelled ;  recepta- 
cle naked.  There  are  five  species,  of 
which  L.  communis,  common  nipple- 
wort, is  very  abundant  all  over  Europe 
in  hedges,  shady,  and  waste  places,  and 
cultivated  ground  ;  flowering  in  the  sum- 
mer months.  Nature  has  amply  sup- 
plied the  want  of  that  down  to  the  seed 
with  which  most  of  this  class  are  furnish- 
ed, by  the  great  abundance  which  every 
plant  produces. 


LAPSED  legacy,  is,  where  the  legatee 
dies  before  the  testator,  or  where  a  lega- 
cy is  given  upon  a  future  contingency, 
and  the  legatee  dies  before  the  contingen- 
cy happens.  As  it' a  legacy  is  given  to  a 
person  when  he  attains  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  and  the  legatee  dies  before 
that  "age ;  in  this  case,  the  legacy  is  a 
lost  or  lapsed  legacy,  and  shall  sink  into 
the  residuum  of  the  personal  estate. 

LARCENY  is  the  felonious  and  fraudu- 
lent taking  away  of  the  personal  goods  of 
another,  against  his  will,  with  intent  to 
steal  them.  If  the  goods  are  above  the 
value  of  12>'/.,  it  is  called  grand  larceny  ; 
if  of  that  value,  or  under,  it  is  petit  lar- 
ceny ;  which  two  species  are  distinguish- 
ed "in  their  punishment,  but  not  other- 
wise. The  rnind,  or  intention,  of  the  act 
alone  makes  the  taking  of  another's  goods 
felony,  or  a  bare  trespass  only  ;  but  as 
the  variety  of  circumstances  is  so  great, 
and  the  complications  thereof  are  so  sin- 
gled, it  is  impossible  to  prescribe  all  ti.e 
circumstances  evidencing  a  felonious  in- 
tent, or  the  contrary. 

As  all  felony  includes  trespass,  every 
indictment  must  have  the  words  feloni- 
ously took,  as  well  as  carried  away ; 
whence  it  follows,  that  if  the  party  be 
guilty  of  no  trespass  in  taking  the  goods, 
he  cannot  be  guilty  of  felony  in  carrying 
them  away.  With  respect  to  what  shall 
be  considered  a  sufficient  carrying  away, 
to  constitute  the  offence  of  larceny,  it 
seems  that  any,  the  least  removing  of  the 
thing  taken,  from  tire  place  where  it  was 
before,  is  sufficient  for  this  purpose, 
though  it  be  not  quite  carried  off;  but 
there  must  be  a  removal  from  the  place, 
though  it  is  put  back  again  :  and  where 
a  pack  in  a  waggon  was  not  actually 
moved  away,  but  only  turned  up  an  end, 
in  order  to  be  carried  off,  it  was  held  no 
ielony. 

As  grand  larceny  is  a  felonious  and 
fraudulent  taking  of  the  mere  personal 
goods  of  another  above  the  value  of  i2</., 
so  it  is  petit  larceny,  where  the  thing  stolen 
is  but  of  the  value  of  I2d.,  or  under.  In 
the  several  other  particulars  above  men- 
tioned, petit  larceny  agrees  with  grand 
larceny ;  but  in  a  petit  larceny  there 
can  be  no  accessaries  either  before  or 
after. 

Larceny  from  the  person.  If  larceny 
from  the  person  be  done  privily  without 
one's  knowledge,  by  picking  of  pockets 
or  otherwise,  it  is  excluded  from  the 
benefit  of  clergy,  by  8  Elizabeth,  c.  4. 
provided  the  thing  stolen  be  above  the 
values  of  12^-,  but  if  done  openly  and 


LARCENY. 


avowedly  before  one's  face,  it  is  within 
the  benefit  of  clergy. 

Larceny  from  the  house.  By  the  com- 
mon law  this  was  not  punished  other- 
wise than  as  a  simple  larceny,  except  in 
the  case  of  burglary,  which  is  a  break- 
ing  into  a  house  in  the  nigtyt-time,  with 
intent  to  steal,  and  punished  capitally  ; 
but  now,  by  several  statutes,  stealing  in 
a  house  is  deprived  of  the  benefit  ot  cler- 
gy in  almost  every  instance.  As,  first,  in 
larceny  above  12c/.,  in  a  church  or  chapel, 
without  violence  or  breaking  the  same. 
Secondly,  in  a  booth  or  tent,  in  a  fair  or 
market,  by  day  or  night,  by  violence  or 
breaking  the  same,  the  owner  or  some 
person  of  his  family  being  therein.  Third- 
ly, by  robbing,  which  implies  breaking  in- 
to, a  dwelling-house  in  the  day  time,  no 
person  being  therein.  Fourthly,  in  the 
same,  by  day  or  night,  without  breaking, 
any  person  being  therein,  and  put  in  fear. 
Secondly,  in  larcenies  to  the  value  of  5s., 
committed,  first,  by  breaking  any  dwell- 
ing-house, or  out-house,  shop,  or  ware- 
house,  no  person  being  therein  in  the  day 
lime.  Secondly,  by  privately  stealing  in 
a  shop,  warehouse,  coach-house,  or  stable, 
by  day  or  night,  though  the  same  be  not 
broken  open,  and  no  person  being  therein. 
Lastly,  in  larcenies  to  the  value  of  40s., 
from  a  dwelling-house  or  its  out-houses, 
although  the  same  be  not  broken,  and 
whether  any  person  be  therein  or  not,  un- 
less by  apprentices  under  fifteen  against 
their  masters. 

Every  person  who  shall  be  convicted  of 
the  feloniously  taking  away  in  the  day- 
time any  money  or  goods  of  the  value 
of  5*.,  in  any  dwelling-house  or  out-house 
thereunto  belonging,  and  used  to  and 
with  the  same,  though  no  person  be 
therein,  shall  be  guilty  of  felony,  with- 
out benefit  of  clergy.  39  Elizabeth,  c. 

.Receiving  stolen  goods.  Any  person 
who  shall  buy  or  receive  any  stolen  goods, 
knowing  them  to  be  stolen  ;  or  shall  re- 
ceive, harbour,  or  conceal  any  felons  or 
thieves,  knowing  them  to  be  so,  shall  be 
deemed  accessary  to  the  felony;  and  be- 
ing convicted,  on  the  testimony  of  one 
witness,  shall  suffer  death  as  a  felon  con- 
vict; but  he  shall  be  entitled  to  his  clergy. 
5  Anne,  c.  31.  Any  person  convicted  of 
receiving  or  buying  stolen  goods,  know- 
ing them  to  be  stolen,  may  be  transport- 
ed for  fourteen  years.  4  George  1.  c.  11. 
Where  the  principal  felon  is  found  guilty 
to  the  value  of  1(H,  that  is,  of  petit  larce- 
ny only,  the  receiver,  knowing  the  goods 
to  have  been  stolen,  cannot  be  transport- 


ed for  fourteen  years,  and  ought  not  to 
be  put  upon  his  trial.  For  the  acts  which 
make  receivers  of  stolen  goods,  knowing- 
ingly,  accessaries  to  the  felony,  must  be 
understood  to  make  them  accessaries  in 
such  cases  only,  where,  by  law,  an  acces- 
sary may  be ;  and  there  can  be  no  acces- 
sary to  petit  larceny. 

Every  person  who  shall  apprehend  any 
one  guilty  of  breaking  open  houses  in  a 
felonious  manner,  or  of  privately  and  fe- 
loniously stealing  goods,  wares,  or  mer- 
chandizes, of  the  value  of  5s.,  in  any  shop., 
warehouse,  coach-house,  or  stable,  though 
it  be  not  broken  open,  and  though  no  per- 
son be  therein  to  be  put  in  fear,  and  shall 
prosecute  him  to  conviction,  shall  have  a 
certificate  without  fee,  under  the  hand  of 
the  judge,  certifying  such  conviction,  and 
within  what  parish  and  place  the  felony 
was  committed,  and  also  that  such  felon 
was  discovered  and  taken,  by  the  person 
so  discovering  or  apprehending  him  ;  and 
if  any  dispute  arise  between  several  per- 
sons so  discovering  or  apprehending,  the 
judge  shall  appoint  the  certificate  into  so 
many  shares,  to  be  divided  among  the 
persons  concerned,  as  to  him  shall  seem 
just  and  reasonable.  This  certificate  is 
commonly  called  a  Tyburn  ticket,  and  ex- 
empts the  person  from  all  parish  and 
ward  offices  in  the  parish  where  the  rob- 
bery was  committed. 

With  respect  to  the  offence  of  larceny, 
it  is  difficult  in  so  short  a  compass  to  de- 
fine the  particular  distinctions  which  have 
been  made;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  men- 
tion some  general  particulars. 

To  constitute  a  larceny,  there  must  be 
a  taking  the  goods  without  the  consent 
of  the  owner ;  so  that  a  fair  loan,  borrow- 
ing, or  receipt  of  goods  upon  trust,  which 
are  afterwards  converted,  with  intention 
to  steal,  to  the  use  of  the  borrower,  does 
not  constitute  a  larceny  or  theft ;  but 
there  are  cases  in  which  servants  who 
have  goods  delivered  to  them,  also  ap- 
prentices, bankers'  clerks,  and  others, 
may  be  guilty  of  larceny;  and  there  are 
others,  where  the  delivery  of  goods  hav- 
ing been  obtained  by  fraud,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  stealing  them,  a  theft  is  held  to 
be  committed.  A  man  may  also  be  guilty 
of  this  offence,  though  the  goods  are  his 
own,  as  where  he  steals  goods  from  a 
pawnbroker,  or  other  person  who  has  a 
property  in  them  for  a  particular  purpose 
and  limited  time,  with  intent  to  charge 
him  with  the  loss. 

The  felonious  taking  must  also  be  from 
the  possession  of  the  owner;  that  is, 
either  constructively  or  actually  hi*  piw- 


LAU 


LAR 


session  ;  which  may  be  where  the  thief 
has  the  actual  possession,  as  a  \valch  de- 
livered for  the  purpose  of  being  pawned. 
And  the  goods  must  be  personal  chattels, 
not  such  as  savour  of  the  reality,  such  as 
standing  corn  ;  but  corn  cut,  or  trees 
felled,  are  personal  chattels,  and  may  be 
the  subject  of  larceny;  and  there  are 
many,  statutes  which  make  stealing  cer- 
tain articles,  as  lead,  iron,  and  other 
things  specified,  affixed  to  the  house  or 
freehold,  larceny.  Bonds  and  bills  were 
not  such  property  as  could  be  said  to  be 
stolen  at  common  law,  but  they  are  made 
so  by  the  statute  law.  And  though  it 
cannot  be  committed  of  vile  animals 
which  are  wild  by  nature,  yet  the  steal- 
ing of  domesticated  and  tame  animals  is 
larceny,  such  as  dogs,  horses,  fowls,  and 
even  hawks. 

LAHIX,  in  botany,  the  larch-tree,  a 
species  of  Pinus.  See  the  article  PINUS. 

LARK.     See  ALAUDA 

LARVA,  in  natural  history.  The  larva 
state  of  insects,  in  general,  denotes  cater- 
pillars of  all  kinds.  The  caterpillar  state 
is  that  through  which  every  butterfly 
must  pass  before  it  arrives  at  its  perfec- 
tion and  beauty. 

The  change  from  caterpillar  to  butter- 
fly was  long  esteemed  a  sort  of  meta- 
morphosis, or  real  change  of  one  animal 
into  another;  but  this  is  by  no  means  the 
case  The  insects  of  the  genus  ichneu- 
mon contributed  much  to  establish  and 
perpetuate  such  absurd  notions,  in  former 
naturalists.  These  insects  are  parasites, 
and  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  bodies  of 
the  larvae  of  butterflies,  moths,  &c.  The 
young  proceeding  from  those  eggs  nourish 
themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  cater- 
pillar, by  feeding  upon  those  parts  which 
are  not  immediately  vital.  The  caterpil- 
lar is  at  length  killed,  and  the  perfect 
ichneumon  comes  forth,  much  to  the  sur- 
prise of  the  observer,  who,  anticipating  a 
different  result,  viewed  it  as  an  instance 
of  equivocal  generation.  But  the  more  ac- 
curate observations  of  modern  naturalists 
have  shown,  that  the  egg  of  a  butterfly 
produces  a  butterfly,  with  all  the  linea- 
ments of  its  parent ;  only  these  are  not 
disclosed  at  first,  but  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  animal's  life  they  are  covered  with 
a  sort  of  case  or  muscular  coat,  in  which 
are  legs  for  walking:  these  only  suit  it  in 
this  state,  but  its  mouth  takes  in  nourish- 
ment, which  is  conveyed  to  the  included 
animal ;  and  after  a  proper  time  this 
covering  is  thrown  off',  and  the  butterfly, 
which  all  the  while  might  be  discovered 
in  it  by  an  accurate  observer,  with  the 


help  of  a  microscope,  appears  in  its  pro- 
per form.  The  care  of  all  the  butterfly 
tribe  to  lodge  their  eggs  in  safety  is  sur- 
prising. Those  whose  eggs  are  to  be 
hatched  in  a  few  weeks,  and  who  are  to 
live  in  the  caterpillar  stale  during  part  of 
the  remaining  summer,  always  lay  them 
on  the  leaves  of  such  plants  as  will  afford 
a  proper  nourishment;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, those  whose  eggs  are  to  remain  un- 
hatched  till  the  following  spring,  always 
lay  them  on  the  branches  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  usually  are  careful  to  select 
such  places  as  are  least  exposed  to  ihe 
rigour  of  the  ensuing  season,  and  fre- 
quently cover  them  from  it  in  an  artful 
manner.  Some  make  a  general  coat  ot  a 
hairy  matter  over  them,  taking  the  hairs 
from  their  own  bodies  for  that  purpose  ; 
others  hide  themselves  in  hollow  places, 
in  trees,  and  in  other  sheltered  cells,  and 
there  live  in  a  kind  of  torpid  state  during 
the  whole  winter,  that  they  may  deposit 
their  eggs  in  the  succeeding  springs  at  a 
time  when  there  will  be  no  severities  of 
weather  for  them  to  combat.  The  day- 
butterflies  only  do  this,  and  of  these  but 
a  very  few  species  :  bul.  the  night  ones, 
or  phalens,  all,  without  exception,  lay 
their  eggs  as  soon  as  they  have  been  in 
copulation  with  the  male,  and  die  imme- 
diately afterwards. 

Nothing  is  more  surprising  in  insects 
than  their  industry;  and  in  this  the  cater- 
pillars yield  to  no  kind,  not  to  mention 
their  silk,  the  spinning  of  which  is  one 
great  proof  of  it  The  sheaths  and  cases 
which  some  of  these  insects  build  for 
passing  their  transformations  in,  are  by 
some  made  with  their  own  hair,  mixed 
with  pieces  of  bark,  leaves,  and  other 
parts  of  trees,  with  paper,  and  other  ma- 
terials ;  and  the  structure  of  these  is  well 
worthy  our  attention.  Yet  there  are 
others,  whose  workmanship  in  this  article 
far  exceeds  these.  There  is  one  which 
builds  in  wood,  and  is  able  to  give  its 
case  a  hardness  greater  than  that  of  the 
wood  itself  in  its  natural  .state.  This  is 
the  strange  horned  caterpillar  of  the  wil- 
low, which  is  one  of  those  that  eat  their 
exuviae,  This  creature  has  extremely 
sharp  teeth,  and  with  these  it  cuts  tiie 
wood  into  a  number  of  small  fragments  ; 
these  fragments  it  afterwards  unites  to- 
gether into  a  case,  of  what  shape  it 
pleases,  by  means  of  a  peculiar  silk, 
which  is  no  other  than  a  tough  and  viscous 
juice,  which  hardens  as  it  dries,  and  is  a 
strong  and  firm  cement.  The  solidity  of 
the  case  being  thus  provided  for,  we  are 
to  consider,  that  the  caterpillar  inclosed 


LAR 


LAR 


in  it  is  to  become  a  butterfly ;  and  the 
wonder  is,  in  what  manner  a  creature  of 
this  helpless  kind,  which  lias  neither  legs 
to  dig-,  nor  teeth  to  gnaw  with,  is  to  make 
its  way  out  of  so  firm  and  strong1  a  lodg- 
ment as  this  in  which  it  is  hatched.  The 
butterfly,  as  soon  as  hatched,  discharges 
a  liquor  which  softens  the  viscous  matter 
that  holds  the  case  together  ;  and  so  its 
.several  fragments  falling  to  pieces,  the 
way  lies  open.  Reaumur  judged,  from 
the  effects,  that  this  liquor  must  be  of  a 
singular  nature,  and  very  different  from 
the  generality  of  animal  fluids;  and  in 
dissecting-  this  creature  in  the  caterpillar 
state,  there  will  always  be  found  near  the 
mouth,  and  under  the  oesophagus,  a  blad- 
der of  the  sifce  of  a  small  pea,  full  of  a 
limpid  liquor,  of  a  very  quick  and  pene- 
trating smell,  and  which,  upon  trial, 
proves  to  be  a  very  powerful  acid;  and 
among  other  properties,  which  it  has  in 
common  with  other  acids,  it  sensibly 
softens  the  glue  of  the  case,  on  a  common 
application.  It  is  evident  that  this  liquor, 
besides  its  use  to  the  caterpillar,  remains 
with  it  in  the  chrysalis  state,  and  is  what 
gives  it  a  power  of  dissolving  the  struc- 
ture of  the  case,  and  making  its  way 
through  in  a  proper  manner  at  the  neces- 
sary time. 

Boerhaave  adopted  the  opinion  that 
there  are  no  true  acids  in  animals,  except 
in  the  stomach  or  intestines ;  but  this 
familiar  instance  proves  the  contrary. 
Another  very  curious  and  mysterious  arti- 
fice is  that  by  which  some  species  of 
caterpillars,  when  the  time  of  their  chang- 
ing into  the  chrysalis  state  is  coming  on, 
make  themselves  lodgments  in  the  leaves 
of  the  trees,  by  rolling  them  up  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  themselves  a  sort  of 
hollow  cylindric  case,  proportioned  to  the 
thickness  of  their  body,  well  defended 
against  the  injuries  of  the  air,  and  care- 
fully secured  for  their  state  of  tran- 
quillity. Besides  these  caterpillars,  which 
in  this  manner  roll  up  the  leaves  of  plants, 
there  are  other  species  which  only  bend 
them  once,  and  others,  which,  by  means 
of  thin  threads,  connect  many  leaves  to- 
g-ether to  make  them  a  case. "  Ail  this  is 
a  very  surprising  work,  but  much  inferior 
to  this  method  of  rolling-. 

The  different  species  of  caterpillars 
have  different  inclinations,  not  only  in 
their  spinning-  and  their  choice  of  food, 
but  even  in  iheir  manners  and  behaviour 
one  to  another.  Some  never  part  com- 
pany from  the  time  of  their  being  hatched 
to  their  last  change,  but  live' and  feed 
tog-ether,  and  undergo  together  their 


change  into  the  chrysalis  state.  Others 
separate  one  from  another  as  soon  as  able 
to  crawl  about,  and  each  seeks  its  tor- 
tune  single;  and  there  are  others  which 
regularly  live  to  a  certain  time  of  their 
lives  in  community,  and  then  separate, 
each  to  shift  for  itself,  and  never  to  meet 
again  in  that  state.  See  ENTOMOLOGY, 
INSECTS,  &.c. 

LARUS,  the  gull,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  birds  of  the  order  Anseres.  Ge- 
neric character:  bill  strong,  straight, 
sharp  edged,  bending  down  somewhat  at 
the  tip;  lower  mandible  exhibiting  an  an- 
gular prominence ;  nostrils  in  the  middle 
of  the  bill;  body  light ;  wings  long;  legs 
small,  and  naked  above  the  knee ;  back 
toe  small.  They  inhabit  principally  the 
northern  climates,  subsisting  on  carrion, 
and  on  fishes.  They  are  reported,  when 
greatly  alarmed,  almost  universally  to 
throw  up  from  their  stomach  the  food 
they  have  recently  swallowed.  Gmelin 
reckons  fifteen  species,  and  Latham  nine- 
teen. L,  marinus,  is  twenty-nine  inches 
in  length,  and  of  the  weight  of  five 
pounds.  It  is  found  in  various  parts  ot" 
England,  and  on  most  of  the  northern* 
coasts  of  Europe.  It  breeds  in  the  most 
elevated  cliff's,  laying  its  eggs  on  heaps 
of  dung  deposited  by  various  birds.  It 
feeds  principally  on  fishes,  but  sometimes 
attacks  birds,  and  is  said  to  bear  a  parti- 
cular enmity  to  the  eider-duck.  See 
Aves,  Plate  IX.  fig.  2. 

L.  fuscus,  or  the  herring  gull,  is  some- 
what  less  than  the  former,  frequents  the 
same  situations,  and  subsists,  like  that,, 
chiefly  upon  fish.  In  the  herring  season 
it  is  seen  watching  the  nets  of  the  fisher- 
men, and  is  daring  enough  frequently  to 
seize  its  prey  from  the  boats  and  nets. 

L.  canus,  is  sixteen  inches  long,  and 
about  a  pound  in  weight.  It  breeds  on 
the  rocks  and  cliffs  on  the  British  coasts  ; 
and  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  near  its 
union  with  the  sea,  may  be  seen  in  im- 
mense numbers,  picking  up  the  worms 
and  small  fishes  deposited  by  the  tide- 
It  will  also  follow  the  course  of  the 
plough  ever  the  fields,  and  delights  in 
the  insects  and  worms  which  are  thrown 
up  by  it.  The  cockchafer,  in  its  larva 
state,  is  a  particular  favourite  with  this 
bird.  See  Aves,  Plate  IX.  fig.  1. 

L.  ridibundus,  the  black-cap,  or  pewit 
gull,  breeds  in  the  fens  of  Lincolnshire 
and  Cambridgeshire,  England;  and,  after 
the  season  of  breeding  is  over,  returns  to 
the  coasts.  In  some  parts  of  Syria  these 
birds  are  so  familiar  as  to  approach  on 
being  called,  Knd  to  catch  pieces  of  bread 


LAR 

in  the  air  as  they  are  thrown  up  from  the 
hands  of  the  women.  The  old  birds  of 
this  species  are  both  rank  and  tough,  but 
the  young  are  eaten  by  many  persons, 
and  were' formerly  much  admired  for  the 
table,  taken  so  young  as  to  be  unable  to 
fly.  The  particular  islets  in  the  fenny 
wastes  of  Lincolnshire,  which  used  to  be 
preferred  by  these  birds  for  breeding, 
were  every  year  in  winter  cleared  of 
weeds,  rushes,  and  other  impediments,  in 
preparation  for  their  return  in  large  flocks 
to  breed  in  the  spring,  and  when  the 
voung  had  attained  the  precise  growth, 
several  men  were  employed  with  long 
staves  to  hurry  them  into  nets  spread  for 
their  reception.  This  process  constituted 
a  favourite  diversion,  and  the  rich  and 
fashionable  assembled  to  be  spectators  of 
it  from  a  considerable  distance.  The 
birds  were  sold  at  the  rate  of  five  shil- 
lin^s  per  dozen,  and  in  the  details  of 
royal  and  noble  feasts,  will  be  found  to 
have  constituted  an  article  of  high  and 
almost  indispensable  importance. 

L.   catarractus,    or    the    brown   gull, 
weighs  about  three  pounds.     It  is  more 
frequent  in  the  cold  than  in  the  warmer 
latitudes,  and  is  perhaps  the  most  daring 
and  fierce  of  all  the  species.     In  the  Faro 
islands,  lambs  are  stated  to  be  often  torn 
to  pieces  by   it,  and  carried  to  its  nest. 
On  the  island  of  Foula,  however,  it  is  said 
to  be  highly  valued  on  account  of  its  en- 
mity to  the  eagle,  which  it  attacks,  and 
follows  with  the  most  animated  hostility, 
in  this  instance  becoming  the  means  of 
security  to  flocks.     It  frequently  makes 
prey  of  the  smaller  gulls  and  of  other 
birds,  and  is  often  observed  to  watch  the 
movements  of  birds  on  the  water,  and  as 
thev  are  bearing  oft'  their  prey  in  triumph 
and  imagined  security,  to  pounce  upon 
them    with    amazing    rapidity,    obliging 
them  to  drop  their  victims,  which  in  the 
same  instant  are  intercepted  by  this  rapa- 
cious intruder.     Even  the  albatross,  when 
on  the  wing,  though  so  much  larger  than 
this  bird,  is  by  no  means  a  match  for  it 
in  strength  and  courage,   and  finds   its 
effectual  resource  only  in  alighting  upon 
the  water,  which  it  does  with  all  possible 
rapidity,    when    the    skua    immediately 
ceases  to  annoy  it.    During  the  season  of 
incubation,  the  skua  gull  will  attack  every 
creature  approaching  its  habitation,  not 
excepting  tbe  human  species,  several  of 
whom  have  been  assailed  by  it  in  com- 
pany, with  an  energy  and  fury  truly  for- 
midable.    Its  feathers  are  in  high  estima- 
tion, and  thought  by  many  equal  to  llirose 


LAS 

of  the  goose.    It  is  in  many  places  killed 
merely  for  these. 

L.  tridactylus,  or  the  tarrock,  breeds 
in  Scotland,  and  is  found  so  far  north  as 
Spi^bergen.  It  is  an  attendant  on  the 
progress  of  whales  and  other  large  fishes, 
which  drive  the  smaller 'inhabitants  of 
the  ocean  into  creeks  and  shallows, 
where  the  tarrocks  suddenly  dart  on 
them,  ensuring  always  an  easy  and  full 
repast.  They  are  very  clamorous,  swim 
and  fly  well,  are  often  seen  on  d  tached 
pieces  of  ice,  are  used  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Greenland  for  food,  their  eggs  being 
highly  valued  for  the  same  purpose, 
while  their  skins  are  converted  into 
materials  for  caps  and  garments.  For 
the  black-toed  gull,  see  Aves,  Plate  IX. 
fig.  3. 

LARYNX,  the  thick  upper  part  of  the 
aspera  arteria,  or  wind-pipe.  See  ANA- 
TOMY. 

LASERPITIUM,  in  botany,  kisenvort, 
a  genus  of  the  Hentandria  Digynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Umbellate 
or  Umbelliferae.  Essential  character  :  pe- 
tals bent  in,  emarginate,  spreading;  fruit 
oblong,  with  eight  membranaceous  angles. 
There  are  fifteen  species,  natives  of  the 
South  of  Europe. 

LASIOSTOMA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Tetrandria  Monogynia  class  and  or- 
der. Natural  order  of  Apocinex,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  very 
short,  five  petalled,  with  two  acute 
scales  ;  corolla  funnel  form,  four-cleft ; 
capsule  orbiculate,  one-celled,  two-seed- 
ed. There  is  only  one  species,  viz.  L. 
rouhamon;  this  is  a  shrub,  seven  or 
eight  feet  in  height,  with  a  greyish  irregu- 
lar bark,  and  a  whitish  wood ;  branches 
and  branchlets  opposite,  covered  with  a 
russet  down,  spreading  over  the  neigh* 
bouring  trees.  The  branch  lets  are  knob- 
bed, and  at  each  joint  have  a  pair  of 
leaves,  ending  in  a  point ;  they  are  of  a 
pale  green  colour,  on  short  petioles ; 
flowers  in  small  axillary  corymbs,  on  a 
small  peduncle,  which  has  two  scales 
at  the  base  ;  corolla  white  ;  capsule  yel- 
low ;  this  shrub  is  called  by  \he  Caribs 
rouhahamon;  it  is  in  flower  and  fruit 
during  the  months  of  October  and  No- 
vember-, it  is  found  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Sinemari,  in  Guiana,  forty  leagues 
from  its  mouth. 

LAST,  in  general,  signifies  the  bur- 
den or  load  of  a  ship. 

It  signifies,  also,  a  certain  number  of 
fish,  corn,  wool,  leather,  &c.  A  last  of 
cod-fish,  white  herrings,  meal,  and  askes 


LAT 


LAT 


for  soap,  is  twelve  barrels ;  of  corn  or 
rape-seed,  ten  quarters  ;  of  gun-powder, 
twenty-four  barrels  ;  of  red  herrings, 
twenty  cades ;  of  hides,  twelve  dozen ; 
of  leather,  twenty  dickers;  of  pitch  and 
tar,  fourteen  barrels  ;  of  wool,  twelve 
sacks;  of  stock-fish,  one  thousand;  of 
flax  or  feathers,  1700$. 

LATH,  in  building,  a  long,  thin,  and 
narrow  slip  of  wood,  nailed  to  the  rafters 
of  a  roof  or  ceiling,  in  order  to  sustain  the 
covering.  These  are  distinguished  into 
three  kinds,  according  to  the  different 
kinds  of  wood  of  which  they  are  made, 
viz.  heart  of  oak,  sap-laths,  and  deal- 
laths  ;  of  which  the  two  last  are  used  for 
ceilings  and  partitions,  and  the  first  for 
tiling  only.  Laths  are  also  distinguished, 
according  to  their  length,  into  five  feet, 
four  feet,  and  three  feet  laths,  though  the 
statute  allows  but  of  two  lengths,  those 
of  five,  and  those  of  three  feet,  each  of 
which  ought  to  be  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
breadth,  and  half  an  inch  in  thickness, 
but  they  are  commonly  less. 

LATHS,  of  cleaving.  The  lath-cleavers 
having  cut  their  timbers  into  lengths, 
they  cleave  each  piece  with  wedges,  into 
eight,  twelve,  or  sixteen,  according  to  the 
size  of  their  timber ;  these  pieces  are  call- 
ed bolts ;  this  is  done  by  the  felt-grain, 
which  is  that  grain  which  is  seen  to  run 
round  in  rings  at  the  end  of  a  piece  of 
a  tree.  Thus  they  are  cut  out  for  the 
breadth  of  the  laths,  and  this  work  is  call- 
ed felting.  Afterwards  they  cleave  the 
laths  into  their  proper  thicknesses  with 
their  chit,  by  the  quarter-grain,  which  is 
that  which  runs  in  a  straight  line  towards 
the  pith.  See  GRAIX. 

LATHE,  in  turning,  is  an  engine  used 
in  turning  wood,  ivory,  and  other  mate- 
rials. 

The  lathe  we  are  about  to  describe  is 
made  of  iron,  in  the  best  manner.  See 
Plate  LATHE.  Fig.  1,  is  an  elevation  of 
the  whole  machine  frontwise;  fig.  2,  an 
elevation  sideways ;  fig.  3,  an  elevation  of 
the  lathe  only  on  a  larger  scale ;  in  fig.  4, 
are  two  elevations  of  an  apparatus  to 
be  attached  to  the  lathe  for  drilling 
holes  ;  fig.  5,  is  an  elevation  of  the  rest ; 
and  fig.  6,  a  face  elevation  of  one  of  the 
puppets. 

The  frame  of  the  lathe  is  of  wood,  and 
consists  of  two  ground  cells,  a  b,  two  up- 
rights, ddt  morticed  into  them,  and  cross 
pieces,  cj\  at  top,  connecting  them  toge- 
ther ;  upon  the  uppermost  of  these  pieces 
the  bench  sustaining  the  lathe  is  fixed ;  g 
is  another  bench,  supported  by  iron 

VOL.  IV. 


brackets,  to  receive  a  vice  or  other  tools., 
at  the  option  of  the  workmen  ;  between 
the  two  uprights,  d  d,  the  axis  of  the 
great  foot  wheel  turns ;  it  is  pointed  at  the 
ends  and  turns  in  small  conical  holes  in 
pieces  of  hard  steel  let  into  the  uprights, 
d  d ;  one  of  these  holes  is  in  the  end  of  a 
screw,  by  turning  which,  the  axis  can  be 
tightened  up  so  as  to  turn  very  freely 
without  any  shake  ;  the  axis  is  made  of 
wrought  iron,  and  the  points  at  the  end 
are  of  hard  steel  welded  together ;  it  is 
bent  in  the  middle  to  form  a  crank;  and 
h  is  the  connecting  rod,  by  which  it  is 
moved  from  a  treadle,  *';  the  treadle  is  a 
piece  of  board,  i,  seen  endways,  in  fig.  2, 
screwed  to  an  axle,  kt  at  one  end,  on  which 
it  turns,  and  at  the  other  end  is  broader, 
to  receive  the  workman's  foot;  in  the 
middle  a  staple  is  fixed,  and  the  connect- 
ing rod,  h,  hooked  to  it;  A  is  the  great 
wheel  of  cast  iron,  and  of  considerable 
weight  in  the  rim,  wedged  fast  on  the 
axis,  and  turns  round  with  it;  it  is  by  the 
momentum  of  this  wheel  that  it  continues 
to  turn,  while  the  crank  and  treadle  are 
rising,  and  consequently  when  the  work, 
man  exerts  no  power  upon  them.  When 
the  crank  has  passed  the  vertical  posi- 
tion, and  begins  to  descend,  he  presses 
his  foot  upon  the  treadle,  to  give  the 
wheel  a  sufficient  impetus,  to  continue  its 
motion  until  it  arrives  at  the  same  position 
again. 

We  now  come  to  describe  the  upper 
part  of  the  machine,  or  lathe,  the  wheel 
and  treadle  being  only  the  first  mover,  it 
is  shewn  on  a  larger  scale  in  fig.  3,  and  it 
is  to  this  figure  we  shall  refer  in  describ- 
ing it;  B  B  is  a  strong  triangular  iron 
bar,  firmly  supported  by  its  ends,  on  two 
short  pillars  screwed  at  their  lower  ends 
to  the  bench;  this  bar  is  perfectly  straight 
and  the  sides  flat  ;  D  B  are  two  iron 
standards,  called  puppets,  fitted  upon  the 
triangular  bar,  D,  and  fixed  at  any  place 
by  screws;  they  are  both  alike,  and 
one  of  them  is  shewn  endways  in  fig.  6; 
it  has  an  opening  made  in  it  at  the  bot- 
tom, the  inside  of  which  is  filed  extreme- 
ly true,  to  fit  upon  the  upper  angle  of 
the  bar  B  B,  through  each  of  the  branch- 
es, formed  by  the  opening  in  the  bottom 
mortices,  are  cut,  as  is  well  seen  in  fig.  3 ; 
these  receive  the  end  of  a  short  piece  of 
iron,  m,  having  a  screw  tapped  into  it ; 
it  is  by  screwing  this  screw  tight  up 
against  the  underside  of  the  bar,  that  the 
puppet  is  fastened  upon  it;  a  small  piece 
of  iron  plate  is  put  between  the  end  of 
the  screw  and  the  underside  of  the  bar. 
K 


LAT 


LAT 


to  defend  it  from  bruises  by  the  latter ; 
the  upper  end  of  the  puppets  are  per- 
forated with  cylindrical  holes,  to  receive 
truly  turned  pins,  mi,  and  which  are  fix- 
ed at  any  place  by  screws,  o  o  ;  these 
holes  must  be  exactly  in  a  line  with  each 
other,  when  the  puppets  are  set  at  any 
place  upon  the  bar,  and  it  is  to  accom- 
plish this,  that  too  much  care,  cannot  be 
taken  in  forming-  the  bar  perfectly 
straight  and  true  in  the  first  instance, 
arid  of  sufficient  strength  to  preserve  its 
figure.  F  is  another  puppet,  fixed  on 
the  bar,  in  the  same  manner  as  13  and  E  : 
it  has  a  conical  hole  through  its  upper 
end,  whose  centre  is  exactly  in  the  same 
line  with  the  holes  through  the  other  two 
puppets  D  and  E  ;  this  conical  hole  is  the 
socket  for  the  mandrill,  G,  to  turn  in,  be- 
ing- conical  at  that  part,  and  fitting  the 
socket  with  the  greatest  accuracy  ;  the 
other  end  is  pointed,  and  turns  in  a  hole 
made  in  the  pin,  n,  of  the  puppet,  D,  and 
which,  besides  the  screw,  o,  has  another 
at  its  end  tapped  into  a  cock,  screwed  to 
the  puppet,  to  keep  it  up  to  its  work ; 
the  mandrill  has  a  pulley  fixed  on  it, 
with  three  grooves  of  different  sizes,  to 
receive  a  band  of  catgut  which  goes  over 
it,  and  round  the  great  iron  wheel,  A  A ; 
it  is  by  this  that  £he' mandrill  is  turned.  I 
is  the  rest,  composed  of  three  principal 
pieces,  shown  separate  in  fig.  5,  one  of 
these  pieces,  r,  is  filed  to  an  angle  with- 
inside,  and  furnished  with  a  screw  similar 
to  the  puppets,  whereby  it  can  be  fasten- 
ed to  the  bar ;  on  each  side  of  this, 
pieces  of  iron,  s  s,  are  laid  on  the  bar, 
and  are  fastened  tog-ether  by  two  short 
bars,  1 1,  to  which  they  are  both  screwed, 
the  main  piece,  r,  being  cut  away  to  make 
room  for  them.  L  is  the  bottom  part  of 
the  rest,  supported  on  the  two  pieces, 
s  s,  it  has  a  dove-tailed  groove  along  the 
underside  ;  a  button,  with  a  head  like  a 
screw,  is  fastened  to  the  top  of  the  main 
piece,  r,  and  is  received  into  the  groove ; 
when  the  screw  of  the  piece,  r,  is  turned, 
it  draws  the  button  down  towards  the 
bar,  and  as  its  head  takes  its  bearing  on 
the  inside  of  the  groove,  it  must  hold  the 
piece  L  fast  down  upon  the  pieces,  s  s  ; 
when  the  screw  is  loosened,  the  whole 
rest  can  be  moved  along  the  bar  B,  the 
piece  L  can  be  slid  backwards  and  for- 
wards upon  the  pieces,  s  s,  or  it  can  be 
turned  round  upon  the  button  of  the 
piece,  r,  as  a  centre,  at  the  convenience 
of  the  workmen ;  and  all  these  motions 
are  firmly  clamped  by  the  screw  be- 
neath the  bar.  The  piece  L  has  at  one 
end  a  short  iron  tube  fixed  to  it,  in  this 
an  iron  pin  is  fitted,  to  hold  at  its  upper 


end  the  crossbar,  V,  on  which  the  tool  is 
Inid,  a  screw  is  fixed  in  the  tube,  and  a 
nut  upon  it  presses  a  piece  of  iron,  w, 
upon  the  ends  of  two  short  pins  going- 
through  the  tube,  the  other  ends  lake 
against  the  large  iron  pin  of  the  rest,  V  ; 
when  the  nut  is  unscrewed,  the  rest  can 
be  set  higher  or  lower,  or  turned  round 
obliquely,  and  fixed  by  turning  the  nut ; 
the  bar,  v,  of  the  rest,  is  fixed  on  by  a 
screw,  so  that  it  can  be  easily  changed 
for  another  when  worn,  or  for  different 
work  there  should  be  two  or  three  of  dif- 
ferent sixes  with  the  lathe.  The  mandrill, 
G,  of  the  lathe  should  be  of  iron, 
and  at  the  part  where  it  turns  in  the 
collar,  F,  it  should  have  a  piece  of  good 
steel  welded  round  it,  and  turned  very 
true  in  a  lathe,  and  also  the  point  at  the 
end  should  be  of  steel;  a  small  hole  is 
drilled  down  from  the  top  of  the  puppet, 
F,  into  the  collar,  to  supply  it  occasional- 
ly with  oil.  The  end  of  the  mandrill,  be- 
yond the  collar,  is  formed  into  a  male 
screw,  whereon  to  fix  the  work  to  be 
turned.  The  manner  of  holding  the 
work  varies  in  almost  every  instance, 
and  is  explained  under  the  article  TCRX- 
IXG  ;  in  general,  it  is  held  in  pieces  of 
wood  called  cheeks,  screwed  to  the  man- 
drill, they  are  turned  hollow  like  a  dish, 
and  the  work  is  driven  into  the  cavity,  as 
shown  in  fig.  1. 

LATHRJEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Didynamia  Angiospermia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Personatae.  Pedicu- 
lares,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  ca- 
lyx four-cleft;  gland  depressed  at  the. 
base  of  the  suture  of  the  germ  ;  capsule 
one-celled.  There  are  four  species,  of 
which  L.  squamaria,  great  tooth-wort, 
has  a  headed  root,  branched  and  sur- 
rounded with  white  succulent  scales ;  it 
is  parasitical,  and  generally  attached  to 
the  roots  of  elms,  hasels,  or  some  other 
trees,  in  a  shady  situation ;  or,  it  has 
usually  a  naked  stem ;  flowers  in  a  spike 
from  one  side  of  the  stem  in  a  double, 
row  ;  calyx  hairy ;  segments  equal ;  co- 
rolla pale  purple,  or  flesh-coloured,  ex- 
cept the  lower  lips,  which  is  white.  Na- 
tive of  most  parts  of  Europe. 

LATHYRUS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Diadelphia  Decandria  class  and  or- 
der. Natural  order  of  Papilionaceae  or 
Leguminosae.  Essential  character:  ca- 
lyx two,  upper  segments  shorter ;  style 
flat,  villose  above,  broader  at  the  end. 
There  are  twenty-three  species,  among 
which  is  the  L.  odoratus,  sweet  lathyrus, 
or  sweet  pea,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  is 
an  annual  plant,  about  three  feet  in 
height,  attaching  itself  to  the  nearest 


LAT 


JLAT 


plant,  by  means  of  its  long-  claspers  or 
tendrils,  the  flower  stalks  come  out  at 
the  joints,  which  are  about  six  inches 
long-,  sustaining-  two  large  flowers,  pos- 
sessing1 a  strong  odour ;  these  are  suc- 
ceeded by  oblong  hairy  pods,  having 
four  or  five  roundish  seeds  in  each. 
There  are  many  varieties,  according"  to 
Linnaeus  ;  the  common  dark  sort  is  a  na- 
tive of  Sicily,  and  the  painted  lady  of 
Ceylon. 

LATITAT,  in  law,  a  writ,  which  in 
personal  actions  is  the  commencement 
of  a  suit  in  the  King's  Bench,  where  the 
party  is  to  be  arrested  in  any  other  coun- 
ty than  Middlesex. 

LATITUDE,  the  distance  of  a  place 
from  the  equator,  or  an  arc  of  the  meri- 
dian intercepted  between  the  zenith  of 
the  place  and  the  equator.  Hence  lati- 
tude is  either  northern  or  southern,  ac- 
cording as  the  place,  whose  latitude  is 
spoken  of,  is  on  this  or  that  side  of  the 
equator.  Thus  London  is  said  to  be  in 
fifty-one  degrees  thirty-two  minutes  north 
latitude.  Circles  parallel  to  the  equator, 
are  called  parallels  of  latitude,  because 
they  shew  the  latitudes  of  places  by  their 
intersection  with  the  meridian.  If  through 
the  poles  of  the  world  we  conceive  innu- 
merable great  circles  drawn,  these  are 
called  secondaries  of  the  equator,  and  by 
their  help,  the  position  of  every  point, 
either  on  earth  or  in  the  heavens,  with 
regard  to  the  equinoctial;  that  is,  the 
latitude  of  any  point  is  determined.  One 
of  the  secondaries,  passing  through  any 
place  on  the  earth's  surface,  is  called  the 
meridian  of  that  place,  and  on  it  the  lati- 
tude of  that  place  is  measured.  The  lati- 
tude of  a  place,  and  the  elevation  of  the 
pole  of  that  place  above  the  horizon,  are 
terms  used  indifferently  for  each  other, 
because  the  latitude  and  elevation  of  the 
pole  are  always  equal.  The  knowledge 
of  the  latitude  of  a  place  is  of  the  utmost 
consequence  in  navigation  ;  and  the  me- 
thods of  determining  it,  both  at  sea  and 
land,  are  generally  the  same.  As  the 
altitude  of  the  pole  is  always  equal  to  the 
latitude,  the  latitude  is  consequently 
best  found  by  observing1  the  pole's 
height ;  but  as  the  pole  is  only  a  mathe- 
matical point,  and  no  ways  to  be  observ- 
ed by  our  senses,  its  height  cannot  be  de- 
termined in  the  same  manner  as  that  of 
the  sun  and  stars,  &c. ;  for  which  reason 
another  manner  has  been  contrived.  A 
meridian  line  is  first  drawn,  on  which  is 
placed  a  quadrant,  so  that  its  plane  may 
be  in  the  plane  of  the  meridian ;  then 
some  star  near  the  pole  is  taken  ;  for  ex- 
ample, the  pole  star,  (which  never  sets) 


and  observation  is  made  of  both  its  great- 
est and  least  altitude.  The  latitude  may 
also  be  found  by  having  the  sun  or  a  star's 
declination  and  meridian  altitude,  taken 
with  a  quadrant  or  astrolabe.  The  me- 
thod is  this  :  observe  the  meridian  and 
distance  of  the  sun  from  the  vertex  or 
zenith,  which  is  always  the  complement 
of  his  meridian  altitude  ;  correct  for  the 
dip  of  the  horizon,  refraction,  and  add  to 
this  the  sun's  declination,  when  the  sun 
and  the  place  are  on  the  same  side  of  the 
equator;  and  subtract  the  declination 
when  they  are  of  different  sides;  the 
sum,  in  the  former  case,  and  the  differ- 
ence, in  the  latter,  will  be  the  latitude  re- 
quired. But  when  the  declination  of  the 
sun  is  greater  than  the  latitude  of  the 
place,  which  is  known  from  the  sun's  be- 
ing1 nearer  to  the  elevated  pole  than  the 
vertex  of  the  place  is,  as  it  frequently 
happens  in  the  torrid  zone,  then  the  dif- 
ference between  the  sun's  declination 
and  his  zenith  distance,  is  the  latitude  of 
the  place.  If  the  sun  or  star  have  no 
declination,  but  move  in  the  equinoctial 
that  day,  then  the  elevation  of  the  equa- 
tor will  be  equal  to  his  meridian  alti- 
tude, and  consequently  his  meridian  alti- 
tude is  the  complement  of  the  latitude 
to  ninety. 

LATITUDE,  in  astronomy,  the  distance 
of  a  star  or  planet  from  the  ecliptic,  in 
degrees,  minutes,  and  seconds,  measured 
on  a  circle  of  latitude  drawn  through  that 
star  or  planet,  being  either  north  or  south, 
as  the  object  is  situated  either  on  the 
north  or  south  side  of  the  ecliptic.  The 
ecliptic  being  drawn  on  the  common  ce- 
lestial globes,  we  may  see  what  constella- 
tions it  passes  through :  there  are  usually 
six  circles  of  latitude,  which,  by  their 
mutual  intersections,  show  the  poles  of 
the  ecliptic,  as  well  as  divide  it  into  twelve 
equal  parts,  answerable  to  the  number  of 
months  in  a  year. 

LATTEN,  denotes  iron  plates  tinned 
over,  of  which  tea-canisters  are  made. 
Plates  of  iron  being  prepared  of  a  proper 
thinness,  are  smoothed  by  rusting  them 
in  an  acid  liquor,  as  common  water  made 
eager  with  rye  :  with  this  liquor  they  fill 
certain  troughs,  and  then  put  in  the 
plates,  which  they  turn  once  or  twice  a 
day,  that  th-y  may  be  equally  rusted 
over ;  after  this  they  are  taken  out,  and 
well  scowered  with  sand,  and,  to  prevent 
their  rusting  again,  are  immediately 
plunged  into  pure  water,  in  which  they 
are  to  be  left  till  the  instant  they  are  to 
be  tinned  or  blanched,  the  manner  of 
doing1  which  is  this :  they  flux  the  tin  in  a 
large  iron  crucible,  which  has  the  figure 


LAT 


LAV 


of  arr  oblong  pyramid  with  four  faces,  of 
which  two  opposite  ones  are  less  than 
the  two  others.  The  crucible  is  heated 
only  from  below,  its  upper  part  being1 
luted  with  the  furnace  all  round.  The 
crucible  is  always  deeper  than  the  plates, 
which  are  to  be  tinned,  are  long ;  they 
always  put  them  in  downright,  and  the 
tin  ought  to  swim  over  them  ;  to  this  pur- 
pose artificers  of  different  trades  prepare 
plates  of  different  shapes ;  though  M. 
Reaumur  thinks  them  all  exceptionable. 
But  the  Germans  use  no  sort  of  prepara- 
tion of  the  iron,  to  make  it  receive  the  tin, 
more  than  the  keeping  it  always  steeped 
in  water  till  the  time;  only  when  the  tin 
is  melted  in  the  crucible,  they  cover  it 
with  a  layer  of  a  sort  of  suet,  which  is 
usually  two  inches  thick,  and  the  plate 
must  pass  through  this  before  it  can 
come  to  the  melted  tin.  The  first  use 
of  tltis  covering  is  to  keep  the  tin  from 
burning;  for  if  any  part  should  take  fire, 
the  suet  would  soon  moisten  it,  and  re- 
duce it  to  its  primitive  state  again.  The 
blanchers  say,  this  suet  is  a  compounded 
matter  ;  it  is  indeed  of  a  black  colour,  but 
M.  Reaumur  supposed  that  to  be  only  an 
artifice,  to  make  it  a  secret,  and  that  it  is 
only  coloured  with  soot  or  the  smoke  of 
a  chimney  ;  but  he  found  it  true  so  far, 
that  the  common  unprepared  suet  was 
not  sufficient ;  for  after  several  attempts, 
there  was  always  something  wanting  to 
render  the  success  of  the  operation  cer- 
tain. This  whole  secret  of  blanching, 
therefore,  was  found  to  lie  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  this  suet;  and  this,  at  k-ngth,  he 
discovered  to  consist  only  in  the  first  fry- 
ing and  burning  it.  This  simple  opera- 
tion not  only  gives  it  the  colour,  but  puts 
it  into  a  condition  to  give  the  iron  a  dis- 
position to  be  tinned,  which  it  does  sur- 
prisingly. The  melted  tin  must  also 
have  a  certain  degree  of  heat,  for  if  it  is 
not  hot  enough,  it  will  not  stick  to  the 
iron  ;  and  if  it  is  too  hot,  it  will  cover  it 
with  too  thin  a  coat,  and  the  plates  will 
have  several  colours,  as  red,  blue,  and 
purple,  and  upon  the  whole  will  have  a 
cast  of  yellow.  To  prevent  this,  by 
knowing  when  the  fire  has  a  proper  de- 
gree of  heat,  they  might  try  with  small 
pieces  of  iron  -,  but  in  general,  use  teach- 
es them  to  know  the  degrve,  and  they 
put  in  the  iron  when  th«  tin  is  at  a  differ- 
ent standard  of  heat,  according  us  they 
would  give  it  a  thicker  or  a  thinner  coat. 
Sometimes  also  they  give  the  plates  a 
double  layer,  as  they  would  have  them 
very  thickly  covered.  This  they  do  by 
dipping  them  into  the  tin,  when  very 
hot,  the  first  time ;  and  when  less  hot, 


the  second.  The  tin  which  is  to  give 
the  second  coat  must  be  fresh  covered 
with  suet,  and  that  with  the  common 
suet,  not  the  prepared. 

LATUS  rectum,  in  conic  sections,  the 
same  with  parameter.  See  PAUAMKTKR. 

LATUS  transversum,  in  the  hyperbola, 
that  part  of  the  transverse  diameter,  in- 
tercepted between  the  vertices  of  the  two 
opposite  sections.  See  HYPERBOLA. 

LAVA,  the  production  of  ./Etna,  Vesu- 
vius, Hecl-i,  and  other  volcanos,  is  of  a 
greyish  colour  passing  to  green:  it  is 
spotted  externally,  and  occurs  porous, 
carious,  or  vesicular.  Its  lustre  is  vitreous, 
more  or  less  glistering.  It  is  moderately 
hard,  brittle,  easily  frangible,  and  light. 
It  generally  attracts  strongly  the  magnetic 
needle.  It  is  easily  fusible  into  a  black, 
compact  glass.  It  frequently  encloses 
other  fossils,  especially  crystals  of  felspar, 
augite,  hornblende,  and  leucite.  See  VOL- 
CANIC formations, 

LAVANDULA,  in  botany,  la-vender,  a 
genus  of  the  Didynamia  Gymnospermia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Verti- 
cillatz.  Labiatae,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  calyx  ovate,  obscurely  toothed, 
supported  by  a  bracte ;  corolla  re-supine  ; 
stamina  within  the  tube.  There  are  seven 
species,  of  which  L.  spica,  common  laven- 
der, has  a  shrubby  stem  much  branched, 
frequently  five  or  six  feet  high,  with  nu- 
merous hoary  leaves,  the  upper  ones  ses- 
sile, the  lower  petioled  ;  the  flowers  are 
produced  in  terminating  spikes  from  the 
young  shoots,  on  long  peduncles ;  the 
spikes  are  composed  of  interrupted 
whorls,  in  which  the  flowers  are  from  six 
to  ten,  the  lower  whorls  more  remote  ; 
each  flower  upright,  on  a  short  pedicle  ; 
the  usual  colour  of  the  corolla  is  blue, 
sometimes  varying  with  white  flowers  ; 
the  whole  plant  is  covered  with  a  down, 
composed  of  forked  hairs.  It  is  a  native 
of  the  south  of  Europe,  and  has  long  been 
celebrated  for  its  virtues  in  nervous  dis- 
orders ;  the  officinal  preparations  of  lav- 
ender, are  the  essential  oil,  a  simple 
spirit,  and  a  compound  tincture. 

LAVATERA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Lavater,  a  physician  at  Zurich ;  a  genus 
of  the  Monadelphia  Polyandria  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  'of  Columniferae. 
Malvaceae,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  ; 
calyx  double,  outer  tiifid;  arils  very  many, 
one-seeded,  There  are  nine  species,  of 
which  L.  arborea  lavatera,  or  mallow -tree, 
rises  in  gardens,  with  a  strong,  thick 
stalk,  frequently  to  the  height  of  eight  or 
ten  feet ;  in  its  wild  state,  not  more  than 
four  or  five ;  leaves  alternate,  cordate, 
roundish,  seven-angled,  the  angles  blunt, 


LAO 


LAW 


but  soft  as  velvet,  shorter  than  the  pe- 
tioles ;  flowers  mostly  in  pairs,  sometimes 
three  together,  on  upright  peduncles,  an 
inch  and  half  in  length  ;  corolla  purplish 
red,  spreading,  bell-shaped,  like  that  of 
the  common  mallow,  an  inch  or  more  in 
diameter ;  petals  broader  at  top  than  at 
the  base,  so  that  the  calyx  appears  be- 
tween the  claws.  The  ring  or  whorl  of 
fruits  is  seven  or  eight-capsuled ;  com- 
mon receptacle  awl-shaped,  with  a  conoid 
globule  at  top,  and  small  crescent-shaped 
lamellae  at  the  base,  and  the  interstices  of 
the  capsules.  Native  of  Italy,  the  Levant, 
and  Britain. 

LAVENIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Syngenesia  Polygamia  JSqualis  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Composite  Dis- 
coideae.  Essential  character :  calyx  nearly 
regular,  style  bifid;  down  three-awnecl, 
glandular  at  the  tip.  There  are  two  spe- 
cies, viz.  L.  decumbens,  and  L.  erecta, 
the  former  is  a  native  of  Jamaica,  and  the 
latter  of  the  East-Indies  and  the  Society 
Isles. 

LAUGERIA,  in  botany,  so  called  from 
Robert  Laugier,  professor  of  chemistry 
and  botany  at  Vienna;  a  genus  of  the 
Pentandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Rubiaceae,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character;  corolla  five-cleft;  drupe 
with  a  five-celled  nut.  There  are  three 
species,  natives  of  America,  West  Indies, 
and  Santa  Cruz. 

LAURUS,  in  botany,  bay-tree,  a  genus 
of  the  Enneandria  Monogynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  lioloracex.  Lauri, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  none; 
corolla  calycine,  six-parted ;  nectary  of 
three  two-bristled  glands,  surrounding 
the  germ;  filaments  inner,  glanduliferous; 
drupe  one-seeded.  There  are  thirty-two 
species.  This  genus  consists  of  trees  or 
shrubs ;  leaves  mostly  entire,  in  a  few" 
nearly  opposite,  commonly  perennial, 
as  in  most  trees  of  the  torrid  zone. 
L.  nobilis,  common  sweet-bay,  has  been 
celebrated  in  all  ages ;  with  us  it  appears 
as  a  shrub  ;  but  in  the  southern  parts  of 
Europe,  it  grows  from  twenty  to  thirty 
feet  in  height ;  it  has  large  evergreen 
leaves,  of  a  firm  texture,  with  an  agreeable 
smell,  and  an  aromatic,  bitterish  taste ; 
flowers  dioecious,  or  male  and  female  on 
different  trees,  in  racemes  shorter  than 
the  leaves,  of  an  herbaceous  colour  :  co- 
rollas four-petalled  in  the  male  flowers  ; 
stamens  from  eight  to  twelve;  berry  supe- 
rior, of  a  dark  purple  colour,  almost  black, 
It  is  a  native  of  the  southern  parts  of  Eu- 
rope and  Asia.  L.  persea,  alligator,  or 
avocado  pear,  of  the  West  Indies,  is  about 


thirty  feet  in  height ;  the  bark  is  smooth, 
and  of  an  ash  colour ;  the  branches  have- 
large,  smooth  leaves,  like  those  of  laurel ; 
the  flowers  are  mostly  produced  towards 
the  extremities  of  the  branches;  the 
fruit  is  the  size  of  one  of  our  biggest 
pears,  inclosing  a  large  seed  with  two 
lobes.  This  fruit  is  held  in  great  esteem 
in  the  West  Indies;  the  pulp  is  of  a 
pretty  firm  consistence,  and  has  a  delicate, 
rich  flavour ;  it  gains  upon  the  palate  of 
most  persons,  and  soon  becomes  agreea- 
ble even  to  those  who  cannot  like  it  at 
first;  it  is  very  rich  and  mild,  so  that 
most  people  make  use  of  some  spice  or 
pungent  substance  to  give  it  a  poignancy. 

LAW,  (&cuc.  lag.  Lat.  lex,  from  Lego,  or 
legendo,  choosing,  or  rather  a  ligando, 
from  binding),  the  rule  and  bond  of  men's 
actions  :  or  it  is  a  rule  for  the  well  govern- 
ing of  civil  society,  to  give  to  every  man 
that  which  doth  belong  to  him. 

Law,  in  its  most  general  and  compre- 
hensive sense,  is  defined  by  Blackstone, 
in  the  Commentaries,  *  a  rule  of  action/ 
and  is  applied  indiscriminately  to  all 
kinds  of  action,  whether  animate  or  in- 
animate, rational  or  irrational.  And  it  is 
that  rule  of  action  which  is  prescribed  by 
some  superior,  and  which  the  inferior  is 
bound  to  obey. 

Laws,  in  their  more  confined  sense,  and 
in  which  it  is  the  business  of  works  of 
this  nature  to  consider  them,  denote  the 
rules,  not  of  action  in  general,  but  of 
human  action  or  conduct.  And  this  per- 
haps (it  has  been  acutely  observed)  is 
the  only  sense  in  which  the  word  law  can 
be  strictly  used  ;  for  in  ah1  cases  where  it 
is  not  applied  to  human  conduct,  it  may 
be  considered  as  a  metaphor,  and  in  every 
instance  a  more  appropriate  term  (as 
quality  or  property)  may  be  found.  When 
law  is  applied  to  any  other  object  than 
man,  it  ceases  to  contain  two  of  its  essen- 
tial ingredients,  disobedience  and  punish- 
ment. 

Municipal  law,  is  by  the  same  great 
commentator  defined  to  be  "a  rule  of 
civil  conduct,  prescribed  by  the  supreme 
power  in  a  state ;  commanding  what  is 
right,  and  prohibiting  what  is  wrong." 
The  latter  clause  of  this  sentence  seems 
to  Mr.  Christian  to  be  either  superfluous 
or  defective.  If  we  attend  to  the  learned 
judge's  exposition,  perhaps  we  may  be 
'inclined  to  use  the  words  "  establishing 
and  ascertaining  what  is  right  or  wrong;" 
and  all  cavil  or  difficulty  will  vanish. 

Every  law  may  be  said  to  consist  of 
several  parts ;  declaratory,  whereby  the 
rights  to  be  observed,  and  the  wrong  *o 
be  eschewed,  are  clearly  defined  and  laid 


LAWS. 


down  ;  directory,  whereby  the  subject  of 
a  state  is  instructed  and  enjoined  to  ob- 
serve those  rights,  and  to  abstain  from  the 
commission  of  those  wrongs ;  remedial, 
whereby  a  method  is  pointed  out  to  re- 
cover a  man's  private  rights  or  redress 
his  private  wrongs ;  vindicatory,  which 
imposes  the  sanction,  whereby  it  is  signi. 
fied  what  evil  or  penalty  shall  be  incurred 
by  such  as  commit  any  public  wrongs, 
and  transgress  or  neglect  any  duty. 

Laws  are  arbitrary  or  positive,  and  na- 
tural ;  the  last  of  which  are  essentially 
just  and  good,  and  bind  every  where  and 
in  all  places  where  they  are  observed  ; 
arbitrary  laws  are  either  concerning  such 
matter  as  is  in  itself  morally  indifferent,  in 
which  case  both  the  law  and  the  matter, 
and  subject  of  it,  are  likewise  indifferent, 
or  concerning  the  natural  law  itself,  and 
the  regulating  thereof;  and  all  arbitrary 
laws  are  founded  in  convenience,  and  de- 
pend upon  the  authority  of  the  legislative 
power  which  appoints  and  makes  them, 
and  are  for  maintaining  public  order ; 
those  which  are  natural  laws  are  from 
God  ;  but  those  which  are  arbitrary, 
are  properly  human  and  positive  institu- 
tions. 

The  laws  of  any  country  began,  when 
there  first  began  to  be  a  state  in  the 
land  ;  and  we  may  consider  the  world  as 
one  universal  society,  and  then  that  law 
by  which  nations  were  governed,  is  called 
jus  gentium;  if  we  consider  the  world  as 
made  up  of  particular  nations,  the  law 
which  regulates  the  public  order  and 
right  of  them,  is  termed  jus  publicum;  and 
that  law  which  determines  the  private 
rights  of  men,  is  called  jus  civile. 

No  law  can  oblige  a  people  without 
their  consent;  this  consent  is  either  verbis 
orfactzs,  i.  e.  it  is  expressed  by  writing,  or 
implied  by  deeds  and  actions ;  and  where 
a  law  is  grounded  on  an  implied  assent, 
rebus  etfactis,  it  is  either  common  law  or 
custom  ;  if  it  is  universal,  it  is  common 
law;  and  if  particular  to  this  or  that  place, 
then  it  is  custom. 

The  law  in  this  land  hath  been  varia- 
ble ;  the  Roman  laws  were  in  use  ancient- 
ly in  Britain,  when  the  Romans  had  seve- 
ral colonies  here,  eacli  of  which  was  go- 
verned by  the  Roman  laws  :  afterwards 
we  had  the  laws  called  Merchenlage, 
We.st  Saxonlage,  and  Danelage  ;  all  re- 
duced into  a  body,  and  made  one  by  King 
Edward  the  Confessor. 

At  present  the  laws  of  England  are  di- 
vided into  three  parts :  1.  The  common 
law,  which  is  the  most  ancient  and  gene- 
ral law  of  the  realm,  and  common  to  the 


whole  kingdom;  being  appropriate  there- 
to, and  having  no  dependence  upon  any 
foreign  law  whatsoever. 

2  Statutes,  or  acts  of  parliament,  made 
and  passed  by  the  King,  Lords,  and 
Commons,  in  Parliament;  being  a  reserve 
for  the  government  to  provide  against 
new  mischiefs  arising  through  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  times.  And  by  this  the 
common  law  is  amended  where  defective, 
for  the  suppression  of  public  evils  ; 
though  where  the  common  law  and  sta- 
tute law  concur  or  interfere,  the  common 
law  shall  be  preferred. 

3.  Particular  customs.  These  must  be 
particular,  for  a  general  custom  is  part  of 
the  common  law  of  the  land. 

Blackstone  divides  the  municipal  law  of 
England  into  two  kinds,  lex  non  scripta, 
the  unwritten  or  common  law;  and  the 
lex  scripta,  the  written,  that  is,  the  statute 
law. 

The  lex  non  scripta,  or  unwritten  law, 
includes  not  only  general  customs,  or 
the  common  law,  properly  so  called ; 
but  also  the  particular  customs  of  certain 
parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  likewise 
those  particular  laws,  that  are  by  custom 
observed  only  in  certain  courts  and  juris- 
dictions. 

There  is  another  division  of  our  laws, 
more  large  and  particular;  as  into  the 
prerogative  or  crown  law,  the  law  and 
custom  of  parliament,  the  common  law, 
the  statute  law,  reasonable  customs,  the 
law  of  arms,  war,  and  chivalry,  ecclesias- 
tical or  canon  law,  civil  law,  in  certain 
courts  and  cases,  forest  law,  the  law  of 
marque  and  reprisal,  the  law  of  mer- 
chants, the  law  and  privilege  of  the  stan- 
naries, &c.  But  this  large  division  may 
be  reduced  to  the  common  division  ;  and 
all  is  founded  on  the  law  of  nature  and 
reason,  and  the  revealed  law  of  God,  as 
all  other  laws  ought  to  be. 

The  law  of  nature  is  that  which  God, 
at  man's  creation,  infused  into  him,  for  his 
preservation  and  direction ;  and  this  is  lex 
sterna,  and  may  not  be  changed ;  and  no 
laws  shall  be  made  or  kept,  that  are  ex- 
pressly against  the  law  of  God,  written  in 
his  scripture ;  as  to  forbid  what  he  com- 
mandeth. 

All  laws  derive  their  force  a  lege nature; 
and  those  which  do  not,  are  accounted  as 
no  laws.  No  law  will  make  a  construc- 
tion to  do  wrong ;  and  there  are  some 
things  which  the  law  favours,  and  some 
it  dislikes  ;  it  favoureth  those  things 
that  come  from  the  order  of  nature.  Also 
our  law  hath  much  more  respect  to  life, 
liberty,  freehold,  inheritance,  matters  of 


LAY 


LEA 


record,  and  of  substance ;  than  to  chat- 
tels, things  in  the  personalty,  matters  not 
of  record,  on  circumstances. 

LAW  of  nations,  is  a  system  of  rules  de- 
ducible,  by  natural  reason,  from  the  im- 
mutable principles  of  natural  justice,  and 
established  by  universal  consent  amongst 
the  civilized  inhabitants  of  the  world,  in 
order  to  decide  all  disputes,  and  to  insure 
the  observance  of  justice  and  good  faith, 
in  that  intercourse  which  must  frequently 
occur  between  them  and  the  individuals 
belonging  to  each ;  or  they  may  depend 
upon  mutual  compacts,  treaties,  leagues, 
and  agreements  between  the  separate, 
free,  and  independent  communities.  In 
the  construction  of  these  principles,  there 
is  no  judge  to  resort  to,  but  the  general 
law  of  nature  and  of  reason,  being  the 
only  law  with  which  the  contracting  par- 
ties are  all  equally  conversant,  and  to 
which  they  are  all  equally  amenable. 
Laws  have  properly  their  effect  only  in 
the  country  where  and  for  which  they 
have  been  enacted.  However,  1.  Those 
•which  relate  to  the  state,  and  to  the 
personal  condition  of  the  subjects,  are 
acknowledged  in  foreign  countries.  2.  A 
foreigner,  who  is  plaintiff  against  a  sub- 
ject, must  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the 
law  of  the  country  in  which  he  pleads. 
3.  When  the  validity  of  an  act  done  in  a 
foreign  country  is  in  question,  it  ought  to 
be  decided  by  the  laws  of  that  foreign 
country.  4.  Sometimes  the  parties  agree 
to  the  question  being  determined  by  par- 
ticular laws  of  a  foreign  country.  5.  A 
foreign  law  may  have  been  received  as  a 
subsidiary  law.  6.  Foreigners  sometimes 
obtain  the  privilege  of  having  their  dis- 
putes with  each  other  settled  by  the  laws 
of  their  own  country. 

LAWSONIA,  in  botany,  so  named 
from  Isaac  Lawson,  M.  D.  a  genus  of  the 
Octandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Salicarise,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character  :  calyx  tour-cleft ;  pe- 
tals four ;  stamens  in  four  pairs  ;  cap- 
sule four-celled,  many-seeded.  There 
are  four  species  ;  natives  of  warm  coun- 
tries. 

LAXMANNIA,  in  botany,  so  called 
from  Ericus  Laxman,  a  Swede,  a  genus 
of  the  Hexandria  Monogynia  class  and 
order.  Essential  character  :  calyx  one- 
leafed,  four-toothed,  inferior  ;  corolla 
ibur-petalled ;  berry  four-celled ;  seeds 
solitary. 

LAYERS,  in  gardening,  are  tender 
shoots,  or  twigs  of  trees,  laid  or  buried  in 
the  ground ;  till,  having  struck  root,  they 


are  separated  from  the  parent  tree,  and 
become  distinct  plants. 

LAZULITE,  in  mineralogy,  is  of  a 
deep  smalt  blue  :  it  occurs  disseminated 
in  fine  grains,  or  masses  of  the  size  of  a 
hazel  nut.  The  latter  often  present  the 
appearance  of  short  tetrahedral  prisms. 
Its  fracture  is  uneven,  with  a  glimmering1 
lustre.  It  is  brittle,  and  easily  frangible : 
at  a  red  heat  it  loses  its  colour,  and  be- 
comes grey.  Without  addition  it  is  in- 
fusible before  the  blow-pipe,  but  with  bo- 
rax it  runs  into  a  clear  yellow  glass.  It 
has  been  analyzed  by  Klaproth,  and  is 
found  to  contain  silex,  alumina,  and  oxide 
of  iron. 

LAZURSTEIN,  in  mineralogy,  called 
also  azure-stone,  a  species  of  the  flint 
genus,  is  of  a  perfect  azure  blue  colour, 
in  some  varieties  it  passes  into  sky  blue  : 
it  is  found  massive,  disseminated,  and  in 
rolled  pieces :  hard,  brittle,  and  not  heavy : 
specific  gravity  is  from  2.7  to  2.95.  It 
melts  into  a  white  enamel  before  the  blow- 
pipe. When  previously  calcined  and 
powdered,  it  forms  a  jelly  with  acids :  it 
is  composed  of 

Silica 46.0 

Alumina 14  5 

Carbonate  of  lime ....  28.0 

Sulphate  of  lime 6.5 

Oxide  of  iron 30 

Water 2.0 

100.0 


It  has  been  found  in  Persia,  Bucharia, 
China,  Great  Tartary,  and  Siberia :  it  is 
also  obtained  in  considerable  quantities  in 
the  island  of  Hainan,  in  the  Chinese  sea, 
from  whence  it  is  sent  to  Canton,  where 
it  is  employed  in  painting.  It  has  like- 
wise been  met  with  in  South  America ; 
and  in  Europe  among  the  ruins  at  Rome. 
It  is  used  in  various  articles  of  ornamen- 
tal dress,  and  in  Mosaic  and  Florentine 
work,  and  is  highly  valued  on  account  of 
the  fine  blue  colour  which  it  yields. 

LEAD,  is  a  white  metal,  of  a  consider- 
ably blue  tinge,  very  soft  and  flexible,  not 
very  tenacious,  and  consequently  incapa- 
ble of  being  drawn  into  fine  wire,  though 
it  is  easily  extended  into  thin  plates  un- 
der the  hammer.  Its  weight  is  very  con- 
siderable, being  rather  greater  than  that 
of  silver.  Long  before  ignition,  namely, 
at  about  the  540th  degree  of  Fahrenheit's 
thermometer,  it  melts  ;  and  then  begins 


LEAD. 


to  be  oxyded,  it' respirable  air  be  present. 
In  a  strong-  heat  it  boils,  and  emits  fumes ; 
during  which  time,  if  exposed  to  the  air, 
its  oxydation  proceeds  with  considerable 
rapidity.  If  melted  lead  be  poured  into 
a  box  previously  rubbed  with  chalk,  to 
prevent  its  action  on  the  wood,  and  be 
continually  agitated,  it  will  concrete  into 
separate  grains,  of  considerable  use  in 
various  mechanical  operations,  particu- 
larly that  of  weighing.  Lead  is  brittle  at 
the  time  of  congelation.  In  this  slate  it 
may  be  broken  to  pieces  with  a  hammer, 
and  the  crystallization  of  its  internal  parts 
will  exhibit  an  arrangement  in  parallel 
lines. 

This  metal,  during  the  progress  of  heat, 
first  becomes  converted  into  a  dusky  pow- 
der, which  by  a  continuation  of  the  heat 
becomes  white,  yellow,  and  afterwards  of 
a  bright  red,  inclining  to  orange  colour, 
called  minium,  or  red  lead.  The  process 
requires  considerable  management  with 
regard  to  the  heat  and  access  of  air,  in 
the  making  of  red  lend.  Many  days  are 
required  for  this  purpose.  If  the  heat  be 
too  great  or  rapid,  the  lead  becomes  con- 
verted into  a  flaky  substance,  called 
litharge  ;  and  a  still  greater  heat  converts 
it  into  a  clear,  transparent,  yellow  glass, 
which  powerfully  dissolves  and  corrodes 
metallic  oxides  or  earths  ;  and  on  this  ac- 
count it  usually  finds  its  way  through  the 
crucibles  in  a  short  time.  It  acts  more 
difficultly  on  argillaceous  than  on  siliceous 
earths ;  wrhence  it  is  found  that  vessels 
made  of  clay  mixed  with  broken  pottery 
are  preferable  to  those  that  are  composed 
of  clay  and  sand.  The  oxide  of  lead  is  a 
principal  ingredient  in  most  of  the  modern 
fine  white  glasses.  It  is  more  particularly 
calculated  to  form  the  dense  glass,  vised  to 
correct  the  aberration  arising  from  colour 
in  those  telescopes  which  are  known  by 
the  name  of  achromatic,  because  it  com- 
municates the  property  of  separating  the 
coloured  rays  from  each  other  in  greater 
angles  than  obtain  in  alkaline  glasses  at 
equal  angles  of  mean  refraction.  The 
imperfection  which  most  considerably  af- 
fects this  kind  of  glass  is,  that  its  density 
is  seldom  uniform  throughout.  The  ir- 
regularities show  themselves  in  the  forms 
of  veins,  which  greatly  disturb  the  regu- 
lar refraction. 

Lead  is  not  much  altered  by  exposure 
to  air  or  water,  though  the  brightness  of 
its  surface,  when  cut  or  scraped,  very  soon 
goes  off.  It  is  probable  that  a  thin  stratum 
of  oxide  is  formed  on  the  surface,  which 
defends  the  rest  of  the  metal  from  corro- 
sion. 

All  the  oxides  of  lead  are  veiy  easily  re- 


duced. Minium,  when  exposed  to  a  strong 
heat,  gives  out  part  of  the  oxygen  it  ab- 
sorbed during  its  oxidation  ;  but,  like  the 
other  oxides  of  this  metal,  it  requires  the 
addition  of  some  combustible  substance 
for  its  complete  revival :  a  familiar  in- 
stance of  this  revival  is  seen  by  exposing' 
the  common  wafers  to  the  flame  of  a  can- 
dle. The  wafers  are  coloured  with 
minium,  which  is  revived  by  the  heat  and 
inflammable  substance  of  the  wafer,  so 
that  it  falls  down  in  metallic  globules. 

Lead  is  found  native,  though  seldom  ; 
and  also  in  the  form  of  an  oxide,  called 
native  ceruse,  or  lead  ochre,  or  lead  spar, 
of  various  colours,  red,  brown,  yellow, 
green,  bluish,  and  black.  These  ores, 
when  freed  as  much  as  possible  from 
earthy  matter,  may  be  dissolved  in  diluted 
nitrous  acid.  Oxide  of  iron  is  usually 
thrown  down  from  the  solution  by  boiling. 
If  the  lead  be  then  precipitated  by  the 
carbonate  of  soda,  and  weighed,  132  grains 
of  the  dry  precipitate  will  correspond 
with  100  grains  of  lead  in  the  metallic 
state.  If  the  precipitate  be  suspected  to 
contain  copper,  it  may  be  separated  by 
digesting  in  ammonia.  If  it  be  supposed 
to  contain  silver  and  copper,  the  precipi- 
tate may  again  be  dissolved  in  nitric  acid, 
and  separated  by  the  addition  of  muriatic 
acid ;  which,  combining1  with  the  metal, 
produces  the  muriates  of  silver  and  of 
lead  ;  the  latter  of  which,  being  soluble  in 
thirty  times  its  weight  of  boiling  water, 
may  be  washed  off,  while  the  silver  re- 
mains undissolved  ;  or  the  silver,  if  alone 
in  the  precipitate,  may  be  taken  up  by 
ammonia,  which  will  leave  the  oxide  of 
lead  of  the  same  value,  with  regard  to 
weight,  as  the  foregoing. 

Lead  is  also  found  mineralized  by  the 
sulphuric  and  the  phosphoric  acids;  this 
last  is  of  a  greenish  colour,  arising  from  a 
mixture  of  iron.  The  sulphate  of  lead  is 
soluble  in  about  eighteen  times  its  weight 
of  water.  One  hundred  and  forty-three 
grains  of  the  dried  salt  represent  100 
grains  of  lead.  The  phosphate  of  lead 
ore  may  be  dissolved  in  nitric  acid  by 
means  of  heat,  except  a  few  particles  of 
iron,  which  remain  at  the  bottom.  By 
the  addition  of  sulphuric  acid,  the  lead  is 
thrown  down  in  the  form  of  white  flakes 
of  sulphate ;  which,  when  washed  and 
dried,  discover  the  quantity  of  lead  they 
contain,  by  the  same  allowance  of  143 
grains  of  the  salt  to  100  grains  of  metallic 
lead.  The  remaining  solution  being 
evaporated  to  dry  ness,  affords  phosphoric 
acid.  Lead  is  abundantly  found  in  com- 
bination with  sulphur,  in  the  form  of 
heavy,  shining,  black,  or  bluish,  lead- 


LEAD. 


toloured  cubical  masses,  whose  corners 
are  usually  truncated  ;  its  texture  is  lami- 
nated, and  its  hardness  variable.  This  is 
called  galena,  or  potter's  lead  ore.  Most 
lead  ores  contain  more  or  less  of  silver. 
When  antimony  enters  into  its  composi- 
tion, the  texture  is  radiated  or  filamen- 
tous. There  are  also  lead  pyrites,  which 
contain  a  considerable  proportion  of  iron 
and  sulphur ;  and  red  lead  spar,  which 
consists  of  lead  mineralized  by  sulphur 
and  arsenic  :  this  is  very  scarce. 

If  sulphuretted  lead  be  boiled  in  nitric 
or  muriatic  acid  of  a  moderate  strength, 
the  sulphur  may  be  obtained  pure,  and 
collected  on  a  filter.  When  iron  or  stony 
particles  are  contained  among  the  undis- 
solved  part,  the  sulphur  may  be  separated 
by  digestion  in  a  solution  of  pure  fixed 
alkali,  which  converts  it  into  sulphuret, 
and  leaves  the  other  insoluble  matters 
behind.  If  the  first  solution  be  made 
with  nitric  acid,  it  may  contain  silver  and 
lead,  which,  after  precipitation  by  carbo- 
nate of  soda,  may  be  separated  by  ammo- 
nia, as  mentioned  in  the  humid  anal}  sis 
of  the  calci form  ores  ;  when  the  muriatic 
acid  is  used  for  the  solution  of  the  ore,  a 
large  quantity  of  muriate  of  lead  sepa- 
rates, for  want  of  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
water  to  dissolve  it.  This  requisite  quan- 
tity of  water  must  be  added  to  dissolve  the 
salt,  before  the  precipitate  is  made  by  the 
fixed  alkali. 

All  the  ores  of  lead,  except  the  phos- 
phoric, are  reducible  to  the  metallic  state, 
by  dissipating  their  volatile  contents  by 
the  blow-pipe  on  a  piece  of  charcoal.  In 
the  large  way,  they  are  reduced  by  fusion 
with  charcoal. 

The  ores  of  this  metal  are  Abundantly 
found  in  the  mine  counties-*of  England, 
and  in  various  other  parts  of  the  globe. 
Its  uses  are  numerous,  and  scarcely  need 
be  mentioned.  Its  oxides  are  of  great 
use  as  a  pigment,  and  in  the  manufacture 
of  glass.  Lead  is  cast  into  thin  sheets  for 
covering  buildings,  making-  water-pipes, 
and  various  other  uses  ;  and  this  is  rolled 
.between  two  cylinders  of  iron,  to  give  it 
the  requisite  uniformity  and  thinness. 
Lead  is  thought,  and  with  some  reason, 
to  be  not  perfectly  innocent,  even  for 
water  pipes,  and  much  less  so  for  any 
other  kind  of  vessels.  The  workmen  in 
any  of  the  preparations  of  lead  are  gene- 
rally subject  to  a  peculiar  colic,  and  para- 
lytic disorders,  which  most  probably  arise 
from  the  internal  use  of  the  metal ;"  for  it 
is  a  fact,  that_the,se  workmen  are  not  suf- 
ficiently cautious  in  washing  their  hands, 
or  removing  such  particles 'of  lead,  or  its 
preparations,  as  may  c usually  intermix 
with  their  food. 

VOL.  IV. 


Most  of  the  acids  attack  lead.  The  si 1 1- 
phuric  acid  scarcely  acts  upon  it,  unless 
it  be  concentrated  and  boiling.  Sul- 
phurous acid  escapes  during  the  process, 
the  acid  being  decomposed.  When  the 
distillation  is  carried  on  to  dry  ness,  a 
saline  white  mass  remains,  a  small  portion 
of  which  is  soluble  in  water,  and  is  the 
sulphate  of  lead  :  it  affords  crystals.  The 
residue  of  the  white  mass  is  an  oxide  of 
lead. 

Nitric  acid  acts  strongly  011  lead,  and 
converts  it  into  a  white  oxide,  if  the  acid 
be  concentrated;  but  if  it  be  more  di- 
luted, the  oxide  is  dissolved,  and  forms 
nitrate  of  lead,  which  is  crystallizable,  and 
does  not  afford  a  precipitate  by  cooling. 
It  detonates  on  ignited  coals.  Lime  and 
alkalies  decompose  the  nitrous  solution  of 
lead.  The  sulphuric  acid  added  to  this 
solution  combines  with  the  metallic  oxide, 
and  falls  down.  The  muriatic  acid  in  t!ie 
same  manner  carries  down  the  lead,  and 
forms  a  combination,  which  is  more 
soluble  in  water  tluui  the  muriate  of 
silver. 

Muriatic  acid  acts  directly,  but  sparing- 
ly, on  lead  by  heat,  which  it  oxides,  and 
dissolves  in  part.  The  muriate  of  lead  is 
crystallizable. 

The  acetic  acid  dissolves  lead  and  its 
oxides ;  though  the  access  of  air  or  oxy- 
gen seems  necessary  for  the  solution  of 
the  metal  itself  in  this  acid.  White  lead, 
or  ceruse,  is  made  by  rolling  leaden  plates 
spirally  up,  so  as  to  leave  the  space  of 
about  an  inch  between  each  coil,  a:;d 
placing  them  vertically  in  earthen  pots, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  is  some  good  vine- 
gar. The  pots  are  to  be  covered,  and 
exposed  for  a  length  of  time  to  a  gvntle 
heat  in  a  sand  bath,  or  by  bedding'  them 
in  dung.  The  vapour  of  the  vinegar,  as- 
sisted by  the  tendency  of  the  lead  to 
combine  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  which 
is  present,  corrodes  the  lead,  and  con- 
verts the  external  portion  into  a  white 
oxide,  which  comes  off  in  flakes  when  the 
lead  is  uncoiled.  The  plates  are  thus 
treated  repeatedly,  until  thev  are  cor- 
roded through.  Ceruse,  is  the  only  white 
substance  used  in  oil  paintings.  It  may 
be  dissolved  without  difficult}-,  in  the 
acetous  acid,  and  affords  a  ciystaliizablc 
salt,  called  sugar  of  lead,  from  its  sweet 
taste.  This,  like  all  the  preparations  <;f 
lead,  is  poisonous. 

The  sulphurets  preclpit^-v  )<-:*(!  from 
its  solutions,  the  BitlplYUf  fall:!1.;  cl 
combination  with  the  lead.  Pure  ail; a- 
line  solutions  dissolve  a  small  portion  of 
lead,  and  corrode  a  considerable  quanti- 
ty :  the  solution  is  said  to  give  a  black  co- 
lour to  the  hair. 


LEA 


LEA 


Oils  dissolve  the  oxides  of  lead,  and  be- 
come thick  and  consistent ;  in  which 
slate  they  are  used  as  the  basis  of 
plasters,  cements  for  water-works,  paints, 
Sec. 

In  the  dry  way,  lead  alone  is  oxided 
and  vitrified.  When  fused  with  fixed 
alkaline  salts,  it  is  converted  into  a  dark 
coloured  scoria,  partly  soluble  in  water. 
The  neutral  salts  in  general  are  not  act- 
ed upon  by  lead.  Nitre  oxides  this  me- 
tal when  heated  with  it,  though  scarcely 
any  commotion  or  apparent  flame  is  pro- 
duced by  its  action.  Sulphur  readily 
dissolves  it  in  the  dry  way,  and  pro- 
duces a  brittle  compound,  of  a  deep  grey 
colour  and  brilliant  appearance,  which 
is  much  less  fusible  than  lead  itself;  a 
property  which  is  common  to  all  the 
combinations  of  sulphur  with  the  more 
fusible  metals. 

The  phosphoric  acid,  exposed  to  heat 
together  with  charcoal  and  lead,  be- 
comes converted  into  phosphorus,  which 
combines  with  the  metal.  This  combina- 
tion does  not  greatly  differ  in  appearance 
from  ordinary  lead  :  it  is  malleable,  and 
easily  cut  with  a  knife  ;  but  it  loses  its 
brilliancy  more  speedily  than  pure  lead ; 
and,  when  fused  upon  charcoal  with  the 
blow-pipe,  the  phosphorus  burns,  and 
leaves  the  lead  behind. 

Lead  decomposes  sal  ammoniac,  or  mu- 
riate of  ammonia,  by  the  assistance  of 
heat :  its  oxides  unite  with  the  muriatic 
acid  of  that  salt  in  the  cold,  and  disen- 
gage its  volatile  alkali.  When  the  vola- 
tile alkali  is  obtained  by  distilling  sal  am- 
moniac with  the  oxides  of  lead,  the  resi- 
due consists  of  the  muriate  of  lead. 

Litharge  fused  with  common  salt  de- 
composes it ;  the  lead  unites  with  mu- 
riatic acid,  and  forms  a  yellow  compound, 
at  present  used  in  this  country  as  a  pig- 
ment. The  alkali  either  floats  at  top,  or 
is  volatilized  by  the  heat,  if  strongly  urg- 
ed. The  same  decomposition  takes  place 
in  the  humid  way,  if  common  salt  be  ma- 
cerated with  litharge,  and  the  solution 
will  contain  the  p'ure  alkali. 

Lead  unites  with  most  of  the  metals. 
Gold  and  silver  are  dissolved  by  it  in  a 
slight  red  heat.  Both  these  metals  are 
said  to  be  rendered  brittle  by  a  small  ad- 
mixture of  lead,  though  lead  itself  is  ren- 
dered more  ductile  by  a  small  quantity  of 
them.  Platina  forms  a  brittle  compound 
with  lead ;  mercury  amalgamates  with  it ; 
but  the  lead  is  separated  from  the  mercu- 
ry by  agitation,  in  the  form  of  an  impalpa- 
ble black  powder,  if  oxygen  be  present, 
which  is  at  the  same  time  absorbed. 
Copper  and  lead  do  not  unite  but  with  a 


strong  heat.  If  lead  be  heated  so  as  to 
boil  and  smoke,  it  soon  dissolves  pieces 
of  copper  thrown  into  it :  the  mixture 
when  cold  is  brittle.  The  union  ofthe.se 
two  metals  is  remarkably  slight;  for, 
upon  exposing  the  mass  to  a  heat  no 
greater  than  that  in  which  lead  melts, 
the  lead  almost  entirely  runs  off  by  it- 
self. This  process,  which  is  peculiar  to 
lead  with  copper,  is  called  eliquation. 
The  coarser  sorts  of  lead,  which  owe 
their  brittleness  and  granulated  texture 
to  an  admixture  of  copper,  throw  it  up 
to  the  surface  on  being  melted  to  a  small 
heat.  Iron  does  not  unite  with  lead,  as. 
long  as  both  substances  retain  their  me- 
tallic form.  Tin  unites  very  easily  with 
this  metal,  and  forms  a  compound  which 
is  much  more  fusible  than  lead  by  itself, 
and  is  for  that  reason  used  as  a  solder  for 
lead.  Two  parts  of  lead  and  one  of  tin, 
form  an  alloy  more  fusible  than  either 
metal  alone;  this  is  the  solder  of  the 
plumbers.  Bismuth  combines  readily 
with  lead,  and  affords  a  metal  of  a  fine 
close  grain,  but  very  brittle.  A  mixture 
of  eight  parts  bismuth,  five  lead,  and 
three  tin,  will  melt  in  a  heat  which  is  not 
sufficient  to  cause  water  to  boil.  Antimo- 
ny forms  a  brittle  alloy  with  lead.  Nickel, 
cobalt,  manganese,  and  zinc,  do  not  unite 
with  lead  by  fusion. 

It  will  appear,  from  the  foregoing  ob- 
servations, that  the  uses  of  lead  are  very- 
extensive.  It  is  easily  reduced  to  thin 
sheets,  adapted  to  the  covering  of  build- 
ings ;  to  be  formed  into  pipes  of  all 
sizes,  and  fitted  for  divers  purposes.  Its 
oxides  are  used  as  paints ;  in  the  manu- 
facture of  glass;  and  in  the  glazing  of 
earthen- ware,  &c. 

LEAD,  black.     See  the  article  luox. 

LEAD,  sugar  of.  A  salt,  denominated 
from  its  composition,  by  modern  che- 
mists, acetite  of  lead,  is  much  used  in 
calico-printing,  and  other  manufactures. 

LEAGUE,  a  measure  of  length,  con- 
taining more  or  less  geometrical  paces, 
according  to  the  different  usages  and 
customs  of  countries.  A  leagnie  at  sea, 
where  it  is  chiefly  used  by  us,  being  a 
land  measure  mostly  peculiar  to  the 
French  and  Germans,  contains  3,000  geo- 
metrical paces,  or  three  English  miles. 
The  French  league  sometimes  contains 
the  same  measure,  and  in  some  parts  of 
France  it  consists  of  3,500  paces .-  the 
mean  or  common  league  consists  of 
2,400  paces,  and  the  little  league  of 
2,000.  The  Spanish  leagues  are  larger 
than  the  French,  seventeen  Spanish 
leagues  making  a  degree,  or  twenty 
French  leagues,  or  sixty -nine  and  an  half 


LEA 


LEA 


English  statute  miles.  The  Dutch  and 
German  leagues  contain  each  four  geo- 
graphical miles.  The  Persian  leagues 
are  pretty  nearly  of  the  same  extent  with 
the  Spanish;  that  is,  they  are  equal  to 
four  Italian  miles  ;  which  is  nearly  what 
Herodotus  calls  the  length  of  the  Persian 
parasang,  that  contained  thirty  stadia, 
eight  whereof,  according  to  Strabo,  make 
a  mile. 

LEAK,  among  seamen,  is  a  hole  in  the 
ship  through  which  the  water  comes  in. 
To  spring  a  leak,  is  said  of  a  ship  that  be- 
gins to  leak.  To  stop  a  leak,  is  to  fill  it 
with  a  plug  wrapt  in  oakum  and  well  tar- 
red ;  or  putting  in  a  tarpaulin  clout,  to 
keep  the  water  out ;  or  nailing  a  piece  of 
sheet-lead  upon  the  place. 

LEAKAGE,  the  state  of  a  vessel  that 
leaks,  or  lets  water,  or  other  liquid,  ooze 
in  or  out.  See  the  preceding  article. 
Leakage,  in  commerce,  is  an  allowance 
of  12  per  cent,  in  the  customs,  allowed 
to  importers  of  wines  for  the  waste 
and  damage  it  is  supposed  to  have  re- 
ceived in  the  passage:  an  allowance  of 
two  barrels  in  twenty-two  is  also  made 
to  the  brewers  of  ale  and  beer  by  the  ex- 
cise-office. 

LEAP  year,  the  same  with  bissextile. 
See  BISSEXTILE.  Every  centesimal,  or 
hundredth  year,  is  a  leap  year,  according 
to  the  Julian  account,  but  according  to 
the  Gregorian,  it  is  always  a  common 
year,  except  when  the  number  of  centu- 
ries can  be  divided  by  four  without  a  re- 
mainder, for  then  it  is  a  leap  year ;  but 
the  intermediate  centesimal  years  are 
common  ones :  hence,  to  know  if  it  be 
leap  year,  the  rule  is,  If  the  year  consists 
of  complete  centuries,  and  can  be  divided 
by  4,  it  is  leap  year ;  as  it  is  also  when 
the  intermediate  years  can  be  divided  by 
4  :  thus  the  year  1808  is  a  leap  year ;  for 
8  may  be  divided  by  4  without  a  remain- 
der. If  the  intermediate  years  cannot  be 
divided  by  4,  the  remainder  shows  the 
number  of  years  over  leap  year. 

LEASE,  a  conveyance  of  lands,  or  tene- 
ments, for  a  term  of  years,  or  during  the 


continuance  of  a  life  or  lives,  in  consider- 
ation of  a  stipulated  rent  or  other  recom- 
pense. 

The  purchaser  of  a  lease  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  purchaser  of  an  annuity 
equal  to  the  rack-rent,  for  whether  he 
possesses  the  estate  himself,  or  lets  it  out 
to  another,  he  has  an  interest  in  the  same 
equal  to  the  annual  rent  thereof;  there- 
fore, from  the  principles  on  which  the 
present  value  of  annuities  is  ascertained, 
the  value  of  leases  is  likewise  found. 
When  a  certain  sum  is  paid  down  for  the 
grant  of  a  lease,  it  may  be  considered  as 
so  much  money  paid  in  advance  for  the 
annual  rents  as  they  may  become  due ; 
therefore,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  the 
sum  ought  to  be,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
find,  separately,  the  present  value  of  each 
annual  rent,  or  the  sum  which,  put  out  to 
interest  at  the  given  rate,  would  amount 
to  the  rent  at  the  time  it  became  due  ; 
and  these  separate  values  of  each  year's 
rent  added  together  would  give  the  sum 
to  be  paid  down  as  the  present  value  of 
the  lease.  The  rate  of  interest  at  which 
money  is  supposed  to  be  improveable, 
affects  the  value  of  leases  very  materially, 
as  the  higher  the  current  rate  of  interest 
is,  the  less  will  any  one  be  disposed  to 
give  for  payments  to  be  received  atfuture 
periods :  thus  if  6  per  cent  interest  can 
be  readily  obtained  for  money,  no  one 
will  give  the  same  sum  for  a  certain  year- 
ly rent,  as  if  he  could  only  make  4  per 
cent,  interest  of  his  money.  Having  then 
determined  on  the  rate  of  interest  at 
which  money  is  to  be  improved,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  find,  at  that  rate  of  interest, 
the  present  value  of  an  annuity  equal  to 
the  net  yearly  rent  of  the  estate,  in  order 
to  ascertain  the  value  of  the  lease.  This 
is  given,  at  5  per  cent,  interest,  in  Table 
II.  article  ANNUITIES  :  but  as  most  per- 
sons in  the  purchase  of  leases,  particular- 
ly of  houses,  expect  to  make  rather  more 
than  the  current  interest  for  money,  the 
following  table  is  better  adapted  for  an- 
swering all  practical  questions  relating  to 
this  subject. 


LEASE. 


TABLE 

Shewing  the  Number  of  Years  Purchase  to  be  given  for  a  Lease,  of  any  Number  of 
Years  not  exceeding  100  years,  at  6,  7,  and  8  per  Cent.  Compound  Interest. 


Years. 

5  per  Cent.  J7  per  cent. 

8  percent. 

Years. 

6  per  cent. 

7  per  cent. 

3  per  cent. 

1 

.9433 

.9345 

.9259 

51 

15.8130 

13.8324 

12.2532 

2 

<  o  -~>  o  -"> 

l.oooo 

1.8080 

1.7832 

52 

15.8613 

13.8621 

12.2715 

3 

2.6730 

26243 

2.5770 

53 

15.9069 

13.8898 

12.2884 

4 

3.4651 

3.3872 

3.3121 

54 

15.9499 

13.9157 

12.3041 

5 

4.2123 

4.1001 

3.9927 

55 

15.9905 

13.9399 

12.3186 

6 

4.9173 

4.7665 

4.6228 

56 

16.0288 

13.9625 

12.3320 

7 

5.5823 

5.3892 

5.2063 

57 

16.0649 

13.9837 

12.3444 

8 

6.2097 

5.9712 

5.7466 

58 

16.0989 

14.0034 

12.3560 

9 

6.8016 

6.5152 

6.2468 

59 

16.1311 

14.0219 

12.3669 

10 

7.3600 

7.0235 

6.7100 

60 

16.1614 

14.0391 

12.3765 

11 

7.8868 

7.4986 

7.1389 

61 

16.1900 

14.0553 

12.3856 

12 

8.3838 

7.9426 

7.5360 

62 

16.2170 

14.0703 

12.3941 

13 

8.8526 

8.3576 

7.9037 

63 

16.2424 

14.0844 

12.4020 

14 

9.2949 

8.7454 

8.2442 

64 

16.2664 

14.0976 

12.4092 

15 

9.7122 

9.1079 

8.5594 

65 

16.2891 

14.1099 

12.4159 

16 

10.1058 

9.44-66 

8.8513 

66 

16.3104 

14.1214 

12.4222 

17 

10.4772 

9.7632 

9.1216 

67 

16.3306 

14.1321 

12.4279 

18 

10.8276 

10.0590 

9.3718 

68 

16.3496 

14.1422 

12.4333 

19 

11.1581 

10.3355 

9.6035 

69 

16.3676 

14.1516 

12.4382 

20 

11.4699 

10.5940 

9.8181 

70 

16.3845 

14.1603 

12.4428 

21 

11.7640 

10.8355 

10.0168 

71 

16.4005 

14.1685 

12.4470 

22 

12.0415 

11.0612 

10.2007 

72 

16.4155 

14.1762 

12.4509 

23 

12.3033 

11.2721 

10.3710 

73 

16.4297 

14.1834 

12.4546 

•  24 

12.5503 

11.4693 

10.5287 

74 

164431 

14.1901 

124579 

25 

12.7833 

11.6535 

10.6747 

75 

16.4558 

14.1963 

12.4610 

26 

13.0031 

11.8257 

10.8099 

76 

16  4677 

14.2022 

12.4639 

27 

13.2105 

11.9867 

10.9351 

77 

16.4790 

14.2076 

12.4666 

28 

13.4061 

12.1371 

11.0510 

78 

16.4896 

14.2127 

12.4691 

29 

13.5907 

12  2776 

11.1584 

79 

16.4996 

14.2175 

12.4713 

30 

13.7648 

12.4090 

11.2577 

80 

16.5091 

14.2220 

12.4735 

31 

13.9290 

12.5318 

11.3497 

81 

16.5180 

14.2261 

12  4754 

32 

14.0840  12.6465 

11.4349 

82 

16.5264 

14.2300 

12.4772 

33 

14,2302 

12.7537 

11.5138 

83 

16.5343 

14.2337 

12.4789 

34 

14.3681 

12.8540 

11.5869 

84 

16.5418 

14.2371 

12.4805 

35 

14.4982 

12.9476 

11.6545 

85 

16.5489 

14.2402 

12.4819 

36 

14.6209 

13.0352 

11.7171 

86 

16.5556 

14.24,32 

12.4833 

37 

14.7367 

13.1170 

11.7751 

87 

16.5618 

14.2460 

12.4845 

38 

14.8460 

13.1934 

11.8288 

88 

16.5678 

14.2486 

12.4856 

39 

14.9490 

13.2649 

11.8785 

89 

16.5734 

14.2510 

12.4867 

40 

15.0462 

13.3317 

11.9246 

90 

16.5787 

14.2533 

12.4877 

41 

15.1380 

13.3941 

11.9672 

91 

16.5836 

14  2554 

12.4886 

42 

15.2245 

13.4524 

12.0066 

92 

16.5883 

14.2574 

12.4894 

43 

15,3061 

13.5069 

12.0432 

93 

16.5928 

14.2592 

12:4902 

44 

15.3831 

13.5579 

12.0770 

94 

16.5969 

14.2610 

12.4909 

45 

15.4558 

13.6055 

12.1084 

95 

16.6009 

14.2626 

12.4916 

46 

15.5248 

13.6500 

12.1374 

96 

16.6046 

14.2641 

12.4922 

47 

15.5890 

13.6916 

12.1642 

97 

16.6081 

14.2655 

12.4928 

48 

15.6500 

13.7304 

12.1891 

98 

16.6114 

14.2668 

12.4933 

49 

15.7075 

13  7667 

12.2121 

99 

16.6145 

14.2680 

12.4938 

50 

15.7618 

13  8007 

12.2334 

100 

16.6175 

14.2692 

12.4943 

In  order  to  find  the  value  of  a  lease  first  ascertained ;  otherwise  it  will  be  im- 

for  any  term,  the  true  rack  rent  of  the  possible  to  determine,  with  any  degree  of 

estate,  or  the  annual  value  that  it  may  be  accuracy,  the  real  sum  which  ought  to  be 

justly  estimated  to  be  worth,  must  be  given  for  the  purchase  of  the  same  ;  for 


LEASE. 


as  the  values  in  the  Table  denote  merely 
the  number  of  years  purchase,  it  is  evi- 
dent thai  the  sum  deduced  therefrom 
will  vary  according  as  the  annual  rent 
of  the  e'state  varies.  On  this  point,  aif- 
ficuliies  will  sometimes  arise ;  for  the 
value  of  an  estate,  depending  very  often 
on  some  real  or  supposed  advantages, 
or  on  some  local  or  personal  recommen- 
dations, will,  in  many  instances,  occa- 
sion .1  difference  of  opinion  ;  and,  in  most 
cases,  be  a  matter  of  some  uncertainty. 
Some  annual  rent  must,  however,  be  fix- 
ed upon  as  the  full  sum  for  which  the 
estate  would  let,  and  this  rent  being 
multiplied  by  the  sum  in  the  Table,  cor- 
responding with  the  term  of  years,  gives 
the  present  value  of  the  lease.  Thus, 
if  a  house  lets  for  50/.  per  ann  to  find 
the  value  of  a  lease  thereof  for  21  years, 
reckoning  interest  at  6  per  cent,  multi- 
ply 50  by  11,764  (the  sum  in  the  ta- 
ble corresponding  with  21  years)  which 
gives  the  answer  588/.  4s.  It  frequently 
happens  that  the  rent  of  an  estate  is 
charged  with  some  annual  expense,  such 
as  a  reserved  or  quitrent,  the  payment 
of  an  annuity,  taxes,  and  the  like  ;  in 
sucli  cases,  the  various  charges  must  be 
first  deducted  from  the  rent  received, 
and  the  remainder,  or  nett-rent,  only  be 
multiplied  by  the  number  of  years  pur- 
chase in  the  table. 

Example.  A  person  holds  a  lease,  for 
35  years,  of  premises  which  let  for  120/. 
per  annum,  out  of  which  he  pays  17/. 
10s.  for  ground-rent,  and  4/.  106-.  for 
land-tax ;  what  should  he  require  for 
the  lease,  allowing  the  purchaser  lo  make 
7  per  cent,  interest  of  his  money  ?  The 
payments  to  which  the  rent  is  subject  be- 
ing deducted,  leave  a  nett-rent  of  98/.  which 
multiplied  by  12,948  (the  sum  in  the  ta- 
ble corresponding  with  35  years)  gives 
1268/.  185. 

To  find  the  annual  rent  corresponding 
to  any  given  sum  paid  for  a  lease,  divide 
the  sum  by  the  number  of  years  pur- 
chase in  the  table  against  the  term  of  the 
lease,  and  under  the  rate  of  interest  in- 
tended to  be  made  of  the  purchase  money; 
the  quotient  will  be  the  annual  rent  re- 
quired. 

Example.  A  person  is  asked  1250/.  for 
a  lease  of  30  years,  what  annual  rent  is 
equivalent  thereto,  allowing  the  purchaser 
to  make  6  per  cent,  interest  of  his  money  ? 
Divide  1250/.  by  13,765,  the  years  pur- 
chase in  the  table,  under  6  per  cent,  in- 
terest, and  the  answer  is  901.  16s.  2d. 

It  frequently  happens  that  a  tenant  is 
desirous  of  having  the  term  of  his  lease 


renewed  before  the  old  lease  expires  ;  and 
if  the  estate  has  increased  in  value  since 
it  has  been  in  his  possession,  it  is  com- 
mon,  in  such  cases,  for  the  landlord  to  de- 
mand either  an  increase  of  the  rent,  or  a 
gross  sum  called  a  fine,  to  be  paid  down 
in  one  immediate  payment  for  such  re- 
newal. In  many  leases,  particularly  those 
held  of  colleges  and  other  public  bodies, 
it  is  covenanted,  that  renewals  shall  be 
granted  at  the  end  of  a  certain  number  of 
years,  on  payment  of  a  fine  to  be  then 
agreed  upon  between  the  parties;  the  an- 
nual rent  of  the  estate  continuing  the 
same.  This  fine  is  often  a  subject  of  dis- 
pute, arising  principally  from  a  difference 
of  opinion  respecting  the  improved  annual 
value  of  the  estate,  or  respecting  the  rate 
of  interest,  which  each  party  is  endea- 
vouring to  make  of  his  money.  The  for- 
mer, in  some  cases,  is  liable  to  uncertain- 
ty ;  but,  if  the  latter  is  once  agreed  upon, 
the  value  of  the  fine,  which  ought  to  be  giv- 
en for  renewing  a  lease  of  any  yearly  rent, 
can,  in  all  cases,  be  exactly  determined. 

It  is  well  known,  that  when  a  lease  is 
intended  to  be  renewed,  such  lease  is  sur- 
rendered or  delivered  up,  and  anew  lease 
of  the  estate  is  granted  for  a  term  of  years, 
which  includes  both  the  unexpired  term 
of  the  old  lease,  and  the  additional  tern, 
proposed  to  be  renewed.  Now  the  value 
which  ought  to  be  given  for  the  grant  oi 
such  additional  term,  will  evidently  be 
be  equal  to  the  difference  between  the 
value  of  the  lease  for  the  whole  term,  ami. 
the  value  of  the  unexpired  part  thereof, 
of  which  the  tenant  is  in  actual  possession  . 
thus,  if  a  person  holds  an  unexpired  term 
of  twenty  years  in  a  lease,  and  is  desirous 
of  having  ten  years  more  added  to  it,  or 
of  having  a  new  lease  granted  for  the 
term  of  thirty  years ;  the  fine,  or  gross 
sum,  which  he  ought  to  pay  for  such  re- 
newal, will  be  equal  to  the  difference  be- 
tween the  value  of  a  lease  for  the  whole 
term  of  thirty  years,  and  the  value  of  a. 
lease  for  the  unexpired  twenty  years ;  this 
will  be  easily  found  from  the  preceding 
table. 

Example.  What  fine  ought  to  be  given 
to  the  landlord  for  adding  seven  years 
more  to  a  lease,  of  which  14  years  are  un- 
expired. ;  allowing  the  tenant  6  per  cent, 
interest  for  his  money  ?  The  whole  term 
for  which  the  new  lease  is  to  be  granted 
is  21  years,  and  the  value  of  a  lease  for 
this  term,  is  by  the  table  under  6  per 
cent,  interest  11,764;  the  value  of  a  lease 
for  fourteen  years  is  found  in  the  same  co- 
lumn to  be  9,29£,  and  this  subtracted 
from  the  former  sum  leaves  2,469  for  the 


LEASE. 


number  of  years  purchase  which  ought  to 
be  given  for  the  fine  required.  If,  there- 
fore, the  improved  rent  of  the  estate,  or 
the  present  value  beyond  the  rent  paya- 
ble under  the  lease,  is  50/.  per  annum, 
this  improved  rent,  multiplied  by  2,469, 
will  give  12.^.  9*1.  for  the  amount  of  the 
fine  required. 

Leases  are  sometimes  granted  for  a 
term  of  years  certain,  but  subject  to  de- 
termine before  that  period,  if  a  particular 
life  or  lives  should  fail  within  the  term  ; 
and  the  term  of  such  leases  being  usually 
greater  than  the  probable  duration  of  the 
lives,  the  estate  may  be  considered  as 
wholly  depending  on  the  continuance  of 
the  life  or  lives  nominated. 

Life  estates  are  of  various  kinds ;  some 
depend  on  a  single  life,  of  which  kind 
may  be  considered  church-livings,  tenan- 
cies by  courtesy,  in  dower,  &c. ;  others 
are  granted  for  two  lives,  such  as  joint- 
tenancies,  and  joint- tenancies  with  bene- 
Ut  of  survivorship,  the  former  signifying 
such  estates  as  terminate  on  the  death  of 
either  of  the  parties,  and  the  latter  signi- 
fying such  as  terminate  on  the  death  of 
both  the  parties ;  other  estates  are  grant- 
ed for  three  lives,  which,  like  the  last, 
may  be  divided  into  such  as  depend  on 
the  joint  continuance  of  all  the  lives,  and 
such  as  depend  on  the  longest  of  all  the 
lives  ;  the  former  signifying  such  as  ter- 
minate on  the  death  of  any  one  of  the  par- 
ties, and  the  latter  such  as  terminate  on 


the  death  of  the  longest  liver  of  the  three 
lives.  When  estates  are  held  on  two  or 
three  lives,  and  one  of  the  lives,  nominat- 
ed in  the  lease,  happens  to  drop,  or  be- 
come extinct,  the  tenant  is  often  desirous 
of  replacing  such  life,  or  of  putting  in  a 
new  life,  in  orderthat  the  estate  may  con- 
tinue to  be  held  on  the  same  number  of 
lives  in  being,  and  thereby  his  interest  in 
the  same  be  prolonged.  In  such  cases  it 
is  customary,  if  the  estate  has  improved 
in  value  since  the  original  grant  of  the 
lease,  for  the  landlord  to  demand  a  fine, 
or  sum  of  money,  proportionate  to  such 
improved  value,  and  to  the  age  of  the 
person  intended  to  be  put  to  it,  or  added 
to  those  already  in  possession ;  the  annual 
rent  of  the  estate  continuing  the  same. 
It  is  evidently  the  interest  of  the  tenant, 
in  this  case,  to  add  one  of  the  best  lives 
he  can  find,  that  is,  a  life  which  has  the 
greatest  expectation  of  living,  according 
to  the  best  tables  of  mortality,  and  such  a 
life  will  be  about  the  age  of  eight  or  ten 
years.  However,  it  will  sometimes  hap- 
pen that  he  may  wish  to  put  in  a  life  not 
exactly  of  this  age,  but  as  it  is  his  interest 
to  put  in  as  good  a  life  as  possible,  few 
persons  will  be  disposed  to  put  in  one 
above  the  age  of  twenty.  The  following 
table  will,  therefore,  comprehend  the 
cases  of  this  kind  which  most  commonly 
occur,  from  which  the  sums  to  be  paid 
for  renewing  with  a  life  of  any  other  age 
may  be  nearly  determined. 


TABLE,  for  renewing,  with  One  Life,  the  Lease  of  an  Estate  held  on  Three  Lives. 
Interest  at  6  per  Cent. 


Life 
put  in. 

lives  in 
Possession. 

Years  Pur- 
chase. 

Life 
put  in. 

Lives  in 

Possession. 

Years  Pur- 
chase. 

Life 
put  in. 

Lives  in. 
Possession. 

Years  Pur- 
chase. 

30-30 

1.305 

30-30 

1.191 

30-30 

1.079 

30-40 

1.521 

30-40 

1.407 

30-40 

1.284 

30-50 

1.832 

30-50 

1.699 

30-50 

1.557 

30-60 

2.160 

30-60 

1.996 

30-60 

1.831 

30-70 

2.535 

30-70 

2.381 

30-70 

2.218 

30-75 

2.571 

30-75 

2.408 

30-75 

2.241 

40-40 

1.792 

40-40 

1.687 

40-40 

1.558 

40-50 

2.204- 

40-50 

2.067 

40-50 

1.908 

40-60 

2.637 

40-60 

2.474 

40-60 

2.293 

10 

40-70 

3.032 

15 

40-70 

2.839 

20 

40-70 

2.641 

40-75 

3.273 

40-75 

3.076 

40-75 

2.873 

50-50 

3.723 

50-50 

2.536 

50-50 

2.341 

50-60 

3242 

50-60 

3.039 

50-60 

2.828 

50-70 

3.819 

50-70 

3.579 

50-70 

3.337 

50-75 

4.062 

50-75 

3.819 

50-75 

3.576 

60-60 

3.911 

60-60 

3.678 

60-60 

3.433 

60-70 

4.917 

60-70 

4.627 

60-70 

4.338 

60-75 

5142 

60-75 

4.849 

60-75 

4.558 

70-70 

6.124 

70-70 

5.805 

70-70 

5.489 

LEASE. 


The  years  purchase  in  the  table,  multi- 
plied by  the  improved  annual  value  of 
the  estate  beyond  the  rent  payable  under 
the  lease,  gives  the  fine  to  be  paid  for 
putting1  in  the  new  life. 

LEASE,  in  law,  otherwise  called  a  DE- 
MISE, is  a  conveyance  or  letting-  of  lands 
or  tenements,  in  consideration  of  rent,  or 
other  annual  recompense  made  for  life, 
for  years,  or  at  will;  but  always  for  a  less 
time  than  the  interest  of  the  lessor  in  the 
premises;  for  if  it  were  of  the  whole  in- 
terest, it  would  be  more  properly  an  as- 
signment. He  that  demises  or  lets,  is  the 
lessor;  and  he  to  whom  it  is  demised  or 
let,  is  the  lessee. 

A  lease  may  either  be  made  by  writ- 
ing or  word  of  mouth,  called  in  law,  a 
lease  by  parol.  The  former  is  most  usual ; 
but  by  the  statute  of  frauds,  29  Charles 
II.  c.  3,  all  leases  of  lands,  except  leases 
not  exceeding  three  years,  must  be  made 
in  writing,  and  signed  by  the  parties 
themselves,  or  their  agents  duly  authoriz- 
ed, otherwise  the}'  will  operate  only  as 
leases  at  will.  If  a  lease  is  but  for  half  a 
year,  or  a  quarter,  or  less  time,  the  lessee 
is  respected  as  a  tenant  for  years  ;  a  year 
being  the  shortest  term  of  which*  the 
law,  in  this  case,  takes  notice  ;  that  is, 
lie  is  entitled  to  the  general  privileges  of 
a  tenant  for  years,  and  is  classed  as  such, 
though  his  term  lasts  only  for  the  time 
specified. 

To  constitute  a  good  lease,  there  must 
be  a  lessor  not  restrained  from  making 
the  lease  to  the  extent  for  which  it  is 
granted ;  a  lessee  capable  of  receiving  it; 
and  the  interest  demised  must  be  a  de- 
misable interest,  and  be  sufficiently  and 
properly  described.  If  it  is  for  years,  it 
must  have  a  certain  commencement  send 
determination;  it  is  to  have  all  the  usual 
ceremonies,  as  sealing,  delivery,  &c. ;  and 
there  must  be  an  acceptance  of  the  thing 
demised. 

Leases  were  formerly  only  to  a  sort  of 
bailiffs,  who  tilled  the*  land,  and  paid  a 
part  of  the  profits  to  the  landlord;  they 
v/ere  for  very  short  terms,  and  the  te- 
nant's estate  was  little  respected  in 
the  law.  They  are  now  granted  for 
long  terms,  and  arc  very  beneficial  in- 
terests. 

The  following  points  may  be  necessary 
to  be  specified  here  concerning  leases. 
First,  they  must  have  a  certain  commence- 
ment and  end.  Leases  for  life  must  not 
be  made  to  commence  at  a  future  day, 
and  there  must  be  a  livery  of  seisin. 
They  must  now  be  stamped  as  a  lease,  to 
l>e  valid;  and  any  form  of  writing  v, ill 
'•ortstiUite  u  lease,  nrovided  i',  i  < 


words  of  present  demise,  or  actual  let- 
ting: but  if  it  be  only  an  agreement  to 
let,  it  conveys  no  immediate  title  in  law, 
but  only  an  equitable  right  to  have  a 
lease,  or  to  sue  at  law  for  not  making  one. 
If  a  lease  is  made  to  one  for  years,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  another  for  a  longer 
time,  the  last  lease  is  not  void,  but  shall 
take  effect  after  the  first  expires.  A  te- 
nant for  life  can,  in  general,  only  grant  a 
lease  to  enure  during  his  life ;  but  some- 
times a  power  is  annexed  to  such  an  es- 
tate, to  grant  leases  for  a  specified  time, 
and  under  particular  limitations,  all  which, 
must  be  strictly  complied  with,  or  the 
lease  is  void;  and  instances  have  hap- 
pened, where  building-leases  have  been 
set  aside,  and  persons  ruined  by  having 
granted  under-leases.  An  infant  may 
make  a  lease ;  but  may  set  it  aside  when 
he  comes  of  age ;  and  the  Court  of 
Chancery  is  empowered  to  grant  leases 
for  idiots,  lunatics,  infants,  and  married 
women. 

The  rent  must  be  reserved  to  the  exe- 
cutor or  the  heir  of  the  lessor,  accoi'ding 
as  his  estate  is  real  or  personal.  Lessees 
are  bound  to  repair,  unless  the  contrary  is 
specified;  and  although,  if  the  house  is 
burnt  by  accident,  they  are  not  bound  to 
rebuild,  yet  they  must  if  the  fire  be  by 
negligence;  and  if  there  is  a  covenant  to 
pay  rent,  and  a  covenant  to  repair,  ex- 
cept in  case  of  fire,  yet  rent  is  payable, 
although  the  house  is  not  rebuilt  by  the 
landlord.  If  there  is  a  covenant  not  to  as- 
sign, lease,  or  under-let,  without  licence 
of  the  landlord,  the  tenant  cannot  even 
grant  an  under-lease. 

Upon  a  lease  at  will,  six  months'  no- 
tice to  quit  must  generally  be  given  by 
either  party,  to  determine  on  the  same 
day  in  the  year  when  the  lease  commenc- 
ed. Leases  made  by  spiritual  persons  of 
their  church-lands,  must  be  strictly  con- 
formable to  certain  statutes,  called  the  en- 
abling and  disabling  statutes.  The  te- 
nant may,  at  the  trial  of  an  ejectment,  in- 
sist upon  his  notice  to  quit  being  insuffi- 
cient, although  he  made  no  objection 
when  it  was  served.  See  further  Jacob's 
"  Law  Dictionary,"  title  Leases. 

LEASE  and  RELEASE,  a  conveyance  of 
the  fee  simple,  right,  or  interest,  in  lands 
or  tenements,  under  the  statute  of  uses, 
27  Henry  VIII.  c.  10,  giving  first  the  pos~ 
session, "  and  afterwards  the  interest, 
which  in  law  is  equivalent  to  a teoffment. 
It  was  invented  to  supply  the  place  of 
livery  of  seisin,  and  is  thus  contrived ;  a 
lease,  or  rsuiu-r  bargain  and  sule,  upon 
some  pecuniary  consideration,  for  one. 
is  made  bv  I'IK:  tenant  ni'  the  free- 


LEA 


LEC 


hold  to  the  lessee  or  purchaser,  which 
vests  in  him  the  use  of  the  term  for  a 
year ;  and  then  the  statute  of  uses,  27 
Henry  VIII.  c.  10,  immediately  transfers 
the  use  into  possession.  He  therefore, 
being1  thus  in  possession,  is  capable  of  re- 
ceiving1 a  release  of  the  freehold  and  re- 
version ;  and,  accordingly,  the  next  day  a 
release  is  granted  to  him. 

This  conveyance  was  invented  by  Ser- 
jeant Moore,  soon  after  the  statute  of 
uses,  and  the  principle  upon  which  it  is 
founded  has  been  properly  questioned, 
there  being  no  actual  entry  in  general 
under  the  lease,  before  the  release 
is  made.  When  a  corporation  conveys, 
either  a  feoffment  or  actual  entry  is 
still  necessary.  But  this  mode  of  con- 
veyance having  been  long-  adopted,  and  in 
constant  practice,  its  validity  cannot  now 
be  questioned.  This  conveyance  does 
not  properly  operate,  unless  there  is 
either  an  actual  entry,  or  a  lease  with  a 
valuable  consideration,  as  a  bargain  and 
sale  for  a  year. 

LEATHER,  the  skin  of  several  sorts  of 
beasts  dressed  and  prepared  for  the  use 
of  the  various  manufacturers,  whose  bu- 
siness it  is  to  make  them  up.  The 
butcher  and  others,  who  flay  off  their 
hides  or  skin,  dispose  of  them  raw  or 
salted  to  the  tanner  and  lawyer,  and  they 
to  the  shamoy,  morocco,  and  other  kind 
of  leather-dressers,  who  prepare  them 
according  to  their  respective  arts,  in  order 
to  dispose  of  them  among  the  curriers, 
glovers,  harness-makers,  coach-makers, 
saddlers,  breeches-makers,  gilt  leather- 
makers,  chair-makers,  shoe-makers,  book- 
binders, and  all  in  any  way  concerned  in 
the  article  of  leather.  * 

The  three  principal  assortments  of 
leather  are,  tanned  or  tawed,  and  oil  and 
alum-leather;  and  it  may  be  affirmed, 
with  great  truth,  that  the  skins  of  our 
own  production,  and  those  imported 
from  our  colonies,  when  dressed  in  this 
kingdom,  make  the  best  leather  in  the 
world,  and  that  therefore  this  is  an  article 
of  great  importance  to  the  trade  of  the 
nation. 

Though  there  is  no  little  difference  be- 
tween the  dressing  of  shumoy-leather, 
alum-leather,  Hungary  leather,  Morocco 
leather,  parchment,  and  tanning;  yet  the 
skins  which  pass  through  the' hands  of 
these  several  workmen,  ought  to  have 
been  for  the  most  part,  at  least,  washed 
clean  from  blood  and  impurities  in  a.  run- 
ning water;  set  to  drain,  worked  with  the 
hands,  or  pounded  with  wooden  pestles 
in  a  vat ;  put  into  the  pit  (which  is  a  hole 


lined  either  with  wood,  or  with  stone  and 
mortar)  filled  with  water  in  which  quick- 
lime is  dissolved,  in  order  to  lor* 
hair,  that  it  may  be  easily  rubbed  off  with- 
out injuring  the  skin  ;  drawn  out,  and  set 
to  drain  on  the  edge  of  the  pit;  stretched 
on  the  leg  or  horse,  in  order  to  have  the 
hair  scraped  off  with  a  blunt  iron  knife, 
or  wooden  cylinder:  the  membranes  on 
the  fleshy  side,  and  the  scab-  or  rough- 
ness  on  the  grain  side  paved  off  with  a 
sharp  knife,  and  the  skins  rubbed  \vith  a 
whetstone,  to  take  off  anv  particles  of  the 
lime,  or  any  thing  else  that  may  occasion 
hardness  ;  thickened  by  different  sorts  of 
powder,  whereby  they  become  greater  in 
bulk,  and  so  much  lighter,  as  gradually  to 
rise  to  the  surface  of  the  water ;  stretched 
out  green  or  half  dried,  and  piled  one 
over  another;  or  put  up  separate  after 
they  are  dried,  and  hung  out  to  air  upon 
poles,  lines,  or  any  other  way ;  which 
must  be  repeatedly  done  in  the  dressing 
of  small  skins.  This  alternate  transition 
from  the  liquid  of  the  air  into  that  of 
water,  and  from  water  into  the  air,  with 
the  assistance  of  lime,  salts,  and  oils, 
opens  the  inmost  fibres  of  the  skin  so 
effectually,  as  greatly  to  facilitate  the  in- 
troduction of  substances  proper  for  mak- 
ing them  pliant  without  rendering  them 
thinner. 

The  alum-leather  dresser  dresses  all 
sorts  of  white  leather,  from  the  ox-hide 
to  the  lamb-skin  ;  for  dressing  the  sad- 
dler's leather,  he  uses  bran,  sea-sait,  and 
alum  ;  and  tor  that  which  the  glover  uses, 
after  the  common  preparatives,  he  first 
employs  bran,  and  then  with  salt,  alum, 
fine  flour,  and  yolks  of  eggs  mixed  in  hot 
water,  he  makes  a  sort  of  pap,  with  which 
the  skins  are  smeared  in  a  trough.  The 
shamoy  leather-dresser  soaks  in  oil,  not 
only  the  skins  of  the  true  shamoy,  which 
is  a  wild  goat,  but  likewise  those  of  all 
other  goats.  The  tanner  uses  the  bark 
of  young  oaks  ground  in  a  tanning  mill, 
in  which  he  soaks  the  skins  more  or  less, 
according  to  the  different  services  ex- 
pected from  them,  their  chief  use  being 
to  remain  firm  and  keep  out  water,  la 
certain  cases,  instead  of  tan,  he  uses 
redon,  which  is  chiefly  used  for  tanning- 
ram  sheep-skins,  and  dressing  Russia 
leather.  Uut  for  the  different  methods 
in  which  the  tanner,  currier,  Russia,  and 
Morocco  leather-dressers,  proceed  in 
finishing  their  skins,  see  CURRYING, 
TAN N TNG,  &c. 

LEAVEN.     See  BREAD. 

LECHEA,  in  botany,  .so  named  from 
John  Leche,  professor  at  Aboa,  in  Sweden, 


LEE 


LEE 


a  genus  of  the  Triandria  Trigynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Caryopbyllei. 
Essential  character  :  calyx  three-leaved ; 
petals  three,  linear;  capsule  three-celled, 
three-valved,  with  as  many  internal  ones ; 
seeds  solitary.  There  are  three  species, 
natives  of  North  America,  and  of  China 
near  Canton. 

LECYTH1S,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polyandria  Monogynia  class  and  order,, 
Natural  order  of  Myrti,  Jussieu.  Essen- 
tial character :  calyx  six-leaved ;  corolla 
six-petalled ;  nectary  ligulate,  stamini- 
ferous ;  pericarpium  circumcised,  many- 
seeded.  There  are  six  species.  These 
are  trees  or  shrubs,  with  alternate  leaves  ; 
flowers  in  terminating  spikes  from  the 
axils  of  the  shoots.  It  is  peculiar  to  this 
genus  to  have  a  pitcher-shaped  body  in 
the  centre  of  the  flower,  which  Linnxus 
calls  the  nectarium,  inserted  into  the 
calyx  below  the  petals,  perforated  in  the 
middle  for  the  passage  of  the  style, 
shaped  like  a  petal,  coriaceous  entire  at 
the  edge,  but  covered  on  the  inside  with 
numerous  subsessile  stamens.  Native  of 
the  forests  of  Guiana. 

LEDUM,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  De- 
candria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Bicornes.  Rhododendra, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character ;  calyx  five- 
cleft;  corolla  flat,  five-parted;  capsule 
five-celled,  gaping  at  the  base.  There 
are  three  species,  all  natives  of  the  North 
of  Europe.  These  shrubs  growing  on 
mosses  or  bogs,  where  the  roots  spread 
freely,  cannot  be  preserved  in  gardens, 
as  least  so  as  to  thrive,  but  in  a  proper 
soil  and  a  shady  situation. 

LEE,  an  epithet  to  distinguish  that  half 
of  the  horizon  to  which  the  wind  is  direct- 
ed from  the  other  part  whence  it  arises, 
which  latter  is  accordingly  called  to  wind- 
ward. This  expression  is  chiefly  used 
when  the  wind  crosses  the  line  of  a  ship's 
course,  so  that  all  on  one  side  of  her  is 
called  to  windward,  and  all  on  the  oppo- 
site side  to  leeward;  and  hence  "  Lee 
side,"  all  that  part  of  a  ship  or  boat  which 
lies  between  the  mast  and  the  side 
farthest  from  the  direction  of  the  wind  ; 
or  that  half  of  a  ship  which  is  pressed 
down  towards  the  water  by  the  effort  of 
the  sails,  as  separated  from  the  other  half 
by  a  line  drawn  through  the  middle  of 
her  length :  that  part  of  the  ship  which 
lies  to  the  windward  of  this  line  is  accord- 
ingly called  the  weather-side.  Tims,  if  a 
ship  sail  southward  with  the  wind  at  east, 
then  is  her  starboard,  or  right  side,  the 
lee-side ;  and  the  larboard,  or  left,  the 
Weather-side. 
VOL.  IV. 


LEE  wrtz/,  or  LEEWARD  "wayt  is  the  la- 
teral movement  of  a  ship  to  the  leeward 
of  her  course,  or  the  angle  which  the  line 
of  her  way  makes  with  her  keel  when  she 
is  close  hauled.  This  movement  is  pro- 
duced by  the  mutual  effort  of  the  wind 
and  sea  upon  her  side,  forcing  her  to  lee- 
ward  of  the  line  upon  which  she  appears 
to  sail,  and  in  this  situation  her  course  is 
necessarily  a  compound  of  the  two  mo- 
tions by  which  she  is  impelled.  All  ships 
are  apt  to  make  some  lee-way ;  so  that  in 
casting  up  the  log-book  something  must 
be  allowed  for  lee-way.  But  the  lee-way 
made  by  different  ships,  under  the  same 
circumstances,  will  be  different :  and  even 
the  same  ship,  with  different  lading,  and 
having  more  or  less  sail  on  board,  will 
make  more  or  less  lee-way. 

However,  the  common  allowances  made 
for  lee-way,  are  these :  1.  If  the  ship  be 
close  hauled,  has  all  her  sails  set,  the 
water  smooth,  and  a  moderate  gale  of 
wind,  she  is  supposed  to  make  little  or  no 
lee-way.  2.  If  it  blow  so  fresh,  as  to 
cause  the  small  sails  to  be  handed,  it  is 
usual  to  allow  one  point.  3.  If  it  blow  so 
hard,  that  the  tops  must  be  close  reefed, 
the  ship  then  makes  about  two  points  lee- 
way. 4.  If  one  topsail  must  be  handed, 
it  is  common  to  allow  two  and  three 
quarters,  or  three  points  lee-way.  5. 
When  both  topsails  must  be  handed, 
they  allow  about  four  points  lee-way. 
6.  When  it  blows  so  hard,  as  to  occasion 
the  fore-course  to  be  handed,  the  allow- 
ance is  between  five  and  a  half  and  six 
points.  7-  When  both  main  and  fore- 
courses  must  be  handed,  then  six,  or  six 
and  a  half  points  must  be  allowed  for  her 
lee-way.  8.  \Vhen  the  miien  is  handed, 
and  the  ship  is  trying  a  hull,  she  then 
makes  her  way  good  about  one  point  be- 
fore the  beam,"  that  is,  about  seven  points 
lee-way. 

Though  these  rules  are  such  as  are 
generally  used,  yet  as  the  lee-way  depends 
much  upon  the  mould  and  trim  of  the 
ship,  we  shall  here  give  the  method  of 
ascertaining  it  by  observation.  Thus,  let 
the  ship's  wake  be  set  by  a  compass  in 
the  poop,  and  the  opposite  rhumb  is  the 
true  course  made  good  by  the  ship ;  then 
the  difference  between  this,  and  the 
course  given  by  the  compass  in  the  bit- 
tacle,  is  the  lee-way  required.  If  the 
ship  be  within  sight  of  land,  the  lee-way 
may  be  exactly  found  by  observing  a 
point  on  the  land  which  continues  to  bear 
the  same  way ;  for  the  distance  between 
the  point  of  the  compass  it  lies  on,  and  the 
point  the  ship  capes  at,  will  be  the  lee-way. 

M 


LEG 


LEI 


LEEA,  in  botany,  so  called  from  James  tor,  which  cannot  be  collected  in,  it  wiM 
Lee,  a  genus  of  the  Pentandria  Monogynia  carry  interest  only  from  the  end  of  the 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Trilii-  year  after  the  death  of  the  testator.  A 
lat?e.  Sapotze,  Jussieu.  Essential  charac-  legacy  to  an  infant  ought  not  to  be  paid 
ter:  corolla  one-petalled;  nectary  on  the  to  his  father;  a  legacy  to  a  married  wo- 
tube  of  the  corolla,  upright,  five-cleft ;  man  can  only  be  paid  to  her  husband  ; 
berry  five-seeded.  There  are  three  spe-  and  executors  are  not  bound  to  pay  a  le- 
cies,  natives  of  the  East  Indies,  Africa,  gacy  without  security  to  refund, 
and  New  South  Wales.  When  all  the  debts  and  particular  le- 

LEEC1I.     See  UIRUJIO.  gacies  are  discharged,  the  residue  or  sur- 

LEEK.     See  ALLIUM.  plus  must  be  paid  to  the  residuary  lega- 

LEERS1A,  in  botany,  so  named  from  tee,  if  any  be  so  appointed  in  the  will ; 
John  Daniel  Leers,  a  genus  of  the  Trian-  hut  if  there  be  none  appointed  or  in- 
dria  Digynia  class  and  order.  Natural  tended,  it  will  go  to  the  executor  or  nqxt 
order  of  Gramma  or  Grasses.  Essential  of  kin.  When  this  residue  does  not  go 

to  the  executor,  it  is  to  be  distributed 
among  the  intestate's  next  of  kin,  accord- 
ing to  the  statute  of  distributions,  except 
it  is  otherwise  disposable  by  particular 
customs,  as  those  of  London,  York,  &c. 
See  EXECUTOR. 

LEGNOT1S,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polyandria  Monogynia 'class  and  order. 


character:  calyx  none ;  glume  two-valved, 
closed.     There  are  three  species. 

LEGACY,  ib  a  bequest  of  a  sum  of  mo- 
ney, or  any  personal  effects  of  a  testator, 
and  these  are  to  be  paid  by  his  represen- 
tative, after  all  the  debts  of  the  deceased 
are  discharged,  as  far  as  the  assets,  or  pro- 
perty liable  to  payment  of  debts  and  le- 
gacies, will  extend.  All  the  goods  and 
chattels  of  the  deceased  are  by  law  vested 
in  the  representative,  who  is  bound  to 
see  whether  there  be  left  a  sufficient 
fund  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  testator, 
which,  if  it  should  prove  inadequate,  the 
pecuniary  legacies  must  proportionably 
abate  ;  a  specific  legacy,  however,  is  not 
to  abate,  unless  there  be  insufficient  with- 


Essential  character:  calyx  five-cleft ;  pe- 
tals five,  jagged,  inserted  into  the  recep- 
tacle; capsule  three-celled  There  are 
two  species,  viz.  L.  elliptica  and  L.  cassi- 
pourea. 

LEGUMEN,  in  botany,  that  species  of 
seed-vessel  termed  a  pod,  in  which  the 
seeds  are  fastened  along  one  suture  only. 
In  this  the  seed-vessel  in  question  differs 


out  it  to  pay  debts;  that  is,  the  general    from  the  other  kind  of  pod,  termed  by 
legacies  must  all  be  exhausted  first.     If    botanists  siliqua,  in  which  the  enclosed 

seeds  are  fastened  alternately  to  both  the 
sutures  or  joinings  of  the  valves.  The 
seed-vessel  of  all  the  pea-bloom  or  but- 
terfly-shaped flowers,  the  Diadelphia  of 
Lirtnseus,  is  of  the  leguminous  kind  ;  such 
is  the  seed-vessel  of  the  pea,  vetch,  lu- 
pine, &c*  See  PAPILIONACEOUS. 


the  legatee  die  before  the  testator,  it 
will  in  general  be  a  lapsed  legacy,  and 
fall  into  the  general  fund,  as  it  will  also 
where  it  is  $iven  upon  a  contingency,  as 
to  A  B,  if  he  shall  attain  twenty-one. 
Where,  however,  from  the  general  im- 
port of  the  will,  it  can  be  collected  that 
the  testator  intended  it  a  vested  legacy, 


LEIBNITZ   (GODFREY  WILLIAM,)    an 


it  will  go  to  the  representative  of  the  de-    eminent  mathematician  and  philosopher, 
ceased  legatee.  Thus,  if  a  legacy  is  made    was  born  at  Leipsic,  in  Saxonv,  in  1646. 


rest  in  him ;  but  it  is  otherwise,  if  it  is  ge-  Individuationis.     The  year  followin-  he 

nerally  to  him  at  or  when  he  attains  such  was  admitted  Master  of  Arts.     He  read 

age.     If  the  legacy  is  to  bear  interest,  it  with  great  attention  the  Greek  philoso- 

is  vested,  though  the  words  payable  are  phers,  and  endeavoured  to  reconcile  Pla- 

omitted      So,  i ht  is  to  A  for  life,  and  af-  to  with  Aristotle,  as  he  afterwards  did 

ter  the  death  of  A  to  B,  the  legacy  to  B  Aristotle  with  Des  Cartes.  But  the  study 

is  vested  in  B   upon  the  death  of  the  tes-  of  the  law  was  his   principal  view;    in 

tator,  and  will  not  lapse  by  the  death  of  which  faculty  he  was  admitted  Bachelor 

B  in  the  hfet.me  of  A.  ;„  lfifi*      T4  year  following  he  would 

degree 

in  the  funds,  which  yield  an' immediate    too  youn^.v^ough^reaUty,  because  he 

If  many  enemies,  by  re- 
iples  of  Aristotle  and  the 


T  f,  ill  t  .  w>s.  f.  *n-      >  wo.1       tulllSUJIItf      JJC      YVUUlll 

Incase  of  a  vested  legacy  due  imme-  have  taken  the  degree  of  Doctor,   but 

lately,  and  charged  on  land,  or  money  was  refused  it  on  pretence  that  he  was 

in  the  funds,  winch  yield  an  immediate  too  youne--  though 

profit,  interest  shall  be  payable  from  the  had  raised 'himself 

death  of  the  testator ;  but  if  it  be  charged  jecting  the  princip 

on  tac  personal  estate  onlv  of  t.h«»  t^cta.  O«K — fL 


personal  estate  only  of  the  testa-    schoolmen. 


LEIBNITZ. 


Upon  this  lie  repaired  to  Altorf,  where 
he  maintained  a  thesis  de  Casibus  Pcr- 
plexis  with  such  applause,  that  he  had 
the  degree  of  Doctor  conferred  on  him. 

In  1672  he  went  to  Paris,  to  manage 
some  affairs  at  the  French  court  for  the 
Huron  Boinebourg.  Here  he  became 
acquainted  with  all  the  literati,  and  made 
further  and  considerable  progress  in  the 
study  of  mathematics  and  philosophy ; 
chiefly,  as  he  says,  by  the  works  of  Pas- 
cal, Gregory,  St.  Vincent,  and  Huygens. 
In  this  course,  having  observed  the  im- 
perfections of  Pascal's  arithmetical  ma- 
chine, he  invented  a  new  one,  as  he  call- 
ed it,  which  was  approved  by  the  mi- 
nister Colbert  and  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  in  which  he  was  offered  a 
seat  as  a  member,  but  refused  the  offers 
inade  to  him,  as  it  would  have  been  ne- 
cessary to  have  embraced  the  Catholic 
religion. 

In  1673  he  went  over  to  England, 
where  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Oldenbnrgh,  Secretary  to  the  Royal  So- 
ciety, and  Mr.  John  Collins,  a  distin- 
guished member  of  that  society ;  from 
whom,  it  seems,  he  received  some  hints 
of  the  method  of  fluxions,  which  had 
been  invented  in  1664,  or  1665,  by  the 
then  Mr.  Isaac  Newton. 

The  same  year  he  returned  to  France, 
where  lie  resided  till  1676,  when  he  again 
passed  through  England  and  Holland,  in 
his  journey  to  Hanover,  where  he  pro- 
posed to  settle.  On  his  arrival  there,  he 
applied  himself  to  enrich  the  Duke's  li- 
brary with  the  best  books  of  all  kinds. 
The  Duke  dying  in  1679,  his  successor, 
Ernest  Augustus,  then  bishop  of  Osna- 
burg,  shewed  M.  Leibnitz  the  same  fa- 
vour as  his  predecessor  had  done,  and 
engaged  him  to  write  the  history  of  the 
House  of  Brunswick.  To  execute  this 
task,  he  travelled  over  Germany  and 
Italy  to  collect  materials.  While  he  was 
in  Italy  he  met  with  a  pleasant  adven- 
ture, that  might  have  proved  a  more  se- 
rious affair.  Passing  in  a  small  bark  from 
Venice  to  Messola,  a  storm  arose;  during 
which;  the  pilot,  imagining  he  was  not 
understood  by  a  German,  whom,  being  a 
heretic,  he  looked  on  as  the  cause  of  the 
tempest,  proposed  to  strip  him  of  his 
clothes  and  money,  and  to  throw  him 
overboard.  Leibnitz,  hearing  this,  with- 
out discovering  the  least  emotion,  drew  a 
set  of  beads  from  his  pocket,  and  began 
turning  them  over  with  great  seeming 
devotion.  The  artifice  succeeded ;  one 
of  the  sailors  observing  to  the  pilot,  that 


since  the  man  was  no  heretic,  lie  ought 
not  to  be  drowned. 

In  1700  he  was  admitted  a  member  of 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris. 
The  same  year  the  Elector  of  Branden- 
burg, afterwards  King  of  Prussia,  found- 
ed an  academy  at  Berlin  by  his  advice ; 
and  he  was  appointed  perpetual  Presi- 
dent, though  his  affairs  would  not  permit 
him  to  reside  constantly  at  that  place. 
He  projected  an  academy  of  the  same 
kind  at  Dresden  :  and  this  design  would 
have  been  executed,  if  it  had  not  been 
prevented  by  the  confusions  in  Poland. 
He  was  engaged  likewise  in  a  scheme  for 
an  universal  language,  and  other  literary 
projects.  Indeed  his  writings  had  made 
him  long  before  famous  all  over  Europe, 
and  he  had  many  honours  and  rewards 
conferred  on  him.  Beside  the  office  of 
Privy  Counsellor  of  Justice,  which  the 
Elector  of  Hanover  had  given  him,  the 
Emperor  appointed  him,  in  1711,  Aulic 
Counsellor;  and  the  Czar  made  him  Privy 
Counsellor  of  Justice,  with  a  pension  of 
1,000  ducats.  Leibnitz  undertook,  at  the 
same  time,  to  establish  an  academy  of 
sciences  at  Vienna  ;  but  the  plague  pre- 
vented the  execution  of  it.  However,  the 
Emperor,  as  a  mark  of  his  favour,  settled 
a  pension  on  him  of  2.000  florins,  and 
promised  him  one  of  4,000,  if  he  would 
come  and  reside  at  Vienna;  an  offer  he 
was  inclined  to  comply  with,  but  was  pre- 
vented by  the  death  of  that  prince. 

Meanwhile,  the  History  of  Brunswick 
being  interrupted  by  other  works,  which 
he  wrote  occasionally,  he  found,  at  his 
return  to  Hanover  in  1714,  that  the  Elec- 
tor had  appointed  Mr. .Eccard  for  his  col- 
league in  writing  that  history.  The  Elec- 
tor was  then  raised  to  the  throne  of  Great 
Britain,  which  place  Leibnitz  visited  the 
latter  end  of  that  year,  when  he  received 
particular  marks  of  friendship  from  the 
King,  and  was  frequently  at  court.  He 
now  was  engaged  in  a  dispute  with  Dr. 
Samuel  Clarke,  upon  the  subjects  of  free- 
will, the  reality  of  space,  and  other  philo- 
sophical subjects.  This  was  conducted 
with  great  candour  and  learning,  and  the 
papers  which  were  published  by  Clarke 
will  ever  be  esteemed  by  men. of  genius 
and  learning.  The  controversy  ended 
only  with  the  death  of  Leibnitz,  Novem- 
ber 14,  1716,  which  was  occasioned  by 
the  gout  and  stone,  in  the  70th  year  of  his 
age. 

As  to  his  character  and  person  :  he  was 
of  a  middle  stature  and  a  thin  habit  01 
body.  He  had  a  studious  air,  and  a  sweet 


LEM 


LEM 


aspect,  though  near-sighted.  He  was  in- 
defatigably  industrious  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  He  eat  and  drank  little.  Hunger 
alone  marked  the  time  of  his  meals,  and 
his  diet  was  plain  and  strong1.  He  had  a 
very  good  memory,  and  it  is  said,  could 
repeat  the  JEneid  from  beginning"  to  end. 
'What  he  wanted  to  remember  he  wrote 
down,  and  never  read  it  afterwards.  He 
always  professed  the  Lutheran  religion  ; 
but  he  never  went  to  sermons;  and  when 
in  his  last  sickness  his  favourite  servant 
desired  to  send  for  a  minister,  he  would 
not  permit  it,  saying  he  had  no  occa- 
sion for  one.  He  was  never  married, 
nor  ever  attempted  it  but  once,  when 
he  was  about  fifty  years  old  ;  and  the 
lady  desiring  time  to  consider  of  it,  gave 
him  time  to  do  the  same :  he  used  to 
say,  "  that  marriage  was  a  good  thing  ; 
but  a  wise  man  ought  to  consider  of  it  all 
his  life." 

Leibnitz  was  author  of  a  great  multi- 
tude of  writings,  several  of  which  were 
published  separately,  and  many  others  in 
the  memoirs  of  different  academies.  He 
invented  a  binary  arithmetic,  and  many 
other  ingenious  matters.  His  claim  to 
the  invention  of  fluxions  was  the  sub- 
ject of  much  controversy,  for  which 
the  authors  of  the  time  may  be  consult- 
ed. 

Hanschius  collected  with  great  care 
every  thing  which  Leibnitz  had  said  in 
different  passages  of  his  works  on  the 
principles  of  philosophy  ;  and  formed  of 
them  a  complete  system,  under  the  ti- 
tle of  "  G.  G.  Leibnitzii  Principia  Phi- 
losophise more  geometrico  demonstrata, 
&c."  1728,  in  4to.  There  came  out  u 
collection  of  our  Author's  letters  in  1734 
and  1735,  entitled  "  Epistolje  ad  diversos 
theologici,  juridici,  medici,  philosophici, 
mathematici,  historici,  et  philologici  aug- 
mentile  MSS.  auctores  :  cum  annotation- 
ibus  suis  primum  divulgavit  Christian 
Cortholtus."  But  all  his  works  were 
collected  and  distributed  into  classes  by 
M.  Dutens,  and  published  at  Geneva  in 
six  large  volumes,  4to.,  in  1768,  entitled 
"  Gothofredi  Gulielmi  Leibnitzii  Opera 
Omnia,  &c." 

LEMMA,  in  mathematics,  denotes  a 
previous  proposition,  laid  down  in  order  to 
clear  the  way  for  some  following  demon- 
stration ;  and  prefixed  either  to  theorems, 
in  order  to  render  their  demonstration 
less  perplexed  and  intricate,  or  to  pro- 
blems, to  make  their  resolution  more 
easy  and  short.  Thus,  to  prove  a  py- 
ramid one-third  of  a  prism,  or  parellelo- 
piped,  of  the  same  base  and  height  with 


it,  the  demonstration  whereof,  in  the 
ordinary  way,  is  difficult  and  trouble- 
some, tin's  lemma  may  be  premised, 
which  is  proved  in  the  rules  of  progres- 
sion, that  the  sum  of  the  series  of  the 
squares,  in  numbers  in  arithmetical  pro- 
gression, beginning  from  0,  and  going 
on  1,  4,  9,  16,  25,  36,  &.G.,  is  always 
subtriple  of  the  sum  of  as  many  terms, 
each  equal  to  the  greatest ;  or  is  al- 
ways one-third  of  the  greatest  term  mul- 
tiplied by  the  number  of  terms.  Thus, 
to  find  the  inflection  of  a  curve  line,  this 
lemma  is  first  premised,  that  a  tangent 
may  be  drawn  to  the  given  curve  in  a  giv- 
en point. 

LEMNA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Monoecia  Diandria  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Miscellanea.  Naiades, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  male,  calyx 
one-leafed  ;  corolla  none  :  female,  calyx 
one-leafed;  corolla  none;  style  one;  cap- 
sule one-celled.  There  are 'six  species. 
These  plants  are  well  known  by  the  name 
of*'  duck's  meat,"  or  "duck  weed."  They 
are  all  annuals,  and  are  found  floating  on 
stagnant  water.  They  are  natives  of  most 
parts  of  Europe,  in  ditches,  ponds,  &c. 
LEMN1SCIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polyandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character  :  calyx  five-toothed  ; 
corolla  five-petalled,  recurved;  nectary 
cup-shaped,  girding  the  germ  ;  pericar- 
pium  five-celled ;  seeds  solitary.  There 
is  but  one  species,  viz.  L.  guianensis. 
The  trunk  of  this  tree  is  about  twenty  feet 
in  height,  and  one  foot  in  diameter  ;  the 
bark  is  brown  and  smooth  ;  the  wood  is 
white  and  compact ;  abundance  of  twist- 
ed branches  spread  in  every  direction  ; 
leaves  alternate,  firm,  and  smooth  ;  flow- 
ers at  the  ends  of  the  shoot,  very  nume- 
rous, in  large  corymbs,  on  a  woody  pe- 
duncle :  corolla  ot  a  fine  coral  red.  Na- 
tive of  Guiana. 

LEMON.  See  CITRUS. 
LEMONS,  salt  of,  used  to  remove 
ink-stains  from  linen,  is  the  native  salt 
of  sorrel,  the  super-oxalate  of  potash. 
The  effect  is  produced  by  the  oxalic 
acid  dissolving  with  facility  the  oxide  of 
iron  in  the  ink,  on  the  combination  of 
which  with  the  tannin  and  gallic  acid  the 
colour  depends ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  it  can  be  used  without  any  risk 
of  injury  to  the  cloth,  on  which  it  has 
no  effect.  See  Ox  A  LATE. 

LEMONADE,  a  liquor  prepared  of  wa- 
ter, sugar,  and  lemon  or  citron  juice.  It 
is  very  cooling  and  grateful. 

LEMUR,  the  nwcaitco,  in  natural  histo- 
ry, a  genus  of  Mammalia,  of  the  order 


LEM 


LEO 


Primates.  Generic  character  :  in  the  up- 
per jaw  four  front  teeth,  the  intermediate 
ones  remote;  in  the  lower  jaw,  six  long- 
er, extended  forwards,  compressed,  paral- 
lel, and  approximated ;  tusks  solitary  and 
approximated ;  grinders  several,  and 
sometimes  many,  sublobated,  the  fore- 
most somewhat  longer  and  sharper. 
This  genus  of  animals  is  very  similar  to 
that  of  monkeys  in  the  structure  of  the 
feet.  Some  are  destitute  of  a  tail,  and 
others  have  extraordinary  long  ones. 
Their  manners  are  very  different  from 
those  of  monkeys,  and  display  nothing 
of  the  active  mischief  and  intrusive  im- 
pertinence of  that  animal.  There  are 
thirteen  species,  of  which  we  shall  notice 
the  following: 

L.  tardigradus,  or  the  loris.  This  is 
of  a  light  brown  colour,  and  of  the  usual 
size  of  a  cat.  It  walks  and  climbs  with 
great  slowness,  and  is  supposed  incapable 
of  leaping.  Its  manners  are  gentle  and 
interesting,  it  is  extremely  susceptible  of 
cold,  and  when  exposed  to  a  strong  de- 
gree of  it  is  agitated  with  extreme  uneasi- 
ness, and  with  considerable  exasperation. 
It  sleeps  from  sun -rise  to  sun-set  without 
intermission,  rolled  up  in  the  manner  of 
the  hedge -hog;  it  is  extremely  attentive  to 
cleanliness,  licking  its  full  and  rich  fur 
with  the  same  assiduity  as  a  cat.  Its  food 
consists  of  plantains,  mangoes,  and  other 
fruits,  and  it  is  scarcely  capable  of  satis- 
fying itself  with  grasshoppers  when  it  lias 
access  to  them.  Many  species  of  insects, 
indeed,  form  a  repast  particularly  gratify- 
ing to  it,  and  the  sight  of  them  excites  in 
its  look  the  most  glowing  animation,  and 
summons  to  exertion  all  the  energies  of 
its  frame.  Several  of  the  above  particu- 
lars are  taken  from  an  account  given  of 
one  kept  in  a  state  of  confinement  by  the 
late  Sir  William  Jones.  It  is  a  native  of 
various  parts  of  India. 

L.  indri,  is  a  native  of  Madagascar,  is 
the  largest  of  the  genus,  has  a  face  of  a 
dog-like  form,  and  a  fur  thick  and  soft. 
It  has  no  appearance  of  a  tail :  it  is  very 
docile,  and  sometimes  trained  by  the  na- 
tives to  hunt  various  animals.  It  is  three 
feet  and  a  half  in  height. 

L.  macauco,  or  the  ruffed  macauco,  is 
found  in  some  of  the  Indian  islands,  and  is 
particularly  numerous  at  Madagascar. 
It  is  full  of  energy  and  fierceness,  and  its 
voice  is  so  strong  as  to  fill  the  woods  with 
its  cries.  It  will  endure  captivity,  notwith- 
standing the  violent  passions  it  exhibits 
in  a  natural  state,  without  discontent  or 
depression,  and  is  stated  to  be  extremely 
inoffensive,  and  even  sociable  in  it,  with 


those  by  whom  it  is  surrounded.    It  pos- 
sesses  neither  craft  nor  malice  in  it. 

L.  catta,  or  the  ring-tailed  macauco.  In 
their  state  of  nature  these  animals  are  seen 
in  companies  of  twenty  or  thirty.  They 
feed  on  almost  every  species  of  fruits, 
and  in  a  state  of  confinement,  like  several 
others  of  this  genus,  will  take  animal  food 
without  any  hesitation.  They  are  the 
most  elegant  and  beautiful  species  of  the 
whole  genus,  are  lively  and  gentle,  and 
so  agile  and  elegant  in  their  movements, 
as  to  be  highly  interesting.  They  delight 
much  in  sunshine,  and  will  sit  before  a 
fire,  like  the  squirrel,  extending  towards 
it  their  out-spread  hands.  It  inhabits 
Madagascar,  is  of  the  site  of  a  small  cat, 
and  resembles  that  animal  in  purring. 
See  Mammalia,  Plate  XV.  fig.  1.  and  2. 

LENS,  dioptrics,  properly  signifies  a 
small  roundish  glass,  of  the  figure  of  a  len- 
til, but  is  extended  to  any  optic  glass, 
not  very  thick,  which  either  collects  the 
rays  of  light  into  a  point,  in  their  pas- 
sage through  it,  or  disperses  them  further 
apart,  according  to  the  laws  of  refrac- 
tion. 

Lenses  have  various  figures,  that  is, 
are  terminated  by  various  surfaces,  from 
which  they  acquire  various  names.  Some 
are  plane  on  one  side,  and  convex  on 
the  other ;  others  convex  on  both  sides ; 
both  which  are  ordinarily  called  convex 
lenses :  though,  where  we  speak  accu- 
rately, the  former  is  called  plano-con- 
vex. Again,  some  are  plane  on  one 
side,  and  concave  on  the  other;  and 
others  are  concave  on  both  sides  ;  which 
are  both  usually  ranked  among  the  con- 
cave lenses ;  though,  when  distinguish- 
ed, the  former  is  called  a  plano-con- 
cave. Others,  again,  are  concave  on 
one  side,  and  convex  on  the  other,  which 
are  called  convexo-concave,  or  concavo- 
convex  lenses,  according  as  the  one  OP 
the  other  surface  is  more  concave,  or 
a  portion  of  a  less  sphere.  It  is  here 
to  be  observed,  that  in  every  lens  ter- 
minated in  any  of  the  forementioned 
manners,  a  right  line,  perpendicular  to 
the  two  surfaces,  is  called  the  axis  of 
the  lens ;  which  axis,  when  both  sur- 
faces are  spherical,  passes  through  both 
their  centres;  but  if  one  of  them  be 
plane,  it  falls  perpendicularly  upon  that, 
and  goes  through  the  centre  of  the  other. 
See  OPTICS. 

LEO,  in  astronomy,  one  of  the  twelve 
signs  of  the  zodiac,  the  fifth  in  order.  See 
ASTRONOMY. 

LEONTICE,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Hexandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 


LEP 


LEP 


Natural  order  of  Coryclales.    Bcrbcrkle?,     which  "gave  the  old  English  naturalists  tire 
Jussieu.     Essential  character  :  calyx  six-    idea  of  a  bird.     They  ascribed  the  origin 
leaved,  deciduous  ;  corolla  six-petulied  ;     of  the  barnacle-goose  to  these  shells, 
nectary  six  leaved,  placed  on  the  claws  of        LEPIDIUM,  in  botany,  pepper-wort,  a 

of   the    Tetradynamia    Siliculosa 


the  corolla,  spreading     There  are  three 
species. 

LEONTODOX,  in  botany,  dandelion,  a 
genus  of  the  Syngenesiu  Polygamia  JEqua- 
lis  class  and  order.  Natural  order  of 
Composite  Semifiosculosi.  Cichoraceac, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  im- 
bricate, with  loosish  scales  ;  down  capil- 
lary ;  receptacle  naked,  dotted.  There 
are  four  species,  of  which  L.  taraxacum, 
dandelion,  is  common  all  over  Europe,  in 
meadows,  on  walls,  dry  banks,  Sec.;  it 
flowers  from  ^pril  to  September ;  the 
flowers  expand  about  five  or  six  in  the 
morning-,  closing-  early  in  the  afternoon ; 
as  the  flower  advances,  the  calyx  is  gra- 
duaflv  pressed  out  at  top,  and  when  the 
flowcrin 


genus 

class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Sili- 
quosx,  or  Cruciformcs.  Cruciferzc,  Jus- 
sieu. Essential  character:  silicle  emar- 
g-inate,  cordate,  many-seeded;  valves 
keeled,  contrary.  There  are  twenty- 
three  species,  of  which  L.  perfoliatum, 
various-leaved  pepper-wort,  is  an  annual 
plant,  about  a  foot  in  height ;  the  stem  is 
round,  upright,  and  smooth,  tinged  with 
purple,  dividing  into  many  slender 
branches;  flowers  in  corymbs,  or  long, 
loose  spikes,  from  the  ends  of  the 
branches;  silicles  orbiculate,  scarcely 
emarginate,  and  the  terminating  style  so 
short  as  to  be  hardly  visible.  It  is"  a  na- 
tive of  Austria  and  the  Levant. 

LEPIDOPTERA,   or  scaly-winged,  the 


^  is  past,  it  contracts  again  into  a 

conical, form,  and  finally  when  the  seeds  third  order  of  insects,  according" to  the 

are  mature,   the    calvx  is  again  pushed  Linnaean  system.     The  general  character 

11  1,1  ".         r*  i  -~r  ^.K:~   -         •     /• •  1-1 


tongue   involute, 

spiral ;  body  hairy.     It  consists  of  the  in- 
commonly 


back,  and  the  aggregate  of  down  assumes    of  this  order  is  four  wings,  covered  with 
a  spherical  form,  till  the  whole  is  loosen-    fine  imbricate  scales  ;    ' 
ed  and  dissipated  by  the  wind. 

LEON ORUS,  in  botany,  lion's  tail,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Didynamia  (jymnospermia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Verti- 
cillata:.  Labiatx,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter: anthers  having  shining  dots  sprin 


sects 
moths. 


termed  butterflies  and 
There  are  three  genera,  viz. 

Papilio  Sphinx 

Phalaena 


kled  over  them.     There  are  live  species.          The  powder  on  the  wings  of  these  in- 
LEPAS,  in  natural  history,  acorn-shell,    sects  has  been  generally  described  by  mi- 
a  genus  of  the  VermesTestacea  class  and    croscopical  writers  as  consisting  of  small 
order.     Animal  a  triton ;  shell  affixed  at    feathers  ;  but  they  are  more  in  the  form 
the  base,  and  consisting  of  many  unequal,    of  minute  scales,  of  various  shapes  and 
erect  valves.     There  are  upwards  of  thir-    sizes,  on  the  different  species,  and   even 
ty   species.       L.     balanus,    shell    conic,    on  the  different  parts  of  the  same  animal, 
grooved ;  operculum  or  lid,  sharp-point-    Their  usual  appearance  is  more  or  less 
ed :  it  inhabits  the  European  and  Medi-    fan-shaped,  and  they  are  disposed  in  the 
terranean  seas,  adhering  in  the  greatest    manner  of  tiles  on  a  roof,  lapping  over 
abundance  to  rocks,  shells,  &.c. ;  general-    each  other.     See  PAPILIO,  &c. 
ly  whitish;  with  about  six  outer  valves,        LEPISMA,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
three  of  which  are  elevated  and  striate,    of  insects  of  the  order  Aptera  ;*  lip  mem- 
and  three  excavated  and  smoother ;  the    branaceous,   rounded,    emarginate ;    four 
pieces  composing  the  lid,  are  finely  ere-    feelers,    of    which    two    are    setaceous, 
iiate  \vilh  transverse  wrinkles,  two  lesser    and  two  capitate;  antennae  setaceous;  bo- 
and  two  larger,  and  pointed.     L.  anatife-    dy  imbricate,  with   scales ;    tail   ending 
ra,  duck-barnacle,  shell  compressed,  five-    in  setaceous  bristles  ;  six  legs,  formed  for 
valved,  smooth,  seated  on  a  peduncle  :  of    running.     There  are  seven  species  enu- 
this  there  are  several  varieties,  which  in-    me  rated,  of  these  the  principal  is  L.  sac- 
habit    most    seas ;    they    are    generally    charina ;  scaly,  silvery,  lead-colour,  with 
found  fixed  in  clusters  to  the  bottoms  of    a  triple  tail.  "  It  inhabits  America,  among 
vessels  and  old  pieces  of  floating  timber ;    sugar,  but  is  naturalized  in  Europe,  and 
whitish,  with  a  blue  cast,  the  margins  of    found  among  old  books  and  furniture  ;  it 
the   valves  yellow,    sometimes    marked    runs  exceedingly  swift,  and  is  difficult  to 
with  a  ray  or  two  dotted  with  black  ;  pe-    catch.     In  their  various  stages  of  exist  - 
cluncle  long,  coriaceous,  black,  and  very    cnce  these  insects  prey  upon  sugar,  de- 
much  wrinkled   towards  the  shell,    and    cayed  wood,  and  rotten   substances  ;  the 
growing  paler  and  pellucid  towards  the    larva  and  pupa  are  six-footed,  active,  and 
base,  extensile;  sometimes,  though   not    swift, 
often,  red.    The  tentacula  are  feathered,        LEPROSO  amovendo,  an  ancient  writ  to 


LEP 


LEP 


remove  a  leper,  who  came  to  church  or 
to  public  meetings,  to  annoy  his  neigh- 
bours; but  it  could  only  lie  when  the 
party  appeared  outwardly  unwholesome 
by  his  sores  and  smell ;  and  if  he  kept  at 
home,  it  could  not  be  enforced.  It  seems 
to  have  been  a  wise  provision  for  the 
health  of  the  public. 

LEPTOCEPHALUS,  the  morris,  in  na- 
tural history,  a  genus  of  fishes  of  the  or- 
der Apodes.  Generic  character :  head 
small  and  narrow,  body  exceedingly  thin, 
compressed ;  no  pectoral  fins.  This  fish 
was  first  discovered  near  the  isle  of  An- 
glesea,  by  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Morris.  It  is  four  inches  long,  with  an 
exceedingly  small  head,  and  a  body  so 
thin  as  to  be  nearly  transparent;  on  a 
slight  view,  it  might  almost  be  consider- 
ed as  a  tape-worm. 

LEPTOSPERMUM,  in  botany,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Icosaiidria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Myrti.  Es- 
sential character :  calyx  five-cleft,  half 
superior;  petals  five,  with  claws,  longer 
than  the  stamens ;  stigma  capitate  ;  cap- 
sule four  or  five-celled ;  seeds  angular. 
There  are  eleven  species,  of  which  JL.  sco- 
parium  is  a  small  tree  or  shrub,  growing 
to  a  moderate  height,  generally  bare  on 
the  lower  part,  with  a  number  of  small 
branches  growing  close  together  towards 
the  top ;  the  younger  ones  are  silky :  it 
grows  commonly  in  dry  places  near  the 
shores  in  New  Zealand ;  the  underwood 
in  Adventure-bay,  Van  Diemen's  land, 
chiefly  consists  of  this  shrub  ;  the  leaves 
were  used  by  Captain  Cook's  ships' 
crews  as  tea,  whence  they  named  it  the 
tea-plant ;  the  leaves  have  a  very  agree- 
able flavour,  and  a  pleasant  smell  when 
fresh  ;  if  the  infusion  was  made  strong,  it 
proved  an  emetic  to  some,  in  the  same 
manner  as  green  tea;  it  was  also  used 
with  spruce  leaves,  in  equal  quantities,  to 
correct  their  astringency  in  brewing  beer 
for  them,  which  rendered  it  exceedingly 
palatable. 

LEPTURA,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
of  insects  of  the  order  Coleoptera.  An- 
tennse  setaceous ;  four  feelers  filiform  ; 
shells  tapering  towards  the  tip ;  thorax 
slender,  rounded.  There  are  nearly  one 
hundred  and  fifty  species,  in  two  divi- 
sions,^ viz.  A.  lip  entire  ;  B.  lip  bifid.  Ma- 
ny of  the  species  of  this  genus  are  very 
beautiful;  among  these  maybe  mention- 
ed L.  arcuata,  of  a  black  colour,  with 
wing-sheaths  marked  by  transverse  yel- 
low ;  lunated  bands  pointing  backwards. 
It  is  a  native  of  Europe,  and  is  found  in 
the  woods  during  the  summer  months, 
and  generally  measures  about  three,-quur- 


ters  of  an  inch  in  length.  L.  aquatica,  is 
so  named  from  its  being  particularly 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  waters, 
frequently  on  the  plants  which  grow  near 
the  water's  edge.  It  is  only  half  an  inch 
in  length,  and  of  a  g'olden  green  colour, 
sometimes  varying  into  copper- colour, 
purple,  or  blue,  and  is  distinguished  by 
having  a  tooth  or  process  on  the  thighs  of 
the  legs. 

LEPUS,  the  hare,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  Mammalia,  of  the  order  Gliros. 
Generic  character :  two  fore -teeth  above 
and  below ;  the  upper  pair  double,  two 
small  ones  standing  within  the  exterior. 
These  animals  exhibit  several  considera- 
ble differences  from  those  of  the  order 
Glires  in  general,  to  which,  however,  up- 
on the  whole,  they  are  with  more  propri- 
ety attached  than  to  any  other.  By  an  ap- 
pearance of  rumination,  they  appear 
somewhat  connected  with  the  Pecora. 
There  are  fifteen  species,  of  which  the 
following  chiefly  deserve  notice. 

L.  timidus,  or  the  English  hare.  This 
animal  is  a  native  of  almost  every  coun- 
try of  the  old  continent,  and  is  generally 
of  the  length  of  two  feet.  Its  upper  lip 
is  divided,  and  its  eyes  are  extremely  pro- 
jected, and,  it  is  said,  kept  open  by  it 
during  sleep.  It  subsists  on  a  great  va- 
riety of  vegetables,  particularly  those 
which  possess  milky  qualities ;  the  bark 
of  young  trees,  and  their  tender  shoots, 
are  likewise  often  taken  by  them  for 
food.  It  produces  generally  three  young 
ones  at  a  time,  and  breeds  at  least  three 
times  in  a  year.  The  hare  seldom  quits 
its  seat,  or  form,  as  it  is  called,  during  the 
day,  unless  compelled  by  the  approach  of 
enemies ;  but  takes  its  range  for  food  and 
excursion  by  night,  always  returning,  it  is 
said,  to  her  habitation  by  the  same  track 
by  which  it  was  left.  In*  this  form  it  will 
sometimes  suffer  itself  to  be  approached 
so  nearly,  as  to  be  nearly  trodden  upon 
before  it  starts  for  escape ;  the  first  ad- 
vances of  the  enemy  having  probably  not 
attracted  its  attention,  and  those  which 
immediately  followed,  being  attended  by 
a  species  of  fascination,  or  prostration  of 
energy,  the  frequent  effect  of  terror,  til}, 
at  length,  the  imminence  of  its  danger 
rouses  every  nerve  and  muscle,  to  exer- 
tions which  enable  it  to  leave  its  enemies 
at  a  considerable  distance.  Its  fleetness 
is  such,  as  to  give  it  the  advantage  over 
many  of  its  numerous  adversaries.  Its 
quickness  of  hearing,  and  comprehen- 
sion of  sight,  by  which  last  it  receives 
the  impressions  of  objects  on  almost 
every  side,  are  also  important  means  of 
its  protection.  The  similarity  of  its  co 


LEPUS. 


lour,  likewise,  to  that  of  the  ground,  is  an- 
other  circumstance  considerably  in  its  fa- 
vour. In  the  more  northern  regions,  dur- 
ing1 the  rigours  of  winter,  its  coat  be- 
comes of  a  perfect  whiteness.  By  the 
particular  structure  of  the  hind-feet  of 
this  animal,  it  is  qualified  to  run  with  ra- 
pidity up  a  considerable  ascent,  and  seems 
to  be  conscious  of  this  advantage,  by  fre- 
quently taking  such  a  direction  as  gives 
it  the  full  benefit  of  this  peculiarity. 

The  average  duration  of  the  hare  is 
about  seven  years  ;  but  so  numerous  are 
its  enemies,  that,  notwithstanding  the  ad- 
vantages above-mentioned,  it  very  fre- 
quently fails  to  attain  its  natural  term. 
It  is  pursued  by  dogs  and  foxes  with  mor- 
tal and  unrelenting  antipathy.  Weasels, 
wild-cats,  and  wolves,  seize  and  devour  it 
whenever  it  is  within  their  reach ;  and 
eagles,  hawks,  and  other  birds  of  prey, 
are  also  destructive  enemies ;  but  the 
most  formidable  of  all  is  man,  who  finds 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  his  diver- 
sions in  its  persecution,  and  one  of  the 
highest  luxuries  of  his  table  in  its  flesh. 
Indeed,  so  prolific  is  the  hare,  that  with- 
out experiencing  very  considerable  hos- 
tility, it  would  multiply  to  a  most  injurious 
degree  ;  and  in  some  districts  of  France, 
where  the  game  was  particularly  and  as- 
siduously secured  by  the  proprietors,  no 
fewer  than  five  hundred  hares  have  been 
killed  within  a  small  compass  in  a  single 
day. 

The  hare,  if  taken  young,  maybe  tamed 
and  domestciated.  It  has  occasionally 
been  suckled  and  nursed  by  a  cat.  The 
celebrated  Sonnini,the  traveller  and  natu- 
ralist, had  a  hare  in  a  complete  state  of 
domestication;  and  Cowper,  the  poet, 
was  in  possession  of  three,  whose  com- 
forts he  attended  to  with  the  most  hu- 
mane assiduity,  and  whose  manners  he 
has  described  with  much  interest  and  dis- 
crimination. The  fur  of  the  hare  is  of 
eminent,  and  almost  indispensable  utility, 
in  the  hat  manufactory,  and  innumerable 
skins  are  annually  brought  to  this  country 
for  that  purpose  from  the  north  of  Eu- 
rope. 

This  animal  was  regarded  by  Moses  as 
unclean,  and  unfit  for  food ;  it  is  consider- 
ed in  the  same  light  also  by  the  Mahome- 
tans. The  Romans  used  to  value  it  highly 
for  the  table.  By  the  undent  Britons  it 
was  considered  as  partaking  somewhat  of 
a  sacred  character,  which  forbade  their 
application  of  it  to  so  ordinary  a  purpose. 
Hares  have  been  seen  in  (his  country 
perfectly  white,  as  in  more  northern  re- 
gions, and  accounts  of  horned  hares  have 
been  given  to  the  public  upon  unques- 


tionable authority,  though  such  animals 
are  of  extremely  rare  occurrence.  For 
the  Common  Hare,  see  Mammalia,  Plate 
XV.  fig.  3. 

L.  variabilis,  or  the  varying  hare,  is  an 
inhabitant  of  the  loftiest  territories  of  the 
north,  both  of  Europe  and  America.  Its 
colour  in  summer  is  a  tawny  grey,  and  in 
winter  it  is  changed  to  a  perfect  white. 
It  never  associates  with  the  common  hare, 
and  rarely  descends  from  its  elevated 
haunts  into  the  vallies  ;  though  occasion- 
ally, in  a  rigorous  winter,  numbers  of 
these  animals  are  seen  to  quit  the  frozen 
elevations  of  Siberia,  and  migrate  for 
subsistence  to  the  woody  and  sheltered 
plains. 

L.  cuniculus,  or  the  rabbit,  is  found  in 
most  temperate  climates,  but  not  far  to 
the  north.  Its  fecundity  is  extreme,  and 
in  some  countries  has  occasioned  it  to  be 
considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  annoy- 
ances. It  will  breed,  in  favourable  circum- 
stances, seven  times  in  a  year,  and  pro- 
duces about  eight  young  ones  at  a  time. 
It  is  most  strikingly  similar  to  the  hare  in 
general  appearance  ;  but  while  the  hare 
prefers  the  uncovered  field,  the  rabbit 
burrows  in  the  ground.  It  has  sharp  and 
long  claws  for  this  purpose,  and  chooses 
dry  and  chalky  soils,  in  which  it  can  with 
the  greatest  ease  construct  its  mansion, 
It  lives  to  the  age  of  about  eight  years. 
The  female  prepares  a  bed  for  its  young 
before  their  birth,  from  its  own  coat,  of 
the  finest  and  warmest  materials,  nurses 
them  with  incessant  assiduity,  and  is 
obliged  often  to  secrete  them  from  the 
malignant  attempts  of  the  male,  which 
have  been  known,  in  many  instances,  to 
be  fatal  to  them.  In  England,  particularly 
in  Cambridgeshire  and  Norfolk,  rabbits 
are  abundant,  and  their  fur  is  of  nearly 
equal  value  with  their  flesh. 

The  hare  and  rabbit  never  intermix, 
and  appear  to  contemplate  each  other 
without  the  slightest  sympathy.  The 
principal  difference  between  these  two 
animals  consists  in  the  proportional  length 
of  the  hind  legs  to  that  of  the  back.  For 
the  Rabbit,  see  Mammalia,  Plate  XV. 
fig.  4. 

JL.  alpinus,  or  the  Alpine  hare,  is  about 
the  size  of  a  Guinea  pig,  is  a  native  of  the 
Altaic  mountains,  and  burrows  in  the: 
clefts  of  the  rocks,  or  resides  in  the  hol- 
lows of  trees.  These  animals  avoid  the 
glare  of  day,  and  appear  only  by  night,  or 
in  obscure  and  dull  weather.  They  col- 
lect in  summer  a  preparation  of  herbage, 
the  most  delicate  and  fragrant,  and  having 
dried  it  with  the  utmost  care,  set  it  aside 
in  compact  heaps  for  their  subsistence 


LET 

during  winter.  These  heaps  are  occa- 
sionally of  the  height  and  depth  of  seve- 
ral feet,  and  are  sometimes  of  extreme 
service  to  the  horses  of  the  sable  hunters 
in  those  dreadful  regions,  preserving 
them  from  absolutely  starving- ;  a  fate, 
however,  to  which  the  little  labourers  are 
exposed  in  consequence  of  these  depre- 
dations. 

L.  pusillus,  inhabits  the  south-east  of 
Russia,  is  solitary,  and  rarely  to  be  ob- 
served,  even  where  most  abundant.  It 
is  only  about  six  inches  in  length.  It 
generally  indicates  its  residence  by  its 
sounds,  resembling-  those  of  a  quail.  Its 
pace  consists  of  a  succession  of  leaps, 
rather  than  steps.  It  sleeps  with  its  eyes 
open,  is  particularly  g-entle,  passes  but 
little  of  its  time  in  sleep,  and  is  perfectly 
familiarized  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
days  after  it  is  taken. 

LKPUS,  in  astronomy,  a  constellation  of 
the  southern  hemisphere.  See  ASTRO- 
NOMY. 

LERCHEA,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
honour  of  John  Lerche  ;  a  genus  of  the 
Monadelphia  Pentandria  class  and  order. 
Essential  character :  calyx  five-toothed ; 
corolla  funnel-form,  five-cleft;  anthers 
five,  placed  on  the  tube  of  the  germ ; 
style  one  ;  capsule  three-celled,  many- 
seeded.  There  is  but  one  species,  viz. 
L.  longicauda,  native  of  the  East  Indies. 

LERNEA,  in  natural  history,  a  g-enus 
of  the  Vei-mes  Mollusca  class  and  order. 
Body  oblong-,  somewhat  cylindrical,  na- 
ked ;  two  or  three  tentacula  each  side 
and  round,  by  which  it  affixes  itself;  two 
ovaries,  projecting  like  tails  from  the 
lower  extremity.  These  insects  are  with- 
out eyes,  and  are  said  to  be  very  trouble- 
some to  fish,  adhering  very  firmly  princi- 
pally to  the  gills  and  fins.  There  are  fif- 
teen species.  L.  meridiana  is  one  of  the 
largest  European  species,  often  measur- 
ing an  inch  in  length,  and  is  a  very  com- 
mon insect  during  the  decline  of  sum- 
mer, generally  appearing  in  the  hottest 
part  of  the  day.  It  is  brown  above  :  bril- 
liant tawny  beneath;  shining  like  satin. 

LESKIA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Nathaniel  Godofr.  Leske,  Professor  of 
Natural  History  and  Oeconomy,  in  the 
University  of  Leipsic ;  a  genus  of  the 
Cryptogamia  Musci  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Mosses.  Generic  cha- 
racter :  capsule  oblong ;  peristome  dou- 
ble ;  the  exterior  with  sixteen  teeth, 
which  are  acute;  the  interior  niembrana- 
ceous,  divided  into  equal  segments. 
Males,  gemmaceous  in  different  indivi- 
duals. 

LETHARGY,  in  medicine,  a  disease 

VOL.  IV. 


LET 

wherein  such  a  profound  drowsiness  or 
sleepiness  attends  the  patient,  that  he 
can  be  scarce  awaked,  and  if  awaked,  he 
remains  stupid,  without  sense  or  memory, 
and  presently  sinks  again  into  his  former 
sleep. 

LETTER,  a  character  used  to  express 
one  of  the  simple  sounds  of  the  voice; 
and  as  the  different  simple  sounds  are 
expressed  by  different  letters,  these  by 
being  differently  compounded,  become 
the  visible  signs  or  characters  of  all  the  mo- 
dulations and  mixtures  of  sounds  used  to 
express  our  ideas  in  a  regular  language. 
Thus,  as  by  the  help  of  speech  we  ren- 
der our  ideas  audible,  by  the  assistance  of 
letters  we  render  them  visible,  and  by 
their  help  we  can  wrap  up  our  thoughts, 
and  send  them  to  the  most  distant  parts 
of  the  earth,  and  read  the  transactions  of 
different  ages.  As  to  the  first  letters, 
what  they  were,  who  first  invented  them, 
and  among  what  people  they  were  first 
in  use,  there  is  still  room  to  doubt  : 
Pliilo  attributes  this  great  and  noble  in- 
vention to  Abraham ;  Josephus,  St.  Ire- 
naeus,  and  others,  to  Enoch ;  Bibliander, 
to  Adam  ;  Eusebius,  Clemens  Alexandri- 
nus,  Cornelius  Agrippa,  and  others,  to 
Moses  ;  Pomponius  Mela,  Herodian,  Ru- 
fus  Festus,  Pliny,  Lucan,  8cc.  to  the  Phoe- 
nicians ;  St.  Cyprian,  to  Saturn  ;  Tacitus, 
to  the  Egyptians ;  some,  to  the  Ethio- 
pians ;  and  others,  to  the  Chinese  :  but, 
with  respect  to  these  last,  they  can  never 
be  entitled  to  this  honour,  since  all  their 
characters  are  the  signs  of  words  formed 
without  the  use  of  letters,  which  ren- 
ders it  impossible  to  read  and  write  their 
language  without  a  vast  expense  of  time 
and  trouble ;  and  absolutely  impossible 
to  print  it  by  the  help  of  types,  or  any 
other  manner  but  by  the  engraving,  or 
cutting  in  wood.  See  PRINTING. 

There  have  also  been  various  conjec- 
tures about  the  different  kinds  of  letters 
used  in  different  languages ;  thus,  ac- 
cording to  Crinitus,  Moses  invented  the 
Hebrew  letters;  Abraham,  the  Syrinc  and 
Chaldee ;  the  Phoenicians,  those  of  At- 
tica, brought  into  Greece  by  Cadmus,  and 
from  thence  into  Italy  by  the  Pelasgians; 
Nicostrata,  the  Roman ;  Isis,  the  Egyp- 
tian ;  and  Vulfilas,  those  of  the  Goths. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics were  the  first  manner  of  writing: 
but  whether  Cadmus  and  the  Phoenicians 
learned  the  use  of  letters  from  the  Egyp- 
tians, or  from  their  neighbours  of  Judea 
or  Samaria,  is  a  question  ;  for  since  some 
of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  were 
then  written,  they  are  more  likely  to 
have  given  them  the  hint  than  the  hiero- 

N  " 


LET 

glyphics  of  Egypt.  But  wheresoever  the 
Phoenicians  learned  this  art,  it  is  gene- 
rally agreed,  that  Cadmus,  the  son  of 
Agenor,  first  brought  letters  into  Greece; 
whence,  in  the  following  ages,  they 
spread  over  the  rest  of  Europe. 

Letters  make  the  first  part  or  elements 
of  grammar ;  an  assemblage  of  these  com- 
pose syllables  and  words,  and  these  com- 
pose sentences.  The  alphabet  of  every 
language  consists  of  a  number  of  letters, 
which  ought  each  to  have  a  different 
sound,  figure,  and  use.  As  the  difference 
of  articulate  sounds  was  intended  to  ex- 
press the  different  ideas  of  the  mind,  so 
one  letter  was  originally  intended  to  sig- 
nify only  one  sound,  and  not,  as  at  pre- 
sent, to  express  sometimes  one  sound  and 
sometimes  another;  which  practice  has 
brought  a  great  deal  of  confusion  into  the 
languages,  and  rendered  the  learning  of 
the  modern  tongues  much  more  difficult 
than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  This 
consideration,  together  with  the  deficien- 
cy of  all  the  known  alphabets,  from  their 
wanting  some  letters  to  express  certain 
sounds,  has  occasioned  several  attempts 
towards  an  universal  alphabet,  to  con- 
tain an  enumeration  of  all  such  single 
sounds  or  letters  as  are  used  in  any  lan- 
guage. See  ALPHABET,  and  WRITING, 
origin  of. 

Grammarians  distinguish  letters  into 
vowels,  consonants,  mutes,  liquids,  diph- 
thongs, and  characteristics.  They  are 
also  divided  into  labial,  dental,  guttural, 
and  palatal,  and  into  capital  and  small  let- 
ters. They  are  also  denominated  from 
the  shape  and  turn  of  the  letters ;  and  in 
writing  are  distinguished  into  different 
hands,  as  round-text,  German-text,  round 
hand,  Italian,  &c.  and  in  printing,  into 
roman,  italic,  and  black  letter.  The  term 
letter,  or  type,  among  printers,  not  only 
includes  the  capitals,  small  capitals,  and 
small  letters,  but  all  the  points,  figures, 
and  other  marks,  cast  and  used  in  print- 
ing; and  also  the  large  ornamental  letters, 
cut  in  wood  or  metal,  which  take  place 
of  the  illumined  letters  used  in  manu- 
scripts. The  letters  used  in  printing 
are  cast  at  the  ends  of  small  pieces  of 
metal,  about  three  quarters  of  an  inch 
in  length  ;  and  the  letters  being  not  in- 
dented, but  raised,  easily  give  the  im- 
pression, when,  after  being  blacked  with 
a  glutinous  ink,  paper  is  closely  pressed 
upon  it. 

A  fount  of  letters  includes  small  letters, 
capitals,  small  capitals,  points,  figures, 
spaces,  &c.  but  besides  these,  they  have 
different  kinds  of  two-lined  letters,  only 


LEU 

used  for  titles,   and  the  beginnwi^  of 
books,  chapters,  &c.    See  FOUNT. 

LETTER  of  attorney,  a  writing  authoris- 
ing another  to  do  any  lawful  act  instead 
of  the  party  himself,  such  as  to  su  .*  and 
recover  debts,  to  receive  rents,  seamen's 
wages,  to  execute  leases,  to  give  livery  of 
seisin,  &c.  In  all  these  cases  the  authori- 
ty must  be  strictly  pursued,  and  it  is  lia- 
ble to  be  revoked  by  granting  a  new  let- 
ter of  attorney,  or  by  death  of  either  par- 
ty. In  cases  of  seamen,  there  are  certain 
statute  regulations  for  protecting  them 
from  imposition. 

LETTKHS  of  marque,  are  extraordinary 
commissions,  granted  to  captains  or  mer- 
chants for  reprisals,  in  order  to  make  a  re- 
paration for  those  damages  they  have 
sustained,  or  the  goods  they  have  been 
deprived  of  by  strangers  at  sea.  These 
appear  to  be  always  joined  to  those  of  re- 
prise for  the  reparation  of  a  private  inju- 
ry ;  but  under  a  declared  war  the  former 
only  are  granted. 

LEVATOR,  in  anatomy,  a  name  given 
to  several  muscles.  See  AXATOMY. 

LEUCOIUM,  in  botany,  mo-u^drop,  a 
genus  of  the  Hexandria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Spathacex. 
Narcissi,  Jussieu.  Essential  character :. 
corolla  bell-shaped,  six-parted,  thicken- 
ed at  the  tips ;  stigma  simple.  There  are 
four  species  :  these  are  all  bulbous  root- 
ed plants ;  the  flowers,  which  at  first 
sight  resemble  those  of  the  common 
snow-drop,  are  easily  distinguished  by 
the  absence  of  the  three-leaved  nectary, 
and  they  do  not  appear  so  soon  by  a 
month.  These  plants  being  of  a  differ- 
ent genus  from  the  true  snow-drop,  ought 
certainly  to  have  another  English  name  : 
some  botanists  call  it  spring  snow  flake  ; 
others  many-flowered  bulbous  violet.  In 
the  gardens  it  is  known  by  the  name  of 
great  summer  snow-drop,  and  late  or  tall 
snow-drop.  They  are  natives  of  the  south 
of  Europe. 

LEUCOPHRA,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  the  Vermes  Infusoria  class  and 
order  :  worm  invisible  to  the  naked  eye^, 
every  where  ciliate.  There  are  eight 
species.  L.  cornuta :  inversely  conic, 
green,  opaque.  This  is  found  in  marshy 
grounds.  Body  broad,  truncate  on  the 
fore  part,  with  a  small  spine  on  each  side ; 
the  hind  part  pellucid  and  pointed,  some- 
times it  appears  oval  or  kidney-shaped, 
and  when  the  water  which  contains  it 
evaporates,  it  breaks  into  molecular  vesi- 
cles. L.  nodulata  ;  ovate-oblong,  de- 
pressed, with  a  double  row  of  tubercles. 
This  species  is  found  in  the  intestines  of 


LEV 


LEV 


lumbricus  terristris,  and  nais  littoralis :  it 
is  very  pellucid,  shining  like  silver,  and 
is  propagated  by  a  transverse  division  ; 
oval  when  young,  and  growing  more  ob- 
long with  age  ;  truncate  at  the  tip. 

LEUCOPSIS,  in  natural  history,  a  ge- 
nus of  insects  of  the  order  Hymenoptera  : 
mouth  horny,  with  short  jaws,  the  mandi- 
ble thick,  and  three  toothed  at  the  tip  ; 
Jip  longer  than  the  jaw,  membranaceous 
and  emarginate  at  the  tip;  four  feelers  ; 
short,  equal,  filiform  ;  antennae  short,  cla- 
vate  ;  thorax  with  a  long  lanceolate  scale 
beneath ;  wings  folded ;  sting  reflected, 
and  concealed  in  a  groove  of  the  abdo- 
men. There  are  four  species. 

LEVEL,  an  instrument  constructed  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  exact 
level  of  any  fluid,  building,  &c.  Of  these 
there  are  two  distinct  kinds,  viz.  the  hori- 
zontal and  the  perpendicular :  the  first 
sort,  which  comprises  spirit  and  air  levels, 
is  chiefly  in  use  among  surveyors;  the 
latter  is  ordinarily  employed  by  artifi- 
cers, and  depends  for  exactness  on  a 
plumb  line. 

The  instruments  used  by  persons  tak- 
ing the  levels  of  lands,  waters,  &c.  where- 
by to  ascertain  the  comparative  heights 
of  different  spots,  or  tracts,  are  simple  in 
the  extreme,  being  generally  made  with 
a  telescope  of  about  fifteen  inches  long, 
fixed  above  a  circular  opening  in  a  brass 
plate,  so  as  to  show  a  compass  that  tra- 
verses immediately  below  its  centre,  and 
gives  not  only  the  number  of  points,  i.  e. 
thirty-two,  according  to  the  mariner's  di- 
vision, but  by  means  of  a  neat  brass  rim, 
graduated  with  three  hundred  and  sixty 
degrees,  divided  into  thirty-six  portions 
of  ten  degrees  each,  and  numbered, 
shows  the  exact  angle  made  between  any 
two  sights  taken  by  the  telescope,  which 
traverses  on  two  legs,  supported  in 
grooves  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  brass 
plate,  and  allowing  it  to  move  round  in  a 
direction  perfectly  parallel  thereto.  The 
plane  thus  described  by  the  circular  mo- 
tion of  the  telescope  is  made  to  corres- 
pond with  that  of  the  horizon  by  the  aid 
of  a  small  brass  tube,  about  six  or  eight 
inches  in  length,  fixed  exactly  parallel 
with  the  line  of  sight  through  the  teles- 
cope, and  screwed  to  its  cylinder  in  such 
manner  as  to  remain  firm.  This  little 
tube  has  on  its  upper  side,  or  surface,  an 
opening,  into  which  a  piece  of  clear  glass, 
corresponding  with  the  cylindrical  curve 
of  the  tube,  is  fitted  and  properly  ce- 
mented. This  piece  of  glass  being  per- 
fectly centrical,  serves  to  show  how  the 
fluid,  generally  alcohol  (or  pure  spirit), 


with  which  the  tube  is  filled,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  very  minute  portion,  stand  in 
respect  of  inclination  with,  or  from  the 
horizon.  When  the  bubble  of  air  left  in 
the  tube  floats- exactly  centrical  in  that 
portion  which  is  covered  with  glass,  the 
tube  itself  must  be  level ;  and  as  it  is  af- 
fixed at  an  exact  parallel  with  the  line  of 
sight,  which  passes  through  the  axis,  or 
centre  of  the  telescope,  from  the  eye  to 
the  crossing  of  two  hairs,  at  right  angles, 
within  the  telescope,  the  instrument  itself 
must  then  be  level,  and  that  part  of  any 
object,  however  distinct,  which  is  cut  or 
indicated  by  the  line  of  sight,  is  ascertain- 
ed by  the  centre  of  the  cross  made  by  the 
hairs  being  on  a  rectilinear  level  with  the 
line  of  sight.  But  in  consequence  of  the 
curvature  of  the  earth's  surface,  the  hori- 
zontal level  will  be  different  from  the  rec- 
tilinear level,  and  will  describe  an  arc 
parallel  with  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
This  curvature  amounts  to  about  eight 
inches  in  every  mile ;  or,  in  more  minute 
parts,  may  be  taken  at  four  and  a  half  lines 
for  every  hundred  yards. 

The  usual  mode  of  taking  a  level  is  by 
means  of  a  painted  board,  about  a  foot 
square,  having  a  broad  white  stripe 
drawn  horizontally  across  its  centre. 
This  board  slides  up  and  down  a  long 


instrument  is  brought  to  the  exact  direc- 
tion in  which  the  pole  is  situated;  so  that 
the  latter  may  coincide,  or  as  it  is  techni- 
cally called,  *'  be  in  one"  with  that  basis 
which  is  vertical  within  the  tube.  The 
legs  on  which  the  level  is  supported,  (ge- 
nerally the  same  as  in  theodolites,  &c.) 
are  spread  so  as  to  be  firm ;  after  bringing 
the  compass  as  nearly  as  may  be  practi- 
cable to  a  level :  by  means  of  four  screws, 
which  serve  to  raise  the  different  sides  of 
the  plate  at  pleasure,  the  utmost  preci- 
sion is  attainable.  The  board  is  then 
moved  up  or  down  on  the  pole,  which  is 
marked  all  the  way  up  in  feet,  inches, 
halves,  and  quarters,  until  the  centre 
painted  line  "  is  in  one"  with  the  horizon- 
tal hair  within  the  telescope.  The  height 
of  the  telescope  above  the  surface  on 
which  it  stands  must  be  deducted  from 
the  number  of  feet  and  inches,  at  which 
the  line  on  the  board  stands  above  the 
spot  where  the  pole  is  fixed :  the  residue 
shows  how  much  that  is  below  the  place 
where  the  instrument  stands.  But  if  the 
height  of  the  line  on  the  board  be  less 
than  that  at  which  the  line  of  sight  in  the 
level  stands  from  the  ground,  then  the 


LEVEL. 


difference  between  those  two  heights 
will  exhibit  how  much  the  former  is  above 
the  latter. 

By  this  simple  mode  the  level  of  any 
intended  land,  Sec.  may  be  correctly  taken, 
observing  to  limit  the  sight  as  much  as 
possible :  indeed,  it  is  always  best  to  con- 
fine them  to  distances  not  exceeding 
three  hundred  yards ;  because  the  differ- 
ence between  the  rectilinear  and  the 
horizontal  levels  are  then  greatly  dimin- 
ished, and  the  whole  survey  will  prove 
far  more  correct.  This  will  be  easily 
seen  from  the  following  sketch.  (Plate 
VIII.  Miscellanies,  fig.  2).  Let  A  B  re- 
present a  sight  taken  at  2100  yards,  and 
let  A  C  be  an  equal  distance  measured  on 
the  surface  of  the  segment  A  D,  but  brok- 
en off  at  every  three  hundred  yards,  i.  e. 
into  seven  portions  :  it  must  be  obvious 
that  the  line  B  C  will  give  a  greater  length 
than  would  result  from  the  proportion  al- 
ready stated,  the  perpendicular  falling  so 
much  beyond  D ;  and  that  such  differ- 
ence would  increase  in  its  disproportions 
according  as  the  range  of  sight  might  be 
enlarged.  To  prove  this  still  more  clear- 
ly, let  us  state  that  the  quadrant  O  P 
(tig  3),  of  the  earth's  surface  stands  on  a 
radius  P  S  of  four  thousand  miles.  Now 
the  first  taken  from  the  summit  O  of  that 
quadrant  would  be  a  parallel  to  that  hori- 
zontal radius,  and  a  tangent  to  the  arc  at 
its  summit,  as  from  O  to  X.  It  is  evident 
that  if  a  sight  of  four  thousand  and  one 
miles  could  be  taken  in  the  direction  O 
X,  a  perpendicular  falling  from  X  would 
not  even  touch  the  point  P,  from  which  it 
would  be  a  mile  distant.  It  is  true,  that 
our  sights  are  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  foregoing  extents;  but  it  is  equally 
true,  that  we  verge  towards  the  error 
ibove  shown  when  we  take  too  long 
sights. 

Perhaps  nothing  can  be  more  decep- 
tive than  the  common  mode  of  estimating 
levels  :  more  than  once  we  have  witness- 
ed the  opinions  of  smatterers  in  this, 
branch  of  surveying,  who  have  levelled 
the  instrument  with  great  exactness,  and 
directed  the  telescope  to  a  very  distant 
hill,  on  seeing  the  point  of  intersection 
cut  near  its  summit,  have  concluded  the 
spot  so  indicated  to  be  on  a  level  with  that 
•where  the  instrument  stood.  This  mis- 
conception arises  purely  from  a  long  rec- 
tilinear sight,  without  considering  that 
the  base  of  a  remote  hill  is  a  plane,  whose 
surface  stands  at  a  very  great  angle  from 
that  on  which  the  level  is  placed;  as 
shown  by  the  dotted  lines  representing 
a  hill  R  intercepted  by  the  line  of  sight 


A  very  good  kind  of  level  is  made  on  a 
portable  plan,  by  several  mechanics  in 
this  branch.  It  consists  of  a  small  tube  of 
glass  let  into  a  plate  with  which  it  is  ex- 
actly parallel.  This  is  the  surface,  shew- 
ing the  bubble  in  the  tube,  as  before  de- 
scribed: the  under  part  of  the  box, 
which  may  be  about  eight  inches  long, 
two  broad,  and  two  deep,  has  a  spring 
and  screw  that  cause  the  box  to  change 
its  direction  from  either  above  or  below 
the  horizon,  to  an  exact  rectilinear  level, 
as  indicated  by  the  air  left  in  the  glass 
tube.  At  the  centre  of  the  bottom  of  the 
box  is  a  brass  stud,  serving  to  fix  into  a 
hole  made  in  the  top  of  a  walking-stick, 
Stc.  This  kind  of  level,  in  the  hands  of 
a  skilful  surveyor,  may  be  used  to  great 
advantage,  where  very  great  precision  is 
not  required ;  but  as  the  sight  is  taken 
only  from  the  upper  edges  of  the  box's 
ends,  it  does  not  admit  of  that  great  nicety 
which  is  indispensable  in  many  opera- 
tions, and  where  the  smallest  deviation 
from  a  true  level  might  occasion  immense 
expense  and  inconvenience. 

The  level  represented  in  Plate  Level, 
was  made  by  the  justly  celebrated  Jesse 
Ramsden,  F.  R.  S.  and  considered  by  him 
as  the  most  complete.  It  stands  on  three 
legs,  which  fold  up  into  the  size  and  ap- 
pearance of  a  moderately  thick  round 
staff;  three  sliding  rings,  or  leather  bands, 
suffice  to  keep  them  compact  and  firm. 
The  upper  parts  of  the  legs  fit  into  a 
brass  plate,  as  in  theodolites,  on  the  sur- 
face of  which  is  a  strong  male  screw, 
serving  to  fasten  the  working  part  of  the 
instrument  at  pleasure,  to  its  centre.  The 
female  screw  is  cut  withinside  a  projec- 
tion b  b  of  a  brass  plate  a  a  -.  this  projec- 
tion has  a  hole  through  its  top,  and  con- 
tains a  brass  ball  (f,  screwed  into  an- 
other similar  plate  e  e ;  by  which  means 
the  two  plates  are  connected  together, 
and  the  upper  one  can  be  turned  about  in 
any  direction,  while  the  lower  one  re- 
mains fixed.  Four  screws  n  passing 
through  the  lower  plate,  being  worked  in 
until  they  touch  the  bottom  of  the  upper 
plate,  serve  either  to  fix  the  latter  firmly ; 
or,  by  unthreading  one  or  two,  and  work- 
ing in  the  opposite  ones,  to  change  the 
inclination  of  the  upper  plate,  and  to 
bring  it  to  an  exact  level.  These  are 
called  the  parallel  plates,  though  they 
often  stand  at  an  angle,  the  one  with  the 
other,  when  the  direction  of  the  upper 
one  requires  changing  as  above  shown. 

The  ball  d  is  perforated  with  a  conical 
hole,  to  receive  an  axis  /,  that  is  screwed 
to  the  bottom  of  the  compass  box,  /,  on 
which  are  two  square  brass  arms  FC,  pro- 


LEVEL. 

j/ecting  from  it  diametrically  opposite  to  fast,  but  admits  of  a  slight  movement, 
each  other.  H  is  a  small  brass  angle,  or  either  way,  when  acted  upon  by  the  mill- 
frame,  called  a  Y,  screwed  to  the  end  of  headed  screw  m. 

the  arm  C  :  it  supports  in  its  forked  ter-  Our  readers  will  readily  perceive  the 
ruination  one  end  of  the  telescope  K,  of  simplicity  of  this  level,  beyond  any  others 
which  the  other  end  rests  in  a  Y,  (letter-  in  use  ;  and  will  lament  the  demise  of  a 
ed  N),  similar  to  II,  but  which  can  be  gentleman,  who,,  to  profound  theory, 
raised  or  lowered,  by  means  of  a  screw  .added  the -most  ingenious  and  skilful  prac- 
having  a  milled  head  ;  as  seen  at  ?/.  The  tice. 

spirit  level  L  is  fixed  to  the  telescope  by  Where  a  very  long  and  continued 
two  screws  at  its  ends,  whereby  it  can  be  range  of  brickwork  is  to  be  raised,  it  is 
brought  into  exact  adjustment  with  the  often  advisable  to  use  a  water  level,  made 
culmination  of  the  telescope.  by  laying  a  ridge  of  mortar  along  the 

The  level,  which  is  the  essential  part  centre  of  the  wall,  and  opening  a  very 
of  the  instrument,  has  been  already  de-  narrow  channel  throughout  its  centre 
scribed;  but  it  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  longitudinally,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of 
ends  of  the  tube  containing  the  alcohol,  trough;  let  the  ends  be  stopped,  and  the 
when  made  of  glass,  should  be  hermeti-  trough  be  filled  with  water,  as  far  as  it 
cally  sealed  at  its  ends,  which  should  then  will  flow.  The  surface  of  the  water  will 
be  cased  in  brass.  Mr.  Ram sden  prefer-  give  a  true  horizontal  level;  which,  if 
red  a  very  slight  convexity  in  the  tube  ;  continued  for  miles,  would  conform  ex- 
considering  it  best  adapted  for  shewing  actly  to  the  curvature  of  our  globe.  To 
the  most  trifling  deviation  from  a  perfect  continue  the  level  along  the  rest  of  the 
level,  and  causing  the  bubble  to  become  trough,  stop  it  at  the  place  where  the  wa- 
more  accurately  centrical.  With  respect  ter  reached,  and  raising  the  adjacent  part 
to  the  telescope,  it  is  similar  to  those  ge-  with  more  mortar,  let  the  trough  of  the  su- 
nerally  fitted  to  theodolites,  &c.  and  has  perior  level  be  filled,  and  thus  in  succes- 
been  described  in  the  preceding  part  of  sion.  The  difference  between  the  end 
this  article.  It  is  laid  on  in  the  two  Y  of  one  trough,  and  the  beginning  of  an- 
pieces,  and  kept  in  by  two  curved  pieces  other,  will  shew  the  respective  levels; 
of  brass.  In  figure  "h  is  the  achromatic  from  which  parallels  may  be  set  off  at  any 
object  glass,  fixed  within  the  end  of  a  height  above  by  plumb  lines  of  equal 
tube,  sliding  within  the  external  cylinder  length.  This  mode  is  often  practised  in 
of  the  telescope,  and  moved  very  gra-  large  works,  such  as  fortifications,  and 
dually  by  a  rack  and  pinion  on  the  mill-  when  strata  of  masonry  are  to  be  regu- 
headed  nut  i :  the  distance  of  the  glass  h  larly  disposed  ;  also  to  prevent  those  ir- 
from  the  eye-piece,  is  thereby  adjusted  regular  breaks,  and  partial  connexions, 
to  a  suitable  focus.  that  are  almost  inevitable  where  small  sal- 

The  eye-piece  K  contains  two  lenses,  lows,  or  triangular  levels,  with  plumb 
sliding  in  a  tube  fixed  to  the  telescope,  weights,  are  in  use. 

for  adjusting  them  to  a  distinct  vision  of  When  no  instrument  can  be  obtained, 
the  cross  wires,  or  hairs,  which  are  held  and  where  it  is  not  easy  to  draw  an  exact 
in  a  proper  state  of  tension  in  the  frame  level  by  the  foregoing  means,  take  the 
/,  and  regulated  to  the  axis,  or  line  of  hose  of  an  engine,  and  having  fixed  one 
sight,  by  four  minute  screws  passing  endat  the  spot  whose  level  is  to  be  sought, 
through  the  outside  of  the  telescope.  (on  any  opposite  bank,  for  instance,)  car- 

We  have  before  shown  how  the  four  ry  the  other  end  to  the  place  where  the 
screws  act  upon  the  two  parallel  plates,  corresponding  height  is  to  be  established, 
a  a  and  e  e,  while  the  axis  b  can  be  set  Fill  the  hose  with  water  until  it  ceases  to 
very  nearly  perpendicular;  then  by  the  require  raising  at  the  further  end.  When 
screw  y  the  telescope  can  be  set  very  both  ends  show  full  to  the  brim,  and  that 
nearly  level.  To  turn  the  telescope  about  the  water  is  retained  at  both,  then  they 
horizontally  upon  its  axis  /,  a  screw  m  are  on  the  same  level :  for  it  is  a  maxim 
works  in  a  fixed  collar  i> ;  its  nut  p  is  in  HYDROSTATICS  (which  see),  that  water, 
lastened  upon  an  arm  which  projects  or,  indeed,  any  fluid  heavier  than  atmos- 
from  a  clamp  g,  embracing  a  collar  upon  pheric  air,  will,  when  at  liberty,  always 
the  axis  /,  and  is  tightened  by  a  screw  r ;  find  its  own  level. 

which  being  unscrewed,  the  clamp  Where  a  succession  of  contiguous  le~ 
springs  open,  and  the  telescope,  together  vels  are  wanted,  it  will  often  be  found 
with  the  level,  moves  round  with  freedom  convenient  to  use  a  small  leaden  pipe,  of 
upon  the  axis  I,  according  to  the  pleasure  about  half  an  inch  bore,  which  should  be 
of  the  operator.  When  the  screw  7*  is  applied  as  above  described ;  or  even  a 
tightened,  the  clamp  holds  the  telescope  common  gutter,  made  of  two  pieces  of 


LEV 


LEV 


planks,  like  those  under  the  eaves  of 
houses,  may  be  made  to  answer  the  pur- 
pose, by  supporting1  either  end,  until  the 
water  may  come  to  a  level  in  every  part. 
Where  works  of  moderate  extent  are 
carried  on,  and  where  the  perfect  level 
of  each  stratum  of  materials  is  not  an  ob- 
ject of  importance,  the  common  brick- 
layer's level,  made  in  the  form  of  an  in- 
verted T,  thus  j,,  having  a  plumb  sus- 
pended from  the  top,  and  received  in  an 
opening-  at  the  junction  of  the  perpendi- 
cular with  the  horizontal  piece,  will  an- 
swer well  enough.  The  principle  on 
which  this  acts,  is,  that  as  all  weights 
have  a  tendency  to  gravitate  towards  the 
centre  of  the  earth,  so  as  the  plumb 
line  is  a  true  perpendicular,  any  line, 
cutting  that  at  right  angles,  must  be  a 
horizontal  line  at  the  point  of  intersec- 
tion. 

LEVEL,  artillery  foot,  is  in  form  of  a 
square,  having  its  two  legs  or  branches 
of  an  equal  length,  at  a  juncture  whereof 
is  a  little  hole,  whence  hangs  a  thread 
and  plummet,  playing  on  a  perpendicular 
line  in  the  middle  of  a  quadrant.  It  is  di- 
vided into  twice  forty-five  degrees  from 
the  middle. 

This  instrument  may  be  used  on  other 
occasions,  by  placing  the  ends  of  its  two 
branches  on  a  plane  ;  for  when  the 
thread  plays  perpendicularly  over  the 
middle  division  of  the  quadrant,  that  plane 
is  assuredly  level.  To  use  it  in  gunnery, 
place  the  two  ends  on  the  piece  of  ar- 
tillery, which  you  may  raise  to  any  pro- 
posed height,  by  means  of  the  plummet, 
whose  thread  will  give  the  degree  above 
the  levei. 

LEVEL,  cfl?'/'e?iter*s  and patioitr^s,  consists 
of  a  long  ruler,  in  the  middle  whereof  is 
fitted,  at  right  angles,  another  somewhat 
bigger,  at  the  top  of  which  is  fastened 
a  line,  which,  when  it  hangs  over  a 
fiducial  line  at  right  angles  with  the 
base,  shows  that  the  said  base  is  horizon- 
tal. Sometimes  this  level  is  all  of  one 
board. 

LEVEL,  gunner's,  for  levelling1  cannons 
and  mortars,  consists  of  a  triangular  brass 
plate,  about  four  inches  high,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  which  is  a  portion  of  a  circle,  di- 
vided into  forty-five  degrees,  which  num- 
ber is  sufficient  for  the  highest  elevation 
of  cannons  and  mortars,  and  for  giving 
shot  the  greatest  range  :  on  the  centre  of 
this  segment  of  a  circle  is  screwed  a  piece 
of  brass,  by  means  of  which  it  may  be 
fixed  or  screwed  at  pleasure ;  the  end  of 
this  piece  of  brass  is  made  so  as  to  serve 
for  a  plummet  and  index,  in  order  to 


fallow  the  different  degrees  of  elevation 
of  pieces  of  artillery.  This  instrument 
has  also  a  brass  foot,  to  set  upon  cannons 
or  mortars,  so  as  when  those  pieces  are 
horizontal,  the  instrument  will  be  perpen- 
dicular. The  foot  of  this  instrument  is 
to  be  placed  on  the  piece  to  be  elevated, 
in  such  a  manner  as  that  the  point  of  the 
plummet  may  fall  on  the  proper  de- 
gree :  this  is  what  they  call  levelling  the 
piece. 

LEVEL,  mason's,  is  composed  of  three 
rules,  so  joined  as  to  form  an  isosceles- 
triangle,  somewhat  like  a  Roman  A,  at 
the  vertex  whereof  is  fastened  a  thread, 
from  which  hangs  a  plummet,  that  passes 
over  a  fiducial  line,  marked  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  base,  when  the  thing,  to 
which  the  level  is  applied,  is  horizontal ; 
but  declines  from  the  mark,  when  the 
thing  is  lower  on  one  side  than  on  the 
other. 

LEVEL,  plumb  or  pendulum,  that  which 
shews  the  horizontal  line  by  means  of 
another  line  perpendicular  to  that  de- 
scribed by  a  plummet  or  pendulum. 
This  instrument  consists  of  two  legs  or 
branches,  joined  together  at  right  angles, 
whereof  that  which  carries  the  thread 
and  plummet  is  about  a  foot  and  a  half 
long  ;  the  thread  is  hung  towards  the  top 
of  the  branch.  The  middle  of  the  branch 
where  the  thread  passes  is  hollow,  so 
that  it  may  hang  free  every  where  :  but 
towards  the  bottom,  where  there  is  a  lit- 
tle blade  of  silver,  whereon  is  drawn  a 
line  perpendicular  to  the  telescope,  the 
said  cavity  is  covered  by  two  pieces  of 
brass,  making  as  it  were  a  kind  of  case, 
lest  the  wind  should  agitate  the  thread  ; 
for  which  reason  the  silver  blade  is  co- 
vered with  a  glass  to  the  end,  that  it  may 
be  seen  when  the  thread  and  plummet 
play  upon  the  perpendicular.  The  tele- 
scope is  fastened  to  the  other  branch  of 
the  instrument,  and  is  about  two  feet 
long ;  having  an  hair  placed  horizontally 
across  the  focus  of  the  object-glass,  which 
determines  the  point  of  the  level.  The 
telescope  must  be  fitted  at  right  angles 
to  the  perpendicular.  It  has  a  ball  and 
socket,  by  which  it  is  fastened  to  the 
foot. 

LEVELLING.     See  LEVEL. 

LEVELLING  staves,  instruments  used  in 
levelling,  serving  to  carry  the  marks  to 
be  observed,  <?.nd  at  Lhe  same  time  to  mea- 
sure the  heights  of  those  marks  from  the 
ground.  They  usually  consist  each  of 
two  long  wooden  rollers,  made  to  slide 
over  one  another,  and  divide  into  feet, 
inches,  &.c. 


LIB 


LIB 


LEVER,  in  mechanics,  an  inflexible 
right  line,  rod,  or  beam,  supported  in  a 
single  point  on  a  fulcrum  or  prop,  and 
used  for  the  raising  of  weights ;  being 
either  void  of  weight  itself,  or  at  least 
having  such  a  weight  as  may  be  commo- 
diously  counterbalanced. 

The  lever  is  the  first  of  those  called 
mechanical  powers,  or  simple  machines, 
as  being  of  all  others  the  most  simple; 
and  is  chiefly  applied  for  raising  weights 
to  small  heights.  See  MECHANICS. 

LEVISANUS,  in  botany,  so  called  from 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis,  a  genus  of  the  Pen- 
tandria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Es- 
sential character :  flowers  aggregate  ;  ca- 
lyx one-leafed, superior,  five-cleft;  corolla 
five  petalled,  superior ;  filaments  inserted 
into  the  base  of  the  perianth ;  styles  two, 
conjoined ;  berry  two  celled ;  seeds  five 
or  six,  compressed.  There  are  five  spe- 
cies, which  are  all  shrubs,  and  natives  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

LEYSERA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Syngenesia  Polygamia  Superflua  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Composite  Dis- 
coideae.  Corymbiferze,  Jussieu.  Essen- 
tial character :  calyx  scariose  ;  down  chaf- 
fy ;  in  the  disk  feathery  also  ;  receptacle 
subpaleaceous.  There  are  three  spe- 
cies. 

LEY,  or  lees,  a  term  usually  applied  to 
any  alkaline  solution,  made  by  levigating 
any  ashes  that  contain  an  alkali.  Soap- 
lees  is  an  alkali  used  by  soap-boilers,  or 
potash  or  soda  in  solution,  and  made  caus- 
tic by  lime.  Lees  of  wine  are  the  refuse, 
or  sediment,  that  deposits  from  wine  by 
standing  quiet. 

LEYDEN  phial,  in  electricity,  is  a  glass 
phial  or  jar,  coated  both  within  and  with- 
out with  tinfoil,  or  other  conducting  sub- 
stance, that  it  may  be  charged,  and  em- 
ployed in  a  variety  of  experiments.  Flat 
glass,  or  glass  of  any  shape,  may  be  used 
in  the  same  way. 

LIATRIS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Syngenesia  Polygamia  JBqualis  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Compositae  Ca- 
pitatse.  Cinarocephalae,  Jussieu.  Essen- 
tial character:  calyx  oblong,  imbricate, 
awnless,  coloured ;  down  feathered,  co- 
loured ;  receptacle  naked,  hollow,  dotted. 
There  are  eight  species. 

LIBELLULA,  in  natural  history,  dra- 
gon-fly, a  genus  of  insects  of  the  order 
Neuroptera.  Mouth  armed  with  jaws, 
more  than  two  in  number ;  lip  trifid ;  an- 
tennae very  thin,  filiform,  and  shorter 
than  the  thorax ;  wings  expanded ;  tail  of 
the  male  insect  furnished  with  a  forked 
process.  There  are  about  sixty  species, 


divided  into  two  families.  A.  wings  ex- 
panded  when  at  rest.  B.  wings  erect 
when  at  rest ;  eyes  distinct ;  outer  divi- 
sions of  the  lip  bifid.  The  whole  tribe  of 
the  libellula  are  remarkable  for  being  ra- 
venous :  they  are  usually  to  be  seen  ho- 
vering  over  stagnant  waters,  and  may,  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  be  observed  fly- 
ing with  great  rapidity  in  pursuit  of  the 
smaller  insects.  These  brilliant  and  beau- 
tiful animals  were  once,  and  for  a  consi- 
derable time,  inhabitants  of  the  water:  in 
that  state,  as  larva,  they  are  six-footed,, 
active,  and  furnished  with  an  articulate 
forcipated  mouth.  They  prey  upon  aqua- 
tic insects,  and  the  larva  of  others :  the 
pupa  resembles  the  larva,  but  has  the  ru- 
diments of  wings.  The  most  remarkable 
of  the  English  species  is  the  L.  varia,  or 
great  variegated  libellula,  which  makes  its 
appearance  towards  the  decline  of  sum- 
mer, and  is  an  animal  of  singular  beauty. 
Its  length  is  about  three  inches  ;  and  the 
wings,  when  expanded,  measure  nearly 
four  inches  from  tip  to  tip.  The  female 
libellula  drops  her  eggs  in  the  water, 
which,  on  account  of  their  specific  gra- 
vity, sink  to  the  bottom  :  after  a  certain 
period  they  are  hatched  into  larvae,  hav- 
ing a  singular  and  disagreeable  aspect : 
they  cast  their  skins  several  times  before 
they  arrive  at  their  full  size,  and  are  of  a 
dusky  brown  colour :  the  rudiments  of 
the  future  wings  appear  on  the  back  of 
such  as  are  advanced  to  the  pupa  state  in 
the  form  of  oblong  scales,  and  the  head 
is  armed  with  a  singular  organ  for  seizing 
its  prey.  They  continue  in  the  larva 
and  pupa  state  two  years ;  when,  having 
attained  to  their  full  size,  they  prepare 
for  their  ultimate  change,  and  creeping 
up  the  stem  of  some  water  plant,  and 
grasping  it  with  their  feet,  they  make  an 
effort,  by  which  the  skin  of  the  back  and 
head  is  forced  open,  and  the  enclosed 
libellula  gradually  emerges.  This  process 
takes  place  in  a  morning,  and  during  a 
bright  sunshine.  The  remainder  of  the 
animal's  life  is  short,  the  frosts  of  autumn 
destroying  them  all.  "  It  is  impossible," 
says  Dr.  Shaw,  "  not  to  be  struck  with 
admiration  on  contemplating  the  changes 
of  the  libellula,  which,  while  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  water,  would  perish  by  any 
long  exposure  to  the  air,  while  the  com- 
plete animal,  once  escaped  from  the  pu~ 
pa,  would  as  effectually  be  destroyed  by 
submersion  under  water,  of  which  not  an 
hour  before  it  was  the  legitimate  inhabi- 
tant." In  this,  and  other  species  of  the 
libellula  tribe,  the  structure  of  the  eye  is 
deserving1  of  notice  A  common  magni- 


LIBELLUS  FAMOSUS. 


fier,  of  an  inch  focus,  shows,  that  the  cor- 
jiea  is  marked  by  u  prodigious  number  of 
minute  decussating1  lines,  giving  a  kind 
of  granular  appearance  to  the  whole  con- 
vexity ;  but  with  a  microscope  it  exhi- 
bits a  continued  surface  of  convex  hexa- 
gons. According  to  Lewenhoek  there  are 
12,544  lenses  in  each  eye  of  this  animal. 
See  Shaw's  Zoology,  vol.  vi. 

LIBELLUS  famdsus.  A  contumely  or 
reproach,  published  to  the  defamation  of 
the  government,  of  a  magistrate,  or  of  a 
private  person.  It  is  also  defined  to  be  a 
malicious  defamation,  expressed  either  in 
printing-  or  writing,  or  by  signs,  pictures, 
&c.  tending  either  to  blacken  the  memo- 
ry of  one  who  is  dead,  or  the  reputation 
of  one  who  is  alive,  and  thereby  expos- 
ing him  to  public  hatred,  contempt,  and 
ridicule. 

Libels,  says  Blackstone,  taken  in  their 
largest  and  most  extensive  sense,  signify 
any  writings,  pictures,  or  the  like,  of  an 
immoral  or  illegal  tendency.  This  spe- 
cies of  defamation  is  usually  termed  writ- 
ten scandal,  and  thereby  receives  an  ag- 
gravation, in  that  it  is  presumed  to  have 
been  entered  upon  with  coolness  and  de- 
liberation ;  and  to  continue  longer,  and 
propagate  wider  and  further  than  any 
other  scandal. 

The  important  distinction  between  li- 
bels and  words  spoken,  was  fully  esta- 
blished in  the  case  of  Villers  v.  Mousley, 
(2  Wils.  403.)  viz.  that  whatever  renders 
u  man  ridiculous,  or  lowers  him  in  the  es- 
teem and  opinion  of  the  world,  amounts 
to  a  libel ;  though  the  same  expressions, 
if  spoken,  would  not  have  been  defama- 
tion :  as,  to  call  a  person,  in  writing,  an 
itchy  old  toad,  was  held  in  that  case  to  be 
a  libel;  although,  as  words  spoken,  they 
would  not  have  been  actionable.  And  on 
this  ground,  a  young  lady  of  quality,  in 
the  year  1793,  recov  ered  4,000/.  damages 
for  reflections  upon  her  chastity,  publish- 
ed in  a  newspaper,  although  she  could 
have  brought  no  action  for  the  grossest 
verbal  aspersions  that  could  have  been 
uttered  against  her  honour.  An  action 
for  a  libel  also  differs  from  an  action  for 
words  in  this  particular ;  that  the  former 
may  be  brought  at  any  time  within  six 
years,  and  any  damages  will  entitle  the 
plaintiff  to  full  costs.  To  print  of  any 
person  that  he  is  a  swindler,  is  a  libel, 
and  actionable. 

All  libels  are  made  against  private  men, 
or  magistrates,  and  public  persons;  and 
those  against  magistrates  deserve  the 
greatest  punishment :  if  a  libel  be  made 
against  a  private  man,  it  may  excite  the 
person  libelled,  or  his  friends,  to  revenge 


and  to  break  the  peace  ;  and  if  against  a 
magistrate,  it  is  not  only  a  breach  of  the 
peace,  but  a  scandal  to  government,  and 
stirs  up  sedition. 

Where  a  writing-  inveighs  against  man- 
kind in  general,  or  against  a  particular 
order  of  men,  this  is  no  libel ;  it  must  de- 
scend to  particulars  and  individuals,  to 
make  it  a  libel.  But  a  general  reflection 
on  the  government  is  a  libel,  though  no 
particular  person  is  reflected  on :  and  the 
writing  against  a  known  law  is  held  to  be 
criminal. 

Though  a  private  person  or  magistrate 
be  dead  at  the  time  of  making  the  libel, 
yet  it  is  punishable,  as  it  tends  to  a  breach 
of  the  peace.  But  an  indictment  for  pub- 
lishing libellous  matter  reflecting  on  the 
the  memory  of  a  dead  person,  not  alleg- 
ing that  it  was  done  with  a  design  to  bring 
contempt  on  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
and  to  stir  up  the  hatred  of  the  King's 
subjects  against  them,  and  to  excite  his 
relations  to  a  breach  of  the  peace,  cannot 
be  supported;  and  judgment  was  in  this 
case  accordingly  arrested. 

Scandalous  matter,  in  legal  proceed- 
ings, by  bill,  petition,  &c.  in  a  court  of 
justice,  amounts  not  to  a  libel,  if  the  court 
hath  jurisdiction  of  the  cause.  But  he 
who  delivers  a  paper  full  of  reflections 
on  any  person,  in  nature  of  a  petition  to  a 
committee,to  any  other  persons  except  the 
members  of  parliament  who  have  to  do 
with  it,  may  be  punished  as  the  publisher 
of  a  libel.  And  by  the  better  opinion,  a 
person  cannot  justify  the  printing  any 
papers  which  import  a  crime  in  another, 
to  instruct  counsel,  See.  but  it  will  be  a 
libel.  2.  The  communication  of  a  libel  to 
any  one  person,  is  a  publication  in  the 
eye  of  the  law ;  therefore  the  sending1 
an  abusive  private  letter  to  a  man,  is 
as  much  a  libel  as  if  it  were  openly  print- 
ed ;  for  it  equally  tends  to  a  breach  of  the 
peace. 

In  the  making  of  libels,  if  one  man  dic- 
tates, and  another  writes  a  libel,  both  are 
guilty :  for  the  writing  after  another 
shows  his  approbation  of  what  is  contain- 
ed in  the  libel ;  and  the  first  reducing  a 
libel  into  writing  may  be  said  to  be  the 
making  it,  but  not  the  composing.  If  one 
repeats,  another  writes,  and  a  third  ap- 
proves what  is  written,  they  are  all  mak- 
ers of  the  libel;  because  all  persons  who 
concur  to  an  unlawful  act  are  guilty. 

If  one  writes  a  copy  of  a  libel  and  does 
not  deliver  it  to  others,  the  writing  is  no 
publication:  but  it  has  been  adjudged 
that  the  copying  of  a  libel,  without  au- 
thority, is  writing  a  libel,  and  he  that  thus 
writes  it  is  a  contriver ;  and  that  he  who 


LIBELLUS  FAMOSUS. 


bath  a  written  copy  of  a  known  libel,  if 
it  is  found  upon  him,  this  shall  be  evi- 
dence of  the  publication  ;  but  if  such  libel 
be  not  publicly  known,  then  the  mere 
having1  a  copy  is  not  a  publication. 

When  any  man  finds  a  libel,  if  it  be 
against  a  private  person,  he  ought  to  burn 
it,  or  deliver  it  to  a  magistrate ;  and  where 
it  concerns  a  magistrate,  he  should  deliver 
it  presently  to  a  magistrate. 

The  sale  of  the  libel  by  a  servant  in  a 
shop,  is  prima  facie  evidence  of  publica- 
tion, in  a  prosecution  against  the  master ; 
and  is  sufficient  for  conviction,  unless 
contradicted  by  contrary  evidence,  shew- 
ing that  he  was  not  privy,  nor  in  any  way 
assenting  to  it. 

It  is  immaterial,  on  a  criminal  prose- 
cution with  respect  to  the  essence  of  a 
libel,  whether  the  matter  of  it  be  true  or 
false ;  because  it  equally  tends  to  a  breach 
of  the  peace ;  and  the  provocation,  not 
the  falsity,  is  the  thing  to  be  punished 
criminally;  though,  doubtless,  the  false- 
hood of  it  may  aggravate  its  guilt  and  en- 
hance its  punishment.  In  a  civil  action, 
a  libel  must  appear  to  be  false  as  well  as 
scandalous :  for  if  the  charge  be  true,  the 
plaintiff  has  received  no  private  injury, 
and  has  no  ground  to  demand  for  a  com- 
pensation himself,  whatever  offence  it 
may  be  against  the  public  peace ;  and, 
therefore,  upon  a  civil  action,  the  truth 
of  the  accusation  may  be  pleaded  in  bar 
of  the  suit.  But  in  a  criminal  prosecu- 
tion, the  tendency  which  all  libels  have 
to  create  animosities,  and  to  disturb  the 
public  peace,  is  the  whole  that  the  law 
considers.  And,  therefore,  in  such  pro- 
secutions, the  only  points  to  be  enquired 
into  are,  first,  the  making  or  publishing 
of  a  book  or  writing ;  and,  secondly, 
whether  the  matter  be  criminal ;  and  if 
both  these  points  are  against  the  defend- 
ant, the  offence  against  the  public  is  com- 
plete. 

It  is  not  competent  to  a  defendant 
charged  with  having  published  a  libel,  to 
prove  that  a  paper,  similar  to  that  for  the 
publication  of  which  he  is  prosecuted,  was 
published  on  a  former  occasion  by  other 
persons  who  have  never  been  prosecuted 
for  it. 

The  punishment  of  libellers  for  either 
making,  repeating,  printing,  or  publish- 
ing the  libel,  is  fine,  and  such  corporal 
punishment  (as  imprisonment,  pillory, 
&c.^)  as  the  court  in  its  discretion  shall 
inflict;  regarding  the  quantity  of  the  of- 
fence, and  the  quality  of  the  offender. 
Also,  if  booksellers,  &.c.  publish  or  sell 
libels,  though  they  know  not  the  contents 
of  them,  they  are  punishable. 
VOL.  IV." 


It  has  been  held  that  writing  a  sedi- 
tious libel  is  not  an  actual  breach  of 
the  peace:  and  that  a  member  of  par- 
liament writing  such  a  libel  is  entitled  to 
his  privilege  from  being  arrested  for  the 
same. 

In  informations,  the  libel  must  be  set 
out  correctly,  according  to  the  words  or 
the  material  sense. 

It  has  been  frequently  determined, 
that  in  the  trial  of  an  indictment  for  a 
libel,  the  only  questions  for  the  consider- 
ation of  the  jury  are,  the  fact  of  publish- 
ing, and  the  truth  of  the  innuendoes ;  that 
is,  the  truth  of  the  meaning,  and  sense  of 
the  passages  of  the  libel,  as  stated  and 
averred  in  the  record;  whether  the  mat- 
ter be  or  be  not  a  libel,  is  a  question  of 
law  for  the  consideration  of  the  court. 
But  the  statute  32  Geo.  III.  c.  60,  after 
reciting  that  "doubts  had  arisen  whether 
on  the  trial  of  an  indictment  or  informa- 
tion for  the  making  or  publishing  any  li- 
bel, where  an  issue  or  issues  are  joined 
between  the  King  and  the  defendant  on 
the  plea  of  not  guilty  pleaded,  it  be  com- 
petent to  the  jury,  impannelled  to  try 
the  same,  to  give  their  verdict  upon  the 
whole  matter  in  issue,"  enacts,  that  "  on 
every  such  trial,  the  jury,  sworn  to  try 
the  issue,  may  give  a  general  verdict  of 
guilty  or  not  guilty,  upon  the  whole  mat- 
ter put  in  issue,  upon  such  indictment 
or  information  ;  and  shall  not  be  requir- 
ed or  directed  by  the  court  or  judge, 
before  whom  the  indictment,  &c.  shall 
be  tried,  to  find  the  defendant  guilty, 
merely  on  the  proof  of  the  publication 
by  such  defendant,  of  the  paper  charg- 
ed to  be  a  libel,  and  of  the  sense  ascribed 
to  the  same  in  such  indictment."  But  it 
is  provided  by  the  said  statute,  that  the 
court  or  judge  shall,  according  to  their 
discretion,  give  their  opinion  and  direc- 
tions to  the  jury  on  the  matter  in  issue, 
as  in  other  criminal  cases,  that  the  jury 
may  also  find  a  special  verdict ;  and  that, 
in  case  the  jury  shall  find  the  defendant 
guilty,  he  may  move  in  arrest  of  judg- 
ment, as  by  law  he  might  have  done  be- 
fore the  passing  of  the  act. 

It  has,  in  the  case  of  the  King  v.  Lord 
George  Gordon ;  and  the  King  v.  Peltier, 
been  held,  that  a  writing  tending  to  de- 
fame the  Sovereign  of  a  foreign  country, 
is  a  libel  punishable  in  England.  The  law 
was  not  questioned  in  the  first  case;  in 
the  second  the  punishment  was  not  en- 
forced. We  think  there  are  many  serious 
arguments  against  the  doctrine. 

In  the  case  of  Gilbert  Wakefield,  and 
of  Hart  and  White,  recently,  although 
fho  offences  wove  committed,  and  the 

0 


Llli 


LIB 


trials  hud  in  Westminster  and  London, 
the  defendants  were  committed  to  Dor- 
chesier  and  Gloucester  gaols,  to  render 
their  confinement  the  more  irksome  and 
severe. 

\\  c  have  thus  briefly  endeavoured  to 
select  the  principal  authorities  under  the 
law  of  England,  with  respect,  to  libels, 
and  we  are  free  to  confess,  that  unless  ju- 
ries boldly  assert  the  right  of  judging  ac- 
cording to  the  general  intention  and  ho- 
nest view  of  the  writer,  rather  than  upon 
casual  expressions,  and  the  subtle  innuen- 
does of  an  information,  there  will  be 
found  little  actual  liberty  of  the  press,  ex- 
cepting what  is  allowed  by  the  lenity  of 
an  attorney  general. 

For  the  law  is  strictly,  that  any  thing 
which  affects  the  character  of  an  indivi- 
dual, or  reflects  on  the  government,  is  a 
libel ;  and  with  such  a  restraint  we  hold 
the  right  of  free  discussion  upon  a  frail 
tenure.  The  absolute  freedom  of  the 
press  can,  we  think,  never  be  fully  ob- 
tained while  truth  continues  to  be  a  libel; 
and  it  is  remarkable,  that  in  former  times, 
libels  were  charged  as  false,  scandalous, 
and  malicious  writings ;  in  the  time  of 
Lord  Coke,  the  doctrine  was  laid  down, 
that  the  falsehood  of  a  libel  was  immate- 
rial ;  and  very  recently,  the  word  "  false," 
has  been  omitted  in  the  informations  filed 
by  the  present  Attorney  General,  Sir  Vi- 
cary  Gibbs. 

We  admit  that  the  point,  how  far  the 
press  shall  be  uncontrolled,  is  a  nice 
question  in  politics ;  but  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  press,  that  is,  the 
right  of  public  complaint,  and  of  expos- 
ing public  delinquents  to  public  odium,  is 
the  people's  cheapest  and  best  defence, 
and  the  oppressors'  greatest  awe.  Were 
that  right  uncontrolled,  no  wicked  go- 
vernment could  last  long;  and  as  the 
press  is  open  to  all,  perhaps  no  just  and 
good  government  could  long  continue  to 
be  misrepresented  before  an  enlightened 
and  just  thinking  people.  In  England,  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  that  the  practical 
liberty  of  the  press  has  been  greater 
than  in  any  country  in  the  world ;  but  we 
attribute  this  more  to  the  character  of 
the  government  and  the  people,  than  to 
the  law,  which,  if  rigidly  exercised,  would 
be  severe.  We  have,  it  is  true,  not  had 
very  frequently  informations  for  libels  at 
the  suit  of  government,  butwe  have  never 
known  them  fail  to  convict,  except  in  the 
case  of  Mr.  Reeves,  for  a  libel  on  the 
House  of  Commons,  which  was  prosecut- 
ed by  the  popular  party. 

We  shall  observe,  that  the  law  of  libels 
is  plainly  derived  to  us  from  the  imperial 


constitutions  of  Rome  under  the  Con- 
stantines,  not  from  the  laws  of  republican 
Rome,  and  that  it  came  recommended  to 
us  from  the  Star  Chamber  by  Lord  Coke. 
We  have  not  here  sufficient  space  to  in- 
vestigate, as  a  political  question,  what 
ought  to  be  the  law  of  Jibels  ;  and  we 
must  acknowledge,  that  many  objections 
may  occur  to  admitting  truth  to  be  a  jus- 
tification of  a  writing,  when  it  is  aimed 
at  government,  and  there  is  great  diffi- 
culty in  verifying  charges  of  misconduct, 
even  when  they  are  confined  to  particular 
instances.  It  is  only  by  long  reflection, 
and  an  ardent  desire  for  the  utmost  liber- 
ty that  is  consistent  with  good  govern- 
ment, that  we  are  led  to  wish  that  the 
press  should  be  uncontrolled. 

Libel,  in  the  spiritual  court,  the  origi- 
nal declaration  of  any  action  in  the  civil 
law.  See  statute  2  Edward  VI.  c.  13. 

The  libel  used  in  ecclesiastical  pro- 
ceedings consists  of  three  parts :  1.  The 
major  proposition,  which  shows  a  just 
cause  of  the  petition.  2.  The  narration, 
or  minor  proposition.  3.  The  conclusion, 
or  conclusive  petition,  which  conjoins 
both  propositions,  &c. 

LIBERTY,  in  its  most  general  signifi- 
cation, is  said  to  be  a  power  to  do  as  one 
thinks  fit ;  unless  restrained  by  the  law 
of  the  land  :  and  it  is  well  observed,  that 
human  nature  is  ever  an  advocate  for  this 
liberty ;  it  being  the  gift  of  God  to  man 
in  his  creation.  It  is  upon  that  account 
the  laws  of  England  in  all  cases  favour  li- 
berty. According  to  Montesquieu,  liber- 
ty consists  principally  in  not  being  com- 
pelled to  do  any  thing  which  the  lavr 
does  not  require  ;  because  we  are  go- 
verned by  civil  laws,  and  therefore  we 
are  free,  living  under  those  laws. 

The  absolute  rights  of  man,  considered 
as  a  free  agent,  endowed  with  discern- 
ment to  know  good  from  evil,  and  with 
power  of  choosing  those  measures  which 
appear  to  him  to  be  most  desirable,  are 
usually  summed  up  in  one  general  ap- 
pellation, and  denominated  the  natural  li- 
berty of  mankind.  This  natural  liberty 
consists  properly  in  a  power  of  acting  as 
one  thinks  fit,  without  any  restraint  or 
control,  unless  by  the  law  of  nature  ;  be- 
ing a  right  inherent  in  us  by  birth,  and 
one  of  the  gifts  of  God  to  man  at  his  cre- 
ation, when  he  endowed  him  with  the  fa- 
culty of  free  will. 

But  every  man,  when  he  enters  into  so- 
ciety, gives  up  a  part  of  his  natural  liber- 
ty, as  the  price  of  so  valuable  a  purchase; 
and  in  consideration  of  receiving  the  ad- 
vantages of  mutual  commerce,  obliges 
himself  to  conform  to  those  laws  which 


LIBERTY. 


the  community  has  thought  proper  to 
establish.  This  species  of  legal  obedience 
is  infinitely  more  desirable  than  that  wild 
and  savage  liberty,  which  is  sacrificed  to 
obtain  it.  For  no  man,  who  considers  a 
moment,  would  wish  to  retain  the  abso- 
lute and  uncontrolled  power  of  doing 
whatever  he  pleases ;  the  consequence  of 
which  is,  that  every  other  man  would  also 
have  the  same  power;  and  then  there 
would  be  no  security  to  individuals  in  any 
of  the  enjoyments  of  life. 

Political  or  civil  liberty,  therefore, 
which  is  that  of  a  member  of  society,  is 
no  other  than  natural  liberty,  so  far  re- 
strained by  human  laws,  and  no  further, 
as  is  necessary  and  expedient  for  the  ge- 
neral advantage  of  the  public. 

Hence  we  may  collect  that  the  law, 
which  restrains  a  man  from  doing  mis- 
chief to  his  fellow-citizens,  though  it  di- 
minishes the  natural,  increases  the  civil 
liberty  of  mankind  :  but  that  every  wan- 
ton and  causeless  restraint  of  the  will  of 
the  subject,  whether  practised  by  a  mo- 
narch, by  nobility,  or  a  popular  assembly, 
is  a  degree  of  tyranny ;  nay,  that  even 
laws  themselves,  whether  made  with  or 
without  our  consent,  if  they  regulate  and 
constrain  our  conduct  in  matters  of  mere 
indifference,  without  any  good  end  in 
view,  are  regulations  destructive  of  liber- 
ty ;  whereas,  if  any  public  advantage  can 
arise  from  observing  such  precepts,  the 
control  of  our  private  inclinations,  in  one 
or  two  particular  points,  will  conduce  to 
preserve  our  general  freedom  in  others 
of  more  importance,  by  supporting  that 
state  of  society  which  alone  can  secure 
our  independence.  So  that  laws,  when 
prudently  framed,  are  by  no  means  sub- 
versive, but  rather  introductive  of  liber- 
ty ;  for  where  there  is  no  law,  there  is  no 
freedom. 

But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  that  con- 
stitution, or  form  of  government,  is  alone 
calculated  to  maintain  civil  liberty,  which 
leaves  the  subject  entire  master  of  his 
own  conduct,  except  in  those  points 
wherein  the  public  good  requires  some 
direction  or  restraint. 

The  above  definition  of  the  learned 
commentator  is  admitted  by  his  last  editor 
to  be  clear,  distinct,  and  rational,  as  far 
as  relates  to  civil  liberty  ;  in  the  defini- 
tion of  which,  however,  he  adds,  it  ought 
to  be  understood,  or  rather  expressed, 
that  the  restraints  introduced  by  the  law 
should  be  equal  to  all ;  in  as  much  so  as 
the  nature  of  things  will  admit. 

Political  liberty  is  distinguished  by  Mr. 
Christian  from  civil  liberty,  and  he  defines 
it  to  be  the  security  with  which,  from  the 


constitution,  form,  and  nature  of  the  esta- 
blished government,  the  subjects  enjoy 
civil  liberty.  No  ideas,  continues  he,  are 
more  distinct  than  those  of  civil  and  po- 
litical liberty;  yet  they  are  generally 
confounded ;  and  the  latter  cannot  yet 
claim  an  appropriate  name.  The  learned 
judge  (Blackstone)  uses  political  and  ci- 
vil liberty  indiscriminately ;  but  it  would 
perhaps  be  convenient  uniformly  to  use 
those  terms  in  the  respective  senses  here 
suggested,  or  to  have  some  fixed  speciiic 
denominations  for  ideas,  which,  in  their 
natures,  are  so  widely  different.  The  last 
species  of  liberty  has  most  engaged  the. 
attention  of  mankind,  and  particularly  of 
the  people  of  England. 

The  people  of  England  have  a  firm  re- 
liance that  this  civil  liberty  is  secured  to 
them  under  the  constitution  of  the  go- 
vernment. 

First.  By  the  great  charter  of  liberties, 
which  was  obtained,  sword  in  hand,  from 
King  John  ;  and  afterwards,  with  some  al- 
terations, confirmed  in  parliament  by 
King  Henry  III.  his  son ;  which  charter 
contained  very  few  new  grants ;  but,  as 
Sir  Edward  Coke  observes,  was  for  the 
most  part  declaratory  of  the  principal 
grounds  of  the  fundamental  laws  of  Eng- 
land. Afterwards,  by  the  statute  called 
Conjirmatio  Cartarum,  25  Edward  T. 
whereby  the  great  charter  is  directed  to 
be  allowed  as  the  common  law  :  all  judg- 
ments contrary  to  it  are  declared  Void ; 
copies  of  it  are  ordered  to  be  sent  to  all 
the  cathedral  churches,  and  read  twice  a 
year  to  the  people  ;  and  sentence  of  ex- 
communication is  directed  to  be  as  con- 
stantly denounced  against  all  those  who, 
by  word,  deed,  or  counsel,  act  contrary 
thereto,  or  in  any  degree  infringe  it. 
Next,  by  a  multitude  of  subsequent  cor- 
roborating statutes  from  Edward  I.  to 
Henry  IV. ;  of  which  the  following  are 
the  most  forcible. 

Statute  25  Edward  III.  statute  5,  c.  4. 
None  shall  be  taken  by  petition  or  sug- 
gestion made  to  the  King  or  his  council, 
unless  it  be  by  indictment  of  lawful  peo- 
ple of  the  neighbourhood,  or  by  process 
made  by  writ  original  at  the  common  law. 
And  none  shall  be  put  out  of  his  fran- 
chises or  freehold,  unless  he  be  duly 
brought  to  answer,  and  fore-judged  by 
course  of  law  ;  and  if  any  thing  be  done 
to  the  contrary,  it  shall  be  redressed  and 
holden  for  none. 

Statute  42  Edward  III.  c.  3.  No  man 
shall  be  put  to  answer  without  present- 
ment before  justices,  or  matter  of  record 
of  due  process,  or  writ  original,  accord- 
ing to  the  ancient  law  of  the  land.  And 


LIBERTY. 


if  any  thing  be  done  to  the  contrary,  it 
shall  be  void  in  law,  and  held  for  error. 
After  a  long  interval  these  liberties  were 
still  further  confirmed  by  the  petition  of 
right ;  which  was  a  parliamentary  de- 
clara  ion  of  the  liberties  of  the  people, 
assented  to  by  King-  Charles  I.  in  the  be- 
ginning1 of  his  reign.  This  was  closely 
followed  by  the  still  more  ample  conces- 
sions made  by  that  unhappy  Prince  to  his 
parliament;  (particularly  the  dissolution 
of  the  Star  Chamber,  by  statute  16  Charles 
I.  c.  10)  ;  before  the  fatal  rupture  between 
them;  and  by  the  many  salutary  laws, 
particularly  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  pass- 
ed under  King  Charles  II. 

To  tlu-se  succeeded  the  Bill  of  Rights, 
or  declaration  delivered  by  the  Lords  and 
Commons  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Orange,  February  13,  1688;  and  after- 
wards i  Carted  in  parliament,  when  they 
became  King  and  Queen ;  which,  as 
peculiarly  interesting,  is  here  inserted  at 
length. 

Statute  1  William  and  Mary,  statute  2, 
c.  2,  $  1.  Whereas  the  Lords  Spiritual 
and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  assembled 
at  We-stminster,  representing  all  the 
estates  of  the  people  of  this  realm,  did, 
upon  the  13th  of  February  1683,  present 
unto  their  Majesties,  then  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Orange,  a  declaration,  con- 
taining, that  the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and 
Temporal,  and  Commons,  being  assem- 
bled in  2  full  and  free  representative  of  this 
nation,  for  the  vindicating  their  ancient 
rights  and  liberties,  declare,  that-  the 
pretended  power  of  suspending  of  laws, 
or  the  execution  of  laws,  by  legal  au- 
thority, without  consent  of  parliament, 
is  illegal ;  that  the  pretended  power  of 
dispensing  with  laws,  or  the  execution  of 
laws,  by  rc-gal  authority,  as  it  hath  been 
assumed  and  eNtrcised  of  late,  is  illegal  ; 
that  the  commission  for  erecting  the^late 
court  of  commissioners  lor  ecclesiastical 
causes,  and  all  other  commissions  and 
coiii-'s  of  like  nature,  are  illegal  and  per- 
nicious. 

That  levying  money  for,  or  to  the  use 
of  the  crown,  by  pretence  of  prerogative, 
without  grant  of  parliament,  for  'longer 
time,  or  in  other  manner  than  the  same  is 
or  shall  be  granted,  is  illegal ;  that  it  is 
the  right  of  the  subjects  to  petition  the 
Kin;;,  and  all  commitments  and  prosecu- 
•r  such  petitioning,  are  illegal  ;  that 
the  raising  or  keeping  a  standing  army 
within  the  kingdom  in  '.ime  of  peace,  un- 
less it  be  with  consent  of  parliament, 'is 
against  law ;  that  the  subjects  which  are 
protestunts  may  have  arm's  for  their  de- 


fence, suitable  to  their  conditions,  and  as 
allowed  bylaw;  that  election  of  members 
of  parliament  ought  to  be  free;  that  the 
freedom  of  speech,  and  debates  or  pro- 
ceedings in  parliament  ought  not  to  be 
impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court  or 
place  out  of  parliament;  that  excessive 
bail  ought  not  to  be  required,  nor  exces- 
sive fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual 
punishments  inflicted;  that  jurors  ought 
to  be  duly  impaimelled  and  returned,  and 
jurors  which  pass  upon  men  in  trials  for 
high  treason,  ought  to  be  freeholders; 
that  all  grants  and  promises  of  fines  and 
forfeitures  of  particular  persons  before 
conviction,  are  illegal  and  void  ;  and  for 
redress  of  all  grievances,  and  lor  the 
amending,  strengthening,  and  preserving1 
of  the  laws,  parliaments  ought  to  be  held 
frequently ;  and  they  do  claim,  demand, 
and  insist  upon  all  and  singular  the 
premises,  as  their  undoubted  rights  and 
liberties  ;  and  that  no  declarations,  judg- 
ments, doings,  or  proceedings,  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  people  in  any  of  the  said 
premises,  ought  in  anywise  to  be  drawn 
hereafter  into  consequence  or  example ; 
Sect.  6.  All  and  singular  the  rights  and 
liberties  asserted  and  claimed  in  the  said 
declaration  are  the  true,  ancient,  and  in- 
dubitable rights  and  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  kingdom,  and  so  shall  bees- 
teemed,  allowed,  adjudged,  and  taken  to 
be  ;  and  all  the  particulars  aforesaid  shall 
be  firmly  holden  as  they  are  expressed  in 
the  said  declaration  ;  and  all  officers  shall 
serve  their  majesties  according  to  the 
same  in  all  times  to  come.  Sect.  12.  No 
dispensation  by  non  obstante  of  any  statute 
shall  be  allowed,  except  a  dispensation  be 
allowed  of  in  such  statute ;  and  except  in 
such  cases  as  shall  be  especially  provided 
for  during  session  of  parliament.  Sect. 
13.  No  charter  granted  before  the  23d  of 
October  1689,  shall  be  invalidated  by  this 
act,  but  shall  remain  of  the  same  force  as 
if  this  act  had  never  been  made.  Lastly, 
these  liberties  were  again  asserted  at  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century,  in 
the  Act  of  Settlement,  statute  12  and  13 
William  III.  c.  2,  whereby  the  crown  was 
limited  to  his  present  Majesty's  illustrious 
house  ;  and  some  new  provisions  were 
added  at  the  same  fortunate  asra,  for  bet- 
ter securing  our  religion,  laws,  and  liber- 
ties, which  the  statute  declares  to  be 
"the  birthright  of  the  people  of  England;" 
according  to  the  ancient  doctrine  of  the 
common  law. 

Thus  much  for  the  declaration  of  our 
rights  and  liberties.  The  rights  themselves, 
thus  defined  by  these  several  statutes, 


LIBERTY. 


consist  in  a  number  of  private  immuni- 
ties, which  will  appear,  from  what  has 
been  premised,  to  be  indeed  no  other 
than  either  that  residuum  of  natural  liber- 
ty, which  is  not  required  by  the  laws  of 
society  to  be  sacrificed  to  public  conve- 
nience, or  else  those  civil  privileges, 
which  society  hath  engaged  to  provide  in 
lieu  of  the  natural  liberties  so  given  up 
by  individuals.  These,  therefore,  were 
formerly,  either  by  inheritance  or  pur- 
chase, the  rights  of  all  mankind ;  but  in 
most  other  countries  of  the  world,  being 
now  more  or  less  debased  or  destroyed, 
they  at  present  may  be  said  to  remain,  in 
a  peculiar  and  emphatical  manner,  the 
rights  of  the  people  of  England. 

These  rights  may  be  reduced  to  three 
principal  or  primary  articles  : 

The  right  of  personal  security.  The 
right  of  personal  liberty.  The  right  of 
private  property. 

The  right  of  personal  security  consists 
in  a  person's  legal  and  uninterrupted  en- 
joyment of  his  life,  his  limbs,  his  body, 
his  health,  and  his  reputation.  The  en- 
joyment of  this  right  is  secured  to  every 
subject  by  the  various  laws  made  for  the 
punishment  of  those  injuries,  by  which  it 
is  any  way  violated ;  for  a  particular  de- 
tail of  which,  see  ASSAULT,  HOMICIDE, 
MAIHEM,  LIBEL,  NUISANCE,  &c. 

The  words  of  the  Great  Charter,  c.  29, 
are,  "  Nullus  liber  homo  capialur,  impn- 
sonetur,  vel  aliquo  modo  destruatur,  nisi 
per  legale  judicium  parium  suorum  aut 
per  legem  terra;."  No  freeman  shall  be 
taken,  imprisoned,  or  any  way  destroyed, 
unless  by  the  lawful  judgment  of  his 
peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land  ;  which 
words,  "  aliquo  modo  destruatur,"  ac- 
cording to  Coke,  include  a  prohibition,  not 
only  of  killing  or  maiming,  but  also  of  tor- 
turing, (to  which  our  laws  are  strangers), 
and  of  every  oppression  by  colour  of  an 
illegal  authority.  And  it  is  enacted  by 
stat.  5  Edward  III.  c.  9,  that  no  man  shall 
be  attached  by  any  accusation,  nor  fore- 
judged of  lite  or  limb,  nor  shall  his  lands 
or  goods  be  seized  into  the  King's  hands 
contrary  to  the  Great  Charter,  and  the 
law  of  the  land.  And  again,  by  statute 
28  Edward  111  c.  3,  that  no  man  shall  be 
put  to  death  without  being  brought  to  an- 
swer by  due  process  of  law. 

The  right  of  personal  liberty  consists 
in  the  power  of  loco-motion,  of  changing 
situation,  or  moving  one's  person  to  what- 
soever place  one's  own  inclination  may 
direct,  without  imprisonment  or  restraint, 
unless  by  due  course  of  law.  This  right 
there  is  at  present  no  occasion  to  enlarge 


upon.  For  the  provisions  made  by  thr 
laws  of  England  to  secure  it,  see  HA- 
BEAS corpus,  FALSE  imprit<mment,1$\-iit9 
ARREST,  &.C. 

The  absolute  right  of  property,  inherent 
in  every  Englishman,  consists  in  the  free 
use,  enjoyment,  and  disposal  of  all  his  ac- 
quisitions, without  any  controul  or  dimi- 
nution,  save  only  by  the  laws  of  the  land. 

Another  effect  of  this  right  of  private 
property  is,  that  no  subject  of  England 
can  be  constrained  to  pay  any  aids  or 
taxes,  even  for  the  defence  of  the  realm, 
or  the  support  of  the  government,  but 
such  as  are  imposed  by  his  own  consent, 
or  that  of  his  representatives  in  parlia- 
ment. By  statute  25  Edward  I.  c.  5,  6,  it 
is  provided,  that  the  King  shall  not  take 
any  aids,  or  tasks,  but  by  the  common 
assent  of  the  realm.  And  what  that  com- 
mon assent  is,  is  more  fully  explained  by 
statute  34  Edward  I.  statute  4,  c.  1 ; 
which  enacts,  that  no  talliage  or  aid  shall 
be  taken,  without  the  assent  of  the  Arch- 
bishops, Bishops,  Earls,  Barons,  Knights, 
Burgesses,  and  other  freemen  of  the  land: 
and  again,  by  statute  14  Edw.  III.  statute 
2,  c.  1,  the  Prelates,  Earls,  Barons,  and 
Commons,  Citizens,  Burgesses,  and  Mer- 
chants, shall  not  be  charged  to  make  any 
aid,  if  it  be  not  by  the  common  assent  of 
the  great  men  and  commons  in  parlia- 
ment And  as  this  fundamental  law  had 
been  shamefully  evaded,  under  many  pre- 
ceding princes,  by  compulsive  loans  and 
benevolences,  extorted  without  a  real  and 
voluntary  consent,  it  was  made  an  article 
in  the  petition  of  right,  3  Charles  I.  that 
no  man  shall  be  compelled  to  yield  any 
gift,  loan,  or  benevolence,  tax,  or  such 
like  charge,  without  common  consent  by 
act  of  parliament.  And,  lastly,  by  the 
Bill  of  Rights,  statute  1  William  and 
Mary,  statute  2,  c.  2,  it  is  declared,  that 
levying  money  for  or  to  the  use  of  the 
crown,  by  pretence  of  prerogative,  with- 
out grant  of  parliament,  or  for  longer 
time,  or  in  other  manner  than  the  same 
is  or  shall  be  granted,  is  illegal. 

The  above  is  a  short  view  of  the  prin- 
cipal absolute  rights  which  appertain  to 
every  Englishman  :  and  the  constitution 
has  provided  for  the  security  of  their  ac- 
tual enjoyment,  by  establishing  certain 
other  auxiliary,  subordinate  rights,  which 
serve  principally  as  out-works  or  barriers 
to  protect  and  maintain  those  principal 
rights  inviolate.  These  are, 

The  constitution,  powers,  and  privi- 
leges of  parliament.  The  limitation  of 
the  King's  prerogative.  The  right  of  ap- 
plying to  courts  of  justice  for  redress  of 


LIBERTY. 


injuries.  The  right  of  petitioning-  the 
King  or  parliament.  The  right  of  having 
arms  for  defence. 

This  last  auxiliary  right  of  the  subjects 
of  having  arms  for  their  defence,  suitable 
to  their  condition  and  degree,  and  such 
as  are  allowed  by  law,  is  declared  by  tiie 
Hill  of  Rights ;  and  it  is,  indeed,  a  public 
allowance,  under  due  restrictions  of  the 
natural  right  of  resistance  and  self-preser- 
vation, when  the  sanctions  of  society  and 
laws  are  found  insufficient  to  restrain  the 
violence  of  oppression. 

As  to  the  first  and  second  of  the  subor- 
dinate rights  above-mentioned,  see  PAR- 
LIAMENT, KIXG. 

With  respect  to  the  third  and  fourth, 
some  short  information  is  here  subjoined. 

Since  the  law  is,  in  England,  the  su- 
preme arbiter  of  every  man's  life,  liberty, 
and  property,  courts  of  justice  must  at 
all  times  be  open  to  the  subject,  and  the 
Jaw  be  duly  administered  therein.  The 
emphatical  words  of  Magna  Charta,  c.  29, 
spoken  in  the  person  of  the  King,  who, 
in  judgment  of  law  (says  Sir  Edward 
Coke)  is  ever  present,  and  repeating 
them  in  all  his  courts,  are  these,  "  Nulli 
vendemus,  nulli  negabimus,  aut  differe- 
mus,  rectum  vel  justitiam."  To  none 
will  we  sell,  to  none  will  we  deny,  or  de- 
lay, right  or  justice. 

It  is  also  ordained  by  Magna  Charta, 
c.  29,  that  no  freeman  shall  be  outlawed, 
that  is,  put  out  of  the  protection  and  bene- 
fit of  the  law,  but  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  land.  By  statutes  2  Edward  III.  c. 
8.  11  Richard  II.  c.  10,  it  is  enacted,  that 
no  commands  or  letters  shall  be  sent  tin- 
der the  Great  Seal,  or  the  Little  Seal,  the 
Signet  or  Privy  Seal,  in  disturbance  of 
the  law  ;  or  to  disturb  or  delay  common 
right,  and  though  such  commandments 
should  come,  the  judges  shall  not  cease 
to  do  right.  This  'is  also  made  a  part  of 
their  oath,  by  statute  11  Edward  III.  stat. 
4.  And  by  the  Bill  of  Rights  it  is  de- 
clared, that  the  pretended  power  of  sus- 
pending or  dispensing  with  laws,  or  the 
execution  of  laws,  by  regal  authority, 
without  consent  of  parliament,  is  illegal. 
Not.  only  the  substantial  part,  or  judicial 
decisions  of  the  law,  but  also  the  formal 
part,  or  method  of  proceeding,  cannot  be 
altered  but  by  parliament ;  for,  if  once 
those  outworks  were  demolished,  there 
would  be  an  inlet  to  all  manner  of  inno- 
vation in  the  body  of  the  law  itself.  The 
King,  it  is  true,  may  erect  new  courts  of 
justice  ;  but  then  they  must  proceed  ac- 
cording to  the  old  established  forms  of 
the  common  law.  For  which  reason  it  is 
declared  in  the  statute,  16  Charles  I,  c. 


10,  upon  the  dissolution  of  the  court  of 
star-chamber,  that  neither  his  Majesty  nor 
his  Privy  Council  have  any  jurisdiction, 
power,  or  authority,  by  English  bill,  pe- 
tition, articles,  or  libel,  (which  were  the 
course  of  proceeding  in  the  Star-Cham- 
ber borrowed  from  the  civil  lavv),  or  by 
any  other  arbitrary  way  whatsoever,  to 
examine  or  drasv  into  question,  deter- 
mine or  dispose  of  the  lands  or  goods  of 
any  subjects  of  this  kingdom ;  but  that 
the  same  ought  to  be  tried  and  deter- 
mined in  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice, 
and  by  course  of  law. 

The  right  of  petitioning  the  King,  or 
either  house  of  parliament,  for  the  re- 
dress of  grievances  appertains  to  every  in- 
dividual in  cases  of  any  uncommon  injury, 
or  infringement  of  the  rights  already  par- 
ticularized, which  the  ordinary  course  of 
law  is  too  defective  to  reach.     The  re- 
strictions, for  some  there  are,  wliich  are 
laid  upon  tliis  right  of  petitioning  in  Eng- 
land, while  they  promote  the   spirit  of 
peace,  are  no  check  upon  that  of  liberty  ; 
care  only  must  be  taken,  lest,  under  the 
pretence  of  petitioning,  the  subject  be 
guilty  of  any  riot  or  tumult ;  as  happened 
in  the  opening  of  the  memorable  parlia- 
ment in  1640.     And  to  prevent  this,  it  is 
provided  by  statute,  13  Charles  II.  stat.  1. 
c.  5,   that   no   petition  to  the  King,  or 
either  house  of  parliament,  for  any  altera- 
tion in  church  or  state,  shall  be  signed  by 
above  twenty  persons,   unless  the  matter 
thereof  be  approved  by  three  justices  of 
the  peace,  or  the  major  part  of  the  grand 
jury  in  the  county  ;  and  in  London,   by 
the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Common 
Council ;  nor  shall  any  petition  be  pre- 
sented by   more  than  ten  persons  at  a 
time.     But  under  these  regulations,  it  is 
declared  by  the  Bill  of  Rights,  that  the 
subject  hath  a  right  to  petition  ;  and  that 
all   commitments    and  prosecutions   for 
such  petitioning  are  illegaj.   The  sanction 
of  the  grand  jury  may  be  given  either  at 
the  assizes  or  quarter  sessions;  the  pun- 
ishment for  offending  against  the  stat.  13 
Charles  II.  not  to  exceed  a  fine  of  1001. 
and  three  months   imprisonment.     Upon 
the  trial    of  Lord  George    Gordon,  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench  declared,  that  they 
were  clearly  of  opinion,  that  this  statute 
was  not  in  any  degree  affected  by  the 
Bill  of  Rights. 

In  the  several  articles  above  enume- 
rated, consist  the  rights,  or  as  they  are 
more  frequently  termed,  the  liberties,  of 
Englishmen.  Liberties  more  generally 
talked  of  than  thoroughly  understood ; 
and  yet  highly  necessary  to  be  perfectly 
known  and  considered  by  every  man  of 


LIB 


LIC 


rank  or  property,  lest  his  ignorance  of 
the  points  whereon  they  are  founded, 
should  hurry  him  into  faction  and  licen- 
tiousness on  the  one  hand,  or  a  pusillani- 
mous indifference,  and  criminal  submis- 
sion, on  the  other.  And  all  these  rights 
and  liberties  it  is  our  birthright  to  enjoy 
entire,  unless  where  the  laws  of  our 
country  have  laid  them  under  neces- 
sary restraints.  So  that  this  review  of 
our  situation  may  fully  justify  the  obser- 
vation of  a  learned  French  author  (of 
former  times),  who  has  professed  that  the 
English  is  the  only  nation  in  the  world 
where  political  or  civil  liberty  is  the  direct 
end  of  its  constitution. 

LIBRA,  the  balance,  in  astronomy,  one 
of  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac,  the 
sixth  in  order ;  so  called,  because  when 
the  sun  enters  it,  the  days  and  nights  are 
equal,  as  if  weighed  in  a  balance.  See 

A  STRONG  51 T. 

LIBRA,  in  Roman  antiquity,  a  pound 
weight ;  also  a  coin,  equal  in  value  to 
twenty  denarii. 

LIBRARY,  an  edifice  or  apartment  des- 
tined for  holding  a  considerable  number 
of  books  placed  regularly  on  shelves ;  or, 
the  books  themselves  lodged  in  it. 

The  first  who  erected  a  library  at 
Athens  was  the  tyrant  Pisistratus,  which 
was  transported  by  Xerxes  into  Persia, 
and  afterwards  brought  back  by  Seleucus 
Nicanor  to  Athens.  Plutarch  says,  that 
under  Eumenes  there  was  a  library  at 
Pergamus  that  contained  200,000  books. 
That  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  according 
to  A.  Gellius,  contained  700,000,  which 
were  all  burnt  by  Caesar's  soldiers.  Con- 
stantine  and  his  successors  erected  a  mag- 
nificent one  at  Constantinople,  which  in 
the  eighth  century  contained  300,000 
volumes,  and  among  the  rest  one  in  which 
the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  were  written  in 
letters  of  gold,  on  the  guts  of  a  serpent ; 
but  this  library  was  burnt  by  order  of 
Leo  Isaums.  The  most  celebrated  libra- 
ries of  ancient  Rome  were  the  Ulpian  and 
the  Palatine,  and  in  modern  Rome,  that 
of  the  Vatican ;  the  foundation  of  the 
Vatican  library  was  laid  by  Pope  Nicholas, 
in  the  year  1450 ;  it  was  afterwards  de- 
stroyed in  the  sacking  of  Rome,  by  the 
constable  of  Bourbon,  and  restored  by 
.Pope  Sixtus  V.  and  has  been  considera- 
bly enriched  with  the  ruins  of  that  of 
Heidelberg,  plundered  by  Count  Tilly  in 
1682.  One  of  the  most  complete  libraries 
in  Europe,  is  that  erected  by  Cosmo  de 
Medicis ;  though  it  is  now  exceeded  by 
that  of  the  French  King-,  which  was  be- 
gun by  Francis  I.  augmented  by  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  and  completed  by  M,  Colbert, 


The  Emperor's  library  at  Vienna,  accord- 
ing to  Lambecius,  consists  of  80,000 
volumes,  and  15,940  curious  medals  The 
Bodleian  library  at  Oxford  exceeds  that 
of  any  university  in  Europe,  and  even 
those  of  any  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe, 
except  those  of  the  Emperors  of  France 
and  Germany,  which  are  each  of  them 
older  by  a  hundred  years.  It  Avas  first 
opened  in  1602,  and  has  since  been  in- 
creased by  a  great  number  of  benefactors: 
indeed  the  Medicean  library,  that  of  Bes- 
sarion  at  Venice,  and  those  just  men- 
tioned, exceed  it  in  Greek  manuscripts, 
but  it  outdoes  them  all  in  oriental  manu- 
scripts ;  and  as  to  printed  books,  the  Am- 
brosian  at  Milan,  and  that  of  Wolfenbut- 
tle,  are  two  of  the  most  famous,  and  yet 
both  are  inferior  to  the  Bodleian.  The 
Cotton  library  consists  wholly  of  manu- 
scripts, particularly  of  such  as  relate  to 
the  history  and  antiquities  of  England  ; 
which,  as  they  are  now  bound,  make 
about  1000  volumes. 

In  Edinburgh  there  is  a  good  library 
belonging  to  the  university,  well  fur- 
nished with  books,  which  are  kept  in 
good  order,  and  cloistered  up  with  wire 
doors,  that  none  but  the  keeper  can  open; 
a  method  much  more  commodious  than 
the  multitude  of  chains  used  in  other  li- 
braries. There  is  also  a  noble  library  of 
books  and  manuscripts  belonging  to  the 
gentlemen  of  the  law. 

LTBRATION,  in  astronomy,  an  appa- 
rent irregularity  of  the  moon's  motion, 
whereby  she  seems  to  librate  about  her 
axis,  sometimes  from  the  east  to  the  west, 
and  now  and  then  from  the  west  to  the 
east ;  so  that  the  parts  in  the  western 
limb  or  margin  of  the  moon  sometimes 
recede  from  the  centre  of  the  disc,  and 
sometimes  move  towards  it,  by  which 
means  they  become  alternately  visible 
and  invisible  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  See  Moov. 

LIBRATION  of  the  earth,  is  sometimes 
used  to  denote  the  parallelism  of  the 
earth's  axis,  in  every  part  of  its  orbit  round 
the  sun. 

LICHEN,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Cryptogarnia  Algae  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Alg.-e.  Generic  character: 
male  flowers;  vesicles  conglomerated, 
extremely  small,  crowded  or  scattered 
on  the  disc,  margin,  or  tips  of  the'tronds: 
female  flowers  on  the  same,  or  on  a  dis- 
tinct plant;  receptacle  roundish,  flattish, 
convex,  concave,  subrevolute  affixed  to 
the  margin,  often  differing  from  the 
frond  in  colour,  within  containing-  the 
seeds  disposed  in  rows.  This  is  a  very 
numerous  genus ;  many  of  the  species 


LIE 


LIE 


are 
the 


.  on 

wool  of  a  brown  reddish  colour,  or  a  dull 
but  durable  crimson,  paler  and  more 
lusting  than  that  of  orchall.  L.  islandi- 
cus  is  used  by  the  Icelanders  in  their 
broth  ;  they  also  dry  it,  and  make  it  into 


bread,  Sec. 

LICHEX,  in  medicine, 


tetter  or  ring- 


of  considerable  use,  particularly  in  ligence,  and  the  like ;  but  by  no  means 
„_  art  of  dyeing.  L.  rocella,  or  orchall,  in  treaties,  truces,  signals  of  capitulation, 
us  an  article  of  commerce,  is  of  great  or  surrender :  and  the  difference  is,  that 
importance,  being  extremely  valuable  the  former  suppose  hostilitiesto  continue, 
for  dyeing  wool  or  silk  any  shade  of  pur-  the  latter  are  calculated  to  terminate  or 
pie  or  crimson.  L.  onphalodes  will  dye  suspend  them.  Many  people  indulge  in 

1  serious  discourse  a  habit  of  fiction  and 
exaggeration,  in  the  accounts  they  give 
of  themselves,  of  their  acquaintance,  or 
of  the  extraordinary  things  which  they 
have  seen  or  heard ;  and  so  long  as  the 
facts  they  relate  are  indifferent,  and  their 
narratives,  though  false,  are  inoffensive,  it 

,  a  cutaneous  disease,  defined  by  Dr.  may  seem  a  superstitious  regard  to  truth 
Willan,  "  an  extensive  eruption  of  papillae  to  censure  them  merely  for  truth's  sake 
affecting  adults,  connected  with  internal  Yet  the  practice  ought  to  be  checked: 
disorder,  usually  terminating  in  scurf,  re-  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  almost  impossi- 
current,  not  contagious."  The  Doctor  has  ble  to  pronounce  beforehand  with  cer- 
mentionedfive  varieties.  tainty  concerning  any  lie,  that  it  is  inof- 

LICULA,   in  botany,   a  genus  of  the    fensive,  or  to  say  what  ill  conseque 
Appendix    Palm<e.      Natural     order    of    may  result  from  a  lie  apparently  moff 
Palms.     Essential  character :  flowers  all    sive :  and,  in  the  next  place,  the  habit, 
hermaphrodite  ;  calyx  and  corolla  three-    when  once  formed,  is  easily  extended  to 
parted  ;  nectary  sertiform  ;  drupe.  There    serve  the  designs  of  malice  or  interest; 
is   but    one   species,  vis.   L.  spinosa,   a    like  all  habits,  it  spreads  indeed  of  itscif. 
native  of  Macassar  and  Celebes,  where     Pious  frauds,    as  they    are    improperly 
the   inhabitants  make  much  use  of  the     enough    called,  pretended   inspirations, 
narrow   leaves    for  tobacco   pipes,    and    forged  books,  counterfeit  miracles,  are 
broad  ones  for  wrapping  up  fruit,  &c. ;     impositions  of  a  more  serious  nature, 
the  wood  is  of  little  use,  not  being  dura-    is   possible    that    they    may  sometimes, 
ble>  though  seldom,  have  been  set  up  and  en- 

LIS,  in  morals,  denotes  a  criminal  couraged  with  a  design  to  do  good ;  but 
breach  of  veracity.  Dr.  Paley,  in  treat-  the  good  they  aim  at  requires  that  the 
ing  of  this  subject,  observes,  that  there  belief  of  them  should  be  perpetual,  which 
are  falsehoods  which  are  not  lies ;  that  is,  is  hardly  possible  ;  and  the  detection  of 
••  •  -  •  •  i  --J  -LI «—  the  fraud  is  sure  to  disparage  the  credit 


which  are  not  criminal :  and  there  are  lies 
which  are  not  literally  and  directly  false. 
I.  Cases   of  the   first  class  are  those : 
1.  Where  no  one  is  deceived ;  as,  for  in- 
stance, in  parables,  fables,  novels,  jests,    put^  together, 
tales  to  create  mirth,  or  ludicrous  em- 


of  all  pretensions  of  the  same  nature. 
Christianity  has  suffered  more  injury 
from  this  cause  than  from  all  other  causes 


II.  As  there  may  be  falsehoods  which 
lies  without 
An  opening 


beliishments  of  a  story,  in  which  the  de-  are  not  lies,  so  there  may  be  lies  without 

clared  design  of  the  speaker  is  not  to  literal  or  direct  falsehood.     An  openin- 

inform,  but  to  divert ;  compliments  in  the  is  always  left  for  this  species  of  prevari 

subscription   of    a   letter  ;    a   prisoner's  cation,  when  the  literal  and  grammatical 

pleading  not  guilty ;  an  advocate  assert-  signification  of  a  sentence   is   different 

ing  the  justice,  or 'his  belief  of  the  justice  from  the  popular  and  customary  mean- 

of  his  client's  cause.    In  such  instances  ing.     It  is  the  wilful  deceit  that  makes 

no  confidence  is  destroyed,  because  none  the  lie  ;  and  we  wilfully  deceive  when 

was  reposed ;   no  promise  to  speak  the  our  expressions  are  not  true  in  the  sense 


truth  is  violated,  because  none  was  given 
or  understood  to  be  given.  2.  Where  the 
person  you  speak  to  has  no  right  to  know 


in  whicli  we  believe  the  hearer  appre- 
hends them.  Besides,  it  is  absurd  to 
contend  for  any  sense  of  words  in  oppo- 


the truth,  or,  more  properly,  where  little  sition  to  usage ;  for  all  senses  of  all  words 

or  no  inconveniency  results  from  the  want  arc  founded  upon  usage,  and  upon   no- 

of  confidence   in  such  cases;  as  where  thing  else.    Or  a  man  may,  act  a  He;  as  by 

you  tell  a  falsehood  to  a  madman  for  his  pointing  his  finger  in  a  wrong  direction 

own  advantage  ;   to  a  robber,  to  conceal  when  a  traveller  inquires  of  him  his  road, 

your  property ;  to  an  assassin,  to  defeat  or  when  a  tradesman  shuts  up  his  win- 

or  to  divert  him  from  his  purpose.    It  is  dows  to  induce  his  creditors  to  believe 

upon  this  principle,  that,  by  the  laws  of  that  he  is  abroad;  for  to  all  moral  purposes 

war,  it  is  allowed  to  deceive  an  enemy  and  therefore  as  to  veracity,  speech  and 

by  feints,  fajse  colours,  spies,  false  intel-  action  are  the  same ;  speech  being  only  » 


LIE 


LIF 


mode  of  action.    See  Paley's  Moral  Phi- 
losophy. 

LIEUTENANT,  an  officer  who  sup- 
plies the  place,  and  discharges  the  office 
of  a  superior  in  his  absence.  Of  these, 
some  are  civil,  as  the  lords-lieutenants  of 
kingdoms,  and  the  lords-lieutenants  of 
counties;  and  others  are  military,  as  the 
lieutenant-general,  lieutenant-general  of 
the  artillery,  lieutenant-colonel,  lieuten- 
ant of  artillery  of  the  Tower,  lieutenants 
of  horse,  foot,  ships  of  war,  &c. 

LIEUTENANT,  lord,  of  Ireland,  is  proper- 
ly a  viceroy,  and  has  all  the  state  and 
grandeur  of  a  king  of  England,  except 
being  served  upon  the  knee,  lie  has 
the  power  of  making  war  and  peace,  of 
bestowing  all  the  offices  under  the  go- 
vernment, of  dubbing  knight,  and  of  par- 
doning all  crimes  except  high  treason  ; 
he  also  calls  and  prorogues  the  parlia- 
ment, but  no  bill  can  pass  without  the 
royal  assent.  He  is  assisted  in  his  go- 
vernment by  a  privy-council ;  and,  on  his 
leaving  the*  kingdom,  he  appoints  the 
lords  of  the  regency,  who  govern  in  his 
absence. 

LIEUTENANTS,  lords,  of  counties,  are  of- 
ficers, who,  upon  any  invasion  or  rebel- 
lion, have  power  to  raise  the  militia,  and 
to  give  commissions  to  colonels  and  other 
officers,  to  arm  and  form  them  into  regi- 
ments, troops,  and  companies.  Under 
the  lords-lieutenants,  are  deputy-lieuten- 
ants, who  have  the  same  power;  these 
are  chosen  by  the  lords- lieutenants  out 
of  the  principal  gentlemen  of  each  coun- 
ty, and  presented  to  the  King  for  his  ap- 
probation. 

LIEUTENANT  general,  is  an  officer  next 
In  rank  to  the  general;  in  battle,  he  com- 
mands one  of  the  wings ;  in  a  march,  a 
detachment,  or  a  flying-camp  ;  also  a 
quarter,  at  a  siege,  or  one  of  the  attacks, 
when  it  is  his  day  of  duty. 

LIEUTENANT  of  a  ship  of  war,  the  offi- 
cer next  in  rank  and  power  to  the  cap- 
tain; of  these  there  are  several  in  a  large 
ship,  who  take  precedence  according  to 
the  dates  of  their  first  commissions.  The 
oldest  lieutenant,  during  the  absence  of 
the  captain,  is  charged  with  the  command 
of  the  ship,  as  also  the  execution  of  what- 
ever orders  he  may  have  received  from 
the  commander,  relating  to  the  King's 
service.  The  lieutenant  who  commands 
the  watch  at  sea,  keeps  a  list  of  all  the  offi- 
cers and  men  thereto  belonging,  in  order 
to  muster  them  when  he  judges  it  expe- 
dient, and  report  to  the  captain  the 
names  of  those  who  are  absent  from  their 
duty.  During  the  night-watch  he  occa- 

VOL.  IV. 


sjonally  visits  the  lower  decks,  or  sends 
thither  a  careful  officers  to  see  that  the 
proper  centinels  are  at  their  duty,  and 
that  there  is  no  disorder  amongst  the 
men ;  no  tobacco  smoked  between  decks, 
nor  any  fire  or  caudles  burning  there, 
except  the  lights  which  are  in  lan- 
terns, under  the  care  of  a  proper  watch, 
for  particular  purposes.  He  is  expected 
to  be  always  on  deck  in  his  watch,  as  well 
to  give  the  necessary  orders  with  regard 
to  trimming  the  sails,  and  superintending 
the  navigation,  as  to  prevent  any  noise 
and  confusion  ;  but  he  is  never  to  change 
the  ship's  course  without  the  captain's 
directions,  unless  to  avoid  an  immediate 
danger.  In  time  of  battle,  the  lieutenant 
is  particularly  to  see  that  all  the  men  are 
present  at  their  quarters,  where  they 
have  been  previously  stationed,  accord- 
ing to  the  regulations  made  by  the  cap- 
tain. He  orders  and  exhorts  them  every 
where  to  perform  their  duty,  and  ac- 
quaints the  captain  at  all  other  times  of 
the  misbehaviour  of  any  persons  in  the 
ship,  and  of  whatever  else  concerns  the 
service  or  discipline. 

LIFE,  duration  of.  The  uncertainty  of 
the  continuance  of  human  life,  has  been  a 
fruitful  source  of  serious  reflections  not 
only  to  divines  and  moralists  of  all  ages, 
but  occasionally  to  every  individual  of  the 
human  race.  Independent  of  the  host  of 
fatal  diseases  which  are  continually  aug- 
menting the  list  of  their  victims,  the  fre- 
quently occurring  instances  of  persons 
apparently  in  full  possession  of  all  the1 
requisites  to  the  continuance  of  life,  be- 
ing unexpectedly  consigned  to  the  grave, 
would  cause  men  to  think  life  more  un- 
certain than  they  generally  appear  to 
consider  it,  did  not  the  experience  of  liv- 
ing from  one  day  to  another,  confirmed 
by  the  whole  of  their  past  lives,  impress 
them  with  the  expectation  of  continuing- 
so  to  do,  while  they  do  not  feel  ar,}- 
known  impediment  to  it;  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  the  well  being  of  society  that  this 
idea  should  in  general  preponderate. 
But  as  the  property  or  income  from 
which  many  persons  derive  their  subsist- 
ence depends  on  the  continuance  of 
their  life,  or  that  of  others,  cases  will  fre- 
quently occur  in  the  adjustment  of  pecu- 
niary concerns,  in  which  it  is  desirable  to 
be  able  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  dura- 
tion of  life,  and  as  it  is  evidently  a  subject 
on  which  certainty  cannot  be  attained, 
we  must  be  content  with  that  species  of 
knowledge  which  rests  on  probability, 
This  degree  of  knowledge,  which  is  the 
limit  of  our  acquaintance,  with  many 

J' 


LIFE. 


other  important  facts,  is,  in  a  comprehen- 
sive view  of  this  subject,  infinitely  more 
useful  and  proper  than  more  positive 
knowledge  would  be. 

At  whatever  period  the  world  was  first 
inhabited,  there  is  undoubted  evidence 
that  for  at  least  3000  years  past  the  ge- 
neral duration  of  human  life  has  been 
much  the  same  as  it  now  is  ;  nor  has  any 
great  difference  been  observed  between 
the  inhabitant?  of  different  climates,  the 
negro  of  Africa  (in  some  instances  at 
least)  attaining  to  as  great  age  as  the  Eu- 
ropean. The  human  frame  appears  to 
adapt  itself  with  little  difficulty  to  the  at- 
mosphere and  local  peculiarities  of  the 
country  in  which  it  is  born,  or  even  into 
which  "it  is  afterwards  removed.  Tims 
not  only  the  children  of  persons  who  have 
removed  from  Great  Britain  to  different 
parts  of  the  continent  of  North  America, 
but  also  the  emigrants  themselves,  have 
been  found  to  live  as  long  as  in  the  for- 
mer country.  Men  can  live  equally  well 
under  very  different  circumstances  ;  it  is 
sudden  changes  that  are  injurious  to  the 
human  frame ;  and  temperate  climates 
being  less  liable  to  such  changes  are 
found  to  be  most  favourable  to  the  dura- 
tion of  life.  There  are  however,  in  almost 


every  country,  particular  districts  in 
which  the  inhabitants  are  found  to  live 
longer  than  in  other  situations,  which 
proceeds  chiefly  from  a  free  circulation  of 
air,  uncontaminated  by  the  noxious  va- 
pours and  exhalations  which  destroy  its 
purity  in  other  parts  ;  thus  hilly  districts 
are  almost  universally  found  to  furnish 
more  instances  of  long  life,  than  low  and 
marshy  situations. 

The  knowledge  of  the  duration  of  hu- 
man life  in  general,  and  of  its  probable 
continuance  at  all  ages,  has  been  ascer- 
tained with  sufficient  correctness  for  al! 
practical  purposes,  from  the  observations 
which  have  been  made  on  the  bills  of 
mortality  of  different  places.  Dr.  Hulley 
formed  a  table  of  the  probabilities  of  life 
frcrfli  the  registers  of  the  births  and  bu- 
rials of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Bres- 
law,  the  capital  of  the  duchy  of  Silesia  in 
Germany,  from  the  year  1687  to  1691.  A 
similar  table  was  formed  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Simpson  from  the  London  bills  of  morta- 
lity, from  1728  to  1737;  and  other  tables 
of  the  same  kind  have  been  since  pub- 
lished by  M.  Dupre  de  St.  Maur,  M. 
Kerseboom,  M.  de  Parcieux,  Dr.  Price, 
and  others,  from  which  the  following  are 
selected. 


TABLE  I.  Shewing  the  Probabilities  of  the  Duration  of  Human  Life  at  all  Ages, 
formed  from  the  Register  of  Mortality  at  Northampton,  for  46  Years  from 
1735  to  1780. 


Age. 

Persons 
living. 

Decrem. 
of  Life. 

Age. 

Persons 
living. 

Decvem. 
ofLife. 

Age. 

Persons 
living. 

Decrem 
ofLife. 

Age. 

Persons 
living. 

Decrem. 
ofLife. 

0 

11650 

3000 

25 

4760 

75 

49 

2936 

79 

73 

992 

80 

1 

8650 

1367 

26 

4685 

75 

50 

2857 

81 

74 

912 

80 

2 

7283 

502 

27 

4610 

75 

51 

2776 

82 

75 

832 

80 

3 

6781 

335 

28 

4535 

75 

52 

2694 

82 

76 

752 

77 

4 

6446 

197 

29 

4460 

75 

53 

2612 

82 

77 

675 

73 

5 

6249 

184 

30 

4385 

75 

54 

2530 

82 

78 

602 

68 

6 

6065 

140 

31 

4310 

75 

55 

2448 

82 

79 

534 

65 

7 

5925 

110 

32 

4235 

75 

56 

2366 

82 

80 

469 

63 

8 

5815 

80 

33 

4160 

75 

57 

2284 

82 

81 

406 

60 

9 

5735 

60 

34 

4085 

75 

58 

2202 

82 

82 

346 

57 

10 

5675 

52 

35 

4010 

75 

59 

2120 

82 

83 

289 

55 

11 

5623 

50 

36 

3935 

75 

60 

2038 

82 

84 

234 

48 

It 

5573 

50 

37 

3860 

75 

61 

1956 

82 

85 

186 

41 

13 

5523 

50 

38 

3785 

75 

62 

1874 

81 

86 

145 

34 

14 

5473 

50 

39 

3710 

75 

63 

1793 

81 

87 

111 

28 

15 

5423 

50 

40 

3635 

76 

64 

1712 

80 

88 

83 

21 

16 

5373 

53 

41 

3559 

77 

65 

1632 

80 

89 

62 

16 

17 

5320 

•  58 

42 

3482 

78 

66 

1552 

80 

90 

46 

12 

18 

5262 

63 

43 

3404 

78 

67 

1472 

80 

91 

34 

10 

19 

5199 

67 

44 

3326 

78 

68 

1392 

80 

92 

24 

8 

20 

-5132 

72 

45 

3248 

78 

69 

1312 

80 

93 

16 

7 

21 

5060 

75 

46 

3170 

78 

70 

1232 

80 

94 

9 

5 

22 

4985 

75 

47 

3092 

78 

71 

1152 

80 

95 

4 

3 

23 

4910 

75 

48 

3014 

78 

72 

1072 

80 

96 

1 

1 

24 

4835 

75 

LIFE. 


The  probability  that  a  life  of  any  pre- 
sent age  shall  continue  a  certain  number 
of  years,  or  shall  attain  to  any  other  given 
age,  is  the  fraction  whose  numerator  is  the 
number  of  the  living  in  the  table  opposite 
to  the  given  age,  and  the  denominator  the 
number  opposite  to  the  present  age  of 
the  given  life.  Thus  the  probability  that 
:i  life  of  25  shall  attain  to  the  age  of  45, 

3248 
or  live  20  years,  is  ,    ...  The  difference 

47oJ 

between  this  fraction  and  unity  gives  the 
probability  that  the  event  will  not  happen; 
the  probability  that  a  life  of  25  will  not 

live  20  years,  is  therefore  -  ,  conse- 
quently the  odds  of  living  to  dying  in  this 
period  are  more  than  2  to  1.  The  pro- 
bability that  a  person  of  32  years  of  age 
.shall  attain  to  59  years,  appears  by  the  ta- 
ble to  be  — ~.  or  nearly  an  even  chance. 


In  order  to  find  the  expectation  of 
life  at  any  age,  from  a  table,  like  the 
above,  which  shows  the  number  that  die 
annually  at  all  ages,  divide  the  sum  of 
all  the  living  in  the  table,  at  the  age 
whose  expectation  is  required  and  at 
all  greater  ages,  by  the  sum  of  all  that 
die  annually  at  that  age  and  above  it ; 
or,  which  is  the  same,  by  the  number 
of  the  living  at  that  age  ;  and  half  unity 
subtracted  from  the  quotient  will  give 
the  expectation  required.  Thus,  at  the 
age  of  65,  the  sum  of  all  the  living  at 
that  and  all  greater  ages,  is  18,580  ; 
the  number  living  at  that  age  is  1,632; 
and  the  former  number  divided  by  the 
latter,  and  half  unity  subtracted  from  the 
quotient,  gives  10.88  for  the  expectation 
of  the  ag'e  of  65.  In  this  manner  the  fol- 
lowing table  is  formed. 


TABLE  II. 

Shewing  the  Expectations  of  Human  Life  at  every  Age,  deduced  from  the  Nor- 
thampton Table  of  Observations. 


Ages, 

Expect. 

Ages. 

Expect. 

Ages. 

Expect. 

Ages. 

Expect 

Ages. 

Expect. 

Ages. 

Expect. 

0 

25.18 

17 

35.20 

33 

26.72 

49 

18.49 

65 

1088 

81 

4.41 

1 

32-74 

18 

34.58 

34 

26.20 

50 

17.99 

66 

10.42 

82 

4.09 

2 

37.79 

19 

33.99 

35 

25.68 

51 

17.50 

67 

9.96 

83 

3.80 

:     3 

39.55 

20 

33-43 

36 

25.16 

52 

17.02 

68 

9.50 

84 

3.58 

4 

40.58 

21 

3290 

37 

24.64 

53 

16.54 

69 

9.05 

85 

3.37 

5 

40.84 

22 

32.39 

38 

24.12 

54 

16.06 

70 

8.60 

86 

3.19 

6 

41.07 

23 

31.88 

39 

23.60 

55 

15.58 

71 

8.17 

87 

3.01 

7 

41.03 

24 

31.36 

40 

23.08 

56 

15.10 

72 

7.74 

88 

2.86 

8 

40.79 

25 

3085 

41 

22.56 

57 

14.63 

73 

7.33 

89 

2.66 

9 

40.36 

26 

30.33 

42 

22.04 

58 

14.15 

74 

6.92 

90 

2.41 

10 

39.78 

27 

29.82 

43 

21.54 

59 

13.68 

75 

6.54 

91 

2.09 

11 

39.14 

28 

29.30 

44 

21.03 

60 

13.21 

76 

6.18 

92 

1.75 

12 

38.49 

29 

28.79 

45 

20.52 

61 

12.75 

77 

5.83 

93 

1.37 

13 

37.83 

30 

28.27 

46 

20.02 

63 

12.28 

78 

5.48 

94 

1.05 

14 

37.17 

31 

27.76 

47 

19.51 

63 

1181 

79 

5.11 

95 

0.75 

15 

36.51 

32 

27.24 

48 

19.00 

64 

11.35 

80 

4.75 

96 

0.50 

:    16 

35.85 

These  tables  suggest  an  easy  method 
of  finding  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  a 
place  from  the  bills  of  mortality ;  for,  sup- 
posing the  yearly  births  and  deaths  equal, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  find,  in  the  way 
above  described,  the  expectation  of  an 
infant  just  born,  and  this  multiplied  by 
the  number  of  yearly  births  will  be  the 
number  of  inhabitants. 

From  all  the  observations  which  have 
been  made  on  the  bills  of  mortality  of 


different  places,  the  faet  is  fully  ascer- 
tained, that  the  duration  of  human  life  is 
greater  in  all  its  stages  in  country  parishes 
and  moderate  sized  towns,  than  in  large 
and  crowded  cities.  According  to  Simp- 
son's correction  of  Smart's  Table  for  Lon- 
don, only  one  in  44  of  the  inhabitants  at- 
tain to  the  age  of  80  years;  Dr.  Pi*5ce 
gives  the  proportion  somewhat  greater, 
or  about  1  in  40,  but  observes  that  of  those 
who  are  natives  of  London,  a  much  less 


LIF 


LIG 


proportion  arrive  to  that  age.  The  pro- 
portion of  the  inhabitants  of  other  places 
that  live  to  the  age  of  80i  has  been  found 
as  follows : 


At  Edinburgh   .... 

Vienna 

Breslaw 

Berlin 

Norwich 

Northampton  .  .  . 
Pais  de  Vaud  . 


in  42 
in  41 
in  41 
in  37 
in  27 
in  24 
in  21 


Among  any  considerable  number  of 
lives  selected  from  the  common  mass, 
-men  as  the  nominees  to  a  tontine,  or  the 
members  of  an  assurance  or  annuity  so- 
ciety, the  duration  of  life  will  always  be 
found  greater  than  it  is  represented  by 
tables  formed  from  general  bills  of  mor- 
tality. Thus,  M.  Kersseboom  found  that 
among  the  state  annuitants  in  Holland,  1 
in  14  lived  to  upwards  of  80  years  of  age, 
and  the  nominees  to  the  life  annuities 
granted  by  the  governments  of  France 
and  Great  Britain,  have  been  found  to 
live  longer  than  the  duration  given  by 
any  table  formed  from  bills  of  mortality. 
In  some  few  country  situations,  where  the 
injurious  habits  and  artificial  mode  of  liv- 
ing which  prevail  in  large  cities  have 
made  little  progress,  the  duration  of  life 
has  been  found  unusually  great ;  thus,  at 
Ack  worth,  in  Yorkshire,  1  in  14  died  turn- 
ed of  80  years  of  age  ;  and,  according  to 
an  account  of  the  parish  of  Kingham  in 
New  England,  in  the  first  volume  of"  Me- 
mpirs  of  the  American  Academy,"  the 
number  of  deaths  in  54  years  had  been 
1113,  of  which  1  in  13  had  survived  80 
years. 

LIFE  anmdties.  See  ACUITIES.  Life 
annuities  secured  by  land,  differ  from 
those  already  described  only  in  this,  that 
ihe  annuity  is  to  be  paid  up  to  the  very 
Jay  of  the  death  of  the  age  in  question, 
or  of  the  person  upon  whose  life  the  an- 
nuity is  granted.  To  obtain  the  more  exact 
value,  therefore,  of  such  an  annuity,  a 
small  sum  must  be  added  to  the  same,  as 
computed  by  the  rules  in  the  article  Aic- 
>'UITM;S,  which  will  be  different  accord- 
ing as  the  payments  are  yearly,  half-year- 
ly, or  quarterly.  Dr.  Price  has  entered 
u'  large  on  the  subject ;  and,  according  to 
him,  t!»e  addition  is, 

2^  for  annual  payments. 
—^  for  half-yearly  payments, 
for  quarterly  payments. 


Here  n  is  the  complement  of  the  give-} 
age,  or  what  it  wants  of  86  years ;  and  y, 
h,  q,  are  the  respective  values  of  an  an- 
nuity certain  of  n  years,  payable  yearly, 
half-yearly,  or  quarterly.  It  is  found,  as 
the  result  of  many  investigations,  that 
the  first  of  these  additional  quantities  is 
about 

ith  of  one  year's  purchase 
The  second  JLth. 
The  third     J^tli." 

LIFE  boat.     See  BOAT. 

LIFE  estates,  or  estates  for  life>  are  of 
two  kinds ;  either  such  as  are  created  by 
the  act  of  the  parties,  or  such  as  are  cre- 
ated by  the  operation  of  law,  as  estates  by 
the  curtesy  or  dower.  Estates  for  life, 
created  by  deed  or  grant,  are,  where  a 
lease  is  made  of  lands  or  tenements  to  a 
man,  to  hold  for  the  term  of  his  own  life, 
or  for  that  of  another  person,  or  for  more 
lives  than  one  ;  in  any  of  which  cases  he 
is  called  tenant  for  life,  only,  when  he 
holds  the  estate  by  the  life  of  another,  he 
is  usually  termed  tenant  pur  outer  vie,  for 
another's  life.  Estates  for  life  may  be 
created  not  only  by  the  express  terms  be- 
fore mentioned,  but  also  by  a  general 
grant,  without  defining  or  limiting  any 
specific  estate.  Where  estates  are  grant- 
ed for  the  lives  of  others,  and  they  absent 
themselves  seven  years,  and  no  proof  is 
made  of  their  being  in  existence  ;  in  any 
action  commenced  for  the  recovery  of 
such  tenements  by  the  lessors  or  rever- 
sioners,  they  shall  be  accounted  as  dead, 
and  the  jury  shall  give  their  verdict  ac- 
cordingly ;  (19  Charles  II.  c.  (>.)  and,  on 
application  to  the  Chancellor,  the  party- 
holding  such  estates  may  be  compelled 
to  produce  the  persons  on  whose  livei' 
such  estates  depend. 

LIGAMENT,  in  anatomy,  a  strong 
compact  substance,  serving  to  join  two 
bones  together. 

A  ligament  is  more  flexible  than  a  car- 
tilage, not  easily  ruptured  or  torn,  and 
does  not  yield,  or  at  least  very  little, 
when  pulled. 

LIGHT,  is  that  principle  or  thing  by 
which  objects  are  made  perceptible  to 
our  sense  of  seeing;  or  the  sensation  oc- 
casioned in  the  mind  by  the  view  of  lu~ 
mi  nous  objects.  The  nature  of  light  has 
been  a  subject  of  speculation  from  the 
first  dawnings  of  philosophy.  Some  of 
the  earliest  philosophers  doubted  whe- 
ther objects  became  visible  by  means  of 
any  thing  proceeding  from  them,  or  frc 
the  eye  of  the  spectator ;  but  this  opini 
•was  qualified  by  Empedoclcs  and  Plat 
wh,o  maintained,  that  vision  wus  occasloc. 


LIGHT. 


cd  by  particles  continually  flying;  off  from 
the  surfaces  of  bodies,  which  met  with 
others  proceeding  from  the  eye ;  while 
the  effect  was  ascribed  by  Pythagoras 
solely  to  the  particles  proceeding  from 
the  external  objects,  and  entering  the  pu- 
pil of  the  eye.  But  Aristotle  -defines 
tight  to  be  the  act  of  a  transparent  body, 
considered  as  such  ;  and  he  observes,  that 
light  is  not  fire,  nor  yet  any  matter  ra- 
diating from  the  luminous  body,  and 
transmitted  through  the  transparent  one. 

The  Cartesians  have  refined  considera- 
bly on  this  notion  ;  and  hold  that  light,  as 
it  exists  in  the  luminous  body,  is  only  a 
power  or  faculty  of  exciting  in  us  a  very 
clear  and  vivid  sensation ;  or  that  it  is  an 
invisible  fluid  present  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places,  but  requiring  to  be  set  in  mo- 
tion by  a  body  ignited,  or  otherwise  pro- 
perly qualified  to  make  objects  visible  to 
us. 

Father  Malbranche  explains  the  nature 
of  light  from  a  supposed  analogy  between 
it  and  sound.  Thus,  he  supposes  all  the 
parts  of  a  luminous  body  are  in  a  rapid 
motion,  which,  by  very  quick  pulses,  is 
constantly  compressing  the  subtle  matter 
between  the  luminous  body  and  the  eye, 
and  excites  vibrations  of  pression :  as 
these  vibrations  are  greater,  the  body  ap- 
pears more  luminous;  and  as  they  are 
quicker  or  slower,  the  body  is  of  this  or 
That  colour.  The  Newtonians  maintain, 
that  light  is  not  a  fluid,  hut  consists  of  a 
great  number  of  very  small  particles, 
thrown  off  from  the  luminous  body  by  a 
repulsive  power,  with  an  immense  velo- 
city, and  in  all  directions.  And  these  par- 
ticles, it  is  also  held,  are  emitted  in  right 
lines  :  whicli  rectilinear  motion  they  pre- 
^erve  till  they  are  turned  out  of  their 
path  by  some  of  the  following  causes, 
viz.  by  the  attraction  of  some  other  body 
near  which  they  pass,  which  is  called  in- 
flection, or  by  passing  obliquely  through 
a  medium  of  different  density,  which  is 
called  refraction ;  or  by  being  turned 
aside  by  the  opposition  of  some  interven- 
ing body,  which  is  called  reflection ;  or, 
lastly,  by  being  totally  stopped  by  some 
substance  into  which 'they  penetrate,  and 
which  is  called  their  extinction.  A  suc- 
cession of  these  particles  following  one 
another,  in  an  exact  straight  line,  is  called 
a  ray  of  light ;  and  this  ray,  in  whatever 
manner  its  direction  may  be  changed, 
whether  by  refraction,  reflection,  or  in- 
flection, always  preserves  a  rectilinear 
course,  till  it  be  again  changed ;  neither 
is  it  possible  to  make  it  move  in  the  arch 
of  a  circle,  ellipsis,  or  other  curve.  For 
lire  above  properties  of  the  rays  of  light, 


see  the  several  words  REFRACTION,  RE- 
FLECTION, &c. 

The  velocity  of  the  rays  of  light  is  truly 
astonishing,  amounting  to  nearly  two  hun- 
dred thousand  miles  in  a  second  of  time, 
which  is  about  a  million  times  greater 
than  the  velocity  of  a  cannon  ball.  And 
this  amazing  motion  of  light  has  been  ma- 
nifested in  various  ways,  and  first  from 
the  eclipses  of  Jupiter's  satellites.  It 
was  first  observed  by  Roemcr,  that  the 
eclipses  of  those  satellites  happen  some- 
times sooner,  and  sometimes  later,  thau 
the  times  given  by  the  tables  of  them  ; 
and  that  the  observation  was  before  or  ut- 
ter the  computed  time,  according  as  the 
earth  was  nearer  to,  or  further  from  Ju- 
piter,  than  the  mean  distance.  Hence 
Roemer  and  Cassini  both  concluded,  that. 
this  circumstance  depended  on  the  dis- 
tance of  Jupiter  from  the  earth  ;  and 
that,  to  account  for  it,  they  must  suppose 
that  the  light  was  abotit  fourteen  minutes 
in  crossing  the  earth's  orbit.  This  con- 
clusion, however,  was  afterwards  aban- 
doned, and  attacked  by  Cassini  himself: 
but  Roemer's  opinion  found  an  able  advo- 
cate in  Dr.  Halley,  who  removed  Cassini':; 
difficulty.,  and  left  Roemer's  conclusion  in 
its  full  force. 

It  has  since  been  found,  by  repeated 
experiments,  that  when  the  earth  is  ex- 
actly between  Jupiter  and  the  sun,  his 
satellites  are  seen  eclipsed  eight  minutes 
and  a  quarter  sooner  than  they  could  bo 
according  to  the  tables ;  but  when  tho 
earth  is  nearly  in  the  opposite  point  of  its 
orbit,  these  eclipses  happen  about  eight 
minutes  and  a  quarter  later  than  the  ta- 
bles predict  them.  Hence,  then,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  motion  of  light  is  not  instaii: 
taneous,  but  that  it  takes  up  about  six- 
teen minutes  and  a  half  of  time  to  pass 
over  a  space  equal  to  the  diameter  of  the 
earth's  orbit,  which  is  at  least  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety  millions  of  miles  in 
length,  or  at  the  rate  of  near  two  hun- 
dred thousand  miles  per  second,  as  above- 
mentioned. 

^  Hence,  therefore,  light  takes  up  about 
eight  minutes  and  a  quarter  in  passing 
from  the  sun  to  the  earth  ;  so  that,  if  he 
should  be  annihilated,  AVC  should  see  him 
for  eight  minutes  and  a  quarter  after  that 
event  should  happen ;  and  if  he  were 
again  created,  we  should  not  see  him  tiii 
eight  minutes  and  a  quarter  afterwards. 
Hence  also,  it  is  easy  to  know  the  time  in 
which  light  travels  to  the  earth,  from  the 
moon,  or  any  of  the  other  planets,  or 
even  from  the  fixed  stars,  when  their  di* 
tances  shall  be  known ;  th;»se  distances 
are,  hovrev-r,  ?••>  imtnen^V  «tv:i<.  that 


LIGHT. 


from  the  nearest  of  them,  supposed  to  be 
Sirius,  the  dog-star,  light  takes  up  many 
years  to  travel  to  the  earth  :  and  it  is  even 
suspected,  that  there  are  many  stars 
whose  light  has  not  yet  arrived  at  us  since 
their  creation.  And  this,  by-the-bye,  may 
perhaps  sometimes  account  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  new  stars  in  the  heavens. 
Our  excellent  astronomer,  Dr.  Bradley, 
afterwards  found  nearly  the  same  velocity 
of  light  as  Hoemer,  from  his  accurate  ob- 
servations, and  most  ingenious  theory,  to 
account  for  some  apparent  motions  in  the 
fixed  stars  ;  for  an  account  of  which,  see 
ABERRATION  of  light.  By  a  long  series 
of  these  observations,  he  found  the  dif- 
ference between  the  true  and  apparent 
place  of  several  fixed  stars,  for  different 
times  of  the  year;  which  difference 
could  no  otherwise  be  accounted  for,  than 
for  the  progressive  rays  of  light.  From 
the  mean  quantity  of  this  difference,  he 
ingeniously  found,  that  the  ratio  of  the 
velocity  of  light  to  the  velocity  of  the 
earth  in  its  orbit,  was  as  10,313  to  1,  or 
that  light  moves  10,313  times  faster  than 
the  earth  moves  in  its  orbit  about  the 
sun  ;  and  as  this  latter  motion  is  at  the 
rate  of  18.J.1.  miles  per  second  nearly,  it 
follows  that  the  former,  or  the  velocitv  of 
light,  is  at  the  rate  of  about  195,000  miles 
in  a  second;  a  motion,  according  to  which 
it  will  require  just  8'  7"  to  move  from  the 
sun  to  the  earth,  or  about  95,000,000  of 
miles. 

It  was  also  inferred,  from  the  foregoing 
principles,  that  light  proceeds  with  the 
same  velocity  from  all  the  stars.  And 
hence  it  follows,  if  we  suppose  that  all 
the  stars  are  not  equally  distant  from  us, 
as  many  arguments  prove,  that  the  motion 
of  light,  all  the  way  it  passes  through  the 
immense  space  above  our  atmosphere,  is 
equable  or  uniform.  And  since  the  differ- 
ent methods  of  determining  the  velocity 
of  light  thus  agree  in  the  result,  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  conclude,  that  in  the  same 
medium,  light  is  propagated  with  the 
same  velocity  after  it  has  been  reflected 
as  before.  For  an  account  of  Mr.  Mel- 
ville's hypothesis  of  the  different  velo- 
cities of  differently  coloured  rays,  see 
COLOX:H. 

To  the  doctrine  concerning  the  mate- 
riality of  light,  and  its  amazing  velocity, 
several  objections  have  been  made,  of 
which  the  most  considerable  is ;  that  as 
rays  of  light  are  continually  passing  in 
different  directions  from  every  visible 
point,  they  must  necessarily  interfere 
Y/ith  each  other  in  such  a  manner  as  en- 
tirely to  confound  all  distinct  perception 


of  objects,  if  not  quite  to  destroy  the 
whole  sense  of  seeing ;  not  to  mention 
the  continual  waste  of  substance,  which 
a  constant  emission  of  particles  must  oc- 
casion in  the  luminous  body,  and  there- 
by, since  the  creation  must  have  greatly 
diminished  the  matter  in  the  sun  and 
stars,  as  well  as  increased  the  bulk  of  the 
earth  and  planets,  by  the  vast  quantity  of 
particles  of  light  absorbed  by  them  in  so 
long  a  period  of  time.  But  it  has  been 
replied,  that  if  light  were  not  a  body,  but 
consisted  in  mere  pression  or  pulsion, 
it  could  never  be  propagated  in  right 
lines,  but  would  be  continually  inflected 
ad  umbram.  Thus,  Sir  Isaac  Newton: 
"  A  pressure  on  a  fluid  medium,  i.  e.  a 
motion  propagated  by  such  a  medium, 
beyond  any  obstacle,  which  impedes  any 
part  of  its  motion,  cannot  be  propagated 
in  right  lines,  but  will  be  always  inflect- 
ing and  diffusing  itself  every  way,  to  the 
quiescent  medium  beyond  that  obsta- 
cle. 

The  power  of  gravity  tends  down- 
wards; but  the  pressure  of  water  arising 
from  it  tends  every  way  with  an  equable 
force,  and  is  propagated,  with  equal  ease 
and  equal  strength,  in  curves  as  in  straight 
lines.  Waves,  on  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter, gliding  by  the  extremes  of  any  ver\ 
large  obstacle,  inflate  and  dilate  them- 
selves, still  diffusing  gradually  into  the 
quiescent  water  beyond  that  obstacle. 
The  waves,  pulses,  or  vibrations  of  the 
air,  wherein  sound  consists,  are  manifest- 
ly inflected,  though  not  so  considerably 
as  the  waves  of  water ;  and  sounds  art 
propagated  with  equal  ease  through, 
crooked  tubes  and  through  straight  lines , 
but  light  was  never  known  to  move  iu 
any  curve,  nor  to  inflect  itself  ad  urn- 
dram.1' 

It  must  be  acknowledged,  however, 
that  many  philosophers,  both  English  and 
foreigners,  have  recurred  to  the  opinion, 
that  light  consists  of  vibrations  propagat- 
ed from  the  luminous  body,  through  a 
subtle  ethereal  medium. 

Dr.  Franklin,  in  a  letter  dated  April 
23, 1752,  expresses  his  dissatisfaction  with 
the  doctrine,  that  light  consists  of  parti- 
cles of  matter  continually  driven  off'  from 
the  sun's  surface,  with  so  enormous  a 
swiftness.  "Must  not,'*  says  he,  "the 
smallest  portion  conceivable  have,  with 
sdch  a  motion,  a  force  exceeding  that  of 
a  twenty-four  pounder  discharged  from  a 
cannon  ?  Must  not  the  sun  diminish  ex- 
ceedingly by  such  a  waste  of  matter ;  and 
the  planets,  instead  of  drawing  nearer  to 
him,  as  some  have  feared,  recede  to  great- 


LIGHT. 


sr  distances,  through  the  lessened  attrac- 
tion ?  yet  these  particles,  with  this  amaz- 
ing1 motion,  will  not  drive  before  them, 
or  remove,  the  least  and  slightest  dust 
they  meet  with,  and  the  sun  appears  to 
continue  of  his  ancient  dimensions,  and 
his  attendants  move  in  their  ancient  or- 
bits." He  therefore  conjectures,  that  all 
the  phenomena  of  light  may  be  more 
properly  solved,  by  supposing"  all  space 
filled  with  a  subtle  elastic  fluid,  which  is 
not  visible  when  at  rest,  but  which,  by 
its  vibrations,  affects  the  fine  sense  in  the 
eye,  as  those  of  the  air  affect  the  grosser 
organs  of  the  ear  ;  and  even  that  different 
degrees  of  the  vibration  of  this  medium 
may  cause  the  appearances  of  different 
colours.  Franklin's  Exper.  and  Observ. 
1769,  p.  264. 

The  celebrated  Euler  has  also  main- 
tained the  same  hypothesis,  in  his  "Theo- 
ria  Lucis  et  Colorum."  In  the  summary 
of  his  arguments  against  the  common 
opinion,  recited  in  Acad.  Berl.  1752,  p. 
271,  besides  the  objections  above-men- 
tioned, he  doubts  the  possibility,  that  par- 
ticles of  matter,  moving  with  the  amaz- 
ing velocity  of  light,  should  penetrate 
transparent  substances  with  so  much 
ease.  In  whatever  manner  they  are 
transmitted,  those  bodies  must  have 
pores,  disposed  in  right  lines,  and  in  all 
possible  directions,  to  serve  as  canals  for 
the  passage  of  the  rays;  but  such  a  struc- 
ture must  take  away  all  solid  matter  from 
those  bodies,  and  all  coherence  among 
their  parts,  if  they  do  contain  any  solid 
matter. 

Among  modern  philosophers  who 
have  supported  this  doctrine,  Dr.  Young- 
has  shown  much  ability  in  his  experi- 
mental and  theoretical  researches,  in 
his  memoirs  in  the  "Philosophical  Trans- 
actions," which  have  been  republished 
in  his  "  Lectures,"  and  in  "  Nicholson's 
Journal." 

The  expansion  or  extension  of  any  por- 
tion of  light  is  inconceivable.  Dr.  Hook 
shows,  that  it  is  as  unlimited  as  the  uni- 
verse, which  he  proves  from  the  im- 
mense distance  of  many  of  the  fixed  stars, 
which  only  become  visible  to  the  eye  by 
the  best  telescopes.  "  Nor,"  add's  he, 
"  are  they  only  the  great  bodies  of  the 
sun  or  stars  that  are  thus  liable  to  dis- 
perse their  light  through  the  vast  expanse 
of  the  universe,  but  the  smallest  spark  of 
a  lucid  body  must  do  the  same,  even  the 
smallest  globule  struck  from  u  steel  by  a 
flint." 

The  intensity  of  different  lights,  or  of 
the  same  light  in  different  circumstances, 
affords  a  curious  subject  of  speculation. 


M.  Bouguer,  Trait e  de  Optique,  found, 
that  when  one  light  is  from  sixty  to 
eighty  times  less  than  another,  its  pre- 
sence or  absence  will  not  be  perceived 
by  an  ordinary  eye ;  that  the  moon's 
light, -when  she  is  19°  16'  high  above  the 
horizon,  is  about  one-third  of  her  light, 
at  66°  11'  high  ;  and  when  one  limb  just 
touched  the  horizon,  her  light  was  but 
the  2,000th  part  of  her  light  at  66°  11' 
high  ;  and  that  hence  light  is  diminished 
in  the  proportion  of  three  to  one,  by  tra- 
versing 7.469  toises  of  dense  air.  He 
found  also,  that  the  centre  of  the  sun's 
disc  is  considerably  more  luminous  than 
the  edges  of  it;  whereas  both  the  prima- 
ry and  secondary  planets  are  more  lumi- 
nous at  their  edges  than  near  their  cen- 
tres :  that,  further,  the  light  of  the  sun  is 
about  300,000  times  greater  than  that  of 
the  moon  ;  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder 
that  philosophers  have  had  so  little  suc- 
cess in  their  attempts  to  collect  the 
light  of  the  moon  with  burning  glasses ; 
for,  should  one  of  the  largest  of  them 
even  increase  the  light  1,000  times,  it 
will  still  leave  the  light  of  the  moon  in 
the  focus  of  the  glass,  300  times  less 
than  the  intensity  of  the  common  light  of 
the  sun. 

Dr.  Smith,  in  his  optics,  vol.  i.  p.  29, 
thought  he  had  proved  that  the  light  of 
the  full  moon  would  be  only  the  90,900th 
part  of  the  full  day-light,  if  no  rays  were 
lost  at  the  moon.  But  Mr.  Robins,  in  his 
Tracts,  vol.  ii.  p.  225,  shows  that  this  is 
too  great  by  one  half.  And  Mr.  Mitchell, 
by  a  more  easy  and  accurate  mode  of 
Computation,  found  that  the  density  of 
the  sun's  light  on  the  surface  of  the 
moon,  is  but  the  45,000th  part  of  the  den- 
sity at  the  sun ;  and  that,  therefore,  as 
the  moon  is  nearly  of  the  same  apparent 
magnitude  as  the  sun,  if  she  reflected  to 
us  all  the  light  received  on  her  surface, 
it  would  be  only  the  45,000th  part  of  our 
day-light,  or  that  which  we  receive  from 
the  sun.  Admitting,  therefore,'with  M. 
Bouguer,  that  the  moon's  light  is  only 
the  300,000th  part  of  the  day,  or  sun's 
light,  Mr.  Mitchell  concludes  that  the 
moon  reflects  no  more  than  between 
the  6th  and  7th  part  of  what  she  re- 
ceives. 

Sir  I.  Newton  long  ago  observed,  that 
bodies  and  light  act  mutually  on  one  an- 
other; bodies  on  light,  in  emitting,  re- 
flecting, refracting,  and  inflecting  it;  and 
light  on  bodies,  by  heating  them,  and  put- 
ting their  parts  into  a  vibrating  motion, 
in  which  heat  principally  consists.  For 
all  fixed  bodies,  he  observes,  when  ht-ut- 


LIGHT. 


ed  beyond  a  certain  degree,  do  emit 
light,  and  shine. 

This  action  of  bodies  on  light  is  {bund 
to  exert  itself  at  a  sensible  distance, 
though  it  always  increases  as  the  distance 
is  diminished,  as  appears  very  sensibly 
in  the  passage  of  a  ray  between  the 
edges  of  two  very  thin  planes,  at  differ- 
ent apertures;  which  is  attended  with 
this  peculiar  circumstance,  that  the  at- 
traction of  one  edge  is  increased  as  the 
other  is  brought  nearer  it. 

The  rays  of  light,  in  their  passage  out 
of  glass  into  a  vacuum,  are  not  only  in- 
flected towards  the  glass,  but  if  they  fall 
too  obliquely,  they  will  revert  back  again 
to  the  glass,  and  be  totally  reflected. 
Now  the  cause  of  this  reflection  cannot 
he  attributed  to  any  resistance  of  the  va- 
cuum, but  must  be  entirely  owing  to  some 
force  or  power  in  the  glass,  which  at- 
tracts or  draws  back  the  rays  as  they 
were  passing  into  the  vacuum.  And  this 
appears  further  from  hence,  that  if  you 
wet  the  back  surface  of  the  glass  with 
water,  oil,  honey,  or  a  solution  of  quick- 
silver, then  the  rays,  which  would  other- 
wise have  been  reflected,  will  pervade 
and  pass  through  that  liquor;  which 
shows  that  the  rays  are  not  reflected  till 
they  come  to  that  back  surface  of  the 
glass,  nor  even  till  they  begin  to  go  out 
of  it ;  for  if  at  their  going  out  they  fall 
into  any  of  the  aforesaid  mediums,  they 
will  not  then  be  reflected,  but  will  persist 
in  their  former  course,  the  attraction  of 
the  glass  being  in  this  case  counter- 
balanced by  that  of  the  liquor. 

M.  Maraldi  prosecuted  experiments 
similar  to  those  of  Sir  I.  Newton,  on  in- 
flected light.  And  his  observations  chieily 
respect  the  inflection  of  light  towards 
other  bodies,  by  which  their  shadows  are 
partially  illuminated.  Acad.  Paris,  1723, 
Mem.  p.  159.  See  also  Priestley's  Hist. 
p.  521,  &c. 

From  the  mutual  attraction  between 
the  particles  of  light  and  other  bodies, 
arise  two  other  grand  phenomena,  besides 
the  inflection  of  light,  which  are  called 
the  reflection  and  refraction  of  light.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  determination  of 
bodies  in  motion,  especially  elastic  ones, 
is  changed  by  the  interposition  of  other 
bodies  in  their  way;  thus  also  light,  im- 
pinging on  the  surfaces  of  bodies,  should 
be  'turned  out  of  its  course,  and  beaten 
back  or  reflected,  so  as,  like  other  strik- 
ing bodies,  to  make  the  angle  of  its  re- 
flection equal  to  the  angle  of  incidence. 
This,  it  is  found  by  experience,  light  does; 
and  yet  the  cause  of  the  effect  is  different 


from  that  just  now  assigned,  for  the  rays 
of  light  are  not  reflected  by  striking  on 
the  very  parts  of  the  reflecting  bodies, 
but  by  some  power  equally  diffused  over 
the  whole  surface  of  the  body,  by  which 
it  acts  or,  the  light,  either  attracting  or 
repelling  it,  without  contact :  by  which 
same  power,  in  other  circumstances,  the 
rays  are  refracted  ;  and  by  which  also  the 
rays  are  first  emitted  from  the  luminous 
body ;  as  Newton  abundantly  proves  by  a 
great  variety  of  arguments.  See  REFLEC- 
TION and  UEFUACTTON. 

That  great  author  put  it  past  doubt, 
that  all  those  rays  which  are  reflected 
do  not  really  touch  the  body,  though  they 
approach  it  infinitely  near ;  and  that  those 
which  strike  on  the  parts  of  solid  bodies 
adhere  to  them,  and  are,  as  it  were,  ex- 
tinguished and  lost.  Since  the  reflection 
of  the  rays  is  ascribed  to  the  action  of 
the  whole  surface  of  the  body  without 
contact,  if  it  be  asked  how  it  happens 
that  all  the  rays  are  not  reflected  from 
every  surface,  but  that,  while  some  are. 
reflected,  others  pass  through  and  are 
refracted  ?  the  answer  given  by  Newton 
is  as  follows :  Every  ray  of  light,  in  its 
passage  through  any  refracting  surface, 
is  put  into  a  certain  transient  constitution 
or  state,  which  in  the  progress  of  the  ray 
returns  at  equal  intervals,  and  disposes 
the  ray  at  every  return  to  be  easily  trans- 
mitted through  the  next  refracting  sur- 
face, and  between  the  returns  to  be  easily 
reflected  by  it :  which  alteration  of  reflec- 
tion and  transmission,  it  appears,  is  pro- 
pagated from  every  surface,  and  to  all 
distances.  What  kind  of  action  or  dis- 
position this  is,  and  whether  it  consist  in  a 
circulating  or  vibrating  motion  of  the  ray, 
or  the  medium,  or  something  else,  he 
does  not  inquire ;  but  allows  those  who 
are  fond  of  hypothesis  to  suppose  that  the 
rays  of  light,  by  impinging  on  any  re- 
flecting or  refracting  surface,  excite  vi- 
brations in  the  reflecting  or  refracting 
medium,  and  by  that  means  agitate  the 
solid  parts  of  the  body.  These  vibrations, 
thus  produced  in  the  medium,  move  fast- 
er than  the  rays,  so  as  to  overtake  them  ; 
and  when  any  ray  is  in  that  part  of  the 
vibration  which  conspires  with  its  motion, 
its  velocity  is  increased,  and  so  it  easily 
breaks  through  a  refracting  surface ;  but 
when  it  is  in  a  contrary  part  of  the  vibra- 
tion, which  impedes  its  motion,  it  is  easily 
reflected  ;  and  thus  every  ray  is  succes- 
sively disposed  to  be  easily  reflected  or 
transmitted  by  every  vibration  which 
meets  it.  These  returns  in  the  disposi- 
tion  of  any  ray  to  be  reflected,  he  calls 


LIGHT. 


fits  of  easy  reflection ;  and  the  returns  in 
the  disposition  to  be  transmitted,  he  calls 
fits  of  easy  transmission  ;  also  the  space 
between  the  returns,  the  interval  of  the 
fits.  Hence  then  the  reason  why  the  sur- 
faces of  all  thick  transparent  bodies  re- 
flect part  of  the  light  incident  upon  them, 
and  refract  the  rest,  is,  that  some  rays,  at 
their  incidence,  are  in  fits  of  easy  reflec- 
tion, and  others  of  easy  transmission.  For 
the  properties  of  reflected  light,  see  MIR- 
ROR, OPTICS,  &c. 

Again,  a  ray  of  light  passing  out  of  one 
medium  into  another  of  different  density, 
and  in  its  passage  making  an  oblique 
angle  with  the  surface  that  separates  the 
mediums,  will  be  refracted,  or  turned  out 
of  its  direction ;  because  the  rays  are 
more  strongly  attracted  by  a  denser,  than 
by  a  rarer  medium-  That  these  rays  are 
not  refracted  by  striking  on  the  solid  parts 
of  bodies,  but  that  this  is  effected  without 
a  real  contact,  and  by  the  same  force  by 
which  they  are  emitted  and  reflected, 
only  exerting  itself  differently  in  different 
circumstances,  is  proved,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, by  the  same  arguments  by  which  it 
is  demonstrated  that  reflection  is  per- 
formed without  contact. 

When  light  is  refracted  by  a  prism,  or 
other  transparent  body,  it  is  divided  into 
rays,  exciting  the  sensation  of  different 
colours ;  namely,  red,  orange,  yellow, 
green,  blue,  indigo,  and  violet.  This  is 
the  enumeration  followed  by  Newton  and 
others,  which  supposes  seven  rays  re- 
frangible in  the  above  order,  the  red  be- 
ing least  refrangible,  and  the  violet  most 
so,  and  that  the"  other  tints  are  produced 
by  mixture.  The  image  formed  by  the 
different  rays,  thus  separated,  forms  the 
solar  spectrum.  Dr.  Wollaston  has  shown, 
by  looking  through  the  prism  at  a  narrow 
line  of  light,  that  the  primitive  colours 
are  only  red,  green,  blue,  and  violet. 

Heat  and  light  are  not  present  in  cor- 
responding degrees,  in  different  parts  of 
the  solar  spectrum  ;  for,  generally  speak- 
ing, those  rays  illuminate  most  that  have 
the  least  heating  power.  The  rays  in  the 
centre  of  the  spectrum  have  the  greatest 
illuminating  power,  as  may  be  ascertain- 
ed by  viewing,  successively  in  each,  a 
small  body,  such  as  the  head  of  a  com- 
mon nail.  It  will  be  seen  most  distinctly 
in  the  light  green,  or  deep  yellow  rays, 
and  less  plainly  towards  either  extremity 
«.)f  the  spectrum. 

The  heating  power  of  the  rays  follows 
a  different  order.  If  the  bulb  of  a  sensi- 
ble thermometer  be  moved,  in  succession, 
through  the  differently  coloured  rays,  it 

VOL.  IV. 


will  be  found  to  indicate  the  greatest  heat 
in  the  red  rays,  next  in  the  green,  and  so 
on,  in  a  diminishing  progression,  to  the 
violet.  When  the  thermometer  is  re- 
moved entirely  out  of  the  confines  of  the 
red  rays,  but  with  its  ball  still  in  the  line 
of  the  spectrum,  it  rises  even  higher  than 
in  the  red  rays ;  and  continues  to  rise,  till 
removed  half  an  inch  beyond  the  ex. 
tremity  of  the  red  ray.  The  ball  of  the 
thermometer  employed  for  this  purpose 
should  be  extremely  small,  and  should 
be  blackened  with  Indian  ink  An  air 
thermometer  is  better  adapted  than  a 
mercurial  one,  to  exhibit  the  minute 
change  of  temperature  that  ensues.  These 
invisible  heat-making  rays  may  be  reflect- 
ed by  the  mirror,  and  refracted  by  the 
lens,  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
rays  of  light. 

Beyond  the  confines  of  the  spectrum  on 
the  other  side,  viz.  a  little  beyond  the  vio- 
let ray,  the  thermometer  is  not  affected  ; 
but  in  this  place  it  is  remarkable,  that 
there  are  also  invisible  rays  of  a  different 
kind,  which  exert  all  the  chemical  effects 
of  the  rays  of  light,  and  even  with  greater 
energy.  One  of  the  chemical  properties 
of  light  is,  that  it  speedily  changes  from 
white  to  black  the  fresh  precipitated 
muriate  of  silver.  This  effect  is  pro- 
duced most  rapidly  by  the  direct  light  ot 
the  sun  ;  and  the  rays,  as  separated  by 
the  prism,  have  this  property  in  various 
degrees.  The  blue  rays,  for  example, 
effect  a  change  of  the  muriate  of  silver  in 
fifteen  seconds,  which  the  red  require 
twenty  minutes  to  accomplish  ;  and,  ge- 
nerally speaking,  the  power  diminishes  as 
we  recede  from  the  violet  extremity.  But 
entirely  out  of  the  spectrum,  and  beyond 
the  violet  rays,  the  effect  is  still  pro- 
duced. Hence  it  appears  that  the  solar 
beams  consist  of  three  distinct  kinds  of 
rays;  of  those  that  excite  heat,  and  pro- 
mote oxydation  ;  of  illuminating  rays  ; 
and  of  de-oxydizing  rays.  A  striking 
illustration  of  the  different  power  of  these 
various  rays,  is  furnished  by  their  effect 
on  phosphorus.  In  the  rays  beyond  the 
red  extremity,  phosphorus  is  heated, 
smokes,  and  emits  white  fumes ;  but 
these  are  presently  suppressed  on  expos- 
ing it  to  the  de-oxydizing  rays  which  lie 
beyond  the  violet  extremity. 

There  i.s  an  exception,  however,  as 
stated  by  Dr.  Wollaston,  to  the  c!e-oxydiz- 
ing  power  of  the  rays  above-mentioned. 
The  substance,  termed  gum-guiacum,  has 
the  property,  when  exposed  to  the  light, 
of  changing  from  a  yellowish  colour  to 
green;  and  this  cfTeot.  he  has  ascertained 

Q 


LIGHT. 

to  be  connected  with  the  absorption  of  silex  they  contain  :  and  two  pieces  of  borax 
oxygen.  Now,  in  the  most  refrangible  have  the  same  property  much  more  re- 
rays,  which  would  fall  beyond  the  riolet  markably. 

extremity,  he  found  thai  this  substance  Light  is  disengaged  in  various  cases  of 
became  green,  and  was  again  changed  to  chemical  combination.  Whenever  com- 
yellow  by  the  least  refrangible.  This  is  bustion  is  a  part  of  the  phenomena,  this  is 
precisely  the  reverse  of  what  happens  to  well  known  to  happen  ;  but  light  is  evolv- 
muriate  of  silver,  which  is  blackened,  or  ed  also,  in  other  instances,  where  nothing 
de-oxydized,  by  the  most  refrangible  ;  and  like  combustion  goes  forwards.  Thus, 
has  its  colour  restored,  or  is  again  oxy-  fresh -prepared  pure  magnesia,  added  sud- 
geniz.ed,  in  the  least  refrangible  rays.  denly  to  highly  concentrated  sulphuric 

Certain  bodies  have  the  property  of  ab-  acid,  exhibits  a  red  heat, 
sorbing  the  rays  of  light  in  their  totality,  Whence  comes  the  light  afforded  by 
of  retaining  them  for  some  time,  and  of  ignited  bodies  ?  whether  it  have  been  pre- 
aga'm  evolving  them  unchanged,  and  viously  imbibed  by  them  ?  whether  the 
unaccompanied  by  sensible  heat.  Thus,  commencement  of  ignition  be  distinctive 
in  an  experiment  of  Du  Fay,  a  diamond  of  the  same  temperature  in  all  bodies  ? 
exposed  to  the  sun,  and  immediately  co-  whether  the  great  planetary  sources  of 
vered  with  black  wax,  shone  in  the  dark,  fight  be  bodies  in  a  state  of  combustion, 
on  removing  the  wax,  at  the  expiration  or  merely  luminous  upon  principles  very 
of  several  months.  Bodies  possessing  different  from  any  which  our  experiments 
this  property,  are  called  solar  pkosphori :  can  point  out  ?  whether  the  momentum 
such  are  the  Canton's,  Baldwin's,  Horn-  of  the  particles  of  light,  or  their  disposi- 
berge's,  and  the  Bolognian  phosphori.  tion  for  chemical  combination,  be  the 
To  the  same  class  belong  several  natural  most  effectual  in  the  changes  produced 
bodies  which  retain  light,  and  give  it  out  by  its  agency  ? — these,  and  numerous 
unchanged.  Thus,  snow  is  a  natural  so-  other  interesting  questions,  must  be  left 
lar  phosphorus.  So  also  is,  occasionally,  for  future  research  and  investigation.  See 
the  sea  when  agitated;  putrid  fish  have  COMBUSTION. 

a  similar  property  ;  and  the  glow-worm  The  production  of  light  by  inflammation 
belongs  to  the  same  class.  These  pheno-  is  an  object  of  great  importance  to  socie- 
mena  are  independant  of  every  thing  like  ty  at  large,  as  well  as  to  the  chemist.  It 
combustion ;  for  artificial  phosphori,  after  appears  to  arise  immediately  from  the 
exposure  to  the  sun's  rays,  shine  in  the  strong  ignition  of  a  body  while  rapidly 
dark  when  placed  in  the  vacuum  of  an  decomposing.  Most  solid  bodies  in  corn- 
air-pump,  or  under  water,  &c.  where  no  bustion  are  kept,  partly  from  a  want  of 
air  is  present  to  effect  combustion.  the  access  of  air,  and  partly  from  the  vi- 

From  solar  phosphori,  the  extrication  of  cinity  of  conducting  bodies,  at  a  low  de- 
light is  facilitated  by  the  application  of  an  gree  of  ignition.  But  when  vapours  ra- 
elevated  temperature  ;  and,  after  having  pidly  escape  into  the  air,  it  may,  and  does 
ceased  to  shine  at  the  ordinary  tempera-  frequently  happen,  that  the  combustion, 
ture,  they  again  emit  light  when  exposed  instead  of  being  carried  on  merely  at  the 
to  an  increase  of  heat.  Several  bodies,  surface  of  the  mass,  penetrates  to  a  consi- 
xvhich  do  not  otherwise  give  out  light,  derable  depth  within,  and  from  this,  as 
evolve  it,  or  become  phosphorescent  when  well  as  from  the  imperfect  conducting 
heated.  Thus  powdered  fluate  of  lime  power  of  the  surrounding  air,  a  white 
becomes  luminous  when  thrown  on  an  heat,  or  very  strong  ignition,  is  produced, 
iron  plate,  raised  to  a  temperature  rather  The  effect  of  lamp's  and  candles  depends 
above  that  of  boiling  water.  The  yolk  of  upon  these  considerations.  A  combusti- 
an  egg,  when  dried,  becomes  luminous  ble  fluid,  most  commonly  of  the  nature  of 
on  being  heated  ;  and  so  also  does  tallow  fat  oil,  is  put  in  a  situation  to  be  absorb- 
during  liquefaction.  To  exhibit  the  ed  between  the  filaments  of  cotton,  linen, 
last  mentioned  fact,  it  is  merely  necessa-  fine  wire,  or  asbestos.  The  extremity  of 
ry  to  place  a  lump  of  tallow  on  a  coal,  this  fibrous  substance,  called  the  wick,  is 
heated  below  ignition,  making  the  experi-  then  considerably  heated.  The  oil  evapo- 
rnent  in  a  dark  room.  Attrition  also  rates,  and  its  vapour  takes  fire.  In  this 
evolves  light,  in  many  instances,  by  the  situation  the  wick,  being  enveloped  with 
part  rubbed  becoming  ignited.  Thus,  flame,  is  kept  at  such  a  temperature,  that 
rock  crystal,  and  other  hard  stones,  shine  the  oil  continually  boils,  is  evaporated, 
when  rubbed  against  each  other;  and  two  burns,  and  by  these  means  keeps  up  a 
pieces  of  common  bonnet  cane,  rubbed  constant  flame.  Much  of  the  perfection 
strongly  against  each  other  in  the  dark,  of  this  experiment  depends  on  the  nature, 
emit  a  taint  light;  most  probably  from  the  quantities,  and  figure  of  the  materials 


LIGHT. 


made  use  of.  If  the  wick  be  too  large,  it 
will  supply  a  greater  quantity  of  the  fluid 
than  can  be  well  decomposed.  Its  evapo- 
ration will  therefore  diminish  the  tempe- 
rature, and  consequently  the  light,  and 
afford  a  fuliginous  column,  which  will 
pass  through  the  centre  of  the  flame,  and 
fly  off  in  the  form  of  smoke.  The  mag- 
nitude of  the  wick  may,  from  time  to 
time,  in  candles,  be  reduced,  as  to  length, 
by  snuffing ;  but  this  operation  will  not 
remedy  the  evils  which  arise  from  too 
great  a  diameter.  If  the  oil  be  not  suf- 
ficiently combustible,  the  ignition  will  be 
but  moderate,  and  the  flame  yellow ;  and 
the  same  effect  will  be  produced,  if  the 
air  be  not  sufficiently  pure  and  abundant. 
An  experiment  to  this  effect  may  be  made 
by  including  the  flame  of  a  small  candle 
or  lamp  in  a  glass  tube  of  about  one  inch 
in  diameter,  standing  on  the  surface  of  a 
table.  The  air  which  passes  between 
the  glass  and  the  table,  will  be  sufficient 
to  maintain  a  very  bright  flame  ;  but  if  a 
metallic  covering,  perforated  with  a  hole 
of  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
be  laid  upon  the  upper  orifice  of  the  tube, 
the  combustion  will  be  so  far  impeded, 
that  the  flame  will  be  perceptibly  yellow- 
er. The  hole  may  then  be  more  or  less 
closed  at  pleasure  by  sliding  a  small  piece 
of  metal,  for  example  a  shilling,  over  it. 
The  consequence  will  be,  that  the  flame 
will  become  more  and  more  yellow,  will 
at  length  emit  smoke,  and  if  the  whole  be 
entirely  closed,  extinction  will  follow. 

The  smell  arising  from  the  volatile 
parts  which  pass  oft'  not  well  consumed 
from  a  lamp  or  candle,  must  be  differ- 
ent according  to  the  nature  of  those 
parts.  This  depends  chiefly  on  the  oil, 
but  in  some  measure  upon  the  wick. 
When  a  candle  with  a  cotton  wick  is 
blown  out,  the  smell  is  considerably 
more  offensive,  than  if  the  wick  be  of 
linen,  or  of  rush ;  but  less  offensive  than 
if  the  supply  of  the  combustion  had 
been  oil.  Whenever  a  candle  or  lamp 
is  removed,  the  combustion  is  in  some 
measure  impeded  by  the  stream  of  cold 
air,  against  which  it  strikes.  Smoke  is 
accordingly  emitted  from  its  anterior 
side,  and  the  peculiar  smell  is  perceiv- 
ed. From  this  imperfection,  lamps  are 
much  less  adapted  to  be  carried  from 
place  to  place  than  candles. 

From  the  necessity  of  the  access  of 
air,  there  will  be  mare  light  produced 
from  a  lamp  with  a  number  of  small 
wicks,  than  with  one  large  one,  or  from 
a  number  of  small  candles,  than  the 
same  quantity  of  tatfow  used  to  make 


a  single  large  one.  In  the  lamp  of  Ar- 
gand,  the  wick  consists  of  a  web  of 
cloth  in  the  form  of  a  pipe  or  tube,  the 
longitudinal  fibres  of  which  are  thicker 
than  the  circular  ones.  This  is  passed 
by  a  suitable  contrivance  into  a  cylin- 
drical cavity,  which  contains  the  oil; 
and  there  are  other  precautions  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  apparatus,  by  which  the 
oil  is  regularly  supplied,  the  access  of 
air  is  duly  permitted,  as  well  within  as 
without  the  circle  formed  by  the  upper 
edge  of  this  cylindrical  wick,  and  ihis 
edge  can  be  raised  or  lowered  at  plea- 
sure. Hence  the  possessor  has  it  in  his 
power  to  regulate  the  surface  of  the 
wick,  so  that  the  greatest  flame  consist- 
ent with  perfect  combustion  may  be 
produced  ;  and  the  steadiness  of  the 
flame  is  secured  by  a  glass  shade  or 
tube,  which  surrounds  it,  and  in  a  cer- 
tain degree  accelerates  the  current  of  air. 

In  the  illumination  by  candles,  where 
the  fused  matter  is  contained  in  a  cup  or 
cavity  of  the  matter  not  yet  fused,  it  is  of 
some  consequence,  whether  the  substance 
be  fusible  at  a  high  or  low  temperature. 
The  difference  between  wax  and  tallow 
candles  arises  from  this  property.  Wax 
being  less  fusible,  will  admit  of  a  thinner 
wick,  and  needs  no  snuffing ;  but  in  a  tal- 
low candle  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
have  a  large  wick,  capable  of  taking  up 
the  tallow  as  it  melts. 

The  difference  of  effect  in  illumination 
between  a  thick  and  a  thin  wick  cannot 
be  better  shown,  than  by  remarking  the 
appearances  produced  by  both.  When  a 
candle  with  a  thick  wick  is  first  lighted, 
and  the  wick  snuffed  short,  the  flame  is 
perfect  and  luminous,  unless  its  diameter 
be  very  great ;  in  which  last  case,  there 
is  an  opaque  part  in  the  middle,  where 
the  combustion  is  impeded  for  want  of 
air.  As  the  wick  becomes  longer,  the 
space  between  its  upper  extremity  and 
the  apex  of  the  flame  is  diminished  ;  and, 
consequently,  the  oil,  which  issues  from 
that  extremity,  having  a  less  space  of 
ignition  to  pass  through,  is  less  complete- 
ly burned,  and  passes  offpartly  in  smoke. 
This  evil  continues  to  increase,  until  at 
length  the  upper  extremity  of  the  wick 
projects  beyond  the  flame,  and  forms  a 
support  for  an  accumulation  of  soot,  which 
is  afforded  by  the  imperfect  combustion. 
A  candle  in  this  situation  affords  scarcely 
one-tenth  of  the  light,  which  the  due  com- 
bustion of  its  materials  would  produce ; 
and  tallow  candles,  on  this  account,  re- 
quire continual  snuffing.  But,  OH  the 
contrary,  if  we  consider  the  wax  candle. 


LIG 


LIG 


we  find,  that  as  its  wick  lengthens,  the 
light  indeed  becomes  less,  and  the  cup  be- 
comes  filled  with  melted  wax.  The  wick, 
however,  being  thin  and  flexible,  does 
not  long  occupy  its  place  in  the  centre  of 
the  flame ;  neither  does  it,  when  there, 
enlarge  the  diameter  of  the  flame,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  access  of  air  to  its  internal 
part.  When  its  length  is  too  great  for 
the  vertical  position,  it  bends  on  one  side  ; 
and  its  extremity,  coming  into  contact 
with  the  air,  is  burned  to  ashes,  except- 
ing such  a  portion  as  is  defended  by  the 
continual  afflux  of  melted  wax,  which  is 
volatilized  and  completely  burned  by  the 
surrounding  flame.  We  see,  therefore, 
that  the  difficult  fusibility  of  wax  renders 
it  practicable  to  burn  a  large  quantity  of 
fluid  by  means  of  a  small  wick  ;  and  that 
this  small  wick,  by  turning  on  one  side 
in  consequence  of  its  flexibility,  performs 
the  operation  of  snuffing  upon  itself,  in 
a  much  more  accurate  manner  than  it 
can  ever  be  performed  mechanically. 

Mr.  Henry  made  some  experiments  on 
the  light  afforded  by  the  combustion  of 
different  gases,  and  found,  that  it  was  ap- 
parently in  the  ratio  of  the  oxygen  that 
entered  into  combination  with  the  hydro- 
gen they  contained.  Thus,  100  parts  of 
pure  hydrogen  gas  required  from  50  to 
54  of  oxygen  ;  100  of  gas  from  oak,  42  ; 
from  moist  charcoal  and  from  dried  peat, 
each  50 ;  from  lamp  oil  136 ;  from  coal 
140;  from  wax  166;  pure  olifiant  gas 
210.  Tallow  is  nearly  on  a  par  with  oil. 
The  production  of  light  from  the  first 
four  was  so  trifling,  that  they  did  not 
seem  applicable  to  (economical  purposes. 

LIGHT  from  plants.  In  Sweden  a  very 
curious  phenomena  has  been  observed  on 
certain  flowers  by  M.  Haggern,  lecturer 
in  natural  history.  One  evening  lie  per- 
ceived a  faint  flash  of  light  repeatedly 
dart  from  a  marigold.  Surprised  at  such 
an  uncommon  appearance,  he  resolved  to 
examine  it  with  attention ;  and,  to  be 
assured  it  was  no  deception  of  the  eye, 
he  placed  a  man  near  him,  with  orders  to 
make  a  signal  at.  the  moment  when  he 
observed  the  light.  They  both  saw  it 
constantly  at  the  same  moment.  The 
light  was  most  brilliant  on  marigolds  of 
an  orange  or  flame  colour;  but  scarcely 
visible  on  pale  ones.  The  flash  was  fre- 
quently seen  on  the  same  flower  two  or 
three  times  in  quick  succession,  but  more 
commonly  at  intervals  of  several  minutes: 
and  when  several  flowers  in  the  same 
place  emitted  their  light  together,  it 
could  be  observed  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. This  phenomenon  was  remarked 


in  the  months  of  July  and  August  at  sun- 
set,  and  for  half  an  hour  when  the  at- 
mosphere was  clear ;  but  after  a  rainy 
day,  or  when  the  air  was  loaded  with  va- 
pours, nothing  of  it  was  seen.  The  follow- 
ing flowers  emitted  flashes,  more  or  less 
vivid,  in  this  order  :  1.  The  marigold,  ca- 
lendula officinalis.  2.  Monk's-hood,  tro- 
pseolum  majus.  3.  The  orange  lily,  lilium 
bulbiferum.  4.  The  Indian  pink,  tagetes 
patula  et  erecta. 

To  discover  whether  some  little  insects 
or  phosphoric  worms  might  not  be  the 
cause  of  it,  the  flowers  were  carefully  ex- 
amined, even  with  a  microscope,  without 
any  such  thing  being  found.  From  the 
rapidity  of  the  flash,  and  other  circum- 
stances, it  may  be  conjectured  that  there 
is  something  of  electricity  in  this  pheno- 
menon. It  is  well  known,  that  when  the 
pistil  of  a  flower  is  impregnated,  the  pol- 
len bursts  away  by  its  elasticity,  with 
which  electricity  may  be  combined.  But 
M.  Haggern,  after  having  observed  the 
flash  from  the  orange  lily,  the  antherx  of 
which  are  a  considerable  space  distant 
from  the  petals,  found  that  the  light  pro- 
ceeded from  the  petals  only  ;  whence  he 
concludes,  that  this  electric  light  is  caused 
by  the  pollen,  which,  in  flying  off,  is 
scattered  oil  the  petals.  Whatever  be 
the  cause,  the  effect  is  singular  and  highly 
curious. 

LIGHT  house,  a  building  erected  upon  a 
cape  or  promontory  on  the  sea  coast,  or 
upon  some  rock  in  the  sea,  and  having  on 
its  top  in  the  night  time  a  great  fire,  or 
light  formed  by  candles,  which  is  con- 
stantly attended  by  some  careful  person, 
so  as  to  be  seen  at  a  great  distance  from 
the  hind.  It  is  used  to  direct  the  shipping 
on  the  coast,  that  might  otherwise  run 
ashore,  or  steer  an  improper  course, 
when  the  darkness  of  the  night  and  the 
uncertainty  of  currents,  &c.  might  render 
their  situation  with  regard  to  the  shore 
extremely  doubtful.  Lamp-lights  are,  on 
many  accounts,  preferable  to  coal  fires  or 
candles  ;  and  the  effect  of  these  may  be 
increased  by  placing  them  either  behind 
glass  hemispheres,  or  before  properly  dis- 
posed glass  or  metal  reflectors,  which  last 
method  is  now  very  generally  adopted. 
See  BEACONS. 

LIGHTFOOTIA,  in  botany,  so  named 
in  honour  of  John  Lightfoot,  a  genus  of 
the  Polygamia  Dioecia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character:  calyx  four-leaved; 
corolla  none  :  female  and  hermaphrodite, 
stigma  sessile  ;  berry  umbilicated,  one- 
celled,  with  from  three  to  six  seeds. 
There  are  three  species,  all  shrubs. 
LIGHTNING.  It  is  now  universally 


LIGHTNING. 


allowed,  that  lightning-  is  really  an  elec- 
trical explosion  or  phenomenon.  Philoso- 
phers had  not  proceeded  far  in  their  ex- 
periments and  inquiries  on  this  subject, 
before  they  perceivedthe  obvious  analogy 
between  lightning  and  electricity,  and 
they  produced  many  arguments  to  evince 
their  similarity.  Hut  the  method  of  prov- 
ing this  hypothesis,  beyond  a  doubt,  was 
first  proposed  by  Dr.  Franklin,  who, 
about  the  close  of  the  year  1749,  con- 
ceived the  practicability  of  drawing  light- 
ning down  from  the  clouds.  Various  cir- 
cumstances of  resemblance  between  light- 
ning and  electricity  were  remarked  by 
this  philosopher,  and  have  been  abun- 
dantly confirmed  by  later  discoveries, 
such  as  the  following :  Flashes  of  light- 
ning are  usually  seen  crooked  and  waving 
in  the  air;  so  the  electric  spark  drawn 
from  an  irregular  body  at  some  distance, 
and  when  it  is  drawn  by  an  irregular  body, 
or  through  a  space  in  which  the  best  con- 
ductors are  disposed  in  an  irregular  man- 
ner, always  exhibits  the  same  appearance. 
Lightning  strikes  the  highest  and  most 
pointed  objects  in  its  course,  in  prefe- 
rence to  others,  as  hills,  trees,  spires, 
masts  of  ships,  &.c.  so  all  pointed  conduc- 
tors receive  and  throw  off  the  electric 
fluid  more  readily  than  those  that  are 
terminated  by  flat  surfaces.  Lightning  is 
observed  to  take  and  follow  the  readiest 
and  best  conductor ;  and  the  same  is  the 
case  with  electricity  in  the  discharge  of 
the  Leyden  phial :  from  whence  the  Doc- 
tor infers,  that  in  a  thunder-storm  it 
would  be  safer  to  have  one's  clothes  wet 
than  dry.  Lightning  burns,  dissolves 
metals,  rends  some  bodies,  sometimes 
strikes  persons  blind,  destroys  animal 
life,  deprives  magnets  of  their  virtue,  or 
reverses  their  poles;  and  all  these  are 
well-known  properties  of  electricity. 

To  demonstrate,  however,  by  actual 
experiment,  the  identity  of  the  electric 
fluid  with  the  matter  of  lightning,  Dr. 
Franklin  contrived  to  bring  lightning 
from  the  heavens  by  means  of  a  paper 
kite,  properly  fitted  up  for  the  purpose, 
with  a  long  fine  wire  string,  and  called  an 
electrical  kite,  which  he  raised  when  a 
thunder  storm  was  perceived  to  be  com- 
ing on  :  and  with  the  electricity  thus  ob- 
tained, he  charged  phials,  kindled  spirits, 
and  performed  all  other  such  electrical 
experiments  as  are  usually  exhibited  by 
an  excited  glass  globe  or  cylinder.  This 
happened  in  June,  1752,  a  month  after 
the  electricians  in  France,  in  pursuance 
of  the  method  which  he  had  before  pro- 
posed, had  verified  the  same  theory,  but 
without  any  knowledge  of  what  they  had 


done.  The  most  active  of  these  were 
Messrs.  Dalibard  and  Delor,  followed  by 
M.  Maze;\s,  and  M.  Monnier. 

Nor  had  the  English  philosophers  been 
inattentive  to  this  subject.  Mr.  Canton, 
however,  succeeded  in  July,  1752 ;  and 
in  the  following  month  Dr.  Bevis  and  Mr. 
Wilson  observed  nearly  the  same  appear- 
ances as  Mr.  Canton  had  done  before.  By 
a  number  of  experiments  Mr.  Canton  also 
soon  after  observed,  that  some  clouds 
were  in  a  positive,  while  some  were  in  a 
negative  state  of  electricity  :  and  that  the 
electricity  of  his  conductor  would  some- 
times change  from  one  state  to  the  other 
five  or  six  times  in  less  than  half  an  hour. 

How  it  happens  that  particular  parts  of 
the  earth,  or  the  clouds,  come  into  the  op- 
posite states  of  positive  and  negative  elec- 
tricity, is  a  question  not  absolutely  deter- 
mined :  though  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that 
when  particular  clouds,  or  different  parts 
of  the  earth,  possess  opposite  electricities, 
a  discharge  will  take  place  within  a  cer- 
tain distance  ;  or  the  one  will  strike  into 
the  other,  and  in  the  discharge  a  flash  of 
lightning  will  be  seen.  Mr.  Canton 
queries  whether  the  clouds  do  not  be- 
come possessed  of  electricity  by  the 
gradual  heating  and  cooling  of  the  air ; 
and  whether  air  suddenly  rarefied  may 
not  give  electric  fire  to  clouds,  and  va- 
pours passing  through  it,  and  air  suddenly 
condensed  receive  electric  fire  from  them. 
Mr.  Wilcke  supposes,  that  the  air  con- 
tracts its  electricity  in  the  same  manner 
that  sulphur  and  other  substances  do, 
when  they  are  heated  and  cooled  in  con- 
tact with  various  bodies.  Thus,  the  air 
being  heated  or  cooled  near  the  earth, 
gives  electricity  to  the  earth,  or  receives 
it  from  it ;  and  the  electrified  air  being 
conveyed  upwards  by  various  means, 
communicates  its  electricity  to  the  clouds. 
Others  have  queried,  whether,  since 
thunder  commonly  happens  in  a  sultry 
state  of  the  air,  when  it  seems  charged 
with  sulphureous  vapours,  the  electric 
matter  then  in  the  clouds  may  not  be 
generated  by  the  fermentation  of  sul- 
phureous vapours  with  mineral  or  acid 
vapours  in  the  air.  With  regard  to  places 
of  safety  in  times  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning, Dr.  Franklin's  advice  is,  to  sit  in  the 
middle  of  a  room,  provided  it  be  not  un- 
der a  metal  lustre  suspended  by  a  chain, 
sitting  on  one  chair,  and  laying  the  feet 
on  another.  It  is  still  better,  he  says,  to 
bring  two  or  three  mattresses,  or  beds, 
into  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  folding 
them  double,  to  place  the  chairs  upon 
them  ;  for  as  they  are  not  so  good  con- 
ductors as  the  walls,  the  lightning  will 


L1G 


LIG 


not  be  so  likely  to  pass  through  them. 
But  the  safest  place  of  all  is  in  a  hammock 
hung  by  silken  cords,  at  an  equal  dis- 
tance from  all  the  sides  of  the  room.  Dr. 
Priestley  observes,  that  the  place  of  most 
perfect  safety  must  be  the  cellar,  and  es- 
pecially the  middle  of  it ;  for  when  a  per- 
son is  lower  than  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
the  lightning  must  strike  it  before  it  can 
possibly  reach  him.  In  the  fields,  the 
place  of  safety  is  within  a  few  yards  of  a 
tree,  but  not  quite  near  it.  Beccaria 
cautions  persons  not  always  to  trust  too 
much  to  the  neighbourhood  of  a  higher 
or  better  conductor  than  their  own  body, 
since  he  has  repeatedly  found  that  the 
lightning  by  no  means  descends  in  one 
undivided  track,  but  that  bodies  of  various 
kinds  conduct  their  share  of  it  at  the 
same  time,  in  proportion  to  their  quantity 
and  conducting  power.  See  Franklin's 
Letters,  Beccaria's  Lettre  dell'  Ellettri- 
cessimo,  Priestley's  History  of  Electricity, 
and  Lord  Mahon's  Principles  of  Electri- 
city. 

Lord  Mahon  observes,  that  damage 
may  be  done  by  lightning,  not  only  by 
the  main  stroke  and  lateral  explosion,  but 
also  by  what  he  calls  the  returning  stroke, 
by  which  is  meant  the  sudden  and  violent 
return  of  that  part  of  the  natural  share  of 
electricity  which  had  been  gradually  ex- 
pelled from  some  body  or  bodies,  by  the 
superinduced  elastic,  electrical  pressure 
of  the  electrical  atmosphere  of  a  thunder- 
cloud. 

The  ancient  notion  of  a  thunderbolt,  or 
stony  mass,  falling  at  the  stroke  of  light- 
ning, seems  to  have  obtained  no  small  de- 
gree of  force  from  the  modern  observa- 
tions and  researches  concerning  stones 
which  have  fallen  from  the  atmosphere. 
See  STONES,  meteoric.  From  which  it  ap- 
pears, that  other  substances  as  well  as  wa- 
ter are  not  unfrequently  condensed  and 
precipitated  from  the  air,  and  exhibit  the 
most  astonishing  degrees  of  heat  and 
electricity  during  their  condensation. 

LIGNUM  vitte.  The  lignum  vitse  tree 
is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  and  the 
A\  armer  parts  of  America :  there  is  also  a 
species,  a  native  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  It  is  a  large  tree,  rising  at  its  full 
growth  to  the  height  of  forty  feet,  and 
measuring  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter ;  having  a  hard,  brittle, 
brownish  bark,  not  very  thick.  The  wood 
is  firm,  solid,  ponderous,  very  resinous, 
of  a  blackish  yellow  colour  in  the  middle, 
and  a  hot  aromatic  taste.  It  is  so  hard  as 
to  break  the  tools  which  are  employed  in 
felling  it ;  and  is,  therefore,  seldom  used 
as  firewood,  but  is  of  great  use  to  the  su- 


gar-planters for  making  wheels  and  cogs 
to  the  sugar-mills.  It  is  also  frequently 
wrought  in  bowls,  mortars,  and  other 
utensils.  It  is  imported  into  England,  in 
large  pieces  of  four  or  five  hundred 
weight  each,  and  from  its  hardness  and 
beauty,  is  in  great  demand  for  various  ar- 
ticles in  the  turnery  ware,  and  for  trucks 
of  ship  blocks.  The  wood,  gum,  bark, 
fruit,  and  even  the  flowers  of  this  plant, 
have  been  found  to  possess  medicinal 
virtues. 

LIGULA,  in  natural  history,  a  genus  of 
the  Verities  Intestina.  Body  linear,  equal, 
long ;  the  fore -part  obtuse  ;  the  hind-part 
acute,  with  an  impressed  dorsal  suture. 
There  are  two  species,  viz.  L.  intestinalis, 
L.  abdominalis;  the  former  is  found  in 
the  intestines  of  the  merganser  and  guil- 
lemot :  about  a  foot  long,  and  exactly  re- 
sembling a  piece  of  tape  :  of  the  latter 
there  are,  at  least,  eight  varieties  de- 
scribed as  inhabiting  the  intestines  of 
fish  :  they  are  found  principally  in  the 
mesentery,  emaciating  the  fish  they  in- 
fest, and  causing  them  to  grow  deformed. 
When  they  escape  from  the  body,  they 
penetrate  through  the  skin :  they  are 
sometimes  solitary,  and  sometimes  gre- 
garious, about  half  a  line  thick,  and  from 
six  inches  to  five  feet  long. 

LIGUSTICUM,  in  botany,  tovage,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Pentandria  Digynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Umbellate,  or 
Umbelliferse.  Essential  character:  fruit 
oblong,  five-grooved  on  both  sides ;  co- 
rolla equal,  with  involute  entire  petals. 
There  are  eight  species,  of  which  L.  le- 
visticum,  common  lovage,  has  a  strong, 
fleshy,  perennial  root,  striking  deep  into 
the  ground,  composed  of  many  strong 
fleshy  fibres,  covered  with  a  brown  skin, 
possessing  a  hot  aromatic  smell  and  taste. 
The  leaves  are  large,  composed  of  many 
leaflets,  shaped  like  those  of  Smallage, 
but  larger  and  of  a  deeper  green ;  stems 
six  or  seven  feet  high,  large  and  chan- 
nelled, dividing  into  several  branches, 
each  terminated  by  a  large  umbel  of  yel- 
low flowers.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Alps, 
of  Italy,  the  South  of  France,  Silesia,  &c. 
LIGUSTRUM,  in  botany,  privet,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Diandria  Monogynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Sepiarize.  Jas- 
minex,  Jussieu.  Essential  character :  co- 
rolla four-cleft;  berry  four-seeded.  There 
are  three  species,  of  which  L.  vulgare, 
common  privet,  is  a  shrub  about  six  feet 
in  height,  branched,  the  bark  of  a  green- 
ish-ash colour,  irregularly  sprinkled,  with 
numerous  prominent  points;  branches 
opposite,  the  young  ones  flexible  and 
purplish;  leaves  opposite,  on  short  pe- 


LIL 


LIL 


smooth  on   both    sides ;    panicle    the  bent  of  his  inclinations,  which  led 
about  two  inches  in  length,  somewhat  py-    him  to  follow  the  puritanical  preachers, 
ramidal ;  corolla  white,  but  soon  changes 
to  a  reddish-brown.     Privet  is  found  wild 
in  most  parts  of  Europe,  and  in  Japan,  in 
woods  and  hedges ;  it  flourishes  best  in 


a  moist  soil. 

LIKE  quantities,  or    SIMILAR  quantities, 


Afterwards  turning1  his  mind  to  judicial 
astronomy,  in  1632  he  became  pupil,  in 
that  art,  to  one  Evans,  a  profligate  Welsh 
parson ;  and  the  next  year  gave  the  pub- 
lic a  specimen  of  his  skill,  by  an  intima- 
tion that  the  King  had  chosen  an  unlucky 

in  algebra,  are  such  as  are  expressed  by  horoscope  for  the  coronation  in  Scotland, 
the  same  letters,  to  the  same  power,  or  In  1634,  getting  a  manuscript  copy  of  the 
equally  repeated  in  each  quantity;  though  "  Ars  Noticia"  of  Cornelius  Agrippa, 
the  numeral  co-efficient  may  be  differ-  with  alterations,  he  drank  in  the  doctrine 
ent :  thus,  4  a  and  5  a  are  like  quantities;  of  the  magic  circle,  and  the  invocation  of 
so  also  are  oz1  and  9s1;  and  likewise  spirits,  with  great  eagerness,  and  prac- 
Sbdy*  10  b  dy-.  But  4  a  and  8  6  are  not  tised  it  for  some  time;  after  which  he 
like  quantities ;  nor  are  4  a  and  4  iC-.  treated  the  mystery  of  recovering  stolen 

LIKE  figures,  the  same  as  SIMILAR  goods,  &c.  with  great  contempt,  claiming 
figures.  All  like  figures  have  their  homo-  a  supernatural  sight,  and  the  gift  of  pro- 
logous  lines  in  the  same  ratio.  Like  phetical  predictions ;  all  which  he  well 
plane  figures  are  in  the  duplicate  ratio,  knew  how  to  turn  to  good  advantage, 
or  as  the  squares  of  their  homologous  Meanwhile  he  had  buried  his  first  wife, 
lines  or  sides;  and  like  solid  figures  are  purchased  a  moiety  of  thirteen  houses  in 
in  the  triplicate  ratio,  or  as  the  cubes  of  the  Strand,  and  married  a  second  wife, 
their  homologous  sides.  who,  joining  to  an  extravagant  temper  a 

LILIUM,  in  botany,  lily,  a  genus  of  the    termagant  spirit,  which  he  could  not  lay, 
Hexandria  Monogynia    class  and  order,    made  him  unhappy,  and  greatly  reduced 


Natural  order  of  Coronarkc.  Lilia,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character  :  corolla  six-pe- 
talled,  bell-shaped,  with  a  longitudinal 
nectareous  line  ;  capsule,  the  valves  con- 
nected by  cancellated  hairs.  There  are 
eleven  species,  with  many  varieties,  L. 
candidum,  common  white  lily,  has  a  large 
bulb,  from  which  proceed  several  succu- 
lent fibres ;  it  has  a  stout,  round,  upright 


his  circumstances. 

With  this  uncomfortable  yoke-mate  he 
removed,  in  1636,  to  Hersham,  in  Surrey, 
where  he  staid  till  1641 ;  when,  seeing  a 
prospect  of  fishing  in  troubled  waters,  he 
returned  to  London.  Here,  having  pur- 
chased several  curious  books  in  this  art, 
which  were  found  on  pulling  down  the 
house  of  another  astrologer,  he  studied 


stem,  usually  three  feet  in  height ;  leaves  them  incessantly,  finding  out  secrets  con- 

long  and  numerous,  smooth  and  sessile  ;  tained  in  them,  which  were  written  in  an 

flowers  white,  terminating  the  stern  in  a  imperfect  Greek  character ;  and,  in  1644, 

cluster,  on  short  peduncles ;  petals  with-  he  published  his  "  Merlinus  Anglicus," 

/•  i  ,  •  /»    i         i    •       •  *    •  .  jl_  1  1_  1*11  ,  •  1  1 


in  of  a  beautiful  shining1  white,  on  the 
outside  ridged,  and  less  luminous.  Na- 
tive of  the  Levant. 

LILLY  (WILLIAM),  in  biography,  a 
noted  English  astrologer,  born  in  Leices- 
tershire in  1602.  His  father  was  not  able 
to  give  him  further  education  than  com- 
mon reading  and  writing ;  but  young 
Lilly  being  of  a  forward  temper,  and  en- 
dued with  shrewd  wit,  he  resolved  to 
push  his  fortune  in  London,  where  he  ar- 


an  almanack,  which  he  continued  annual- 
ly till  his  death,  and  several  other  astro- 
logical works,  devoting  his  pen,  and 
otherlabours,  sometimes  to  King  Charles's 
party,  and  at  others  to  that  of  the  parlia- 
ment, but  mostly  to  the  latter,  raising  his 
fortune  by  favourable  predictions  to  both, 
parties,  at  one  time  by  presents,  and  at 
others  by  pensions.  Thus,  in  1648,  the 
council  of  state  gave  him  in  money  fifty 
pounds,  and  a  pension  of  one  hundred 


rived  in  1620,  and,  for  a  present  support,    pounds  per  annum,  which  he  received  for 


articled  himself  as  a  servant  to  a  mantua- 
maker  in  St  Clement  Danes.  But  in 
1624,  he  moved  a  step  higher,  by  enter- 
ing into  the  service  of  Mr.  Wright,  in 
the  Strand,  master  of  the  Salters*  Com- 
pany, who  not  being  able  to  write,  Lilly, 
among  other  offices,  kept  his  books.  On 
the  death  of  his  master,  in  1627,  Lilly 
paid  his  addresses  to  the  widow,  whom 
lie  married,  with  a  fortune  of  one  thou- 
sand pounds. 


two  years,  and  then  resigned  it  on  some 
disgust. 

By  his  advice  and  contrivance,  the 
King  attempted  several  times  to  make  his 
escape  from  confinement;  he  procured 
and  sent  the  aqua  fortis,  and  files  to  cut 
the  iron  bars  of  his  prison  windows  at  Ca- 
risbrook  Castle ;  but  still  advising  and 
writing  for  the  other  party  at  the  same 
time.  Meanwhile  he  read  public  lectures 
on  astrology  in  1648  and  1649,  for  the  im- 
provement of  voung  students  in  that  art ; 


L1L 


LLM 


and,  in  short,  plied  his  business  so  well, 
that,  in  1651  and  1652,  he  laid  out  two 
thousand  pounds  for  lands  and  a  house  at 
Hersham. 

During-  the  siege  of  Colchester,  he  and 
Booker  were  sent  for  thither  to  encour- 
age the  soldiers;  which  they  did  by  as- 
suring them  that  the  town  would  soon  be 
taken  ;  which  proved  true  in  the  event. 

Having,  in  1650,  written  publicly  that 
the  parliament  should  not  continue,  but  a 
new  government  arise ;  agreeably  to 
which,  in  his  almanack  for  1653,  he  as- 
serted that  the  parliament  stood  upon  a 
ticklish  foundation,  and  that  the  common- 
alty and  soldiery  would  join  together 
against  them.  Upon  which  he  was  sum- 
moned before  the  committee  of  plunder- 
ed ministers;  but  receiving  notice  of  it 
before  the  arrival  of  the  messenger,  he 
applied  to  his  friend  Lenthal,  the  Speak- 
er, who  pointed  out  the  offensive  pas- 
sages. He  immediately  altered  them,  at- 
tended the  committee  next  morning,  with 
six  copies  printed,  which  six  alone  he  ac- 
knowledged to  be  his,  and  by  that  means 
came  off  with  only  thirteen  days  custody 
by  the  Serjeant  at  arms.  This  year  he  was 
engaged  in  a  dispute  with  Mr.  Thomas 
Gataker. 

In  1665,  he  was  indicted  at  Hicks's 
Hall  for  giving  judgment  upon  stolen 
goods,  but  was  acquitted.  In  1659,  he 
received  from  the  King  of  Sweden  a  pre- 
sent of  a  gold  chain  and  medal,  worth 
about  fifty  pounds,  on  account  of  his 
having  mentioned  that  monarch  with 
great  respect  in  his  almanacks  of  1657 
and  1658. 

After  the  Restoration  in  1660,  being 
taken  into  custody,  and  examined  by  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
touching  the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  he 
declared  that  Robert  Spavin,  then  secre- 
tary to  Cromwell,  dining  with  him  soon 
after  the  fact,  assured  him  it  was  done  by 
Cornet  Joyce.  The  same  year  he  sued 
out  his  pardon,  under  the  broad  seal  of 
England,  and  afterwards  continued  in 
London  till  1665,  when,  upon  the  raging 
of  the  plague  there,  he  retired  to  his  es- 
tate at  Hersham.  Here  he  applied  him- 
self to  the  study  of  physic,  having,  by 
means  of  his  friend  Elias  Ashmole,  pro- 
cured from  Archbishop  Sheldon  a  licence 
to  practise  it,  which  he  did,  as  well  as 
astrology,  from  thence  till  the  time  of  his 
death.  In  October,  1666,  he  was  examin- 
ed before  a  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  concerning  the  fire  of  London, 
which  happened  in  September  that  year. 
A  little  before  his  death  he  adopted  for 
his  son,  by  the  name  of  Merlin  Junior, 


one  Henry  Coley,  a  tailor  by  trade  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  gave  him  the  impres- 
sion of  his  almanack,  which  had  been 
printed  for  thirty-six  years  successively. 
This  Coley  became  afterwards  a  cele- 
brated astrologer,  publishing  in  his  own 
name  almanacks  and  books  of  astrology, 
particularly  one  entitled  "  A  Key  to  As- 
trology." 

Lilly  died  of  the  palsy  in  1681,  at  se- 
venty-nine years  of  age;  and  his  friend 
Mr.  Ashmole  placed  a  monument  over 
his  grave  in  the  church  of  Walton  upon 
Thames. 

Lilly  was  the  author  of  many  works. 
His  "  Observations  on  the  Life  and  Death 
of  Charles,  late  King  of  England,"  if  we 
overlook  the  astrological  nonsense,  may 
be  read  with  as  much  satisfaction  as  more 
celebrated  histories,  Lilly  being  not  only 
very  well  informed,  but  strictly  impar- 
tial. This  work,  with  the  lives  of  Lilly 
and  Ashmole,  written  by  themselves,  were 
published  in  one  volume  8vo.  in  1774,  by 
Mr.  Burman.  His  other  works  were  prin- 
cipally as  follow  : 

1.  Merlinus  Anglicus,  junior.  2.  Super- 
natural Sight.  3.  The  White  King's  Pro- 
phecy. 4.  England's  prophetical  Merlin : 
all  printed  in  1644.  5.  The  starry  Mes- 
senger, 1645.  6.  Collection  of  Prophe- 
cies, 1646.  7.  A  Comment  on  the  White 
King's  Prophecy,  1646.  8.  The  Nativi- 
ties of  Archbishop  Laud  and  Thomas 
Earl  of  Stafford,  1646.  9.  Christian  As- 
trology, 1647 :  upon  this  piece  he  read 
his  lectures  in  1648,  mentioned  above. 

10.  The  third  Book  of  Nativities,  1647. 

11.  The  World's  Catastrophe,  1647.     12. 
The  Prophecies  of  Ambrose  Merlin,  with 
a  Key,  1647.     13.  Trithemius,  or  the  Go- 
vernment of  the  World  by  presiding  An- 
gels, 1647.     14.  A  Treatise  of  the  Three 
Suns  seen  in  the  Winter  of  1647,  printed 
in  1648.    15.  Monarchy  or  no  Monarchy, 
1651.     16.  Observations  on  the  Life  and 
Death  of  Charles,  late  King  of  England, 
1651 ;  and  again  in  1657,  with  the  title  of 
Mr.  William  Lilly's  true  History  of  King 
James  and  King  Charles  I.,  &c.  17.  Annus 
Tenebrosus,    or   the  Black  Year.     This 
drew  him  into  the  dispute  with  Gataker, 
which  Lilly  carried  on  in  his  Almanack  in 
1654. 

LIMAX,  in  natural  history,  the  slug. 
Body  oblong,  creeping,  with  a  fleshy 
kind  of  shield  above,  and  a  longitudinal 
flat  dish  beneatli ;  aperture  placed  on  the 
right  side,  within  the  shield ;  four  feelers, 
situate  above  the  mouth,  with  an  eye  at 
the  tip  of  each  of  the  larger  ones.  There 
are  sixteen  species;  L.  Izevis  :  body  black, 
and  almost  without  wrinkles,  found  r.nionjr 


LIME. 


the  moss  late  in  the  autumn,  five  lines 
long ;  body  glossy,  with  undulate,  trans- 
verse striae  on  the  shield;  narrower  and 
not  so  much  wrinkled  as  the  next.  L. 
ater;  body  black  and  furrowed  with  deep 
wrinkles  ;  of  this  species  there  are  five  or 
six  varieties,  differing'  in  colour  and  size  ; 
the  dusky -brown  with  a  yellowish  mouth, 
a  streak  on  each  side ;  is  found  in  woods, 
meadows,  fields,  and  gardens ;  is  from  one 
and  a  half  to  five  inches  long;  crawls 
slowly,  and  leaves  a  slime  upon  whatever 
it  passes  over.  L.  alba,  is  white,  and  is 
found  in  woods  and  groves;  from  three 
to  five  inches  long.  L.  hyalinus ;  body 
hyaline  ;  feelers  obsolete,  with  a  brown 
line  reaching  from  the  feelers  to  the 
shield  ;  inhabits  mossy  places,  and  is  very 
destructive  to  the  young  shoots  of  kid- 
ney-beans ;  belly  with  numerous  inter- 
rupted wrinkles.  L.  agrestes ;  body 
whitish,  with  black  feelers:  five  varie- 
ties, of  which  some  have  the  power  of 
secreting  a  large  quantity  of  mucous  from 
the  under  surface,  and  forming  it  into  a 
thread  like  a  spider's  web  ;  by  this  means 
it  often  suspends  itself,  and  descends 
from  the  branches  of  trees,  or  any  height 
it  had  crawled  up  to.  It  is  found  in  Eng- 
land, in  gardens,  pastures,  and  groves, 
from  May  till  December.  One  of  the  va- 
rieties of  this  species  is  that  which  has 
been  recommended  to  be  swallowed  by 
consumptive  persons ;  it  is  half  an  inch 
long,  and  when  touched  it  sticks  as  if  dead 
to  the  fingers. 

LIME,  or  calcareous  earth,  predomi- 
nates in  most  stones  which  are  soft 
enough  to  be  scratched  with  a  knife. 
These  are  chalk,  lime-stone,  marble, 
spars,  gypsum,  or  plaster-stone,  and  va- 
rious others.  As  the  lime  is  most  fre- 
quently combined  with  carbonic  acid,  it 
is  usuul  for  mineralogists  to  drop  a  small 
quantity  of  nitric  acid  upon  the  stones 
they  are  desirous  of  classing;  and  if  they 
froth  by  the  escape  of  the  acid,  they  con- 
clude that  lime  enters  into  the  composi- 
tion. To  obtain  pure  calcareous  earth, 
powdered  chalk  must  be  repeatedly  boil- 
ed in  water,  which  will  deprive  it  of  the 
saline  impurities  it  frequently  contains. 
It  must  then  be  dissolved  in  distilled  vine- 
gar, and  precipitated  by  the  addition  of 
concrete  volatile  alkali.  The  precipi- 
tate, when  _  well  washed  and  dried,  will 
consist  of  lime  united  to  carbonic  acid ; 
the  latter  of  which  may  be  driven  off'  by 
heat,  if  necessary. 

If  chalk,  marble,  lime-stone,  spar,  or 
any  other  specimens  of  this  earth,  con- 
taining carbonic  acid,  be  exposed  to  con- 

VOL.  IV. 


tinned  ignition,  they  give  out  carbonic 
acid  and  water,  to  the  amount  of  nearly 
half  their  weight.  The  remainder,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  lime,  has  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  combination,  and  attracts  water 
very  powerfully.  The  addition  of  water 
to  lime  produces  a  very  considerable 
heat,  attended  with  noise,  and  agitation 
of  the  parts,  which  break  asunder ;  a  con- 
siderable vapour  arises,  which  carries  up 
with  it  part  of  the  lime;  and  a  phosphoric 
light  is  seen,  if  the  experiment  be  made 
in  the  dark.  Lime  thus  saturated  with 
water  is  said  to  be  slaked.  Water  dis- 
solves about  one  five-hundredth  part  cf 
its  weight  of  lime,  and  is  then  called 
lime-water.  This  solution  has  an  acrid 
taste,  and  turns  syrup  of  violets  to  a  green 
colour.  If  lime-water  be  exposed  to  the 
open  air,  the  lime  attracts  carbonic  acid, 
and  is  by  this  means  converted  into 
chalk ;  which,  not  being  soluble  in  water, 
forms  a  crust  on  the  surface,  formerly 
called  cream  of  lime,  which,  when  of  a 
certain  thickness,  breaks,  and  falls  to  the- 
bottom  :  and  in  this  way  the  whole  of  the 
lime  will  in  time  be  separated.  If  the 
fire  have  been  too  violent  in  the  burning 
of  lime,  the  stones  become  hard,  sono- 
rous, and  incapable  of  absorbing  water 
with  the  requisite  degree  of  avidity.  This 
effect  seems  to  arise  from  part  of  the  cal- 
careous earth  having  entered  into  fusion, 
with  the  clay,  flint,  or  other  contaminat- 
ing; earths,  with  which  it  forms  a  glass 
that  covers  and  defends  the  rest. 

The  paste  of  lirne  and  water,  called 
mortar,  has  a  degree  of  adhesion  and  duc- 
tility, though  much  less  than  clay.  When 
dry,  it  is  more  or  less  friable,  like  chalk. 
A  mixture  of  sand,  or  broken  earthen 
vessels,  greatly  increases  its  firmness, 
which  it  seems  to  effect  by  rendering  it 
more  difficult  for  the  parts  to  be  remov- 
ed with  respect  to  each  other.  When 
mortar  is  left  to  dry  by  the  gradual  eva- 
poration of  its  superfluous  water,  it  is 
very  long-  before  it  obtains  its  utmost  de- 
gree of  firmness.  But  if  dry  quick- lime 
be  mixed  with  mortar,  it  gradually  ab- 
sorbs the  superfluous  water,  and  the  mass 
becomes  solid  in  a  very  short  time.  See 
MORTAR. 

Lime  has  an  affinity  for  tannin,  whence 
it  is  probable  that  a  portion  of  it  is  retain- 
ed in  tanned  leather,  perhaps  not  to  the. 
improvement  of  its  quality.  It  has  an 
edulcorative  power  with  respect  to  ani- 
mal oils,  by  combining  with  the  putrid 
gelatine  in  them ;  but  its  action  on  them 
in  forming  a  soap  is  too  strong  to  nclmit 
of  its  being  used  for  this  purpose  with  ad- 

R 


LIM 


LIM 


vantage,  unless  in  small  quantities.  Fea- 
thers, however,  may  be  very  convenient- 
ly cleaned,  by  steeping  three  or  four 
days  in  strong  lime-water,  and  afterward 
washing  and  drying  them. 

Though  infusible  in  the  strongest  heats 
of  our  furnaces,  it  is  nevertheless  a  very 
powerful  flux  with  regard  to  mixtures  of 
the  other  earths.  These  are  all  fusible  by 
a  proper  addition  of  lime.  Compounds 
are  still  more  fusible ;  for  any  three  of 
the  five  well-known  earths  may  be  fused 
into  perfect  glass,  if  they  be  mixed  to- 
gether in  equal  portions,  provided  the  cal- 
careous be  one  of  them. 

The  earthy  part  of  animals  is  chiefly,  if 
not  altogether,  calcareous  :  in  most  cases 
it  is  united  with  phosphoric  acid,  but  fre- 
quently with  the  carbonic. 

LiME-tfone.  The  native  indurated  car- 
bonate of  lime.  It  is  usually  more  or  less 
bluish  from  iron,  and  of  a  granulated  frac- 
ture ;  and  it  is  connected  with  lime  by  ig- 
nition in  lime-kilns,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  mortar.  See  LIME  ;  also  MOR- 
TAR. 

LIMEUM,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
He  ptandria  Digynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Holoracex.  Portulacex, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  five- 
leaved  ;  petals  five,  equal ;  capsule  globu- 
lar, two-celled  There  are  three  species, 
all  natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

LIMIT,  in  a  restrained  sense,  is  used 
by  mathematicians  for  a  determinate  quan- 
tity to  which  a  variable  one  continually  ap- 
proaches ;  in  which  sense  the  circle  may 
"be  said  to  be  the  limit  of  its  circumscrib- 
ed and  inscribed  polygons.  In  algebra, 
the  term  limit  is  applied  to  two  quanti- 
ties, one  of  which  is  greater,  and  the  other 
less,  than  another  quantity ;  and  in  this 
sense  it  is  used  in  speaking  of  the  limits 
of  equations,  whereby  their  solution  is 
much  facilitated. 

Let  any  equation,  as  x3  — p  x3  X  9  °°  — 
r  =  o  be  proposed  ;  and  transform  it  into 
the  following  equation  : 

""'  -r-  3  e  yz  -}-  3  e1  y  -f- 


;;f/J^n 

-\-qy-\-qe  f  ws 
—  rj 


Where  the  values  of  y  are  less  than  the 
respective  values  of  x,  by  the  difference  e. 
If  you  suppose  e  to  be  taken  such  as  to 
make  all  the  coefficients  of  the  equation 
of  y  positive,  viz.  el  — p  e3-  -f-  q  e  —  r,  3  e1 
—  2p  e  -f-  q,  3  e,  — p;  then,  there  being  no 
variation  of  the  signs  in  the  equation,  all 
the  values  of  y  must  be  negative  ;  and 
consequently  the  quantity  e,  by  which  the 
values  of  x  are  diminished,  must  be  great- 


er  than  the  greatest  positive  value  of  x ; 
and,  consequently,  must  be  the  limit  of  the 
roots  of  the  equation  xi  — p  x1  -f-  Q  x  — 
r  =  o. 

It  is  sufficient,  therefore,  in  order  to 
find  the  limit,  to  inquire  what  quantity 
substituted  for  x,  in  each  of  these  expres- 
sions .r3  —  p  x1  +  q  x  —  r,  3  x*  —  2  p  x 
-f-  <?,  3  x — p,  will  give  them  all  positive ; 
for  the  quantity  will  be  the  limit  required. 

Having  found  the  limit  that  surpasses 
the  greatest  positive  root,  call  it  m.  And 
if  you  assume  y  =  m  —  x,  and  for  x  sub- 
stitute m  —  y,  the  equation  that  will  arise 
will  have  all  its  roots  positive ;  because 
m  is  supposed  to  surpass  all  the  values  of 
x,  and  consequently  m  —  x  (=  y")  must 
always  be  affirmative.  And,  by  this  means, 
any  equation  may  be  changed  into  one 
that  shall  have  all  its  roots  affirmative. 

Or,  if  —  n  represent  the  limit  of  the  ne- 
gative roots,  then  by  assuming  y  =  x  + 
n  the  proposed  equation  shall  be  trans- 
formed into  one  that  shall  have  all  its 
roots  affirmative ;  for  -f-  n  being  greater 
than  any  negative  value  of  xt  it  follows 
that  y  =  x-\-  n  must  be  always  positive. 

What  is  here  said  of  the  above  cubic 
equation,  may  be  easily  applied  to  others  ; 
and  of  all  such  equations,  two  limits  are 
easily  discovered,  viz.  o,  which  is  less  than 
the  least ;  and  e,  found  as  above,  which 
surpasses  the  greatest  root  of  the  equa- 
tion. But  besides  these,  other  limits  still 
nearer  the  roots  may  be  found ;  for  the 
method  of  doing  which,  the  reader  may 
consult  Maclaurin's  Algebra. 

LIMITATION,  a  certain  time  prescrib- 
ed by  statute,  within  which  an  action  must 
be  brought,  which  is  generally  twofold ; 
first  in  writs,  by  several  acts  of  parlia- 
ment, and,  secondly,  to  make  a  title  to 
any  inheritance,  and  that  is  by  the  com- 
mon law. 

On  penal  statutes,  all  actions,  suits, 
bills,  indictments,  or  informations,  for  any 
forfeiture  limited  to  the  king,  his  heirs  or 
successors  only,  shall  be  brought  within 
two  years  after  the  offence  committed, 
and  not  after.  All  such  actions,  &c.  ex- 
cept the  statutes  of  tillage,  which  give 
the  penalty  to  the  king  and  a  common  in- 
former, are  limited  to  one  year  next  after 
the  offence  committed ;  and  if  not  sued 
for  by  the  informer,  they  may  be  sued  for 
by  the  king,  any  time  within  the  two  years, 
after  that  year  is  ended  :  and  where  a 
shorter  time  is  limited  by  any  penal  sta- 
tute, the  prosecution  must  be  within  that 
time  31  Eliz.  c.  5. 

All  actions  of  trespass,  of  assault,  bat- 
tery, wounding,  imprisonment,  or  any  of 


LIM 


LIN 


them,  are  to  be  commenced  within  four 
years  next  after  the  cause  of  such  actions 
or  suits,  and  not  after  :  21  James  I.  c.  16. 
All  actions  of  trespass,  quare  clattswnfre- 
git  ,•  all  actions  of  trespass,  detinue,  tro- 
ver, and  replevin  ;  ail  actions  of  account, 
and  upon  the  case,  (other  than  such  ac- 
counts as  concern  the  trade  of  merchan- 
dise between  merchant  and  merchant) ; 
all  actions  of  debt,  grounded  upon  any 
lending-,  or  contract  without  specialty 
(that  is,  not  being  by  deed  or  under  seal) ; 
all  actions  of  debt  for  arrearages  of  rent  ; 
and  all  actions  of  assault,  menace,  bat- 
tery, wounding,  and  imprisonment,  shall 
be  commenced  within  the  time  and  limi- 
tation as  followeth,  and  not  after :  that  is 
to  say,  the  said  actions  upon  the  case 
(other  than  for  slander),  and  the  said  ac- 
tions for  account,  and  the  said  actions  for 
trespass,  debt,  detinue,  and  replevin,  and 
the  said  action  for  trespass  quare  clausi/m 
fregit,  within  six  years  after  the  cause  of 
such  action  :  21  James  I.  c.  16.  In  all 
these  statutes  there  is  an  exception  in  re- 
lation to  infants,  lunatics,  and  femes  co- 
verts, allowing  them  a  further  time  after 
they  are  in  a  situation  which  enables  them 
to  sue.  As  to  the  exception  with  respect 
to  merchants'  accounts,  it  extends  to  ac- 
tions on  accounts  current  only,  in  which 
the  giving  credit  on  one  side  is  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  debt  on  the  other  ; 
but  when  the  account  is  settled  between 
merchant  and  merchant,  it  must  be  sued 
for  like  any  other  debt  ;  and  if  all  the  ar- 
ticles are  on  one  side,  the  account  is  not 
taken  out  of  the  statute.  An  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  debt  prevents  the  operation 
of  the  statute  of  limitations,  and  also  a 
payment  upon  account ;  but  as  it  is  con- 
venient that  suits  should  not  be  delayed 
so  long  that  vouchers  cannot  be  produced, 
settlements  should  regularly  be  enforced. 
A  writ  also  may  be  sued  out  to  save  the 
statute  of  limitation,  as  it  is  called,  and 
though  never  sued,  yet,  if  it  is  regularly 
entered,  and  continued  upon  the  record, 
the  suit  may  be  effectually  prosecuted 
long  after,  and  being  commenced  within 
time,  the  action  may  be  maintained  out. 
This  is  in  conscience  rather  a  mode 
of  evading  the  statute.  It  is  generally 
considered  as  an' unfair  defence  to  rely 
upon  the  statute,  when  the  party  has  the 
actual  means  of  knowing  whether  the 
debt  is  due,  and  therefore  a  very  slight 
acknowledgment  removes  the  objection 
to  the  suit. 

LIMNING,  the  art  of  painting  in  water 
colours,  in  contradistinction  to  painiing 


which  is  done  in  oil  colours.  See  PAINT- 
ING 

LIMODORUM,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Gynaiulria  Diandria  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Orchideae.  Essei.tial 
character :  nectary  one-leafed,  concave, 
pedicelied,  within  the  lowest  petal.  There 
are  thirteen  species. 

LIMONIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Decandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character:  calyx  five-parted; 
petals  five  ;  berry  three-celled  ;  seeds  so- 
litary. There  are  seven  species,  of  which 
L.  pentaphylla,  five-leaved  limonia,  is  an 
elegant  fragrant  shrub,  very  common  in 
most  uncultivated  lands  in  Coromandel, 
but  chiefly  under  large  trees,  where  birds 
have  dropped  the  seeds.  It  flowers  all  the 
year.  The  whole  plant,  when  drying  in 
the  shade,  diffuses  a  pleasant  permanent 
scent ;  the  flowers  are  exquisitely  fra- 
grant ;  birds  eat  the  berries  greedily. 

L1MOSELLA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Didynamia  Angiospermia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Precis.  Lysimachix, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  five- 
cleft  ;  corolla  five-cleft,  equal ;  stamina 
approximating  by  pairs ;  capsule  one- 
celled,  two-valved,  many-seeded.  There 
are  two  species,  viz.  L.  aquatica,  common 
mud-wort,  or  bastard  plantain  ;  and  L. 
dia.idria. 

LINCONIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Pentandria  Digynia  class  and  order.  Es- 
tial  character ;  petals  five,  with  a  nerta- 
reous  excavation  at  the  base;  capsule 
two-celled  There  is  but  one  species, 
viz.  L.  alopecuroidea,  a  native  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  in  watery  places  among 
the  mountains. 

L1NDERA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
J.  Linder,  a  Swede,  a  genus  of  the  Hex- 
andria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Es- 
sential character  :  corolla  six-petalled  ; 
capsule.  There  is  only  one  species,  viz. 
L.  umbellata,  a  native  of  Japan. 

LINDERNIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Didynamia  Angiospermia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Personate.  Scrophu- 
lanae,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  ca- 
lyx five-parted  ;  corolla  ringent,  with  the 
upper  lip  very  short ;  stamina  the  two 
lower  with  a  terminating  tooth,  and  a  sub- 
lateral  anther ;  capsule  one-celled.  There 
are  three  species. 

LINE,  in  geometry,  a  quantity  extend- 
ed in  length  only,  without  any  breadth  or 
thickness.  It  is  formed  by  the  flux  or 
motion  of  a  point.  See  FLUXIOK. 

LINES  in  perspective,  are,  1.  Geome- 
trical line,  which  is  a  right  line  drawn  in 


LINE. 


any  manner  on  the  geometrical  plane.  2. 
Terrestrial  line,  or  fundamental  line,  is  a 
rig-lit  line,  wherein  the  geometrical  plane, 
and  that  of  the  picture  or  draught,  inter- 
sect one  another,  formed  by  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  geometrical  plane,  and  the 
perspective  plane.  3.  Line  of  the  front, 
is  any  right  line  parallel  to  the  terrestrial 
line.  4.  Vertical  line,  the  common  sec- 
tion of  the  vertical  and  of  the  draught. 
5.  Visual  line,  the  line  or  ray  imagined 
to  pass  from  the  object  to  the  eye.  6. 
Line  of  station,  according  to  some  wri- 
ters, is  the  common  section  of  the  verti- 
cal and  geometrical  planes.  7.  Objective 
line,  the  line  of  an  object  from  whence 
the  appearance  is  sought  for  in  the 
draught  or  picture. 

LINES,  in  dialling,  are,  1.  Horizontal 
line,  the  common  section  of  the  horizon 
and  the  dial  plane.  See  DIALLING.  2. 
Horary  lines,  or  hour-lines,  the  common 
intersections  of  the  hour-circles  of  the 
sphere,  with  the  plane  of  the  dial.  See 
HORARY.  3.  Substylar  line,  that  line  on 
which  the  style  or  cock  of  a  dial  is  duly 
erected,  and  the  representation  of  such 
an  hour  circle  as  is  perpendicular  to  the 
plane  of  that  dial.  4.  Equinoctial  line, 
the  common  intersection  of  the  equinoc- 
tiat  and  plane  of  the  dial. 

LINK  of  measures,  is  used  by  Oughtred, 
to  denote  the  diameter  of  the  primitive 
circle  in  the  projection  of  the  sphere  in 
piano,  or  that  line  in  which  the  diameter 
of  any  circle  to  be  projected  falls.  In 
the  stereographic  projection  of  the  sphere 
in  piano,  the  line  of  measures  is  that  line 
in  which  the  plane  of  a  great  circle  per- 
pendicular to  the  plane  of  the  projection, 
and  that  oblique  circle  which  is  to  be 
projected,  intersects  the  plane  of  the 
projection ;  or  it  is  the  common  section 
of  a  plane  passing  through  the  eye  point 
and  the  centre  of  the  primitive  at  right 
angles  to  any  oblique  circle  which  is  to 
be  projected,  and  in  which  the  centre 
and  pole  of  such  circle  will  be  found. 

LINE  of  direction  on  the  earth's  axis,  in 
the  Pythagorean  system  of  astronomy,  the 
line  connecting  the  two  poles  of  the  eclip- 
tic and  of  the  equator,  when  they  are  pro- 
jected on  the  plane  of  the  former. 

LINE  of  direction,  in  mechanics,  that 
wherein  a  body  actually  moves,  or  would 
move,  if  it  were  not  hindered.  It  also  de- 
notes the  line  that  passes  through  the 
centre  of  gravity  of  the  heavy  body  to 
the  centre  of  the  earth,  which  must  also 
pass  through  the  fulcrum,  or  support  of 
the  heavy  body,  without  which  it  would 
fall. 

LINE  of  gravitation,  of  any  heavy  body, 


a  line  drawn  through  its  centre  of  gravi- 
ty, and  according-  to  which  it  tends  down- 
wards. 

LINE  of  the  sitnflest  descent,  of  a  heavy 
body,  is  the  cycloid.  See  CYCLOID, 

LINES  on  the  plane  scale,  are  the  line  of 
chords,  line  of  sines,  line  of  tangents,  line 
of  secants,  line  of  semitangents,  line  of 
leagues;  the  construction  and  application 
of  which,  see  under  MATHESIATICAL  IN- 
STRUMENTS, SAILING,  Sec. 

LINES  on  Gunter^s  scale,  are  the  line  of 
numbers,  line  of  artificial  sines,  line  of  ar- 
tificial tangents,  line  of  artificial  versed 
sines,  line  of  artificial  sines  of  rhumbs, 
line  of  artificial  tangents  of  the  meridian 
line,  and  line  of  equal  parts  ;  for  the  con- 
struction and  application  whereof,  see 
GUNTER'S  scale. 

LINES  of  the  sector,  are  the  line  of  equal 
parts,  or  line  of  lines,  line  of  chords,  line 
of  sines,  line  of  tangents,  line  of  secants, 
line  of  polygons,  line  of  numbers,  line  of 
hours,  line  of  latitudes,  line  of  meridians, 
line  of  metals,  line  of  solids,  line  of 
planes ;  for  the  construction  and  use 
whereof,  see  SECTOR. 

LINES,  in  fortification,  are  those  of  ap- 
proach, capital,  defence,  circumvallation, 
contravallation,  of  the  base,  &,c.  See  AP- 
PROACH, &c. 

To  LINE  a  ~vcrk,  signifies  to  strengthen 
a  rampart  with  a  firm  wall ;  or  to  encom- 
pass a  parapet  or  moat  with  good  turf, 
&c. 

LINE,  in  the  art  of  war,  is  understood 
of  the  disposition  of  an  army,  ranged  in 
order  of  battle,  with  the  front  extended 
as  far  as  may  be,  that  it  may  not  be  flank- 
ed. See  AIOIY. 

LINE  of  battle,  is  also  understood  of  the 
disposition  of  a  fleet  on  the  day  of  en- 
gagement, on  which  occasion  the  vessels 
are  usually  drawn  up  as  much  as  possible 
in  a  straight  line,  as  well  to  gain  and  keep 
the  advantage  of  the  wind,  as  to  run  the 
same  board. 

LINE,  ship  of  the,  a  vessel  large  enough 
to  be  drawn  up  in  the  line,  and  to  have  a 
place  in  a  sea-fight.  See  SHIP. 

LINE,  in  fencing,  that  part  of  the  body 
opposite  to  the  enemy,  wherein  the  shoul- 
ders, the  right  arm,  and  the  sword,  ought 
always  to  be  found ;  and  wherein  are  also 
to  be  placed  the  two  feet,  at  the  distance 
of  eighteen  inches  from  each  other.  In 
which  sense  a  man  is  said  to  be  in  his 
line,  or  to  go  out  of  his  line,  &c. 

LINE  of  the  synodical,  in  reference  to 
some  theories  of  the  moon,  is  a  right  line 
supposed  to  be  drawn  through  the  cen- 
tres of  the  earth  and  sun ;  and,  if  it  be 
produced  quite  through  the  orbits,  it  js 


LIN 


LI1S 


called  the  line  of  the  true  syzygies  :  but  a 
right  line  imagined  to  pass  through  the 
earth's  centre,  and  the  mean  place  of  the 
sun,  is  called  the  line  of  the  mean  syzy- 
gies. 

LINK,  in  genealogy,  a  series  or  succes- 
sion of  relations  in  various  degrees,  all  de- 
scending from  the  same  common  father. 
Direct  line,  is  that  which  goes  from  father 
to  son ;  being  the  order  of  ascendants 
and  descendants.  Collateral  line,  is  the 
order  of  those  who  descend  from  some 
common  father  related  to  the  former,  but 
out  of  the  line  of  ascendants  and  descend- 
ants :  in  this  are  placed  uncles,  aunts, 
cousins,  nephews,  &c. 

LINE  was  also  formerly  a  French  mea- 
sure, containing  the  twelfth  part  of  an 
inch,  or  the  hundred  and  forty-fourth  part 
of  a  foot.  Geometricians  conceive  the 
line,  notwithstanding  its  smallness,  to  be 
subdivided  into  six  points. 

LINES,  in  music,  the  name  of  those 
strokes  drawn  horizontally  on  a  piece  of 
paper,  on  and  between  which  the  cha- 
racters and  notes  of  music  are  disposed  : 
their  number  is  commonly  five  ;  when 
another  is  added,  for  one,  two,  or  more 
notes,  it  is  called  a  ledger-line. 

LINES,  in  heraldry,  the  figures  used  in 
armories,  to  divide  'the  shield  into  differ- 
ent parts,  and  to  compose  different 
figures.  These  lines,  according  to  their 
different  forms  and  names,  give  denomi- 
nation to  the  pieces  or  figures  which  they 
form,  except  the  straight  or  plain  lines. 

LINE  All  members,  in  mathematics,  such 
as  have  relation  to  length  only  ;  such  is  a 
number  which  represents  one  side  of  a 
plane  figure.  If  the  plane  figure  be  a 
square,  the  linear  number  is  called  a 
root. 

LINEAR  problem,  that  which  may  be 
solved  geometrically,  by  the  intersection 
of  two  right  lines.  This  is  called  a  sim- 
ple problem,  and  is  capable  but  of  one 
solution. 

LINEN,  in  commerce.  The  linen  ma- 
nufacture was  probably  introduced  in- 
to Britain  with  the  first  settlements  of 
the  Romans.  The  flax  was  certainly  first 
planted  by  that  nation  in  the  British  soil. 
The  plant  itself  indeed  appears  to  have 
been  originally  a  native  of  the  east.  The 
woollen-drapery  would  naturally  be  prior 
in  its  origin  to  the  linen,  and  the  fibrous 
plants  from  which  the  threads  of  the  lat- 
ter are  produced,  seem  to  have  been  first 
noticed  and  worked  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt.  In  Egypt,  indeed,  the  linen  ma- 
nufacture appears  to  have  been  very  ear- 
ly ;  for  even  in  Joseph's  time  it  had  risen 
to  a  considerable  height.  From  the 


Egyptians  live  knowledge  of  it  proceed- 
ed probably  to  tiie  Greeks,  and  from 
them  to  the  ] tomans.  Even  at  this  day 
the  flax  is  imported  among  us  from  the 
eastern  nations;  the  western  kind  being" 
merely  a  degenerate  species  of  it.  In 
order  to  succeed  in  the  linen  manufac- 
ture, one  set  of  people  should  be  confin- 
ed to  the  ploughing  and  preparing1  the 
soil,  sowing  and  covering  the  seed,  to  the 
weeding,  pulling,  rippling,  and  taking- 
care  of  the  new  seed,  and  watering  and 
dressing  the  flax  till  it  is  lodged  at  home  : 
others  should  be  concerned  in  the  dry- 
ing, breaking,  scutching,  and  heckling 
the  flax,  to  fit  it  for  the  spinners ;  and 
others  in  spinning  and  reeling  it,  to  fit  it 
for  the  weaver:  others  should  be  con- 
cerned in  taking  due  care  of  the  weaving, 
bleaching,  beetling,  and  finishing  the 
cloth  for  the  market.  It  is  reasonable  to 
believe,  that  if  these  several  branches  of 
the  manufacture  were  carried  on  by  dis- 
tinct dealers  in  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
where  our  home-made  linens  are  manu- 
factured, the  several  parts  would  be  bet- 
ter executed,  and  the  whole  would  be  af- 
forded cheaper,  and  with  greater  profit. 

LING,  in  ichthyology,  the  cirrated  ga- 
dus  with  two  black  fins,  and  with  the  up- 
per jaw  longest ;  a  fish  called  by  authors 
asellus  longus.  See  GADUS. 

LINGUATALA,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  the  Vermes  Intestina  class  and 
order.  Body  depressed,  oblong ;  mouth 
placed  before,  surrounded  with  four  pas- 
sages. There  is  but  a  single  species,  i'i-. 
L.  serrata,  inhabiting  the  lungs  of  tho 
hare. 

LINGUIFORM,  in  Nat.  Hist,  tongue- 
shaped  ;  linear,  with  the  extremity  ob  - 
tusely  rounded. 

LINNJEA,  in  botany,  so  named  in  ho- 
nour of  the  celebrated  Linnxus,  a  genus 
of  the  Didjmamia  Angiospermia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Aggregate.  Ca- 
prifolise,  Jussieu.  Essential  character : 
calyx  double,  of  the  fruit  two-leaved,  of 
the  flower  five-parted,  superior ;  corolla 
bell-shaped  •  berry  dry,  three-celled. 
There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  L.  borealis, 
two-flowered  linnxa,  a  native  of  the  north 
of  Europe. 

LINNJSUS,  CHAHLES,  (Carl  von  Linne) 
the  most  eminent  naturalist  of  this  age, 
and  the  founder  of  modern  botany,  was 
born  in  1707,  at  Rashult,  in  the  province 
of  Smaland,  in  Sweden,  where  his  father 
resided  as  assistant  minister  to  the  parish 
of  Stenbrohult.  The  father,  Nils,  who 
was  the  son  of  a  peasant  named  Bengtson, 
had,  on  going  into  orders,  assumed  the 
name  of  Linnseus,  which  was  therefore  the. 


UNN2B-US. 


proper  name  of  young  Charles.  Nils 
was  attached  to  the  culture  of  his  garden, 
which  he  had  stocked  with  some  of  the 
rarer  planis  in  that  climate,  and  it  is  to  the 
delight  with  which  this  spot  inspired 
Charles,  from  his  earliest  childhood,  that 
he  himself  ascribes  his  botanical  passion. 
A  remarkable  quickness  of  sight,  a  hardy 
constitution,  and  a  retentive  memory, 
gave  him  the  corporeal  and  mental  requi- 
sites for  indulging  his  disposition,  and 
thus  he  was  marked  out  for  a  naturalist 
almost  from  his  cradle.  His  father  in- 
tending him  for  his  own  profession,  sent 
him  to  the  grammar  school  at  \Vexio  at 
the  age  of  ten,  whence  he  was  removed 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  to  the  higher 
seminary,  called  the  gymnasium.  In  nei- 
ther of  "these  situations  was  he  distin- 
guished for  his  proficiency  in  the  ordina- 
ry studies  of  a  literary  education  ;  but  he 
made  a  rapid  progress  in  the  knowledge 
of  plants,  which  he  ardently  pursued, 
both  by  frequent  excursions  in  the  fields, 
and  by  the  unwearied  perusal  of  such 
books  on  the  subject  as  he  was  able  to 
procure.  When  'his  father,  in  1726, 
came  to  VVexio  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
quiring into  his  improvement,  he  was 
much  mortified  to  find  his  son  declared 
utterly  unfit  for  a  learned  profession  by 
tutors,  who  advised  that  he  should  be  put 
to  some  handicraft  trade.  In  this  per- 
plexity he  applied  to  the  physician,  Roth- 
man,  who  was  also  lecturer  in  natural 
philosophy,  the  only  branch  of  academic 
study  for  which  young  Linnaeus  had  shewn 
any  inclination.  This  person  discovered 
in  him  talents,  which,  though  not  fitted  to 
make  him  a  theologian,  were  not  ill 
adapted  for  another  profession,  and  he 
proposed  that  of  physic.  As  the  father's 
circumstances  were  very  narrow,  Roth- 
man  offered  to  take  the  youth  gratui- 
tously into  his  own  house  during  the  year 
that  remained  for  him  to  finish  his  course 
in  the  gymnasium ;  he  also  gave  him  pri- 
vate instructions  in  physiology,  and  put 
him  into  a  systematic  method  of  studying 
botany,  according  to  Tournefort's  arrange- 
ment, which  was  then  looked  upon  as  the 
most  scientific. 

In  1727,  Linnaeus  was  entered  at  the 
University  of  Lund ;  lie  lodged  in  the 
house  of  Stobceus,  a  physician,  who  pos- 
sessed a  good  library  and  museum  of  na- 
tural history.  He  appears  here  to  have 
paid  for  his  entertainment  by  various  lit- 
tie  services,  such  as  that  of  forming  a 
hortus  siccus,  and  acting  as  an  amanuen- 
sis. It  was,  however,  only  by  accident 
that  his  host  came  to  know  the  extent  of 


his  studious  ardour.  The  mother  of  Sto. 
boeus  having  observed  that  the  candle  in 
his  chamber  was  burning  at  unseasona' 
ble  hours,  was  induced,  through  fear  of 
fire,  to  complain  of  it  to  her  son.  Sto- 
bceus  thereupon  entered  his  chamber  at 
a  late  hour,  and  found  him  diligently  oc- 
cupied with  reading.  Struck  with  this 
proof  of  his  thirst  after  improvement,  he 
gave  Linnaeus  the  free  use  of  his  library, 
and  admission  to  his  table.  The  advice 
of  Rothvnan,  however,  caused  the  young 
student,  in  1728,  to  quit  Lund,  and  to  re- 
move to  Upsal,  for  the  sake  of  the  supe- 
rior advantages  it  afforded.  His  father 
advanced  him  the  sum  of  about  eight 
pounds  sterling,  which  he  was  informed 
was  all  the  paternal  assistance  he  was  to 
expect.  Thus  he  was  turned  out  upon 
the  world  while  yet  but  a  learner  in  the 
profession  by  which  he  was  to  get  his 
bread.  His  little  patrimony  was  soon  ex- 
hausted, and  he  was  reduced  to  depend 
upon  chance  for  a  meal.  Unable  to  pay 
even  for  the  mending  of  his  shoes,  he  was 
obliged  to  patch  them  himself  with  folded 
paper,  and  notwithstanding  his  sanguine 
temper,  he  could  not  forbear  repenting 
that  he  had  left  his  comfortable  situation 
at  Lund. 

At  length,  in  the  autumn  of  1729,  as 
he  was  intently  examining  some  plants 
in  the  university  garden,  he  was  accosted 
by  Dr.  Olof  Celsius,  professor  of  divinity, 
and  an  eminent  naturalist,  who  was  then 
engaged  in  preparing  a  work  on  the 
plants  mentioned  in  the  scripture.  A 
little  conversation  soon  apprised  him  of 
the  extraordinary  botanical  acquisitions 
of  the  student,  and  perceiving  his  neces- 
sitous circumstances,  he  took  him  to  live 
in  his  own  house.  It  was  in  this  year 
that  an  account  in  the  Leipsic  Commen- 
taries of  Vaillant's  Treatise  on  the  Sexes 
of  Plants,  engaged  him  in  an  accurate  ex- 
amination of  the  stamina  and  pistils  of 
flowers,  and  finding  a  great  variety  of 
structure,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  a 
new  systematic  arrangement,  founded  on 
the  sexual  parts.  He  drew  up  a  trea- 
tise  on  this  principle,  which  was  shewn 
to  Celsius,  and  by  him  to  the  botanical 
professor,  Rudbeck,  who  had  the  libe- 
rality to  bestow  on  it  his  warmest  appro- 
bation. As  the  professor's  advanced  age 
made  him  desirous  of  a  deputy  in  the  of- 
fice of  lecturing,  Linnaeus,  in  1730,  was 
appointed  to  this  office,  and  was  also  ta- 
ken by  Rudbeck  into  his  own  house  as 
tutor  to  his  sons. 

The  court  of  Sweden  having  issued  an 
order  that  the  academy  at  Upsal  should 


LINNJEUS. 


send  a  proper  person  to  travel  through 
Lapland,  Linnaeus,  who  had  a  strong  incli- 
nation to  visit  that  country,  was  chosen 
for  the  office.  He  set  out  in  May,  1732, 
very  slenderly  provided  as  a  scientific 
traveller,  all  'his  bag-gage  with  himself 
being  carried  on  a  single  horse.  This 
tour  would  have  been  much  more  inter- 
esting to  science  had  it  been  taken  when 
he  was  further  advanced  in  his  studies, 
and  better  equipped  for  making  observa- 
tions. Its  chief  fruits  were  a  "flora  lap- 
ponica,"  and  some  curious  medical  and 
economical  facts. 

Having  learnt  the  art  of  assaying  metals 
at  the  mines  of  Calix,  he  gave  lectures  on 
that  subject,  and  mineralogy  in  general, 
after  his  return.  He  improved  himself  in 
this  br  .nch  of  knowledge  by  a  visit  to  the 
mining  country  round  Fahlun,  at  the  end 
of  1733.  He  found,  however,  that  a  doc- 
tor's degree  would  be  necessary  to  his 
further  advancement,  and  in  order  to  ob- 
tain this,  money  was  necessary.  For  this 
purpose  he  was  advised  by  a  friend  to 
turn  his  thoughts  towards  a  matrimonial 
connection  with  some  lady  of  fortune, 
and  having  an  introduction  to  the  family 
of  Moraeus,  the  town  physician  of  Fah- 
lun, he  ventured  to  make  his  addresses  to 
his  eldest  daughter  Elizabeth,  and  was 
favourably  received.  His  indigent  cir- 
cumstances gave  him  little  hopes  of  ob- 
taining the  father's  consent ;  but,  to  his 
surprise,  he  only  required  a  delay  until 
his  exertions  should  open  a  path  to  a 
comfortable  settlement.  Linnaeus  there- 
fore resolved  to  travel  in  quest  of  for- 
tune and  a  degree,  and  having  accu- 
mulated his  little  savings,  to  which  were 
added  those  of  his  faithful  Elizabeth, 
he  set  out  for  Holland  in  the  spring  of 
1735. 

At  Harderwyck,  as  the  cheapest  uni- 
versity, he  took  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
physic,  maintaining  for  his  thesis,  "  Nova 
Hypothesis  Febrium  Intermittentium." 
He  visited  Leyden  and  Amsterdam,  and 
was  particularly  noticed  by  Dr.  John 
Frederic  Gronovius,  who,  upon  being 
shewn  in  manuscript  the  first  sketch  of 
the  "  Systema  Naturae,"  requested  it 
might  be  printed  at  his  own  expense. 
This  was  accordingly  done  at  Leyden,  in 
1735,  in  a  tabular  form,  occupying  twelve 
folio  pages.  By  the  advice  of  Gronovius 
he  waited  on  Boerhaave,  who,  on  con- 
versing with  him,  became  sensible  of  his 
singular  attainments  in  botany,  and  ad- 
vised him  to  remain  in  Holland.  Munifi- 
cence was  not  among  that  great  man's 
excellencies,  and  a  verbal  message,  by 


way  of  introduction  .to  Burmann  at  Am- 
sterdam, was  the  principal  favour  that 
Linnaeus  received  from  him.  That  emi- 
nent botanist,  who  was  there  engaged  on 
his  work  on  the  plants  of  Ceylon,  took 
the  Swede  into  his  house,  and  treated  him 
with  great  liberality.  His  library  and 
collections  were  of  much  use  to  Linnaeus, 
who  there  published  his  excellent  work, 
the  "  Fundamenta  Botanica,"  the  basis 
of  his  system.  While  he  was  in  this  si- 
tuation, Mr.  Clifford,  an  opulent  merchant 
of  Amsterdam,  who  had  a  fine  garden  of 
exotics,  having  heard  of  the  merit  of 
Linnaeus  from  Boerhaave,  prevailed  upon 
Burmann  to  part  with  him,  and  took  him 
to  his  country  house  at  Hartecamp,  near 
Haerlem. 

In  1736  Linnaeus,  at  Mr.  Clifford's  ex- 
pence,  paid  a  visit  to  England.  There 
were  at  that  time  few  distinguished  bo- 
tanists in  this  country,  and  Dillenius  was 
the  person  whom  he  was  most  desirous 
of  seeing;  Linnaeus  went  to  him  at  Ox- 
ford, and  at  first  met  with  a  cool  recep- 
tion, the  old  botanist  having  been  offend- 
ed with  some  of  his  innovations  :  after  a 
little  conversation,  however,  he  liked 
him  so  well,  that  he  detained  him  a 
month,  and  strongly  urged  him  to  take  up 
his  abode  at  Oxford,  and  share  his  salary  as 
professor.  Dr.  Shaw,  the  traveller,  Mar- 
tyn,  Miller,  and  Collinson,  also  showed 
him  much  civility;  but  Sir  Hans  Sloane 
did  not  pay  the  attention  to  him  which 
might  have  been  expected  from  such  a 
votary  of  natural  history.  Linnaeus  re- 
turned to  Holland,  enriched  with  many 
new  plants  for  Clifford's  garden,  the  de- 
scription of  which,  under  the  title  of 
"  Hortus  Cliffortianus,"  appeared  in  a 
splendid  publication  in  1737,  drawn  up  by 
him,  and  arranged  according  to  his  new 
system.  He  had  already,  in  the  same 
year,  presented  to  the  botanical  world 
the  essence  of  that  system  in  the  first  edi- 
tion of  his  "  Genera  Plantarum." 

In  the  year  1738,  having  received  in- 
telligence that  he  was  in  danger  of  being 
rivalled  in  his  pretensions  to  his  mistress, 
by  the  influence  another  had  obtained 
with  her  father,  he  thought  it  necessary 
no  longer  to  delay  his  return.  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  he  was  able,  after  his  reco- 
very from  a  severe  illness,  he  took  his 
way  through  the  Low  Countries  to  Paris. 
At  that  capital  he  had  recommendations 
to  the  Jussieus,  who  received  him  with 
great  kindness,  and  made  him  known  to 
Reaumur  and  other  eminent  naturalists, 
and  showed  him  all  the  curiosities  of  the 
place.  At  a  visit  to  the  Academy  of  Set- 


LINNJEUS. 


ences,  it  Was  announced  to  him  that  lie 
was  elected  a  corresponding  member. 
The  attachment  of  the  French  to  the  me- 
thod of  their  eminent  countryman,  Tour- 
nefort,  was  unfavourable  to  the  reception 
of  the  Linnxan  system  among  them,  but 
lie  had  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
personal  attention  which  he  experienced. 
At  Rouen  he  embarked  for  Sweden, 
where,  on  his  arrival,  he  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  Fahlun,  and  was  formally  be- 
trothed to  the  object  of  his  affections.  In 
the  month  of  September  he  went  to  Stock- 
holm, in  order  to  try  his  fortune  as  a  phy- 
sician ;  but  he  found  that  his  fame  as  a 
botanist  had  either  not  reached  thither, 
or  was  of  no  service  to  him  as  a  practi- 
tioner. At  length,  however,  he  obtained 
the  confidence  of  some  young  men  of 
rank,  who  gave  him  considerable  employ- 
ment. A  private  meeting  of  men  of  sci- 
ence being  formed  in  the  capital,  Linnaeus 
was  made  an  associate,  and  had  the  pre- 
cedency for  the  first  three  months  :  this 
institution  was  the  parent  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Stockholm.  His  reputation 
made  him  known  to  Count  Tessin,  Mar- 
shal of  the  Diet,  by  whose  influence  a 
salary  was  conferred  upon  him,  with  the 
condition  of  his  giving  public  lectures  on 
botany  in  the  summer,  and  on  mineralo- 
gy in  the  winter.  That  nobleman 
also  procured  for  him  the  post  of  Phy- 
sician to  the  Navy,  and  gave  him  a  gene- 
ral invitation  to  his  table.  His  affairs  now 
wore  so  prosperous  an  aspect,  that  he 
would  no  longer  delay  his  union  with  his 
betrothed  Anna-Elizabeth  Morsea,  and 
they  married  in  June,  1739. 

The  death  of  Rudbeck,  professor  of  bo- 
tany at  Upsal,  in  1740,  opened  to  Linnaeus 
a  prospect  of  the  literary  situation  which 
had  always  been  the  object  of  his  wishes, 
in  which  he  might  devote  himself  entire- 
ly to  the  improvement  of  natural  history, 
uninterrupted  by  the  cares  of  medical 
practice.  He  had,  however,  a  competi- 
tor, Rousen,  his  ancient  rival  and  antago- 
nist, whose  superior  academical  claims 
obtained  the  preference.  But  the  resig- 
nation of  Rouberg,  the  medical  professor, 
having  made  another  vacancy,  that  chair 
was  given  to  Linnaeus,  with  the  condition 
that  he  and  Rousen  should  divide  the 
business  of  the  two  professorships  between 
them ;  and  to  the  former  were  allotted 
the  departments  of  the  botanic  garden, 
materia  medica,  simiology,  diaetetics,  and 
natural  history  in  general.  Before  his  re- 
moval to  Upsal,  he  was  engaged  by  the 
States  to  travel  through  the  Southern  pro- 
vinces of  Sweden,  for  the  purpose  of  col- 


lecting such  information  as  might  tend  to 
the  improvement  of  agriculture  and  manu- 
factures. In  this  tour'he  was  accompanied 
by  six  pupils,  and  he  performed  the  task 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  States :  its  re- 
sult was  printed.  He  entered  on  his  pro- 
fessorship in  the  autumn  of  1741,  on 
which  occasion  he  pronounced  a  Latin, 
oration  "  On  the  necessity  of  travelling 
one's  own  country."  His  own  past  exer- 
tions in  this  respect  rendered  it  a  very 
entertaining  and  interesting  composition. 
In  the  same  year  he  made  the  tour  of  the 
islands  of  Oeland  and  Gothland,  by  order 
of  the  States ;  and  in  subsequent  years 
he  travelled,  by  the  same  requisition, 
through  West  Gothland  and  Scania.  Ex- 
clusive of  these  exertions  his  abode  was 
henceforth  fixed  at  Upsal,  and  the  re- 
maining history  of  his  life  is  only  that  of 
his  literary  and  scientific  labours,  and  of 
the  honours  and  distinctions  which  were 
accumulated  upon  him. 

One  of  his  first  cares  was  to  improve 
and  new  model  the  academic  garden. 
He  procured  the  erection  of  several  new 
buildings,  arranged  the  plants  according 
to  his  own  system,  and  founded  a  mu- 
seum of  natural  history  in  part  of  the 
green-house.  In  1745  he  published  the 
first  edition  of  his  '*  Flora  Succica,"  an 
admirable  specimen  of  a  local  catalogue, 
and  the  pattern  of  all  those  which  have 
since  been  made  upon  the  Linn?ean  sys- 
tem. In  the  next  year  appeared  his 
"  Fauna  Succica,"  or  Catalogue  of  the 
Animal  Kingdom  in  Sweden,  arranged 
also  according  to  his  own  method.  In  the 
numerous  and  difficult  class  of  insects  he 
adopted  an  entirely  new  method  of  ar- 
rangement, which  has  been  adopted  by 
most  later  entomologists.  His  merits, 
indeed,  with  respect  to  this  class  of  na- 
tural productions,  stands  next  to  those 
with  respect  to  the  vegetable  produc- 
tions. The  same  accurate  inspection 
was  requisite  in  both,  and  from  the 
immense  number  of  subjects  in  each, 
it  was  equally  necessary  in  both  to 
search  out  for  minute  diversities,  where- 
on to  found  an  artificial  classification. 
The  credit  he  was  now  acquiring  in  his 
own  country  appeared  in  his  election 
to  the  post  of  Secretary  to  the  Acade- 
my of  Sciences  at  Upsal,  in  a  medal  of 
him  struck  at  the  expence  of  some  noble- 
men in  1746,  and  in  his  nomination  by  the 
king  to  the  rank  and  title  of  archiater,  in 
1747.  He  now  also  began  to  exert  his  in- 
fluence in  procuring  the  mission  of  his 
young  disciples  to  different  parts  ol  the 
globe,  in  order  to  make  discoveries  in  na- 


LINNAEUS. 


tural  history  arid  occonomy ;  a  circum- 
stance by  which  he  is  distinguished  above 
all  other  naturalists,  and  which  has  re- 
dounded equally  to  his  own  glory,  and  to 
the  public  advantage.  The  travels  of 
Kalm,  of  Osbeck,  of  Hasselquist,  of  Lo- 
tting, were  the  fruits  of  his  zeal  in  this 
point.  To  Linnaeus  may  also  be  ascribed 
tiiat  curious  collection  of  treatises,  which, 
under  the  name  of  «'  Amaenitates  Aca- 
demics," began  to  be  published  in  the 
year  1749,  and  were  continued  to  a  num- 
ber of  volumes.  They  are  academical 
theses,  held  under  Linnaeus  in  his  profes- 
sional capacity,  and  may  be  regarded  as 
containing  his  own  doctrines  and  opinions 
on  most  of  the  points  discussed. 

The  work  of  Linnaeus,  which  Halter 
terms  his  "  Maximus  Opus  et  jEternum," 
appeared  in  1753.  It  was  the  "  Species 
Fluntarum,"  in  two  volumes,  8vo.  con- 
taining a  description  of  every  known  plant, 
arranged  according  to  his  sexual  system. 
The  description,  however,  is  independent 
of  any  system,  as  being  founded  on  the 
essential  character  of  each  species,  with 
a  further  reference  to  the  generic  descrip- 
tion given  in  the  "  Genera  Plantarum." 
In  this  publication  Linnaeus  first  intmduc- 
ed  his  admirable  invention  of  trivial  names, 
or  epithets  taken  from  the  most  prominent 
specific  mark  of  the  subject,  or  from 
some  other  characteristic  circumstance. 
The  specific  descriptions  are  given  in  the 
precise  form  of  a  definition,  with  a  great 
variety  of  terms  of  his  own  invention, 
simple  and  compound,  forming,  as  it  were, 
a  new  botanical  language.  It'  in  these 
terms  he  has  not  aimed  at  a  classical  pu- 
rity, he  has  in  general  formed  them  upon 
correct  analogy ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  they  are  excellently  adapted  for  their 
purpose.  In  the  same  year  he  was  creat- 
ed by  the  king  a  Knight  of  the  Polar  Star, 
an  honour  which  had  never  before  been 
conferred  on  a  literary  character.  His 
elevation  to  the  rank  of  nobility,  by  the 
king's  sign  manual,  took  place  eight 
years  after,  in  1761,  but  antedated  1757, 
and  from  that  time  he  wrote  his  name  C. 
Von  Linne.  In  the  mean  time  honours  of 
a  literary  kind  had  been  accumulating 
upon  him  from  foreign  countries.  Besides 
many  learned  societies  of  inferior  rank,  he 
was  aggregated  to  the  Imperial  Acade- 
my, to  the  Societies  of  Berlin,  London, 
and  to  the  Academy,  and  finally  was  no- 
minated  one  of  the  eight  foreign  members 
of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris,  being 
the  first  Swede  that  had  obtained  that 
distinction.  The  remote  city  of  TJpsal 

VOL.  TV. 


was  visited  by  many  strangers,  attract- 
ed by  his  reputation,  which  extended 
throughout  Europe,  and  the  number  of 
students  in  its  university  was  doubled. 
His  correspondence  included  almost  all 
the  eminent  cultivators  of  natural  history  ; 
and  he  was  continually  receiving  from  all 
parts  tributes  of  books,  plants,  and  spe- 
cimens, which  enabled  him  to  complete 
his  vast  plan  of  carrying  a  new  systema- 
tic arrangement  through  every  depart- 
ment of  nature.  This  he  effected  by  the 
completion  of  his  great  work,  "  Systema 
Naturae,"  which  had  grown  in  successive 
editions  from  a  few  tables  to  two,  and 
finally,  to  three  volumes,  and  received  his 
finishing  hand  in  1768.  In  this  perform- 
ance Linnaeus  is  the  methodiser,  and  the 
nomenclator  of  all  the  known  productions 
of  the  three  kingdoms  of  nature.  His 
classifications  are  all  so  far  artificial,  that 
he  constitutes  divisions  and  subdivisions 
from  minute  qualities  in  the  subject,  which 
serve  very  well  as  external  marks,  but 
frequently  have  little  relation  to  its  essen- 
tial character,and  therefore  bring  together 
tilings  in  their  nature  very  dissimilar. 
They  are  framed,  however,  with  wonder- 
ful ingenuity,  and  have  undoubtedly  pro- 
duced a  more  accurate  indentification  in 
all  the  branches  of  natural  history  than 
before  prevailed.  This  is  the  first  step 
to  an  exact  history  of  any  subject,  and  it 
is  ignorance  that  treats  it  with  contempt 
as  a  mere  nomenclature.  Although  ar- 
rangement was  the  point  at  which  Lin- 
naeus peculiarly  laboured,  yet  many  of 
his  smaller  works  prove  his  great  atten- 
tion to  matters  of  use  and  curiosity  ;  and 
no  school  has  contributed  so  much  to  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  productions 
of  nature  as  the  Linnaean.  With  regard 
to  the  particular  parts  of  his  system,  the 
botanical  was  the  most  generally  receiv- 
ed, and  bids  the  fairest  for  duration.  The 
entomological,  though  possessing  great 
excellence,  has  in  some  measure  been 
abrogated  by  the  more  comprehensive 
but  more  difficult  method  of  Fabricius. 
Those  in  the  other  branches  of  zoology 
are  generally  in  use,  but  have  been  im- 
proved or  rivalled.  The  mineralogical 
has  been  entirely  set  aside  by  the  great 
advances  made  in  chemical  knowledge. 
Linnaeus  also  carried  his  methodising 
plants  into  the  science  of  medicine,  and 
published  a  classified  "  Materia  Medica," 
and  a  system  of  nosology,  under  the  title 
of  "  Genera  Morborum."  Neither  of 
these,  however,  are  considered  as  happy 
efforts,  and  he  can  scarcely  rank  among 


LIN 


LIN 


the  improvers  of  his  proper  profession, 
except  as  having1  brought  into  notice 
some  popular  remedies,  and  recorded 
some  curious  dietetical  observations. 

A  moderate  degree  of  opulence  (consi- 
derable indeed  relatively  to  the  country 
in  which  he  lived)  attended  the  honour 
and  reputation  which  Linnjeus  enjoyed. 
He  was  enabled  to  purchase  an  estate  and 
villa  at  Hammerby,  near  Up  sal,  which 
was  his  chief  summer  residence  during 
the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life.  Here  he 
had  a  museum  of  natural  history,  on 
which  he  gave  lectures;  and  here  he  oc- 
casionally entertained  his  friends,  but  with 
that  (economy  which  had  become  a  habit 
with  him,  and  which  the  possession  of 
wealth,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  rather 
straightened  than  relaxed.  His  vigour 
and  activity  continued  to  an  advanced 
period,  though  his  memory  ovcrbui  thened 
with  such  an  immense  load  of  names,  be- 
gan to  fail  after  his  sixtieth  year.  An  at- 
tack of  apoplexy,  in  May  1774,  obliged 
him  to  relinquish  the  most  laborious  parts 
of  his  professional  duties,  and  to  close  his 
literary  toils  In  1776  a  second  seizure 
rendered  him  paralytic  on  the  right  side, 
and  reduced  him  to  a  deplorable  state  of 
mental  and  bodily  debility.  An  ulcera- 
tion  of  the  bladder  was  the  concluding 
symptom  which  earned  him  oft',  on  Jan- 
uary 10,  1778,  in  the  seventy-first  year 
of  his  age.  A  general  mourning  took  place 
at  Upsal,  at  his  death,  and  his  body  was 
attended  to  the  grave  with  every  token 
of  respect.  His  memory  received  dis- 
tinguished honours,  not  "only  in  his  own 
country,  but  from  the  friends  of  science 
in  various  foreign  nations. 

Linnaeus  was  below  the  middle  stature, 
but  strong  and  muscular.  His  features 
were  agreeable,  and  his  eyes  were  un- 
commonly animated.  His  temper  was 
lively,  ardent,  irritable  ;  his  indignation 
warm,  and  his  industry  indefatigable.  He 
had  a  large  share  of  natural  eloquence, 
and  a  good  command  of  language,  though 
his  perpetual  study  of  things  did  not  per- 
mit him  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  or- 
naments of  words.  In  society  he  was 
easy  and  pleasant;  in  his  domestic  rela- 
tions kind  and  afFectionate  ;  and  in  the  or- 
dinary commmerce  of  life  upright  and 
honourable.  His  views  of  nature  im- 
pressed him  with  the  most  devout  senti- 
ments towards  its  author,  and  a  glow  of 
unaffected  piety  is  continually  breaking 
forth  throughout  his  writings.  If  it  be 
generally  true,  that  men  of  real  merit  are 
modest  estimators  of  themselves,  he  was 
an  exception  to  the  rule  ;  for  vanity  was 
His  greatest  foible,  and  no  panegyrist 


could  surpass  what  he  has  written  to  his 
own  praise  in  his  diary.  lie  was,  how- 
ever, totally  free  from  envv,  and  bestowed 
applause  liberally  where  it  was  deserved  ; 
nor  did  his  love  of  fame  cause  him  to 
descend  to  personal  controversies  with 
antagonists.  He  left  a  son  and  four 
daughters.  The  former  was  joint  pro- 
fessor of  botany  with  his  father,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  his  medical  chair  :  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  botanical  science,  but 
had  none  of  his  father's  genius.  The 
eldest  daughter, Elizabeth-Christiana,  had 
a  turn  for  observation,  and  became  known 
by  her  discovery  of  the  luminous  quality 
of  the  flower  tropoeolum,  communicated 
to  the  academy  at  Stockholm. 

Of  the  numerous  works  of  Linnaeus,  and 
their  different  editions,  particular  cata- 
logues are  given  in  the  works  from  which 
this  article  is  composed.  Stover's  Life  of 
Linnnxus.  Pulteney's  General  View  of 
the  Writings  of  Linnzeus,  second  edition, 
by  Dr.  Maton,  with  the  Diary  of  Linn  <e  us, 
bv  himself. 
"  LINNET.  See  LIVARIA. 

LINOCIERA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Geofroy  Linocier,  Physician  at  Tournon, 
in  the  Vivarais,  a  genus  of  the  Diandria 
Monogynia  class  and  order.  Essential 
character;  calyx  four-toothed;  corolla 
four-petalled;  anthers  connecting  two 
opposite  petals  at  the  base ;  berry  two- 
celled. 

LINSEED,  the  seed  of  the  plant  linum. 

LI NS FINS,  in  the  military  art,  small 
pins  of  iron  which  keep  the  wheel  of  a 
cannon,  or  waggon,  on  the  axletree ;  for 
when  the  end  of  the  axletree  is  put 
through  the  nave,  the  linspin  is  put  in,  to 
keep  the  wheel  from  falling  off. 

LINSTOCK,  in  the  military  art,  a 
wooden  staff,  about  three  feet  long,  upon 
one  end  of  which  is  a  piece  of  iron  which 
divides  in  two,  turning  from  one  another, 
having  each  a  place  to  receive  a  match, 
and  a  screw  to  keep  it  fast :  the  other  end 
is  pointed,  and  shod  with  iron,  to  stick  in 
the  ground.  It  is  used  by  gunners  to 
fire  the  guns. 

LINT,  linum,  from  the  flax  of  which 
linen  is  made. 

In  surgery,  the  term  lint  denotes  the 
scrapings  of  linen  which  is  used  in  dress- 
ing wounds,  and  is  made  up  in  various 
forms,  as  tents,  dossils,  pledgets,  Sec. 
See  SURGERY. 

LINUM,  in  botany,  fax,  a  genus  of  the 
Pentandria  Pentagvnia  class  and  order 
Natural  order  of  Gruinales.  Caryophyl- 
lesc,  Jussieu.  Gerania,  Smith.  Essential 
character  :  calyx  five-leaved  ;  petals  five; 
capsule  ten-valved,  ten-celled ;  seeds  soli- 


LIQ 


tavy.  There  are  twenty-five  species.  The 
several  species  of  flax  are  mostly  herba- 
ceous, some  are  fniticose,  or  woody  at 
bottom  ;  two  are  shrubby,  and  one  arbo- 
reous ;  leaves  generally  alternate  ;  flow- 
ers solitary  and  axillary ;  corolla  com- 
monly blue,  sometimes  fading1  to  white, 
and  in  some  yellow.  Flax  is  found  wild 
in  many  parts  of  Europe,  in  corn  fields  ; 
in  Eng'land  it  is,  perhaps,  doubtful  whe- 
ther it  be  aboriginal.  It  is  common  in 
the  western  counties,  not  only  in  corn- 
fields, but  in  pastures  and  on  downs. 

LIONf.     See  FJOLIS. 

LIONCELLES,  in  heraldry,  a  term  used 
for  several  lions  borne  in  the  same  coat 
of  arms. 

LIP,  liare>  a  disorder  in  which  the  up- 
per lip  is  in  a  manner  slit  or  divided,  so 
as  to  resemble  the  upper  lip  of  a  hare, 
whence  the  name. 

L1PARIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Diadelphia  Decandria  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Papilionacex,  or  Legu- 
minosce.  Essential  character  :  calyx  five- 
cleft,  with  the  lowest  segment  elongated ; 
corolla  wings  two-lobed  below ;  stamina 
the  larger,  with  three  shorter  teeth ; 
legume  ovate.  There  are  five  species, 
natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

LIPPIA,  in  botany,  so  named  from  Au- 
gustine Lippi,  a  genus  of  the  Didynamia 
Gymnospermia  class  and  order.  Natural 
order  of  Stellatae.  Vitices,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential character  :  calyx  four-toothed, 
voundish,  upright,  compressed,  membra- 
riaceous ;  capsule  one-celled,  two-valved, 
two-seeded,  straight  ;  seed  one,  two- 
celled.  There  are  five  species. 

LIQUID.  Fluids  have  been  divided 
into  two  classes ;  viz.  those  which  are 
elastic,  and  the  non-elastic,  or  those  which 
do  not  sensibly  diminish  in  bulk  when 
subjected  to  pressure.  The  first  class  are 
airs  or  gases,  the  second  liquids  :  hence 
we  may  define  a  liquid  to  be  a  fluid  not 
sensibly  elastic,  the  parts  of  which  yield 
to  the  smallest  impression,  and  move  on 
each  other.  When  liquid  bodies  are 
mixed  together,  they  act  in  various  ways, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  substances 
employed.  Some  dissolve  each  other  in 
any  proportion,  as  in  the  case  with  most 
gases  when  mixed ;  some  unite  in  deter- 
minate proportion  ;  some  do  not  act  sen- 
sibly upon  each  other,  separating  again, 
though  mixed  ever  so  carefully  ;  *"  and 
some  decompose  each  other. 

LIQUIUAMBER,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Monoecia  Polyandria  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Conifene.  Amentacese, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  male,  calyx 
common,  four-leaved ;  corolla  none  ;  fila- 


ments numerous :  female :  calyx  in  a, 
globe,  four-leaved ;  corolla  none  ;  styler. 
two:  capsules  many  in  a  globe,  two- 
vulvecl,  many-seeded.  There  are  two 
species,  viz.  L.  styraciflua,  maple-leaved 
hquidamber,  or  sweet  gum;  and  L.  im- 
Lerbe,  oriental  liqujdamber;  the  trunk 
of  the  former  is  usually  two  feet  in  diame- 
ter, straight,  and  free  from  branches,  to 
the  height  of  fifteen  feet ;  whence  the 
branches  spread  and  rise  in  a  conic  form 
forty  feet  from  the  ground.  The  leaves 
are  shaped  like  those  of  the  lesser  maple, 
of  a  dark  green  colour,  their  upper  sur- 
faces shining;  a  sweet  glutinous  substance 
exudes  through  their  pores  in  warm 
weather,  which  renders  them  clammy  to 
the  touch  ;  in  February,  before  the  leaver. 
are  formed,  the  blossoms  break  forth  from 
the  tops  of  the  branches  into  spikes  of 
yellowish  red  pappose  globular  flowers, 
which  swell  gradually,  retaining  their 
round  form  to  the  full  maturity  of  their 
seed  vessels,  which  are  thick  set  with 
pointed  hollow  protuberances,  and  split- 
ting open  discharge  their  seeds.  The 
wood  of  this  tree  is  good  timber,  and  is 
used  in  wainscotting,  &c. ;  the  grain  is 
fine,  some  of  it  is  beautifully  variegated. 
When  wrought  too  green  it  is  apt  to 
shrink.  From  between  the  wood  and  the 
bark  issues  a  fragrant  gum,  which  trickles 
from  the  wounded  trees,  and  by  the  heat 
of  the  sun  congeals  into  transparent  drops, 
which  the  Indians  chew  as  a  preservative 
to  their  teeth  ;  it  smells  very  much  like 
Balsam  of  Tola,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
distinguish  them.  The  bark  is  of  singular 
use  to  the  Indians  for  covering  their  huts, 
Native  of  North  America. 

LIQUOR  of  Jlints.  Alkalies  have  a 
powerful  action  on  silica :  they  combine 
in  different  proportions ;  two  or  three 
parts  of  potash,  with  one  of  silica,  give  a 
compound,  which  is  deliquescent  in  the 
air,  and  soluble  in  water :  this  was  for- 
merly distinguished  by  the  name  of  liquor 
of  flints,  but  it  is  now  denominated  sili- 
cated  alkali. 

LIQUORICE.  The  glycirrhiza,  or 
common  liquorice  shrub,  has  a  long, 
thick,  creeping  root,  striking  several  feet 
deep  into  the  ground ;  an  upright,  firm, 
herbaceous,  annual  stalk,  three  or  four 
feet  high,  garnished  with  winged  leaves, 
of  four  or  five  pair  of  oval  lobes,  termi- 
nated by  an  odd  one  :  and  from  the  axil- 
las,  erect  spikes  of  pale  blue  flowers  in 
July,  succeeded  by  short  smooth  pods.  The 
root  of  this  plant  is  the  useful  part,  being 
replete  with  a  sweet,  balsamic,  pectoral 
juice,  which  is  either  extracted,  or  the 
wood  sold  in  substance.  It  is  much  used 


LIR 


L1S 


n  all  compositions  for  coughs,  afxl  disor- 
ders of  the  stomach;  but  by  far  the  great- 
est quantity  is  used  by  brewers.  The 
common  liquorice  is  cultivated  in  most 
countries  of  Europe,  for  the  sake  of  its 
root ;  but  in  Spain  and  Italy,  and  particu- 
larly in  Sicily  and  Calabria,  it  makes  a 
considerable  article  of  commerce  with 
this  country.  In  Calabria,  liquorice  is 
chiefly  manufactured,  and  exported  from 
Corigliano,  Rossano,  Cassano,  and  Paler- 
mo. The  Calabrian  liquorice,  upon  the 
whole,  is  preferable  to  that  coming  from 
Sicily,  and  the  Italian  paste  to  that  com- 
ing "from  Spain.  Liquorice  also  grows 
in  great  abundance  in  the  Levant ;  and 
vast  quantities  of  it  are  consumed  there, 
in  making  a  decoction,  which  is  drank 
cold  in  the  summer,  in  the  manner  of 
sherbet. 

To  prepare  liquorice,  the  roots  are 
boiled  a  long  time  in  water,  till  the 
fluid  has  got  a  deep  yellow  tincture  ; 
and  the  water  at  length  evaporated  till 
the  remains  acquire  a  consistency,  when 
they  are  formed  into  sticks,  which  are 
packed  up  with  bay  leaves,  in  the 
same  order  as  we  receive  them.  The 
boiling  requires  the  utmost  care  and  pre- 
caution, as  the  juice  takes  an  unpleasant 
smell  and  flavour,  if  burnt  in  the  least 
degree. 

LIR10DENDRUM,  in  botany,  a  genus 
of  the  Polyandria  Polygynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Coadunatx. 
Magnolia:,  Jussieu.  Essential  character: 
calyx  three-leaved;  petals  six  ;  seeds  im- 
bricated into  a  strobile.  There  are  two 
species,  viz.  L.  tulipifera,  common  tulip 
tree  ;  and  L.  lillifera ;  the  former  is  a  na- 
tive of  North  America,  where  it  is  a  tree 
of  the  first  magnitude,  and  is  generally 
known  in  all  the  English  settlements  by 
the  name  of  poplar.  The  young  shoots 
of  this  tree  are  covered  with  a  smooth 
purplish  bark;  they  are  garnished  with 
targe  leaves,  whose  foot-stalks  are  four 
inches  long;  the  leaves  are  of  a  singular 
form,  being  divided  into  three  lobes ;  the 
middle  lobe  is  blunt  and  hollowed  at  the 
point,  appearing  us  if  it  had  been  cut  with 
scissars ;  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves 
is  smooth,  and  of  a  lucid  green,  the  un- 
der of  a  pale  green  ;  the  flowers  are  pro- 
duced at  the  end  of  the  branches,  com- 
posed of  six  petals,  three  without  and 
three  within,  forming  a  sort  of  bell-shap- 
ed flower,  whence  the  inhabitants  of 
North  America  gave  it  the  name  of  tulip ; 
the  petals  are  marked  with  green,  yel- 
low, and  red  spots,  making  a  beautiful 
appearance  when  the  trees  ?.re  charged 
-,,:lh  flowers ;  \vhcn  the  flowers  fall  off; 


the  germ  swells,  and  forms  a  kind 
of  cone,  which  does  not  ripen  in  Eng- 
land ;  the  handsomest  tree  of  this  kind, 
near  London,  is  in  a  garden  at  \Valtluun 
Abbey. 

The  wood  is  used  for  canoes,  bowls, 
dishes,  spoons,  and  all  sorts  of  joiners' 
work. 

Kalm  speaks  of  having  seen  a  barn  of 
considerable  size,  the  sides  and  roof  of 
which  were  made  of  a  single  tulip-tree 
split  into  boards  ;  there  is  no  wood  that 
contracts  and  expands  so  much  as  this, 
which  is  a  great  inconvenience  attending 
it ;  the  bark  is  divisible  into  thin  laminae, 
which  are  tough  like  bast. 

LISIANTHUS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Pentanclria  Monogynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Rotaceae.  Gen- 
tian DC,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  ca- 
lyx keeled ;  corolla  with  a  ventrico.se 
tube,  and  recurved  divisions;  stigma 
two-plated ;  capsule  two-celled,  two- 
valved;  the  margins  of  the  valves  intort- 
ed.  There  are  nine  species,  natives  of 
Jamaica. 

LISTING.  Persons  listed  are  to  be 
carried  within  four  days,  but  not  sooner 
than  twenty-four  hours,  after  they  have 
enlisted,  before  the  next  justice  of  peace 
of  any  county,  riding',  city,  or  place,  or 
chief  magistrate  of  any  city  or  town  cor- 
porate (not  being  an  officer  in  the  army) ; 
and  if,  before  such  justice  or  magistrate 
they  dissent  from  such  listing,  and  return 
the  listing  money,  and  also  twenty  shil- 
ling's, in  lieu  of  all  charges  expended  on 
them,  they  are  to  be  discharged.  But 
such  persons  refusing  or  neglecting  to  re- 
turn and  pay  such  money  within  twenty- 
four  hours,  shall  be  deemed  as  duly  listed 
as  if  they  had  assented  thereto  before  the 
proper  magistrate  ;  and  they  will,  in  that 
case,  be  obliged  to  take  the  oath,  or  upon 
refusal  they  shall  be  confined  by  the  offi- 
cer who  listed  them  till  they  do  take  it. 
Persons  owning  before  the  proper  magis- 
trate, that  they  voluntarily  listed  them- 
selves, arc  obliged  to  take  the  oath,  or 
suffer  confinement  by  the  officer  who 
listed  them  till  they  do  take  it.  The 
magistrate  is  obliged,  in  both  cases,  to 
certify  that  such  persons  are  duly  listed  ; 
setting  forth  their  birth,  age,  and  calling, 
if  known  ;  and  that  the  second  and  sixth 
sections  of  the  articles  of  war,  against 
mutiny  and  desertion,  were  read  to  them, 
and  til  at  they  had  taken  the  oath.  Offi- 
cers offending  herein  are  to  be  cashiered, 
and  displaced  from  their  office;  to  be  dis- 
abled from  holding  any  post,  civil  or  mili- 
tary ;  and  to  forfeit  100/.  Persons  receiv- 
ing inlisting  money  from  any  officer, 


LIT 


LIT 


knowing  him  to  be  such,  and  afterwards 
absconding1,  and  refusing1  to  go  before  a 
magistrate  to  declare  their  assent  or 
dissent,  are  deemed  to  be  inlisted  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  and  may  be 
proceeded  against  as  if  they  had  taken  the 
oath. 

LIT  A,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Pen- 
tandria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Rotacese.  Gentianae,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  five- 
cleft,  with  two  or  three  scales  at  the 
base;  corolla  salver-shaped,  with  a  long 
tube,  dilated  at  the  base  and  throat;  bor- 
der five-cleft";  anthers  twin,  inserted  in 
the  throat ;  capsule  one -celled,  two-valv- 
ed ;  seeds  numerous.  There  are  two 
species,  viz.  L.  rosea,  and  L.  caerulea ;  na- 
tives of  Guiana. 

LITANY,  a  solemn  form  of  supplica- 
tion to  God,  in  which  the  priest  utters 
some  things  fit  to  be  prayed  for,  and  the 
people  join  in  their  intercession,  saying, 
"  We  beseech  Thee  to  hear  us,  "good 
Lord,"  &c. 

At  first,  the  use  of  litanies  was  not  fix- 
ed to  any  stated  time,  but  were  only  em- 
ployed as  exigencies  required.  They 
were  observed,  in  imitation  of  theNine- 
vites,  with  ardent  supplications  and  fast- 
ings, to  avert  the  threatening1  judgments 
of  fire,  earthquakes,  inundations,  or  hos- 
tile invasions.  About  the  year  400,  lita- 
nies began  to  be  used  in  processions,  the 
people  walking  barefoot,  and  repeating 
them  with  great  devotion  ;  and  it  is  pre- 
tended, that  by  this  means,  several  coun- 
tries were  delivered  from  great  calamities. 
The  days  on  which  these  were  used,  were 
called  rogation  days :  these  were  appoint- 
ed by  the  canons  of  different  councils, 
till  it  was  decreed  by  the  council  of  Tole- 
do, that  they  should  be  used  every  month 
throughout  the  year;  and  thus  by  de- 
grees they  came  to  be  used  weekly  on 
Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  the  ancient  sta- 
tionary days  for  fasting.  To  these  days 
the  rubric  of  our  church  has  added  Sun- 
days, as  being  the  greatest  days  for  as- 
sembling at  divine  service.  Before  the 
last  review  of  the  "  Common  Prayer,"  the 
litany  was  a  distinct  service  by  itself,  and 
used  some  time  after  the  morning  prayer 
was  over;  at  present  it  is  made  one  office 
with  the  morning  service,  being  ordered 
to  be  read  after  the  third  collect  for 
grace,  instead  of  the  intercessional  pray- 
ers in  the  daily  service. 

LITERARY  property.  Authors,  it 
should  seem,  had,  by  the  common  law, 
the  sole  and  exclusive  copy-right  remain- 
ing in  themselves  or  their  assigns  in  per- 
petuity, after  having  printed  and  pub- 


lished their  compositions.  This,  as  a.  cqm- 
mon  law  right,  was  strangely  questioned 
by  some  of  our  judges,  who  studied  spe- 
cial pleading  more  than  common  sense. 
But  by  statute  8  Anne,  c.  19,  it  is  secured 
to  them  for  fourteen  years,  from  the  day 
of  publishing ;  and  after  the  end  of  four- 
teen years,  the  sole  right  of  printing  or 
disposing  of  copies,  shall  return  to  the 
authors,  if  then  living,  for  other  fourteen 
years.  This  statute,  it  has  been  held,  re- 
strains the  right  of  the  author  and  his 
assigns  to  the  fourteen  or  the  twen- 
ty-eight years,  whatever  it  might  have 
been  at  the  common  law.  A  penalty  on 
each  sheet  found  in  the  possession  of  a 
party  pirating  a  work,  is  inflicted  by  the 
statute,  9  Anne,  c.  19  ;  and,  in  order  to 
entitle  the  plaintiff  to  recover  this  penal- 
ty, the  book  must  have  been  entered  at 
Stationers'  Hall.  But  an  author  whose 
work  has  been  pirated,  may  maintain  an 
action  for  damages  merely,  without  hav- 
ing so  entered  his  book.  When  an  author 
transfers  all  his  right  or  interest  in  a  pub- 
lication to  another,  and  happens  to  sur- 
vive the  first  fourteen  years,  the  second 
term  will  result  to  his  assignee,  and  not 
to  himself.  By  statute  12  Geo.  II.  c.  36. 
34  Geo.  III.  c.  20,  s.  57,  books  printed  in 
England  originally,  may  not  be  reprinted 
abroad,  and  imported  within  twenty  years. 
A  last  act  extends  also  to  Ireland,  where 
English  books  were  frequently  pirated. 
By  statute  8  Geo.  II.  c.  13  ;  7  Geo.  III.  c. 
28 ;  17  Geo.  III.  c.  57.  Engravers  have  a 
property  in  their  prints  and  engravings 
for  twenty-eight  years  absolutely.  A  fair 
abridgment  is  equally  protected  with  an 
original  work.  Acting  a  play  on  a  stage  is 
not  a  publishing  within  the  statute,  8 
Anne,  c.  19  ;  but  one  cannot  take  a  piece 
in  short  hand  and  print  it  before  the  au- 
thor has  published  it. 

LITERATE,  in  natural  history,  orna- 
mented with  characters  like  letters. 

LITHARGE,  in  the  arts.  Lead  is  easily 
oxydable.  When  first  fused  its  surface  is 
perfectly  bright,  but  by  the  contact  of  the 
air  it  is  quickly  covered  with  a  thick  film, 
called  the  dross  of  lead.  If  this  be  taken 
off,  the  same  circumstences  again  take 
place,  and  thus  the  whole  of  the  lead  may- 
be converted  into  a  kind  of  grey  powder, 
which  is  the  oxide  of  lead.  By  exposing 
it  to  a  higher  degree  of  heat,  it  acquires 
a  y ellow  colour,  forming  a  pigment  nam- 
ed "  massicot :"  and  by  a  still  greater 
heat,  and  causing  the  flame  to  play  upon 
the  surface,  while  the  powder  is  constant- 
ly stirred,  the  yellow  colour  becomes 
red,  and  the  substance  is  then  called  mi- 
nium, or  red  lead,  which  is  a  metal  in  & 


LIT 


LOA 


high  degree  of  oxydizement.  By  a  par- 
ticular management  of  the  heat,  during1 
the  oxydizement  of  lead,  supplying  it 
quickly  with  a  current  of  air  blown  over 
the  surface  of  the  metal,  the  oxide  is 
semi-vitrified,  forming  the  soft  flaky  sub- 
stance named  litharge.  By  a  stronger 
heat,  the  lead  may  be  vitrified,  when  it 
forms  the  glass  of  lead. 

LITHOMAIIGE,  in  mineralogy,  is  a 
species  of  the  clay  genus,  and  divided  by 
Werner  and  others  into  two  sub-specif-s, 
•viz.  the  friable  and  the  indurated.  Friable 
lithomarge,  or  rock-marrow,  is  white  and 
massive  ;  it  occurs  likewise  as  a  crust, 
and  disseminated.  Its  lustre  is  feebly 
glimmering,  is  generally  coherent,  feels 
greasy,  and  adheres  to  the  tongue.  It  is 
found  in  large  quantities  in  the  Saxon  tin 
veins.  Indurated  lithomarge  is  common- 
ly white,  but  with  many  varieties  of  colour. 
The  white  and  red  are  uniform,  but  the 
other  colours  are  usually  disposed  in 
clouded  and  spotted  delineations.  It  is 
found  in  many  parts  of  Germany,  and 
occurs  in  veins  of  porphyry,  gneiss  and 
serpentine;  in  drusy  cavities  of  topaz 
rock,  or  nidulur  in  basalt,  amygdaloid  and 
serpentine;  and  in  beds  over  coal.  Ac- 
cording to  Jameson,  the  terra-miraculosa, 
which  is  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  its 
coloured  delineations,  is  a  variety  of  the 
indurated  lithomarge. 

LITHOPHILA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Diandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character  :  calyx  three-leaved  ; 
corolla  three-petalled;  nectary  two-leaved. 
There  is  only  one  species,  a  native  of 
Navaza 

LITHOSPERMUM,  in  botany,  gram- 
-n'ell,  a  genus  of  the  Pentandria  Alonogy- 
nia  class  and  order  Natural  order  of 
Asperifo'iix.  Borragineae,  Jussieu.  Es- 
sential  character :  calyx  five-parted ; 
corolla  funnel  form,  perforated  at  the 
throat.  There  are  twelve  species,  na- 
tives of  most  parts  of  Europe,  particular- 
ly in  corn-fields  and  waste  places,  flower- 
ing from  May  10  July. 

LITHOTOMY,  in  surgery,  the  opera- 
tion by  which  a  calculus  is  removed  from 
the  bladder. 

LITMUS,  in  chemistry,  a  substance, 
the  tincture  of  which  is  extremely  useful, 
as  a  test  of  the  presence  of  an  acid  or 
alkali.  All  acids,  and  salts,  with  an  ex- 
cess of  acid,  change  the  natural  violet 
purple  of  litmus  to  red  ;  when  reddened 
by  an  acid,  the  blue  is  restored  by  an 
alkali. 

L1TTORELIA,    in    botany,   pLiintain 


shore-veed,  a  genus  of  the  Monoecia  Te- 
trandna  class  and  order.  Natural  order 
of  Piantagines,  Jussieu.  Essential  charac- 
ter :  male,  calyx  four-leaved  ;  corolla  four- 
cleft  ;  stamina  long  :  female,  calyx  none  ; 
corolla  slightly,  four-cleft;  styles  long; 
seed, a  nut 

LITURGY,  a  name  given  to  those  set 
forms  of  prayer  which  have  been  general- 
ly used  in  the  Christian  church.  Of  these 
there  are  not  a  few  ascribed  to  the  apos- 
tles und  fathers,  but  they  are  almost  uni- 
versally allowed  to  be  spurious. 

LIVER,  in  anatomy,  a  very  large  viscus, 
of  a  red  colour,  situated  in  the  right  hypo- 
chondrium,  and  serving  for  the  seer? tion 
of  the  bile  or  gall.  See  ANATOMY;  PHY- 
SIOLOGY. 

LIVER,  a  name  formerly  given  to  dif- 
ferent chemical  combinations,  because 
they  were  supposed  to  resemble  the  ani- 
mal liver  in  colour  only.  Thus  we  had 
liver  of  sulphur,  liver  of  antimony,  8tc.  &c. 
See  SULPHURET. 

LIVERY  of  seisin,  a  delivery  of  posses- 
sion of  lands,  tenements,  or  other  cor- 
poreal thing  (for  of  things  incorporeal 
there  can  be  no  seisin)  to  one  that  has 
right. 

Livery  of  seisin  must  be  on  the  land,  in 
the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  and  was 
anciently  used  to  give  publicity  to  gifts  or 
transfers  of  land.  It  is  now  necessary,  in 
order  to  complete  a  feoffment,  and  to 
make  good  a  lease  for  life  or  grant  of  the 
freehold  to  commence  at  a  future  day. 
See  ESTATE,  LEASE.  Where  there  is 
land  and  a  hou^e,  it  must  be  made  in  the 
house,  that  being  the  principal. 

LIVERYMEN,  of  London,  are  a  num- 
ber of  men  chosen  from  among  the  free- 
men of  each  company.  Out  of  this  body 
the  common  council,  sheriff,  and  other 
superior  officers  for  the  government  of 
the  city,  are  elected,  and  they  alone  have 
the  privilege  of  giving  their  votes  for 
members  of  parliament ;  from  which  the 
rest  of  the  citizens  are  excluded. 

LIZARD.     See  LACERTA 

LOAM,  in  mineralogy,  is  a  sub-species 
of  the  clay  genus,  and  of  a  yellowish  gray 
colour,  frequently  spotted  yellow  and 
brown.  It  occurs  massive,  is  dull,  and 
sometimes  weakly  glimmering.  It  ad- 
heres pretty  strongly  to  the  tongue,  feels 
greasy,  and  is  not  very  heavy :  it  is  ge- 
nerally mixed  with  sand  and  gravel,  and 
also  iron  ochre.  According  to  Mr.  Jame- 
son, it  may  be  considered  as  sandy  pot- 
ter's clay,  mixed  with  mica  and  iron  ochre. 
See  CLAY. 


LOA 


LOA 


LOAN,  in  finance,  money  borrowed 
by  government  for  defraying  the  extra- 
ordinary expenses  of  the  state. 

The  'comparative  advantage  or  disad- 
vantage of  the  terms,  on  which  the  public 
loans  have  been  obtained  at  different  pe- 
riods, has  frequently  been  misrepresented, 
either  from  misconception  or  for  party 
purposes,  though  it  is  evidently  a  subject 
on  which  the  truth  is  very  easily  ascer- 
tained. The  economy  or  extravagance  of 
every  transaction  of  this  kind  depends  on 
its  correspondence  or  disagreement  with 
the  price  of  the  public  funds,  and  the  cur- 
rent rate  of  interest  at  which  money  could 
be  obtained  on  good  security  at  the  time 
the  bargain  was  concluded ;  and,  conse- 
quently, a  loan,  on  which  the  highest  in- 
terest is  paid,  may  have  been  obtained  on 
the  best  terms  that  could  be  made  at  the 
time  it  was  negotiated.  The  interest 
paid,  however,  forms  the  real  burden  of 
each  loan  to  the  country ;  for,  since  the 
mode  of  buying  up  stock  at  the  market 
price  has  been  adopted  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  debt,  the  nominal  capital  that 
is  created  has  become  but  of  little  im- 
portance, though  certainly  not  to  be 
wholly  disregarded. 

The  first  loans  differed  materially  from 
those  of  subsequent  periods,  in  being 
raised  wholly  on  terminable  annuities; 
and  in  having  a  particular  fund  assigned 
for  each  loan,  by  the  supposed  adequate- 
ness  or  insufficiency  of  which  the  interest 
required  by  the  lenders  was  frequently 
influenced,  as  well  as  by  other  causes, 
which  have  since  ceased  to  exist. 

During  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  loans 
were  chiefly  raised  on  annuities  for  99 
years,  till  1711 ;  when,  by  the  establish- 
ment of  the  South  Sea  Company,  a  variety 
of  debts  were  consolidated  and  made  a 
permanent  capital,  bearing  6  per  cent, 
interest.  About  this  period  lotteries  were 
also  frequently  adopted  for  raising  money 
for  the  public  service,  under  which  form 
a  considerable  premium  was  given,  in  ad- 
dition to  a  high  rate  of  interest.  This 
mode  of  raising  money  was  followed  in 
1712,  1713,  and  1714.  In  the  latter  year, 
though  the  interest  paid  was  equal  to 
only  5i.  7s.  2J.  per  cent,  on  the  sum  bor- 
rowed, the  premium  allowed  was  up- 
wards of  34/  per  cent. ;  but,  as  peace  was 
restored,  and  the  legal  rate  of  interest 
had  been  reduced  to  5  per  cent,  it  seems 
that  a  larger  premium  was  allowed,  for 
the  sake  of  appearing  to  borrow  at  a  mo- 
derate rate  of  interest. 

In  the  reign  of  George  I.  the  interest  on 
a  considerable  part  of  the  public  debts 


was  reduced  to  5  per  cent,  and  the  few- 
loans  that  were  raised  were,  comparative- 
ly, of  small  amount;  that  of  the  year  1720, 
was  obtained  at  little  more  than  4  per 
cent,  interest. 

About  1730  the  current  rate  of  interest 
was  3£  per  cent. »  and,  in  1736,  govern- 
ment was  enabled  to  borrow  at  3  per  cent, 
per  annum.  The  extraordinary  sums  ne- 
cessary for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
war,  which  began  in  1739,  were  at  first 
obtained  from  the  sinking  fund  and  the 
salt-duties  ;  a  payment  from  the  Bank,  in 
1742,  rendered  only  a  small  loan  neces- 
sary in  that  year,  which  was  obtained  at 
little  more  than  3  per  cent,  interest,  ^i 
the  succeeding  years  the  following  sum's 
were  raised  by  loans. 

Sum  borrowed.  Interest. 

L.  L.   s.    d. 

1743  1,800,000  384 

1744  , 1,800,000  3     6  10 

1745  2,000,000  407 

1746  2,500,000  551 

1747  4,000,000  480 

1748  6,300,000  4    8    Q 

Loans  of  the  seveti  years'  war. 

1756  2,000,000  3  12    0 

1757  3,000,000  3  14    S 

1758  5,000,000  365 

1759  6,600,000  3  10    9 

1760  8,000,000  3  13    7 

1761  12,000,000  4     1  11 

1762  12,000,000  4  10     9 

1763  3,000,000  442 

Loans  of  the  American  war. 

1776  2,000,000 398 

1777  5,000,000  452 

1778  6,000,000  4  18    7 

1779  7,000,000  5  18  10 

1780  12,000,000  5  16  & 

1781  12,000,000  5  11  1 

1782  13,500,000  5  18  1 

1783  .12,000,000  4  13  9 

1784  .........  6,000,000  5    6  11 


Loans  of  the  war  with  the 
public. 

1793  4,500,000  

1794  11,000,000  

1795  18.000,000  

1796  18,000,000  

1796  7,500,000  

1797  18,000,000  , 

1797  14,500,000  

1798  17,000,000  

1799  3,000,000  

1799  -.15,500,000 

1800  ....20,500,000  

1801  28,000,000  


French  Re- 


4    3 

4 

4  10 

9 

4  15 

8 

4  14 

9 

4  12 

2 

5  14 

1 

6     6 

10 

6    4 

9 

5  12 

5 

5    5 

0 

4  14 

2 

5     5 

5 

LOC 


LOG 


The  sums  borrowed  since  the  com- 
melicement  of  the  war,  which  began  in 
1803,  hive  hitherto  been  of  somewhat 
less  extent,  as  it  has  been  deemed  neces- 
sary to  endeavour  to  raise  a  considerable 
part  of  the  extraordinary  sums  wanted 
within  the  year. 

LOASA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Po- 
lyandria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Es- 
sential character:  calyx  five-leaved,  su- 
perior; corolla  five-petalled;  petals  hood- 
ed; nectary  five-leaved,  converging;  cap- 
sule turbinate,  one  celled,  three  valved, 
many  seeded.  There  is  only  one  spe- 
cies, •viz.  L.  hispida,  a  native  of  South 
America. 

LOB  ART  A,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
of  the  Vermes  Mollusca  class  and  order. 
Body  above  convex,  beneath  flat  lobate. 
There  is  but  a  single  species,  viz.  L.  qua- 
driloba,  which  inhabits  the  northern  seas. 
It  has  a  tail  with  four  lobes. 

LOBE,  in  anatomy,  any  fleshy  protube- 
rant part,  as  the  lobes  of  the  lungs,  lobes 
of  the  ears,  &c. 

LOBELLA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Matthias  de  Lobel,  a  Flemish  botanist,  a 
genus  of  the  Syngenesia  Monogamia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Campana- 
ceze.  Campanulacex,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character :  calyx  five-cleft ;  corolla  one 
petalled,  irregular ;  capsule  inferior,  two 
or  three-celled.  There  are  forty -two  spe- 
cies ;  these  are  mostly  herbaceous  plants, 
some  annual,  more  perennial,  and  a  few 
suffrutieose,  or  woody  at  the  bottom  of 
the  stems,  which  in  some  are  prostrate, 
in  others  upright ;  leaves  alternate  ;  flow- 
ers either  solitary  and  axittary  with  two 
small  bractes,  or  in  loose  terminating 
spikes  with  three  little  bractes.  The  pre- 
dominant colour  of  the  corollas  is  blue  ; 
they  are  chiefly  natives  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 

LOCAL  action,  is  an  action  restrained 
to  the  proper  county,  in  opposition  to  a 
transitory  action,  which  may  be  laid  in 
any  county,  at  the  plaintiff's  discretion. 
In  local  actions,  where  possession  of  land 
is  to  be  recovered,  or  damages  for  an  ac- 
tual trespass,  or  for  waste,  or  the  like,  af- 
fecting land,  the  plaintiff  must  lay  his  de- 
claration, or  declare  his  injury  to  have 
happened  in  the  very  county  and  place 
that  it  really  did  happen  in  ;  but  in  transi- 
tory actions,  for  injuries  that  may  happen 
any  where,  as  debt,  detinue,  slander,  and 
the  like,  the  plaintiff  may  declare  in  what 
county  he  pleases,  and  then  the  trial  must 
be  in  that  county  in  which  the  declara- 
tion is  laid  ;  though  if  the  defendant  will 
make  affidavit  that  the  cause  of  action,  if 
any,  arose  not  in  that,  but  in  another 


county,  the  court  will  oblige  the  plaintiff 
to  declare  in  the  proper  county. 

LOCAL  problem,  among  mathemati- 
cians, such  a  one  as  is  capable  of  an  infi- 
nite number  of  different  solutions,  by 
reason  that  the  point  which  is  to  resolve 
the  problem  may  be  indifferently  taken 
within  a  certain  extent,  as,  suppose  any 
where,  within  such  a  line,  within  such  a 
plane,  figure,  &c.  which  is  called  a  geo- 
metric locus,  and  the  problem  is  sai'd  to 
be  a  local  or  indetermined  one.  See  Lo- 
cus. 

A  local  problem  may  be  either  simple, 
when  the  point  sought  is  in  a  right  line  ; 
plane,  when  the  point  sought  is  in  the  cir- 
cumference of  a  circle  ;  solid,  when  the 
point  required  is  in  the  circumference  of 
a  conic  section ;  or,  lastly,  sursolid,  when 
the  point  is  in  the  perimeter  of  a  line  of 
the  second  gender,  or  of  an  higher  kind, 
as  geometers  call  it. 

LOCK,  an  instrument  used  for  fasten- 
ing doors,  chests,  &c.  generally  opened 
by  a  key.  The  lock  is  esteemed  the  mas- 
ter-piece in  smithery  ;  much  art  and  de- 
licacy being  required  in  contriving  and 
varying  the  wards,  bolts,  and  springs. 
From  the  different  structure  of  locks,  ac- 
commodated to  their  different  use,  they 
acquire  different  names;  thus,  those 
placed  on  outer  doors  are  called  stock- 
locks  ;  those  on  inner  doors,  spring- 
locks  ;  those  on  trunks,  trunk-locks,  pad- 
locks, &c.  Of  these  the  spring-lock  is 
the  most  curious :  its  principal  parts  are, 
the  main-plate,  the  cover-plate,  and  the 
pin  hole :  to  the  main-plate  belong  the 
key-hole,  top-hook,  cross- wards,  bolt-toe, 
or  bolt-nab,  drawback-spring,  tumbler, 
pin  of  the  tumbler,  and  the  staples ;  to 
the  cover-plate  belong  the  pin,  main- 
ward,  cross-ward,  step-ward,  or  dapper- 
ward  ;  to  the  pin-hole  belong  the  hook- 
ward,  main  cross-ward,  shank,  the  pot  or 
bread,  bit,  and  bow-ward.  The  importa- 
tion of  locks  is  prohibited. 

LOCK,  or  WEIR,  in  inland  navigations, 
the  general  name  for  all  those  works  of 
wood  or  stone,  made  to  confine  and  raise 
the  water  of  a  river ;  the  banks,  also, 
which  are  made  to  divert  the  course  of  a 
river,  are  called  by  these  names  in  some 
places.  But  the  term  lock  is  more  par- 
ticularly appropriated  to  express  a  kind  of 
canal  inclosed  between  two  gates ;  the 
upper  called  by  workmen  the  sluice-gate, 
and  the  lower  called  the  flood-gate.  These 
serve  in  artificial  navigations  to  confine 
the  water,  and  render  the  passage  of 
boats  easy  in  passing  up  and  down  the 
stream.  See  CATTAL. 

LQCUS  ereometriciix,  denotes  a  line,  by 


LOCUS  GEOMETRICUS. 


which  a  local  or  indeterminate  problem  is 
solved.  See  LOCAL  PHOHLEM. 

A  locus  is  a  line,  any  point  of  which 
may  equally  solve  an  indeterminate  pro- 
blem. Thus,  if  a  I'ight  line  suffice  for 
the  construction  of  the  equation,  it  is  call- 
ed focus  ad  rectum;  if  a  circle,  locus  cud 
circulum  ;  if  a  parabola,  locus  ad  parabo. 
lam  ;  if  an  ellipsis,  locus  ad  ellipsin  ,•  and 
so  of  the  rest  of  the  conic  sections. 

The  loci  of  such  equations  as  are  right 
lines,  or  circles,  the  ancients  called  plain 
loci,-  and  of  those  that  are  parabolas,  hy- 
perbolas, &c.  solid  loci.  But  VVolfius,  and 
others,  among  the  moderns,  divide  the 
loci  more  commodiously  into  orders,  ac- 
cording1 to  the  numbers  of  dimensions  to 
which  the  indeterminate  quantities  rise. 
Thus,  it  will  be  a  locus  of  the  first  order, 

if  the  equation  is  x  =  •— ;  a  locus  of  the 

second  or  quadratic  order,  if  yi=ax,  or 
y-=a* — a?a ;  a  locus  of  the  third  or  cu- 
bic order,  if  y3==ia1x)  or  yi=.ax* — x?, 
&c. 

The  better  to  conceive  the  nature  of 
the  locus,  suppose  two  unknown  and  va- 
riable right  lines  A  P,  P  M  (Plate  VIII. 
Mi  seel.  tig.  4  and  5)  making  any  given 
angle  A  P  M  with  each  other;  the  one 
whereof,  as  A  P,  we  call  x,  having  a  fixed 
origin  in  ihe  point  A,  and  extending  it- 
self indefinitely  along  a  right  line  given 
in  position  ;  the  other  P  M,  which  we  call 
y,  continually  changing  its  position,  but 
always  parallel  to  itself.  An  equation  on- 
ly containing  these  two  unknown  quanti- 
ties, x  and  y,  mixed  with  known  ones, 
which  expresses  the  relation  of  every  va- 
riable quantity  A  P,  (x},  to  its  correspon- 
dent variable  quantity  P  M,  (y)  :  the  line 
passing  through  the  extremities  of  all  the 
values  of  y,  i.  e.  through  all  the  points  M, 
is  called  a  geometrical  locus,  in  general, 
and  the  locus  of  that  equation  in  particu- 
lar. 

All  equations,  whose  loci  are  of  the 
first  order,  may  be  reduced  to  some  one 
of  the  four  following  formulas  :  1.  y  = 
bx  bx  ,  b  x 

7T-    2^=T+C'   3.2  =  --c.   4. 

y  =  c — .  Where  the  unknown  quan- 
tity, z/,  is  supposed  always  to  be  freed 
from  fractions,  and  the  fraction  that  mul- 
tiplies the  other  unknown  quantity,  x,  to 

be  reduced  to  this  expression  -,  and  all 
the  known  terms  to  c. 

The  locus  of  the  first  formula  being  al- 
ready determined  :  to  find  that  of  the  se- 

VOL.  IV. 


cond,  y  =  --  \-c  ;  in  the  line  A  P,  fig.  6, 

take  A  B  =  a,  and  draw  B  E  =  b,  A  D= 
c,  and  parallel  to  P  M.  On  the  same  side 
A  P,  draw  the  line  AE  of  an  indefinite 
length  towards  E,  and  the  indefinite 
straight  line  D  M  parallel  to  A  E.  Then 
the  line  I)  M  is  the  locus  of  the  aforesaid 
equation,  or  formula  ;  for  if  the  line  M  P 
be  drawn  from  any  point  M  thereof  paral- 
lel to  A  Q,  the  triangles  A  B  E,  and  A  PF, 
will  be  similar  :  and  therefore  A  B  (a)  : 

B  E  (b)  ::  A  P  O)  P  F  =1—  ;    and  con- 

sequently  PM   (y)   =  P 
F  M  (c). 

To  find  the  locus  of  the  third  form,  #== 
b  x 
--  c,  proceed  thus  :  assume  A  B  =.  a 

(fig.  7)  ;  and  draw  the  right  lines  B  E  = 
b,  A  I)  =  c  and  parallel  to  P  M,  the  one 
on  one  side  A  P,  and  the  other  on  the 
other  side  :  and  through  the  points  A  E, 
draw  the  line  AE  of  an  indefinite  length 
towards  E,  and  through  the  point  D,  the 
line  D  M  parallel  to  A  E  :  then  the  inde- 
finite right  line  GM  shall  be  the  locus 
sought  ;  for  we  shall  have  always  P  M  = 


Lastly,  to  find  the  locus  of  the  fourth 
formula,  y  =  c  --  -  ;  inAP  (fig.  8)  : 

take  A  B  =  «,  and  draw  B  E  =  b,  A  D= 
c,  and  parallel  to  P  M,  the  one  on  one  side 
A  P,  and  the  other  on  the  other  side  ;  and 
through  the  points  A  and  E,  draw  the 
line  A  E  indefinitely  towards  E,  and 
through  the  point  D  draw  the  line  D  M 
parallel  to  A  E.  Then  D  G  shall  be  the 
locus  sought;  for  if  the  line  M  P  be 
drawn  from  any  point  M  thereof  parallel 
to  A  Q,  then  we  shall  always  have  P  M  —  • 

FM  —  PF,  thatis,  y  =  c—  — 
a 

Hence  it  appears,  that  all  the  loci  of  the 
first  degree  are  straight  lines  ;  which  may 
be  easily  found,  because  all  their  equa- 
tions may  be  reduced  to  some  one  of  the 
foregoing  formulas. 

All  loci  of  the  second  degree  are  conic 
sections,  liz.  either  the  parabola,  the 
circle,  ellipsis,  or  hyperbola  :  n°  an  equa- 
tion therefore  be  given,  whose  locus  is  of 
the  second  degree,  audit  be  required  to 
draw  the  conic  section,  which  is  the  locus 
thereof;  first  draw  a  parabola,  ellipsis,  or 
hyperbola  ;  so  as  that  the  equations  ex- 
pressing the  natures  thereof  may  be  as 


LOCUS  GEOMETRICUS. 


compound  as  possible.  In  order  to  get 
general  equations,  or  formulas,  by  exam- 
ining- the  peculiar  properties  whereof  we 
may  know  which  of  these  formulas  the 
given  equation  ought  to  have  regard  to  ; 
that  is,  which  of  the  conic  sections  will 
be  the  locus  of  the  proposed  equation. 
Tills  known,  compare  all  the  terms  of  the 
proposed  equation  with  the  terms  of 
the  general  formula  of  that  conic  sec- 
tion, which  you  have  found  will  be  the 
locus  of  the  given  equation ;  by  which 
means  you  will  find  how  to  draw  the  sec- 
tion, which  is  the  locus  of  the  equation 
given. 

For  example  ;  let  A  P  =  x,  P  M  =  y, 
be  unknown,  and  variable  straight  lines 
(fig.  9);  and  let  m,  n,  p,  r,  s,  be  given 
right  lines  :  in  the  line  A  P  take  A  13  = 
m,  and  draw  B  E  =  n,  A  1)  =  r  and  paral- 
lel to  P  VI ;  and  through  the  point  A 
draw  A  E  =  e,  and  ihrough  tiie  point  1) 
the  indefinite  right  line  D  G  parallel  to 
A  E.  In  D  G  take  D  C  =  s,  and  with 
C  G,  as  a  diameter,  having  its  ordinates 
parallel  to  P  AI,  and  the  line  C  H  =/>,  as 
the  parameter,  describe  a  parabola  C  M  : 
then  (he  portion  thereof,  included  in  the 
angle  P  A  D,  will  be  the  locus  of  the  fol- 
lowing general  formula : 

2  nx  y    .    n  n  xx       n  2« »' 


•in 
ep_x_ 

m      '   " 

For  if  from  any  point  M  of  that  por- 
tion there  be  drawn  the  right  line  M  P, 
making  any  angle  A  P  M  with  M  P  ;  the 
triangles  A  B  E,  A  P  F,  shall  be  similar ; 
therefore, 

A  B  :  A  E  ::  A  P  :  A  F  or  D  G ;  that  is, 

m  :  e  : :  x  :  — .      And  A  B  :  B  E  ::  A  P  : 

in 

P  F  ;  that  is,  m  :  n  ::  x  :  — .   And  cdnse- 
m 

quently,  G  M  or  P  M  —  P  F  —  F  G  =  y 

_!L?_r.     And  C  GorDG  —  DC  = 

m 

s.  But  from  the  nature  of  the  para- 
bola G  M*  =  C  G  X  C  H ;  which  equa- 
tion will  become  that  of  the  general  for- 
mula, by  putting  the  literal  values  of 
those  lines. 

Again,  if  through  the  fixed  point  A  you 
draw  the  indefinite  right  line  A  Q  (fig. 
10),  parallel  to  P  M,  and  you  take  A  B 
=  m,  and  draw  B  E  =  n  parallel  to 
A  P,  and  through  the  determinate  points 
A  E,  the  line  A  E  =  e;  and  if  in  A  P  you 
take  A  D  =  r :  and  draw  the  indefinite 
straight  line  D  G  parallel  to  A  E,  and  take 


DC  —s:  this  being  done,  if  with  the 
diameter  C  G,  whose  ordinates  are  paral- 
lel to  A  P,  and  parameter  the  line  C  H 
=  p,  you  describe  a  parabola  C  M  ;  the 
portion  of  this  parabola  contained  in  the 
angle  BAP  shall  be  the  locus  of  this  se- 


cond equation,  or  formula  : 

xx—-nyx--\  nny 

m         r    m  m 


—  o  r  x  4- 


nry 


For,  if  the  line  M  Q  be  drawn  from 
any  point  M,  therein,  parallel  to  A  P  ; 
then  will  A  B  :  A  E  ::  A  Q  or  P  M  :  A  F 

or  D  G  ;  that  is,  m  :  e  ::#:—;  and  A  B 


:  B  E  ::  A  Q  :  Q  F  ;  that  is,  m  :  n  ::  y  : 

• 

And  therefore  G  M  or  Q  M  —  Q  F  — 
F  G  ==  x  —  ^—  r;  andC  G  or  D  G  — 


And  so  by  the  common  property  of  the 
parabola,  you  will  have  the  foregoing  se- 
cond equation,  or  formula.  So  likewise 
may  be  found  general  equations  for  the 
other  conic  sections. 

Now  if  it  be  required  to  draw  the  para- 
bola, which  we  find  to  be  the  locus  of 
this  proposed  equation  yy — 2  a  y  —  bx 
-j-  e  c  =  o ;  compare  every  term  of  the 
first  formula  with  the  terms  of  the  equa- 
tion, because  y  y  in  both  is  without  frac- 
tions: and  then  will— =  o,  because  the 
in 

rectangle  xyuot  being  in  the  proposed 
equation,  the  said  rectangle  may  be  es- 
teemed as  multiplied  by  o ;  whence  n  =  o, 
and  m  =  e,-  because  the  line  A  E  falling 
in  A  B,  that  is,  in  A  P  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  formula,  the  points  B  E  do 
coincide.  Therefore  destroying  all  the 

terms  adfected  with  -  in  the  formula, 

m 
and  substituting  m  for  e,  we  shall  get  y  y 

—  2ry — p  x  -j-  r  r  -j-  p  s  =  o.    Again, 
by  comparing  the  correspondent  terms 

—  2  r  y  and  —  2  a  y,  as  also  —  p  x  and 

—  b  x,  we  have  r  =  a,  and  p  =  b;  and 
comparing  the  terms  wherein  are  neither 
of  the  unknown  quantities  x  y,  we  get 
7-  r  -j-  ps  =  c  c  ;  and  substituting  a  and 

b  for  r  and  p,  then  will  s  = —  » 

which  is  a  negative  expression  when  a  is 
greater  than  c,  as  is  here  supposed. 
There  is  no  need  of  comparing  the  first 
terms  y  y  and  yy,  because  they  are  the 
same.  Now  thp  values  of  n}  r,  pt  s,  be» 


LOC 


LOG 


ing  thus  found,  the  sought  locus  may  be 
constructed  by  means  of  the  construction 
of  the  formula,  and  after  the  following 
manner. 

Because  B  E  =  n  =  o  (fig.  9),  the 
points  B  E  do  coincide,  and  the  line  A 
E  falls  in  A  P;  therefore  through  the  fix- 
ed  point  A  draw  the  line  A  D  =  r  =  a 
parallel  to  P  M,  and  draw  DG  parallel  to 
A  P,  in  which  take  D  C  =  afl~ cc_ 

—  s  ,•  then  with  D  C,  as  a  diameter,  whose 
ordinates  are  right  lines  parallel  to  P  M, 
and  parameter  the  line  C  H  =  p  =  b, 
describe  a  parabola:  then  the  two  por- 
tions O  M  M,  R  M  S,  contained  in  the 
angle  P  A  O,  formed  by  the  line  A  P,  and 
the  line  A  O  drawn  parallel  to  P  M,  will 
be  the  locus  of  the  given  equation,  as  is 
easily  proved. 

If  in  a  given  equation  whose  locus  is 
a  parabola,  a:  a:  is  without  a  fraction  ; 
then  the  term  of  the  second  formula  must 
be  compared  with  those  of  the  given 
equation. 

Thus  much  for  the  method  of  construct- 
ing the  loci  of  the  equations  which  are 
conic  sections.  If,  now,  an  equation, 
whose  locus  is  a  conic  section,  be  giv- 
en, and  the  particular  section  whereof 
it  is  the  locus  be  required,  all  the  terms 
of  the  given  equation  being  brought  over 
to  one  side,  so  that  the  other  be  equal  to 
nothing,  there  will  be  two  cases. 

Case  I.  When  the  rectangle  x  y  is  not 
in  the  given  equation.  1.  If  either  yy  or 
xx  be  in  the  same  equation,  the  locus 
will  be  a  parabola.  2.  If  both  x  x  and  y  y 
are  in  the  equation  with  the  same  signs, 
the  locus  will  be  an  ellipsis,  or  a  circle. 
3.  If  x  x  and  y  y  have  different  signs,  the 
locus  will  be  an  hyperbola,  or  the  oppo- 
site sections  regarding  their  diameters. 

Case  II.  When  the  rectangle  xy  is  in 
the  given  equation.  1.  If  neither  of  the 
squares  x  x  or  y  y,  or  only  one  of  them, 
be  in  the  same,  the  locus  of  it  will  be  an 
hyperbola  between  the  asymptotes.  2.  If 
y  y  and  x  x  be  therein,  having  different 
signs,  the  locus  will  be  an  hyperbola  re- 
garding its  diameters.  3.  If  both  the 
squares  x  x  and  y  y  are  in  the  equation, 
having  the  same  signs,  you  must  free 
the  square  y  y  from  fractions;  and  then 
the  locus  will  be  an  hyperbola,  when  the 
square  of  5  the  fraction  multiplying  x  y, 
is  equal  to  the  fraction  multiplying  x  x  ; 
an  ellipsis,  or  circle,  when  the  same  is 
less ;  and  an  hyperbola,  or  the  opposite 
sections,  regarding  their  diameters,  when 
greater. 

LOCUST.    SeeGRTLi.rs. 


LODGMENT,  in  military  affairs,  is  a 
work  raised  with  earth,  gabions,  fascines, 
wool-packs,  or  mantelets,  to  cover  the 
besiegers  from  the  enemy's  fire,  and  to 
prevent  their  losing  a  place  which  they 
have  gained,  and  are  resolved,  if  possible, 
to  keep.  For  this  purpose,  when  a  lodg- 
ment is  to  be  made  on  the  glacis,  covert- 
way,  or  in  a  breach,  there  must  be  great 
provision  made  of  fascines,  sand-bags,  &c. 
in  the  trenches;  and  during  the  action, 
the  pioneers  with  fascines,  sand-bags, 
&c.  should  be  making  the  lodgment, 
in  order  to  form  a  covering  in  as  advanta- 
geous a  manner  as  possible  from  the  op- 
posite bastion,  or  the  place  most  to  be 
feared. 

LOEFLINGIA,  in  botany,  so  called 
from  Peter  Loefling;  a  genus  of  the 
Triandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Caryophyliei.  Essen- 
tial character :  calyx  five-leaved ;  co- 
rolla five-petalled,  very  small;  capsule 
one-celled,  three  valved.  There  is  but 
one  species,  viz.  L.  hispanica,  a  native  of 
Spain. 

LOESELIA,  in  botany,  from  Joseph 
Loesel,  a  genus  of  the  Didynamia  An- 
giospermia  class  and  order.  Natural  or- 
der of  Convolvuli,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character ;  calyx  four-cleft ;  corolla  with 
all  the  segments  directed  one  way ;  sta- 
mina opposite  to  the  petal;  capsule  three- 
celled.  There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  L. 
ciliata,  found  at  La  Vera  Cruz  in  South 
America. 

LOG,  in  naval  affairs,  a  machine  used 
to  measure  the  rate  of  a  ship's  velocity- 
through  the  water.  For  this  purpose, 
there  are  several  various  inventions,  but 
the  one  most  generally  used  is  the  fol- 
lowing, called  the  common  log.  It  is  a 
piece  of  thin  board,  forming  the  quadrant 
of  a  cii'cle  of  about  six  inches  radius,  and 
balanced  by  a  small  plate  of  lead  nailed 
on  the  circular  part,  so  as  to  swim  per- 
pendicular in  the  water,  with  the  greater 
part  immersed.  The  log-line  is  fastened 
to  the  log,  by  means  of  two  legs,  one  of 
which  is  knotted  through  a  hole  at  one 
corner,  while  the  other  is  attached  to  a 
pin  fixed  in  a  hole  at  the  other  corner,  so 
as  to  draw  out  occasionally.  The  log- 
line  being  divided  into  certain  spaces 
(which  are  in  proportion  to  an  equal 
number  of  geographical  miles,  as  a  half, 
or  quarter'  minute,  is  to  an  hour  of 
time),  is  wound  about  a  reel.  The  whole 
is  employed  to  measure  the  ship's  head- 
way in  the  following  manner:  the^reel 
being  held  by  one  man,  and  the  half  mi- 
nute-glass by  another,  the  mate  of  the 


LOG 


LOG 


watch  fixes  the  pin,  and  throws  the  log 
over  the  sLcrn,  which,  .swimming1  perpen- 
dicularly, feels  an  immediate  resistance, 
and  is  considered  as  fixed,  the  line  being 
slackened  over  the  stern  to  prevent  the 
pin  coming  out.  The  knots  are  mea- 
sured from  a  mark  on  the  line,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  twelve  or  fifteen  fathoms  from 
the  log;  the  glass  is  therefore  turned  at 
the  instant  that  the  mark  passes  over  the 
stern  ;  and.  as  soon  as  the  sand  in  the 
glass  has  run  out,  the  line  is  stopped;  the 
water  then  being  on  the  log  dislodges  the 
pin,  so  that  the  board  now  presenting 
only  its  edge  to  the  water  is  easily  drawn 
aboard.  The  number  of  knots  and  fathoms 
which  had  run  off  at  the  expiration  of  the 
glass  determines  the  ship's  velocity.  The 
half  minute  glass  and  divisions  on  the 
line  should  be  frequently  measured,  to 
determine  any  variation  in  either  of 
them,  and  to  make  allowance  according- 
ly. If  the  glass  runs  thirty  seconds,  the 
distance  between  the  knots  should  be 
fifty  feet.  When  it  runs  more  or  less,  it 
should,  therefore,  be  corrected  by  the 
following  analogy.  As  thirty  is  to  fifty, 
so  is  the  number  of  seconds  of  the  glass 
to  the  distance  between  the  knots  upon 
the  line.  As  the  heat  or  moisture  of  the 
weather  has  often  a  considerable  effect 
on  the  glass,  so  as  to  make  it  run  slower 
or  faster,  it  should  be  frequently  tried  by 
the  vibrations  of  a  pendulum.  As  many 
accidents  attend  a  ship  during  a  day's 
sailing,  such  as  the  variableness  of  wind, 
the  different  quantity  of  sail  carried,  &c. 
it  will  be  necessary  to  heave  the  log  at 
every  alteration;  but  if  none  of  these  al- 
terations be  perceptible,  yet  it  ought  to 
be  constantly  heaved.  In  ships  of  war 
and  East  ludiamen,  it  is  usaal  to  heave 
the  log  once  every  hour,  and  in  all  other 
vessels  once  in  two  hours;  and  if  at  any 
time  of  the  watch  the  wind  has  increased 
or  abated  in  the  intervals,  so  as  to  affect 
the  ship's  velocity,  the  officer  generally 
makes  a  suitable  allowance  for  it  at  the 
close  of  the  watch. 

LOG  board,  a  table  generally  divided  into 
five  columns,  in  the  first  of  which  is  en- 
tered the  hour  of  the  day;  in  the  second, 
the  course  steered ;  in  the  third,  the  num- 
ber of  knots  run  off  the  reel  each  time  of 
heaving  the  log;  in  the  fourth,  from  what 
point  the  wind  blows ;  and  in  the  fifth, 
observations  on  the  weather,  variation  of 
the  compass,  8cc. 

Lo';  botjk  a  book  ruled  in  columns  like 
the  log-board,  into  which  the  account  on 
the  log-board  is  transcribed  every  day  at 


noon  ;  from  whence,  after  it  is  corrected, 
&c.  it  is  entered  into  the  journal. 

LOR  tvood,  in  the  arts,  is  derived  from 
a  low  prickly  tree,  Avhich  is  found  in  great 
plenty  at  Campeachy,  in  the  bay  of  Hon- 
duras, and  is  denominated  "  hsematoxy- 
lon  campechianum."  It  comes  to  Europe 
in  large  logs,  cleared  from  the  bark,  and 
is  very  hard,  compact,  heavy,  and  of  a  red 
colour.  It  is  in  high  request  among 
dyers,  especially  in  dyeing  black.  It  gives 
out  the  colour  both  to  water  and  alcohol ; 
the  liquor  at  first  assumes  a  fine  red  co- 
lour with  a  shade  of  purple.  The  infu- 
sion becomes  gradually  deeper,  and  at 
last  almost  black.  To  cloth  previously 
boiled  in  alum  and  tartar,  it  gives  a  beau- 
tiful violet  colour,  which,  however,  will 
not  stand.  Alkalies  render  the  colour 
darker,  acids  change  it  to  yellow.  From 
a  variety  of  experiments  it  is  found,  that 
the  colouring  matter  of  log-\vood  bears 
in  many  respects  a  strong  analogy  to  tan- 
nin, but  in  others  it  differs  from  it, 

LOGARITHMIC,  in  general,  some- 
thing belonging  to  logarithms.  See  LO- 
GARITHMS. 

LO&.IBITKHIC  curve.  If  on  the  line  A  N 
(Plate  VIII.  Miscel.  fig.  12)  both  ways  in- 
definitely  extended,  be  taken  A  C,  C  E, 
E  G,  G  I,  I  L,  on  the  right  hand.  And 
also  A  5-,  g  P,  &c.  on  the  left,  all  equal  to 
one  another.  And,  if  at  the  points  P,  _§-. 
A,  C,  E,  G,  I,  L,  be  erected  to  the  right 
line,  A  N,  the  perpendiculars  P  S,  g  d, 
A  B,  C  1),  E  F,  G  H,  I K,  L  M,  which  let 
be  continually  proportional,  and  repre- 
sent numbers,  viz.  A  B,  1,  C 1),  10,  E  F, 
100,  8cc.  then  shall  we  have  two  progres- 
sions of  lines,  arithmetical  and  geometri-- 
cal .-  for  the  lines  A  C,  A  E,  A  G,  &c.  are 
in  arithmetical  progression,  or  as  1,  2,  3, 
4,  5,  Sec.  and  so  represent  the  logarithms 
to  which  the  geometrical  lines  A  B,  CD, 
E  F,  Sec.  do  correspond.  For  since  A  G 
is  triple  of  the  right  line  A  C,  the  number 
G  II  shall  be  in  the  third  place  from  unity, 
if  C  D  be  in  the  first :  so,  likewise,  shall 
L  M  be  in  the  fifth  place,  since  A  L  = 
5  A  C.  If  the  extremities  of  the  propor- 
tionals S  d,  B,  D,  F,  &c.  be  joined  by 
right  lines,  the  figure  S  B  ML  will  become 
a  polygon,  consisting  of  more  or  less  sides, 
according  as  there  is  more  or  less  terms  in. 
the  progression. 

If  the  parts  A  C,  C  E,  E  G,  &c.  be 
bisected  in  the  points  c,  e,  g>  i,  /,  and  there 
be  again  raised  the  perpendiculars  c  d,  ef, 
gh,  ik,  lm,  which  are  mean  proportion- 
als between  A  B,  C  D;  C  D,  E  F,  &c.  then 
there  will  arise  a  new  series  of  proper- 


LOGARITHMS. 


tkmals,  whose  terms  beginning  from  that 
which  immediately  follows  unity,  are  dou- 
ble of  those  in  the  first  series,  and  the 
difference  of  the  terms  are  become  less, 
and  approach  nearer  to  a  ratio  of  equality 
than  before.  Likewise,  in  this  new  se- 
ries, the  right  lines  A  L,  A  c,  express  the 
distances  of  the  terms  L  At,  c  d,  from  uni- 
ty ;  viz.  since  A  L  is  ten  times  greater 
than  A  c,  L  M  shall  be  the  tenth  term  of 
the  series  from  unity  ;  and  because  A  e 
is  three  times  greater  than  A  c,  e/ will  be 
the  third  term  of  the  series  [fed  be  the 
first,  and  there  shall  be  two  mean  pro- 
portionals between  A  B  and  ef\  and  be- 
tween A  B  and  L  AI  there  will  be  nine 
mean  proportionals.  And  if  the  extre- 
mities of  the  lines  B  rf,  D/,  F  h,  &c.  be 
joined  by  right  lines,  there  will  be  a  new 
polygon  made,  consisting  of  more  but 
shorter  sides  than  the  last. 

If,  in  this  manner,  mean  proportionals 
be  continually  placed  between  every  two 
terms,  the  number  of  terms  at  last  will 
be  made  -so  great,  as  also  the  number  of 
the  sides  of  the  polygon,  as  to  be  greater 
than  any  given  number,  or  to  be  infinite; 
and  every  side  of  the  polygon  so  lessened, 
as  to  become  less  than  any  given  right 
line  ;  and  consequently  the  polygon  will 
be  changed  into  a  curve  lined  figure  ;  for 
any  curve-lined  figure  may  be  conceived 
as  a  polygon,  whose  sides  are  infinitely 
small  and  infinite  in  number.  A  curve 
described  after  this  manner,  is  called  lo- 
garithmical. 

It  is  manifest  from  this  description  of 
the  logarithmic  curve,  that  all  numbers  at 
equal  'distances  are  continually  propor- 
tional. It  is  also  plain,  that  if  there  be 
four  numbers,  A  B,  C  D,  I K,  L  M>  such 
that  the  distance  between  the  first  and 
second  be  equal  to  the  distance  between 
the  third  a;,d  the  fourth  ;  let  the  distance 
from  the  second  to  the  third  be  what  it 
will,  these  numbers  will  be  proporti6nal. 
For  because  the  distances  A  C,  I  L,  are 
equal,  A  B  shall  be  to  the  increment  D  s, 
as  I K  is  to  the  increment  M  T.  Where- 
fore, by  composition,  A  B  :  D  C  : :  IK  : 
M  L.  And,  contrarywise,  if  four  num- 
bers be  proportional,  the  distance  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  shall  be  equal 
to  the  distance  between  the  third  and 
fourth. 

The  distance  between  any  two  num- 
bers is  called  the  logarithm  of  the  ratio 
of  those  numbers;  and,  indeed,  doth  not 
measure  the  ratio  itself,  but  the  number 
of  terms  in  a  given  series  of  geometrical 
proportionals,  proceeding  from  one  num- 
ber to  another,  and  defines  the  number 


of  equal  ratios  by  the  composition  where- 
of the  ratio  of  numbers  are  known. 

LOGARITHMS,  are  the  indexes  or  ex- 
ponents (mostly  whole  numbers  and  de- 
cimal fractions,  consisting  of  seven  places 
of  figures  at  least)  of  the  powers  or  roots 
(chiefly  broken)  of  a  given  number ;  yet 
such  indexes  or  exponents,  that  the  seve- 
ral powers  or  roots  they  express,  are  the 
natural  numbers  1,  2,  3,  4,  5>  &c.  to  10 
or  100000,  &c.  (as  if  the  given  number  be 
10,  and  its  index  be  assumed  1.0000000, 
then  the  0.0000000  root  of  10,  which  is  1, 
will  be  the  logarithm  of  1;  the  0.301036  root 
of  10,  which  is  2,  will  be  the  logarithm  of 
2 ;  the  0.477121  root  of  10,  which  is  3,  will 
be  the  logarithm  of  3;  the  0.612060  root 
of  10,  the  logarithm  of  4;  the  1.041393 
power  of  10,  the  logarithm  of  11 ;  the 
1  079181  power  of  10,  the  logarithm  of 
12,  &c.)  being  chiefly  contrived  for  ease 
and  expedition  in  performing  of  arithme- 
tical operations  in  large  numbers,  and  in 
trigonometrical  calculations;  but  they  have 
likewise  been  found  of  extensive  service 
in  the  higher  geometry,  particularly  in 
the  method  of  fluxions.  They  are  gene- 
rally founded  on  this  consideration,  that 
if  there  be  any  row  of  geometrical  pro- 
portional  numbers,  as  1,  2,  4,  8,  16,  32, 
64,  128,  256,  &c.  or  1,  10,  100,  1000, 
10000,  &c.  And  as  many  arithmetical 
progressional  numbers  adapted  to  them, 
or  set  over  them,  beginning  with  0. 

.  5  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  &c. 
tnus»l  1,  2,  4,  8,  16,  32,  64, 128,  &c. 
1,  2,  3,  4,  &c. 
10,  100, 1000,  10000,  &c 

Then  will  the  sum  of  any  two  of  these 
arithmetical  progressionals,  added  toge- 
ther, be  that  arithmetical  progressional 
which  answers  to,  or  stands  over  the  ge- 
ometrical progressional,  which  is  the  pro- 
duct of  the  two  geometrical  progression- 
als, over  which  the  two  assumed  arithme- 
tical progressionals  stand  :  again,  if  those 
arithmetical  progressionals  be  subtracted 
from  each  other,  the  remainder  will  be 
the  arithmetical  progressional  standing 
over  that  geometrical  progressional, 
which  is  the  quotient  of  the  division  of  the 
two  geometrical  progressionals  belong, 
ing  to  the  two  first  assumed  arithmetical 
progressionals ;  and  the  double,  triple, 
&c.  of  any  one  of  the  arithmetical  pro- 
gressionals will  be  the  arithmetical  pro. 
gressional  standing  over  the  square,  cube, 
&c.  of  that  geometrical  progression  which 
the  assumed  arithmetical  progressional 
stands  over,  as  well  as  the  one-half,  one- 
third,  &c.  of  that  arithmetical  progres- 


LOGARITHMS. 


sional,  will  be  the  geometrical  progres- 
sional  answering  to  the  square  root,  cube 
root,  &c.  of  the  arithmetical  progres- 
sional  over  it ;  and  from  hence  arises  the 
following  common,  though  imperfect  de- 
finition of  logarithms ;  viz. 

That  they  are  so  many  arithmetical  pro- 
gressionals,  answering  to  the  same  num- 
ber of  geometrical  ones.  Whereas,  if 
anyone  looks  into  the  tables  of  logarithms, 
he  will  find,  that  these  do  not  all  run 
on  in  an  arithmetical  progression,  nor 
the  numbers  they  ajiswer  to  in  a  geome- 
trical one  ;  these  last  being  themselves 
arithmetical  progressionals.  Dr.  Wallis, 
in  his  history  of  algebra,  calls  loga- 
rithms the  indexes  of  the  ratios  of  num- 
bers to  one  another.  Dr.  Halley,  in  the 
Philosophical  Transactions,  Number  216, 
says,  they  are  the  exponents  of  the  ratios 
of  unity  to  numbers.  So,  also,  Mr.  Cotes, 
in  his  "  Hannonia  Mensurarum,"  says, 
they  are  the  numerical  measures  of  ratios: 
but  all  these  definitions  convey  but  a 
very  confused  notion  of  logarithms.  Mr. 
Maclaurin,  in  his  "Treatise  of  Fluxions," 
has  explained  the  natural  and  genesis  of 
logarithms,  agreeably  to  the  notion  of 
their  first  inventor,  Lord  Neper.  Loga- 
rithms then,  and  the  quantities  to  which 
they  correspond,  may  be  supposed  to  be 
generated  by  the  motion  of  a  point :  and 
if  this  point  moves  over  equal  spaces  in 
equal  times,  the  line  described  by  it  in- 
creases equally. 

Again,  a  line  decreases  proportionably, 
when  the  point  that  moves  over  it  des- 
cribes such  parts  in  equal  times  as  are 
always  in  the  same  constant  ratio  to  the 
lines  from  which  they  are  subducted,  or 
to  the  distances  of  that  point,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  those  lines,  from  a  given  term 
in  that  lhie.  In  like  manner,  a  line  may 
increase  proportionably,  if  in  equal  times 
the  (moving  point  describes  spaces  pro- 
portional to  its  distances  from  a  certain 
term  at  the  beginning  of  each  time. 
Thus,  in  the  first  case,  let  a  c  (Plate  IX. 
Miscel.  fig.  1  and  2.)  be  to  a  o,  c  d  to  c  o, 
d  e  to  (I  o,  e  f  to  e  o,fg  to/o,  always  in 
the  same  ratio  of  Q  R  to  Q  S  :  and  sup- 
pose the  point  P  sets  out  from  fl,  describ- 
ing «  c,  c  d,  d  c,  e  /,  fg,  in  equal  parts 
of  the  time  ;  and  let  the  space  described 
by  P  in  any  given  time,  be  always  in  the 
same  ratio  to  the  distance  of  P  from  o  at 
the  beginning  of  that  time,  then  will  the 
right  line  a  o  decrease  proportionally. 

In  like  manner,  the  line  o  a  (fig.  3.)  in- 
creases proportionally,  if  the  point  p,  in 
equal  times,  describes  spaces  a  c,  c  d,  de, 
eJ>  f  ff>  &-C.  so  that  a  c  is  to  a  o,  c  d  to 
c  o,  d  e  to  d  o,  &.c.  in  a  constant  ratio.  If 


we  now  suppose  a  point  P  describing  the 
line  A  G  (fig.  4.)  with  an  uniform  motion, 
while  the  pointy  describes  a  line  increas- 
ing or  decreasing  proportionally,  the  line 
A  P,  described  by  P,  with  this  uniform 
motion,  in  the  same  time  that  o  a,  by  in- 
creasing or  decreasing  proportionally,  be- 
comes equal  to  o  p,  is  the  logarithm  of 
op.  Thus  A  C,  A  D,  A  E,  &c.  are  the 
logarithms  of  o  c,  o  d,  o  et  &c.  respectively; 
and  o  a  is  the  quantity  whose  logarithm  is 
supposed  equal  to  nothing. 

We  have  here  abstractedfrom  numbers, 
that  the  doctrine  may  be  the  more  gene- 
ral ;  but  it  is  plain,  that  if  A  C,  A  D,  A  E, 
See.  be  supposed,  1,  2,  3,  8cc.  in  arithmetic 
progression  ;  o  c,  o  d,  o  e,  &c.  will  be  in 
geometric  progression ;  and  that  the  loga- 
rithm of  o  a,  which  may  be  taken  for 
unity,  is  nothing. 

Lord  Neper,  in  his  first  scheme  of  loga- 
rithms, supposes,  that  while  o  p  increases 
or  decreases  proportionally,  the  uniform 
motion  of  the  point  P,  by  which  the  loga- 
rithm of  o  p  is  generated,  is  equal  to  the 
velocity  of  p  at  a  ;  that  is,  at  the  term  of 
time  when  the  logarithms  begin  to  be 
generated.  Hence  logarithms,  formed 
after  this  model,  are  called  Neper's  Loga- 
rithms, and  sometimes  Natural  Loga- 
rithms. 

When  a  ratio  is  given,  the  point  p  de- 
scribes the  difference  of  the  terms  of  the 
ratio  in  the  same  time.  When  a  ratio  is 
duplicate  of  another  ratio,  the  point  p  de- 
scribes the  difference  of  the  terms  in  a 
double  time.  When  a  ratio  is  triplicate 
of  another,  it  describes  the  difference  of 
the  terms  in  a  triple  time ;  and  so  on. 
Also,  when  a  ratio  is  compounded  of  two 
or  more  ratios,  the  point  p  describes  the 
difference  of  the  terms  of  that  ratio  in  a 
time  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  times,  in 
which  it  describes  the  difference  of  the 
terms  of  the  simple  ratios  of  which  it  is 
compounded.  And  what  is  here  said  of 
the  times  of  the  motion  of  p  when  o  p  in- 
creases proportionallv,  is  to  be  applied  to 
the  spaces  described'by  P,  in  those  times, 
with  its  uniform  motion. 

Hence  the  chief  properties  of  loga- 
rithms are  deduced  They  are  the  mea- 
sures of  ratios.  The  excess  of  the  loga- 
rithm of  the  antecedent,  above  the  loga- 
rithm of  the  consequent,  measures  the 
ratio  of  those  terms.  The  measure  of 
the  ratio  of  a  greater  quantity  to  a  lesser 
is  positive  ;  as  this  ratio,  compounded 
with  any  other  ratio,  increases  it.  The 
ratio  of  equality,  compounded  with  any 
other  ratio,  neither  increases  nor  dimin- 
ishes it ;  and  its  measure  is  nothing.  The 
measure  of  the  ratio  of  a  lesser  quantity" 


LOGARITHMS. 


to  a  greater  is  negative ;  as  this  ratio, 
compounded  with  any  other  ratio,  dimin- 
ishes it.  The  ratio  of  any  quantity  A  to 
unity,  compounded  with  the  ratio  of  unity 
to  A,  produces  the  ratio  of  A  to  A,  or  the 
ratio  of  equality ;  and  the  measures  of 
those  two  ratios  destroy  each  other  when 
added  together  ;  so  that  when  the  one  is 
considered  as  positive  the  other  is  to  be 
coiibi.lered  as  negative.  By  supposing 
tlic  logarithms  of  quantities  greater  than 
o  a  (which  &  supposed  to  represent  unity) 
to  be  positive,  and  the  logarithms  of  quan- 
tities less  than  it  to  be  negative,  the  same 
rules  serve  for  the  operations  by  loga- 
rithms, whether  tne^uantities  be  greater 
or  less  than  o  a.  When  o  p  increases 
proportionally,  the  motion  of  p  is  per- 
petually  accelerated ;  for  the  spaces  a  c, 
c  f/,  d  e,  &c.  that  are  described  by  it  in 
any  equal  times  that  continually  succeed 
after  each  other,  perpetually  increase  in 
the  same  proportion  as  the  lines  o  a,  o  c, 
o  dy  &c.  When  the  point  p  moves  from  a 
towards  o,  and  o  p  decreases  proportion- 
ally, the  motion  of  p  is  perpetually  re- 
tarded ;  for  the  spaces  described  by  it  in 
any  equal  times  that  continually  succeed 
after  each  other,  decrease  in  this  case  in 
the  same  proportion  as  o  p  decreases. 

If  the  velocity  of  the  point/?  be  always 
as  the  distance  o  p,  then  will  this  line  in- 
crease or  decrease  in  the  manner  sup- 
posed by  Lord  Neper ;  and  the  velocity 
of  the  point  p  being  the  fluxion  of  the  line 
•  /»,  will  always  vary  in  the  same  ratio  as 
this  quantity  itself.  This,  we  presume, 
will  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  genesis,  or 
nature  of  logarithms ;  but  for  more  of 
this  doctrine,  see  Maclaurin's  Fluxions. 

LOGARITHMS,  construction  of.  The  first 
makers  of  logarithms,  had  in  this  a  very 
laborious  and  difficult  task  to  perform ; 
they  first  made  choice  of  their  scale  or 
system  of  logarithms,  that  is,  what  set  of 
arithmetical  progressionals  should  answer 
to  such  a  set  of  geometrical  ones,  for  this 
is  entirely  arbitrary  ;  and  they  chose  the 
decuple  geometrical  progressionals,  1, 10, 
100, 1000, 10000,  &c.  and  the  arithmetical 
one,  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  &c.  or,  0.000000; 
1.000000;  2.000000;  3.000000;  4.000000, 
&c.  as  the  most  convenient.  After  this 
they  were  to  get  the  logarithms  of  all  the 
intermediate  numbers  between  1  and  10, 
10  and  100,^100  and  1000, 1000  and  10000, 
&c.  But  first  of  all  they  were  to  get  the 
logarithms  of  the  prime  numbers  3,  5,  7, 
11,  13,  17,  19,  23,  &c.  and  when  these 
were  once  had,  it  was  easy  to  get  those 
of  the  compound  numbers  made  up  of  the 
prime  ones,  by  the  addition  or  subtraction 
of  their  logarithm's. 


In  order  to  this,  they  found  a  mean 
proportion  between  1  and  10,  and  its 
logarithm  will  be  one  half  that  of  10 ;  and 
so  given,  then  they  found  a  mean  pro- 
portional between  the  number  first  found 
and  unity,  which  mean  will  be  nearer  to 
1  than  that  before,  and  its  logarithm  will 
be  one  half  of  the  former  logarithm,  of 
one-fourth  of  that  of  10 ;  and  having  in 
this  manner  continually  found  a  mean 
proportional  between  1  and  the  last  mean, 
and  bisected  the  logarithms,  they  at 
length,  after  finding  54  such  means,  came 
to  a  number 

1.0000000000000001278191493200323442 
so  near  to  1  as  not  to  differ  from  it  so 

much  as  Too^Tnrff^<JDTFoiTo?nKr  part,  and 
found  its  logarithm  to  be 
0.00000000000000005551II5I23I25782702 
and 

00000000000000012781914932003235  to 
be  the  difference  whereby  1  exceeds  the 
number  of  roots  or  mean  proportionals 
found  by  extraction ;  and  then,  by  means 
of  these  numbers,  they  found  the  loga- 
rithms of  any  other  numbers  whatsoever; 
and  that  after  the  following  manner:  be- 
tween a  given  number,  whose  logarithm 
is  wanted,  and  1,  they  found  a  mean  pro- 
portional, as  above,  until  at  length  a  num- 
ber (mixed)  be  found,  such  a  small  mat- 
ter above  1,  as  to  have  1  and  15  cyphers 
after  it,  which  are  followed  by  the  same 
number  of  significant  figures ;  then  they 
said,  as  the  last  number  mentioned  above, 
is  to  the  mean  proportional  thus  found, 
so  is  the  logarithm  above,  viz. 
0.00000000000000005551115123125782702 
to  the  logarithm  of  the  mean  proportional 
number,  such  a  small  matter  exceeding  1, 
as  but  now  mentioned;  and  this  logarithm 
being  as  often  doubled  as  the  number  of 
mean  proportionals,  (formed  to  get  that 
number)  willbe  the  logarithm  of  the  given 
number.  And  thi»  was  the  method  Mr. 
Briggs  took  to  make  the  logarithms.  But 
if  they  are  to  be  made  to  only  seven 
places  of  figures,  which  are  enough  for 
common  use,  they  had  only  occasion  to 
find  25  mean  proportionals,  or,  which  is  the 

same  thing,  to  extract  the  '  th 

root  of  10.  Now  having  the  logarithms 
of  3,  5,  7,  they  easily  got  those  of  2,  4, 

6,  8,  and  9;  for  since  V°=2»  the  loga- 
rithm  of  2  will  be  the  difference  of  the 
logarithms  of  10,  and  5  the  logarithm  of  4 
will  be  two  times  the  logarithm  of  2  ;  the 
logarithm  of  6  will  be  the  sum  of  the  loga- 
rithm of  2  and  3 ;  and  the  logarithm  of  9 
double  the  logarithm  of  3.  So,  also,  hav- 
ing found  the  logarithms  of  13, 17,  and 
19,  and  alse  of  23  and  29,  they  did  easily 


LOGARITHMS. 


g<et  those  of  all  the  numbers  between  10 
and  30,  by  addition  and  substraction  only; 
and  so  having  found  the  logarithms  of 
other  prime  numbers,  they  got  those  of 
other  numbers  compounded  of  them. 

But  since  the  way  above  hinted  at,  for 
finding  the  logarithms  of  the  prime  num- 
bers is  so  intolerably  laborious  and  trou- 
blesome, the  more  skilful  mathematicians 
that  came  after  the  first  inventors,  em- 
ploying their  thoughts  about  abbreviating 
this  method,  had  a  vastly  more  easy  and 
short  way  offered  to  them  from  the  con- 
templation and  mensuration  of  hyperbo- 
lic spaces  contained  between  the  por- 
tions of  an  asymptote,  right  lines  per- 
pendicular to  it,  and  the  curve  of  the  hy- 
perbola :  for  if  E  C  N  (Plate  IX.  fig.  5.) 
be  an  hyperbola,  and  AD,  A  Q,  the 
asymptotes,  and  A  B,  A  P,  A  Q,  &.c.  taken 
upon  one  of  them,  be  represented  by 
numbers,  and  the  ordinates  B  C,  P  M, 
QN,  See.  be  drawn  from  the  several 
points  B,  P,  Q,  8cc.  to  the  curve,  thea 
will  the  quadrilinear  spaces  B  C  M  P, 
P  M  N  Q,  &c.  viz.  their  numerical  mea- 
sures, be  the  logarithms  of  the  quotients 
of  the  division  of  A  B  by  A  P,  A  P  by 
A  Q,  &c.  since  when  A  B,  A  P,  A  Q,  &c. 
are  continual  proportionals,  the  said 
spaces  are  equal,  as  is  demonstrated  by 
several  writers  concerning  conic  sec- 
tions. See  HYPERBOLA. 

Having  said  that  these  hyperbolic 
spaces,  numerically  expressed,  may  be 
taken  for  logarithms,  we  shall  next  give 
a  specimen,  from  the  said  great  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  of  the  method  how  to  measure 
these  spaces,  and  consequently  of  the 
construction  of  logarithms. 

Let  C  A  (fig.  6.)  =  A  F  be  ==  1,  and 

A  B  =  A  b  =  x ;  then  will  -•  •         be  = 


B  D,  and 


1— 


b  d;  and  putting  these 
1 


expressons    nto  seres 

=  1  —  x  +  x~  —  xi  -j-  x*  — 


it  will  be 

&c.  and 


&c.  and 


I  +  x 


-f 


X  XX  -\-  X1  X Xl  X 


-f-  x*  x  -f-  xTi  x  -f-  x*  x  -f-  x<>  £,  &,c.  and 
taking  the  fluents,  we  shall  have  the  area 

AFDB=*_^+?-?-t4S,  fce. 


and  the  area  A  F  db,  =  x  -f  ^-f--f 

OC^"          .2?5 

~T"\—T»  &c-  and  the  sum  bdJ)  B  =  2  x 
H — ~  -j-  |  xl  -f-  |.  &  _j_  i  X9)  &c.  ]STOW 

if  A  B,  or  a  b,  be  J_  =*  x,  C  b  being  = 
0.9,  and  C  B  =  1.1,  by  putting  this  value 
of  or  in  the  equations  above,  we  shall  have 
the  area  bdDB  =  0.2006706954621511 
for  the  terms  of  the  series  will  stand  as 
you  see  in  this  table. 

Term  of  the  series. 
0.20000000000000  M  =  urst 

6666666666666  =  second 
40UOUOOUUUO  =  third 
285714286  =  fourth 
2222222  =  fifth 
18152  =  sixth 
154  =  seventh 
1  =  eighth 

0.2006706954621511 


If  the  parts  A  d  and  A  D  of  this  area  be 
added  separately,  and  the  lesser  D  A  be 
taken  from  the  greater  d  A,  we  shall  have 


=  0.0100503358535014,  for  the  terms  re 
duced  to  decimals  will  stand  thus  : 

Term  of  the  series. 

O.OlOOOOOOOOOOOOOu  =  first 

500000000000  =  second 
3333333333  =  third 
25000000  =  fourth 
200000  =  fifth 
1667  =  sixth 
14  =  seventh 


0.0100503358535014 


Now  if  this  difference  of  the  areas  be 
added  to,  and  subtracted  from,  their  sum 
before  found,  half  the  aggregate,  viz 
0.1053605156578263,  will  be  the  greater 
area  A  d,  and  half  the  remainder,  viz 
0.0953101798043249,  will  be  the  lesser 
area  A  D. 

By  the  same  tables,  these  areas,  A  D 
and  A  d,  will  be  obtained  also  when  A  B 
-j-  A  d  are  supposed  to  be  _ ->  _  or  C  B  = 
1.01,  and  C  b  =  0.99,  if  the  numbers  are 
but  duly  transferred  to  lower  places,  as 


LOGARITHMS. 


Term  of  the  series. 
0  0200000000000000  =  tirst 

6666666666  =  second 
400000  =  third 
28  =  fourth 


Sum  =  0.02u0006667066694  =  area  b  D. 


Term  of  the  series. 
0.0001000000000000  =  rirst 

50000000  =  second 
3333  =  third 


0.0001000050003333  =  area  Ad— AD. 


Half  the  aggregate  0.0100503358535014 
=  Ad,  and  half  the  remainder,  viz. 
0.0099503308531681  ==  A  D. 

And  so  putting  A  B  =  A  b  =  y-i-- »  or 

C  B  =  1.001,  and  Ct> •  =*  0.999,  there  will 
be  obtained  A  (/  =  0.00100050003335835, 
and  A  D  =  0.00099950013330835. 

After  the  same  manner,  if  A  B  =»  A  6, 
be  =  0.2,  or  0.02,  or  0.002,  these  areas 
will  arise. 

A  d  =  0.2231435513142097,  and 
AD  ==  0.1823215576939546,  or 
A  d  =  0.0202027073175194,  and 
AD  =  0.1098026272961797,  or 
A  d ;  =±  0.002002,  and  A  D  =  0.001. 
From  these  areas,  thus  found,  others 
may  be  easily  had  from  addition  and  sub- 

12       12 
traction  only.    For  since  — --{ — ^  =  2, 

the  sum  of  the  arcs  belonging  to  the  ra- 

1.2          1.2 
tios  ~  and  ^  (that  is,  insisting  upon 

the  parts  of  the  absciss  1.2,  0.2 ;  and  1.8, 
0.9),  vis. 


added  thus, 


Sum  =  0.28768,  &c. 


Total  =  0  69314,  &c.  ==  the  area 
of  A  F  H  G,  when  C  G  is  —  2.    Also  since 

H  +  2  =  3,  the  sum  1.0986122,  &c.  of 

1  2 
the  areas  belonging  to  —  and  2,  will  be 

U.o 

the  area   of  A  F  G  H,   when  C  G  =  3. 

2x2 
Again,  since  —^-  =  5,  and  2  X  5  = 

10  ;  by  adding  A  d  —  0.2231,  &c.  A  D  = 
0.1823,  &c.  and  A  d  ==  0.1053,  &c.  toge- 
ther, their  sum  is  0.5108,  &c.  and  this 
added  to  1.0986,  &c.  the  a^ea  of  A  F  G  H, 
VOL.  IV. 


when  CG  =  3.  You  will  have 
1.6093379124341004  =  A  F  G  H,  when 
C  G  is  5  ;  and  adding  that  of  2  to  this, 
gives  2.302585092994J457  =  A  F  G  11, 
when  C  G  is  equal  to  10  :  and  since  10  X 
10  =  1Q°;  and  10  x  100  =  lOGu  ;  and 
V5x  10  X  0.9J~=-  7,  and  10  x  1.1  = 
1000  X  1.091 


11,    and 
1000  X  0.998 


7  X  11 


13,  and 


499 ;  it  is  plain  that  the 

area  A  F  G  H  may  be  found  by  the  com- 
position of  the  areas  found  before,  when 
C  G  =  100,  1000,  or  any  other  of  the 
numbers  above-mentioned ;  and  all  these 
areas  are  the  hyperbolic  logarithms  of 
those  several  numbers. 

Having  thus  obtained  the  hyperbolic 
logarithms  of  the  numbers  10,  0.98,  0.99, 
1.01,  1.02;  if  the  logarithms  of  the  four 
last  of  them  be  divided  by  the  hyperbo- 
lic logarithm  2.3025850,  &c.  of  10,  and 
the  index  2  be  added ;  or,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  if  it  be  multiplied  by  its  re- 
ciprocal 0.4342944819032518,  the  value  of 
the  subtangent  of  the  logarithmic  curve, 
to  which  Brigg's  logarithms  are  adapted, 
we  shall  have  the  true  tabular  logarithms 
of  98,  99,  100,  101,  102.  These  are  to 
be  interpolated  by  ten  intervals,  and  then 
we  shall  have  the  logarithms  of  all  the 
numbers  between  980  and  1020  ;  and  all 
between  980  and  1000,  being  again  inter- 
polated by  ten  intervals,  the  table  will  be 
as  it  were  constructed.  Then  from  these 
we  are  to  get  the  logarithms  of  all  the 
prime  numbers,  and  their  multiples  less 
than  100,  which  may  be  done  by  addition 

10 
and  subtraction  only :  for 


V8X9963 
984 


; 


10 


=  5; 


986 
984 

9911_ 
Tl  X~l 
=  61; 

=  73; 
=  89; 


•'"f^,-"" 

r  =  -^6- 

29;^  = 


^98 

2 

102  __ 
6    = 

=  23; 


989 
IT 


9971 


T  '    13  X  13 

9949   '     _    994 

3X49 
9954 

71*18 
9894 

6  X17 


999 

1    W 
987 
21 

=  59; 


=  47; 
9882 

2X81 
9928 


_™.^L83.^i 

'    12  ~        '7X16 
97  ;  and  thus  hav- 


ing  the  logarithms  of  all  the  numbers  less 


LOGARITHMS. 


than  100,  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  in- 
terpoiate  the  several  times  through  ten 
intervals. 

Now  the  void  places  may  be  filled  up 
by  the  following  theorem.  Let  ?i  be  a 
number,  whose  logarithm  is  wanted ;  let 
x  i>e  the  difference  between  that  and  the 
two  nearest  numbers,  equally  distant  on 
each  side,  whose  logarithms  are  already 
found:  and  let  d  be  halt' the  difference  of 
their  logarithms :  then  the  required  loga- 
rithm of  the  number  n  will  be  had  by  add- 

d  x      dx3 
ing  d  -f — -f-  — — ,  &c.  to  the  logarithm 

of  the  lesser  number:  for  if  the  numbers 
are  represented  by  C  p,  C  G,  C  P  (fig. 
16.)  and  the  ordinates/»s,  P  Q,  be  raised ; 
if  n  be  wrote  for  C  G,  and  x  for  G  P,  or 

G  p,  the  area  p  s  Q  P,  or  — -f-  — j-J--~. 

&c.  will  be  to  the  area  p  s  H  G,  as  the 
difference  between  the  logarithms  of  the 
extreme  numbers,  or  2  d,  is  to  the  differ- 
ence between  the  logarithms  of  the  lesser, 
and  of  the  middle  one  ;  which,  therefore, 
dx_  dx*  dxj  „ 

n  "*"  2*1        3n 

will  be 


The  two  first  terms  d  -f  — -  of  this  se- 
zn 

sufficient  for  the  construction 


greater;  and  this  although  the  numbers 
should  not  be  in  arithmetical  progression. 
Also  by  pursuing  the  steps  of  this  me- 
thod, rules  may  be  easily  discovered  for 
the  construction  of  artificial  sines  and 
tangents,  without  the  help  of  the  natural 
tables.  Thus  far  the  great  Newton,  who 
says,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  M.  Leibnitz, 
that  he  was  so  much  delighted  with  the 
construction  of  logarithms,  at  his  first 
setting  out  in  those  studies,  that  he  was 
ashamed  to  tell  to  how  many  places  of 
figures  he  had  carried  them  at  that  time : 
and  this  was  before  the  year  1666 ; 
because,  he  says,  the  plague  made  him 
lay  aside  those  studies,  and  think  of  other 
things. 

Dr.  Keil,  in  his  Treatise  of  Logarithms, 
at  the  end  of  his  Commandine's  Euclid, 
gives  a  series,  by  means  of  which  may  be 
found  easily  and  expeditiously  the  loga- 
rithms of  large  numbers.  Thus,  let  z  be 
an  odd  number,  whose  logarithm  is 
sought :  then  shall  the  numbers  z  —  1  and 
S  -f- 1  be  even,  and  accordingly  their 
logarithms,  and  the  difference  of  the  lo- 
garithms will  be  had,  which  let  be  called 
y.  Therefore,  also  the  logarithm  of  a 
number,  which  is  a  geometi-ical  mean  be- 
tween z  —  1  and  z  -}-  1,  will  be  given, 
viz.  equal  to  half  the  sum  of  the  loga- 
rithms. Now  the  series  y  X  7 — K"> 

181  .  l«i  o  -U       11     V 

;c.  shall  be 


;,  because  x  is  either  1  or  2:  yet  it  is 
not  necessary  to  interpolate  all  the  places 
by  lielp  of  this  rule,  since  the  logarithms 
of  numbers,  which  are  produced  by  the 
multiplication  or  division  of  the  number 
lasv  found,  may  be  obtained  by  the  num- 
bers whose  logarithms  were  had  before, 
by  the  addition  or  subtraction  of  their 
logarithms.  Moreover,  by  the  difference 
of  their  logarithms,  and  by  their  second 
and  third  differences,  if  necessary,  the 
void  places  may  be  supplied  more  expe- 
ditiously, the  rule  beforegoing  being  to 
be  applied  only  where  the  continuation  of 
some  full  places  is  wanted,  in  order  to  ob- 
tain these  differences. 

By  the  same  method  rules  may  be  found 
for  the  intercalation  of  logarithms,  when 
of  three  numbers  the  logarithm  of  the 
lesser  and  of  the  middle  number  are  giv- 
en, or  of  the  middle  number  and  the 


1000,  the  first  term  of  the 
series,  viz.  — ,  is  sufficient  for  producing 

the  logarithm  to  13  or  14  places  of  figures, 
and  the  second  term  will  give  the  loga- 
"thm  to  20  places  of  figures.  But  if  z  be 
greater  than  10000,  the  first  term  will  ex- 
hibiUhe  logarithm  to  18  places  of  figures : 
and  so  this  series  is  of  great  use  in  filling 
"P  the  chiliads  omitted  by  Mr.  Bri 
For  example,  it  is  required  to  find 
logarithm  of  20001  :  the  logarithm  of 
20000  is  the  same  as  the  logarithm  of  2, 
w»th  the  index  4  prefixed  to  it;  and  the 
difference  of  the  logarithms  of  20000  and 
20001,  is  the  same  as  the  difference  of 
the  logarithms  of  the  numbers  10000  and 
10001,  viz.  0.0000434272,  &c.  And  if  this 
difference  be  divided  by  4  z,  or  80004, 

,,      auot:ent   JL  shall  be 
tlie  (luotient  4z  shali  bc 


LOGARITHMS. 


0,000000000542813  ;  and  if  the  logarithm  of  the  geometrical  mean,  viz, 
4.301051/09302416  be  added  to  the  quotient,  the  sum  will  be 


4.301051709845230  «=  the  logarithm  of  20001. 


Wherefore  it  is  manifest,  that  to  have  the 
logarithm  to  14  places  of  figures,  there  is 
no  necessity  of  continuing  out  the  quoti- 
ent beyond  6  places  of  figures.  But  if 
you  have  a  mind  to  have  the  logarithm  to 
10  places  of  figures  only,  the  two  first  fi- 
gures are  enough.  And  if  the  logarithms 
of  the  numbers  above  20000  are  to  be 
found  by  this  way,  the  labour  of  doing 
them  will  mostly  consist  in  setting  down 
the  numbers.  This  series  is  easily  de- 
duced from  the  consideration  of  the  hy- 
perbolic spaces  aforesaid.  The  first  figure 
of  every  logarithm  towards  the  left  hand, 
which  is  separated  from  the  rest  by  a 
point,  is  called  the  index  of  that  loga- 
rithm ;  because  it  points  out  the  highest 
or  remotest  place  of  that  number  from 
the  place  of  unity  in  the  infinite  scale  of 
proportionals  towards  the  left  hand  :  thus, 
if  the  index  of  the  logarithm  be  1,  it 
shows  that  its  highest  place  towards  the 
left  hand  is  the  tenth  place  from  unity ; 
and  therefore  all  logarithms  which  have 
1  for  their  index,  will  be  found  between 
the  tenth  and  hundredth  place  in  the 
order  of  numbers.  And  for  the  same 
reason  all  logarithms  which  have  2  for 
their  index,  will  be  found  between  the 
hundredth  and  thousandth  place  in  the 
order  of  numbers,  Sec.  Whence  univer- 
sally the  index  or  characteristic  of  any 
logarithm  is  always  less  by  one  than  the 
number  of  figures  in  whole  numbers, 
which  answer  to  the  given  logarithm ; 
and,  in  decimals,  the  index  is  negative. 

As  all  systems  of  logarithms  whatever 
are  composed  of  similar  quantities,  it  will 
be  easy  to  form,  from  any  system  of  loga- 
rithms, another  system  in  any  given  ra- 
tio ;  and  consequently  to  reduce  one  table 
of  logarithms  into  another  of  any  given 
form.  For  as  any  one  logarithm  in  the  given 
form  is  to  its  correspondent  logarithm  in 
another  form,  so  is  any  other  logarithm  in 
the  given  form  to  its  correspondent  loga- 
rithm in  the  required  form  ;  and  hence 
we  may  reduce  the  logarithms  of  Lord 
Neper  into  the  form  of  Briggs's,  and 
contrarywise.  For  as  2.302585092,  &c. 
Lord  Neper's  logarithm  of  10,  is  to 
1.0000000000,  Mr.  Briggs's  logarithm  of 
10 ;  so  is  any  other  logarithm  in  Lord 
Neper's  form  to  the  correspondent  tabu- 
lar logarithm  in  Mr.  Briggs's  form :  and 
because  the  two  first  numbers  constantly 
remain  the  sEune^  if  Lord  Neper's  loga- 


rithm of  any  one  number  be  divided  by 
2.302585,  &c.  or  multiplied  by  .4342944, 
&c.  the  ratio  of  1.0000,  &c.  to  2.30258, 
&c.  as  is  found  by  dividing  1.0000  j,  &c. 
by  2.30258,  &c.  the  quotient  in  the  for- 
mer, and  the  product  in  the  latter,  will 
give  the  correspondent  logarithm  in 
Briggs's  form,  and  the  contrary.  And, 
after  the  same  manner,  the  ratio  of  natu- 
ral logarithms  to  that  of  Briggs's  will  be 
found  =  868588963806. 

The  use  and  application  of  LOGARITHMS. 
It  is  evident,  from  what  has  been  said  of 
the  construction  of  logarithms,  that  addi- 
tion of  logarithms  must  be  the  same  thing 
as  multiplication  in  common  arithmetic ; 
and  subtraction  in  logarithms  the  same  as 
division  :  therefore,  in  multiplication  by 
logarithms,  add  the  logarithms  of  the  mul- 
tiplicand and  multiplier  together,  their 
sum  is  the  logarithm  of  the  product. 

num.      logarithms, 

Example.  Multiplicand..  8.5    0.9294189 
Multiplier 10     1.0000000 


Product 85    1.9294189 


1 


And  in  division,  subtract  the  logarithm  of 
the  divisor  from  the  logarithm  of  the  divi- 
dend, the  remainder  is  the  logarithm  of 
the  quotient. 

num.         logarithms. 

Example.  Dividend...  9712.8    3.9873444 
Divisor 456          2.6589648 


Quotient...      21.3     1.3283796 


LOGARITHM,  to  fold  the  complement  of  a. 
Begin  at  the  left  hand,  and  write  down 
what  each  figure  wants  of  9,  only  what 
the  last  significant  figure  wants  of  10 ;  so 
the  complement  of  the  logarithm  of  456, 
viz.  2.6589648,  is  7.3410352. 

In  the  rule  of  three.  Add  the  loga- 
rithms of  the  second  and  third  terms 
together,  and  from  the  sum  subtract  the 
logarithm  of  the  first,  the  remainder  is 
the  logarithm  of  the  fourth.  Or,  in- 
stead of  subtracting  a  logarithm,  add  its 
complement,  and  the  result  will  be  the 
same. 

LOGARITHMS,  to  raise  powers  by.  Mul- 
tiply the  logarithm  of  the  number  given 
by  the  index  of  the  power  required,  the 


LOG 


LOG 


product  wrll  be  the  logarithm  of  the 
power  sought. 

Example.  Let  the  cube  of  32  be  re- 
quired bv  logarithms.  The  logarithm 
of  32  =  1.5051500,  which,  multiplied  by 
3,  is  4.51 5-1-500,  the  logarithm  of  32768, 
the  cube  of  32.  But  in  raising  powers, 
viz,  squaring,  cubing,  &c.  of  any  decimal 
fraction  by  logarithms,  it  must  be  observ- 
ed, that  the  first  significant  figure  of  the 
power  be  put  so  many  places  below  the 
place  of  units,  as  the  index  of  its  loga- 
rithm wants  of  10,  100,  &c.  multiplied  by 
the  index  of  the  power. 

LOGARITHMS,  in  extract  the  roots  of 
powers  by.  Divide  the  logarithm  of  the 


number  by  the  index  of  the  power,  the 
quotient  is  the  logarithm  of  the  root 
sought. 

To  fold  mean  proportionals  between  any 
two  numbers.  Subtract  the  logarithm  of 
the  least  term  from  the  logarithm  of  the 
greatest,  and  divide  the  remainder  by  a 
number  more  by  one  than  the  number 
of  means  desired";  then  add  the  quotient 
to  the  logarithm  of  the  least  term  (or 
subtract  it  from  the  logarithm  of  the  great- 
est) continually,  and  it  will  give  the 
logarithms  of  all  the  mean  proportionals 
required. 

Example.  Let  three  mean  proportionals 
be  sought,  between  106  and  100. 


Logarithm  of  106  =  2.0253059 
Logarithm  of  100  =  2  0000000 


Divide  by  4)0.0253059(0.0063264.75 
2.0000000 


Logarithm  of  the  least  term  100  added 


Logarithm  of  the  first  mean  .  .  .  101.4673846  2.0063264.75 

Logarithm  of  the  second  mean  .  102  9563014  2  OU'6529.5 

Logarithm  of  the  third  mean  .  .  1U4467U483  2.0189794.25 

Logarithm  of  the  greatest  term  .  106  2.0253059 


LOGIC,  the  art  of  reasoning1.  As  the 
necessities  of  our  existence  oblige  us  to 
think,  and  to  arrange  eur  thoughts  in 
such  a  manner  as  m^iy  enable  us  to  com- 
municate with  each  other,  we  are  habitu- 
ally impelled  towards  a  conclusion,  that  it 
is  unnecessary  to  teach  reasoning  as  an  art. 
It  is  hardly  needful  to  combat  this  notion  by 
arguments  which  will  easily  occur  to  most 
men  of  reflection ;  and  indeed  the  contrary 
persuasion  was  so  prevalent  in  the  middle 
ages,  that  men  seem  to  have  been  more 
occupied  with  the  art,  than  with  the  pro- 
per use  of  it. 

In  order  to  reason  well,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  nature  of  our  perceptions  and 
ideas,  and  the  notions  or  conclusions  we 
draw  from  them,  should  be  well  under- 
stood. Logic,  therefore,  is  a  science  of 
extensive  occupation ;  which  has  its  be- 
ginning in  the  constitution  of  things,  and 
the  processes  of  the  human  intellect,  and 
its  practical  termination  in  the  structure, 
use,  and  application  of  language.  Its 
objects  are  no  less  than  the  universal 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  that  mu- 
tual communication  which  constitutes 
a  large  part  of  the  employment,  and 
is  the  most  distinguishing  character  of 
man. 

The  impressions  made  by  external  ob- 
jects  upon  the  senses,  are  called  sensa- 
tions or  ideas  of  sensation.  See  IDEOLO- 


GY. The  recollection  or  remembrance 
of  those  sensations  are  simply  called  ideas. 
The  general  notions  which  are  produced 
in  the  mind  by  reflecting  upon  ideas  have 
been  called  ideas  of  reflection  ;  but  as 
they  all  grow  out  of  the  comparison  of 
the  first-mentioned  ideas,  and  do  univer- 
sally in  the  last  result  imply  propositions, 
it  appears  much  preferable  to  call  them 
notions. 

Logical  writers  divide  ideas  into  simple 
and  complex ;  but  as  we  have  no  simple 
sensations,  and  can  therefore  have  no  sim- 
ple ideas  but  by  the  artificial  process  of 
abstraction,  the  division  seems  useless. 
The  word  complex  here  signifies  com- 
pounded, and  the  compounded  nature  of 
our  ideas  will  practically  depend,  in  a 
great  measure,  upon  our  choice  or  deter- 
mination in  the  subject  of  our  reasoning. 
Thus,  a  lemon  is  soft,  fragrant,  yellow, 
and  acid.  If  I  throw  a  lemon  at  another, 
the  attention  will  be  chiefly  directed  to 
the  organ  of  touch,  and  its  "fragrance,  its 
tint,  and  its  acidity,  will  be  abstracted  or 
left  out.  But  the  perfumer,  the  designer, 
and  the  chemist,  would  separately  attend 
to  those  parts  of  the  idea  which  were  sug- 
gested by  the  organs  of  smell,  of  vision, 
and  of  taste.  And  in  this  manner  it  is 
that  we  may  separate  the  simple  ideas  of 
yellowness,  acidity,  and  fragrance;  though, 
in  nature,  their  causes  never  appear  insw- 


LOGIC. 


Jatecl  and  apart  from  those  of  all  the  other 
sensations. 

Abstraction,  or  the  leaving  out  parts  of 
ideas  or  notions  ;  generalization,  or  class- 
ing things  together,  as  possessing  the  re. 
inaining  distinctive  characters  ;  composi- 
tion, or  the  re-assumption  of  some  of  the 
abstracted  or  rejected  ideas,  are  the  vo- 
luntary acts  of  the  mind,  adopted  in  order 
to  facilitate  the  useful  process  of  com- 
parison. Thus  we  may  abstract  from  bo- 
dies all  ideas  but  those  of  structure,  and 
divide  them  into  organized  and  unorganiz- 
ed ;  or  we  may  take  the  organized  bodies, 
and  call  them  animals  and  vegetables  ;  or 
we  may  attend  to  their  place  of  existence, 
and  call  them  terrestrial,  aquatic,  volatile, 
and  the  like ;  and  many  of  our  most  use- 
ful propositions  wil'  thus,  in  all  our  men- 
tal operations,  continue  equally  general 
and  abstracted. 

In  the  scientific  arrangement  of  natural 
objects,  philosophers  have  pursued  the 
course  of  abstraction,  until,  by  rejecting 
all  the  ideas  capable  of  affording  the  dis- 
tinctive characters  of  individuals,  they  ar- 
rived at  an  hypothetical  being  called  sub- 
stance. Much  has  been  written  concern- 
ing it ;  but  it  will  perhaps  be  attended 
with  the  least  obscurity  to  say,  that  it  is 
supposed  to  be  an  independent  existence, 
which  serves  as  the  basis  or  support  to 
those  properties  which  are  perceived 
by  our  senses  ;  or,  in  the  words  of  lo- 
gicians, it  is  the  subject  of  modes  and  ac- 
cide'nts. 

The  modes  of  substance  are  those  dis- 
tinguishable objects  of  sense  which  might, 
if  separate,  produce  simple  ideas.  Thus, 
softness,  fragrance,  yellowness,  and  acidi- 
ty, are  among  the  modes  which  co-exist 
in  the  subject  or  substance,  lemon.  Many 
distinctions  are  made  in  modes.  They 
arc  called  essential  or  accidental,  abso- 
lute or  relative,  &c.  The  moderns  ap- 
pear to  use  the  words  properties  of  bo- 
dies, and  powers  and  laws  of  nature, 
wilh  much  more  distinctness  than  the 
earlier  logicians  did  their  modes  and  ac- 
cidents. 

Words  are  intended  to  be  the  signs  of 
things,  but  are  very  far  from  being  so.  If 
our  ideaa  were  adequate  representations 
of  the  things  which  cause  them,  which 
they  are  not ;  if  they  were  not  of  necessity 
mutilated  by  abstraction,  and  there  were 
not  a  continual  exertion  in  language  to 
emulate  the  rapidity  of  thought,  then 
might  words  obiain  the  supposed  resem- 
blance. But  the  boasted  extent  and  per- 
spicuity of  the  intellect  of  man  proceeds 
hut  a  little  beyond  the  signs  and  tones  of 


those  inferior  animals  who  are  supposed 
to  have  no  power  of  conversing.  And 
even  if  we  could  vanquish  the  insupera- 
ble difficulties  which  impede  our  clear 
mutual  communication,  what  are  the 
grounds  of  our  knowledge  ?  they  are  very 
limited,  and  often  fallacious. 

Knowledge  consists  in  the  determina- 
tion of  those  modes  of  surrounding  be- 
ings which  are  taken  to  be  permanent, 
and  of  those  which  are  observed  to  vary. 
The  former  are  chiefly  of  the  nature  of 
quantity  and  position,  and  the  latter  seem 
resolvable  into  motion.  Mathematical 
science  appears  to  comprehend  the  whole 
of  the  first ;  and  the  latter,  which  em- 
braces by  far  the  greater  part  of  what 
concerns  our  existence  and  well-being,  is 
included  in  those  histories  of  events  upon 
which  we  establish  our  principles  of  cause 
and  effect  Abstraction,  or  analysis,  can 
give  us  very  clear  notions  of  the  subjects 
of  mathematics  ;  and  in  these  alone  it  is 
that  we  find  absolute  proof  or  demonstra- 
tion. But  in  all  the  rest  of  our  knowledge 
the  facts  are  complex,  obscure,  and  of 
uncertain  evidence ;  and  the  principal, 
nay  the  only,  ground  of  our  reliance  upon 
our  doctrines  respecting  them  is,  that  out 
predictions  are  in  many.instances  verified. 

Words  being  constructed  and  establish- 
ed by  mere  usage,  are  not  only  inadequate 
and  contracted  in  their  use,  but  equivo- 
cal and  synonimous ;  that  is  to  say,  one 
word  may  be  used  to  denote  several  dis- 
tinct and  different  things ;  as  when  we 
speak  of  a  beam  of  light,  a  beam  of  tim- 
ber,  or  the  beam  of  a  pair  of  scales ;  or, 
on  the  contrary,  as  when  we  speak  of  an 
house,  an  habitation,  or  a  residence.  It 
must  be  admitted,  however,  that  there 
are  few  synonymes  in  the  practice  of 
those  who  are  masters  of  a  language  ;  be- 
cause few  words  are  consecrated  by  usage 
to  precisely  the  same  meaning. 

Many  acute  and  useful  disquisitions 
have  been  written  upon  language  and  uni- 
versal grammar.  See  LANGUAGE. 

Since  our  idea  of  a  thing  must  be  com- 
posed or  made  up  of  all  the  simple  ideas 
which  that  thing  can  produce  by  our  per- 
ceptions, and  this  will  for  the  most  part 
be  inadequate,  the  word,  denomination, 
or  name  of  a  thing,  must  be  the  sign  of 
that  idea,  liable  to  such  additional  error 
as  may  arise  from  any  improper  use  that 
may  be  made  of  it.  And  as  by  abstrac- 
tion we  generalize  our  ideas  and  notions, 
and  afterwards  comprehend  and  compare 
them  at  our  pleasure ;  so  in  the  construc- 
tion of  language  a  like  order  is  followed 
in  words.  Thus  we  may  arrange  thiifgs, 


LOGIC. 


from  their  similitude,  under  classes  more 
or  less  abstracted  as  to  their  modes,  cull- 
ing-  these  classes  by  the  names  of  genera 
and  species.  And  in  the  names  of  things, 
we  shall  have  not  only  to  regard  this  ar- 
rangement, but  likewise  the  appropria- 
tion  and  correct  use  of  the  denomination 
itself.  If  we  had  terms  for  all  simple 
ideas,  and  were  to  enumerate  in  due  or- 
der all  the  simple  ideas  subsisting  in  a 
thing,  that  enumeration  would  constitute 
what  is  called  a  definition  of  the  thing  ; 
and  simple  ideas  would  be,  as  in  strictness 
they  are,  undefinable.  But  since  all  our 
sensations  are  complex,  the  relations  of 
simple  ideas  with  regard  to  each  other,  as 
residing1  in  the  same  subject,  will  afford 
the  means  of  indicating  them.  Thus, 
light  is  that  by  which  the  organ  of  vision 
is  acted  upon,  and  the  word  is  therefore 
defined  or  indicated  from  that  organ  Co- 
lour is  a  mode  of  light  perhaps  too  sim- 
ple to  be  defined,  but  clearly  indicable 
from  any  natural  subject  in  which  it  may 
subsist ;  as,  for  example,  green  is  the  co- 
lour of  grass,  red  is  the  colour  of  a  rose, 
and  yt-llow  the  colour  of  an  orange. 

Thus,  the.n,  the  nature  of  terms,  or 
words,  is  fixed  by  definition  ;  a  thing  for 
the  most  part  of  extreme  difficulty,  as, 
from  our  ignorance  of  things,  and  the 
complexity  of  the  objects  comprehended 
by  usoge  under  any  term,  it  can  in  few 
cases  be  done.  The  arrangement  of 
things  is  by  genera,  where  the  same  class 
of  beings  agree  in  a  few  attributes  only; 
and  by  species,  where  they  agree  in  more ; 
and  these  genera  and  species  may  be  sub- 
ordinate to  each  other  in  numerous  pairs, 
the  genus  immediately  above  each  species 
being  called  the  proximate  genus.  And 
from  this  ordinary  arrangement  logicians 
obtain  a  ready  method  of  defining  from 
the  specific  difference,  which,  though  cer- 
tainly much  less  adequate  than  those  of 
the  mathematicians,  is  nevertheless  very 
useful.  That  is  to  say,  the  genus  and  the 
specific  difference  is  held  to  constitute 
the  definition  of  the  species.  Tims,  if 
the  words.  1.  animal ;  2.  four-tooted  ; 
3.  graminivorous  ;  and,  4.  fleece-bearing  ; 
be  the  arrangement  of  certain  beings  pos- 
sessing life,  we  should  define  the  first 
genus  from  the  only  character  left  by  the 
abstraction,  namely,  that  it  is  a  being  pos- 
sessing life ;  and  the  first  species  would 
be  admitted  to  be  well  defined  by  the 
wovds  four-footed  animal  (named  qua- 
druped) ;  the  second,  by  the  words  gra 
nv'nivorous  quadruped  (named  cattle) ; 
and  Hie.  third  by  the  words  fleece-bearing 
cattle  (named  sheep)  :  or  we  might  less 


conveniently  go  through  the  whole  series,, 
and  call  the  sheep  a  fleece-bearing,  gra- 
minivorous, four-footed,  animal. 

Logicians  also  avail  themselves  in  de- 
fining, where  practicable,  of  some  strik- 
ing attribute  called  the  essence  of  a  thing. 
Thus,  under  the  genus,  measure,  the 
species,  bushel,  peck,  quartern,  &c.  are 
essentially  distinguished  by  the  respective 
magnitudes  which  are  capable  of  being 
numerically  expressed. 

All  our  knowledge  is  contained  in  pro. 
positions,  and  every  proposition  consists 
of  three  parts.  Thus  in  the  proposition, 
*<  Snow  is  white,"  there  are  three  parts  or 
terms,  moiv,  which  is  called  the  subjt-ct ; 
is  which  is  called  the  copula;  and  w/»#, 
which  is  called  the  predicate.  If  the  pro- 
position agree  with  the  nature  of  things, 
it  is  true,  if  not,  it  is  false.  All  proposi- 
tions are  reducible  to  this  form,  though 
both  the  subject  and  predicate  may  be 
expressed  by  many  words  ;  but  the  copula 
will  always  be  some  inflexion  of  the  verb 
to  be,  with  the  word  not  if  the  proposition 
be  negative. 

Propositions  which  contain  either  a  plu- 
rality of  predicates  or  of  subjects,  or 
which  manifest  a  compounded  nature  in. 
either,  have  been  called  compound  pro- 
positions. In  the  first,  however,  the  pro- 
position seems  merely  to  be  a  number  of 
propositions  conjoined,  &c. ;  in  the  latter, 
the  form  of  words  may  be  considered  as 
forming  a  definition  of  the  words  or  terms. 
Thus,  "John  and  Thomas  departed.'*  in- 
cludes the  propositions,  «' John  was  de- 
parting, and  Thomas  was  departing." 
And  again  the  proposition,  "  Water  frozen 
in  flakes  as  it  falls  from  the  atmosphere 
is  coloured  like  the  powder  of  pure  dry 
salt,"  is  evidently  the  same  proposition  as 
was  first  given,  excepting  that  it  contains 
a  definition  of  the  word  snoiv,  taken  from 
its  formation,  and  of  the  word  whiteness, 
from  a  substance  of  which  it  is  one  of  the 
modes. 

Our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  enter 
into  the  form  of  propositions,  from  which 
they  are  denominated  copulative,  casual, 
relative,  or  disjunctive  or  modal;  as 
where  a  proposition  itself  becomes  the 
subject,  or  positive,  or  negative,  and  so 
forth.  These  distinctions  are  in  few  cases 
useful,  and  in  many  tedious,  trifling,  and 
deceptive. 

Truth  is  determined  either  intuitively  ; 
as  when  the  relation  between  the  predi- 
cate and  its  subject  is  immediately  seen 
and  admitted.  So  "  the  whole  is  equal 
to  all  its  parts :" — and  these  simple  truths 
are  called  axioms : — 


LOGIC. 


Or  else  it  is  determined  demonstrative- 
ly ;  so  the  proposition,  "  the  opposite 
angles  made  by  right  lines  crossing  each 
other  are  equal,"  is  not  intuitive,  but  re- 
quires to  be  demonstrated  by  a  succes- 
sion of  axioms  connected  together  : 

Or  lastly,  it  is  determined  analogically, 
upon  the  probability  that  what  has,,  hap- 
pened will,  in  like  circumstances,  happen 
again.  Thus,  upon  the  probability  that 
bodies  will  continue  to  fall  to  the  ground ; 
that  violent  motion  will  be  followed  by 
heat ;  that  similar  inducements  or  motives 
will  be  followed  by  similar  acts  in  men ; 
we  found  the  doctrine  of  cause  and  effect, 
and  establish  our  knowledge  of  physical 
and  moral  history,  so  as  to  give  credit  to 
the  past,  and  confidence  in  many  respects 
to  the  future. 

It  is  evident  that  analogical  propositions 
have  much  less  certainty  than  those  of  in- 
tuition or  demonstration. 

Though  in  our  investigations  of  truth 
we  must  necessarily  have  recourse  to  ob- 
servations of  individual  objects  and  events, 
as  the  ground  work  of  all;  yet,  in  our  in- 
ductions,   reasonings,    proofs,   and   pro- 
cesses of  instruction,  we  proceed  from 
generals  to  individuals.     And  as,  in  strict 
demonstration,  the  subject  and  predicate 
of  a  proposition  are  connected  by  a  train 
of  axioms, — so,  in  every  other  argumenta- 
tion, it  will  be  the  endeavour  of  a  wise 
man  to  follow  the  same  course  as  nearly 
as  may  be  possible.     But,  from  the  con- 
fusion arising  from  the  relations  of  the 
complicated  objects  of  social  intercourse, 
and  from  the  rapidity  of  language  with  its 
abridgments  and  transpositions,  so  many 
things  are  left  to  be  understood — that  it 
is  not  often  an  easy  task  to  show,  whether 
the  reasoner  does  really  pursue  the  course 
of  pure  argumentation,  or  whether  he  de- 
ceives himself  or  others.     Logicians  have 
therefore  adopted  a  formal  arrangement 
for  each  of  the  steps  of  comparison,  which 
they  call  a  syllogism;  not  calculated  in- 
deed tor  the  discovery  of  remote  truths 
from  the  use  and  application  of  the  more 
immediate  or  intuitive,  but  well  calculated 
to  give  regularity  to  the  mind  by  scien- 
tific discipline,  and  to  shorten  controversy, 
by  a  clear  detection   of  the  component 
parts  of  false  reasoning.     And  here,  by 
the  way,  it  may  be  remarked,  that   the 
inexplicable  disorder  of  the  logical  rea- 
sonings of  the  middle  ages  is  less  to  be 
attributed  to  the  nature  of  their  science  of 
reasoning,  loaded  as  it  was  with  needless 
distinctions,  than  to  their  theological  and 
psychological  dogmas,  and  the  delusions 
into  which  they  wandered  with  regard  to 


the  objects  called  transcendental ;  delu- 
sions, vvliich  a  sound  and  bold  application 
of  their  own  science,  it"  it  could  have  been 
dared,  would  not  have  confirmed,  but 
overthrown. 

But  to  return ;  the  syllogism  consists 
of  three  propositions.  In  the  first,  called 
the  major  proposition,  something  is  pre- 
dicated of  a  general  subject :  in  the  se- 
cond, called  the  minor,  the  subject  of  the 
major  becomes  the  predicate  of  a  spe- 
cific subject :  and  in  the  third,  called  the 
conclusion,  the  predicate  of  the  general 
subject  is  applied  to  the  specific.  Thus, 

Major.  All  men  are  fallible. 

Minor.  The  Pope  is  a  man ; 

Conclusion.    Therefore  the  Pope  is  fal- 
lible. 

The  major  and  minor  terms  are  often 
called  the  premises,  and  the  minor  is 
sometimes  called  the  argument.  The 
premises  are  supposed  to  be  intuitive,  or 
at  least  incontestable,  and  the  conclusion 
is  established  upon  the  axiom,  that  what- 
ever can  be  predicated  or  affirmed  of  a 
genus,  may  also  be  predicated  of  every 
species  comprehended  under  it ;  and  the 
like  of  species,  and  the  individuals  com- 
prehended under  them. 

It  is  usual  to  denominate  the  two  sub- 
jects, and  the  predicate,  terms  of  the  syl- 
logism The  generic  word  or  sentence 
is  called  the  middle  term  ;  its  predicate  is 
the  major  term ;  and  the  specific  word  or 
sentence  is  called  the  minor  term.  Thus, 
in  the  preceding  syllogism  tUe  three 
terms  are 

Major  term.  Fallible. 

Middle  term.  All  men. 

Minor  term.  The  Pope. 

Here  it  is  not  pretended,  that  all  men 
should  upon  every  occasion  reason  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  logic,  any  more 
than  that  a  writer  should  upon  all  occa- 
sions insert  each  individual  member  of  a 
sentence,  and  leave  nothing  to  be  sup- 
plied or  understood  But  as  the  man 
who  is  a  sound  grammarian  can  analyse 
and  parse  every  member  of  a  sentence, 
and  will  write  with  order,  precision,  and 
correctness ;  so  will  the  logician,  who  is 
able  to  arrange  the  parts  of  an  argument 
in  mood  and  figure,  be  quick  in  discern- 
ing the  imperfect,  defective,  or  inadmissi- 
ble assertions,  and  will  so  dispose  his 
own  notions  and  principles,  that  his  proofs 
shall  be  conclusive  and  clear  The  works 
even  of  mathematical  writers  would,  in 
many  instances,  be  benefitted  by  this 
severity  of  conduct ;  and  there  are  fevr 
indeed  which  might  not  be  rendered  more 


LOG 


LON 


perfect  by  strict  logical  examination  and 
correction. 

Mood  and  figure  are  words  applied  by 
logical  writers  to  denote  the  arrange- 
nitiit  uf  the  terms  of  a  syllogism.  It  is 
done  by  the  use  of  the  letters  A,  E,  I,  O,  of 
which  A  denotes  universal  affirmative  ;  E, 
universal  negative  ;  I,  particular  affirma- 
tive ;  and  O,  particular  negative.  But  as 
it  would  be  difficult  to  retain  in  the  me- 
mory the  various  changes  in  the  order  of 


LOGISTIC  curve,  the  same  with  that 
otherwise  called  logarithmic.  See  LOGA- 
RITHMIC. 

LOGISTIC  spiral.  See  LOGARITHMIC 
and  SPIRAL. 

LOGISTIC  A  numeralis,  the  same  with 
algorithm.  See  ALGORITHM 

LOGISTICAL  arithmetict  the  doctrine 
of  sexagesimal  fractions.  See  SEXAGE- 
SIMALS. 

LOGOGRAPHY,  a  method  of  printing, 


these  letters,  if  prefixed  to  the  three  parts    in  which  the  types,  instead  of  answering 


of  a  s) 'llogism,  fourteen  artificial  words 
have  been  formed,  of  three  syllables  each, 


only  to  a  single  letter,  are  made  to  corre- 
spond to  whole  words.     The  properties 


containing  the  vowels  so  to  be  prefixed    of  the  logographic  art  are,  1.  That  the 
in  the  order  of  the  mood  to  be  denoted    compositor  shall  have  les*  charged  upon 

his  memory,  than  in  the  common  way. 
2.  It  is  much  less  liable  to  error.  3.  The 
type  of  each  word  is  as  easily  laid  hold 
of  as  that  of  a  single  letter.  4.  The  de- 
composition is  much  more  readily  per- 
formed. 5.  No  extraordinary  expense, 


by  each  word.  The  fourteen  moods  are 
classed  under  these  different  figures,  by 
which  terms  logicians  mean  to  denote 
the  particular  situation  of  the  middle 
term,  with  respect  to  the  major  and 
minor.  The  first  figure  is  distinguished 


by  the  middle  term  being  the  subject  of  nor  greater  number  of  types,  is  required 

the  major,  and  predicate  of  the  minor  in  the  logographic,  than  in  the  common 

proposition,  and  its  four  moods  are  de-  method  of  printing. 

noted  by  the  words  Barbara,  Celarent,  LOLIUM,  in  botany,  ray  grass,  a  genus 
Dam,  Fm'o.  The  second  figure  admits  of  of  the  Triandria  Digynia  class  and  or- 
negative  conclusions  only,  the  major  being  der.  Natural  order  of  Gramineae,  or 
always  universal,  and  one  of  the  premises  grasses.  Essential  character  :  calyx  one- 
negative.  Its  moods  are  Cesare,  Games-  leafed,  fixed,  many-flowered.  There  arc 
tirs,  FesUno,  Baroco.  And  in  the  third  five  species. 

figure  the  middle  term  is  the  subject  of  LOMENTACE.K,  in  botany,  the  name 
both  premises,  the  minor  affirmative,  and 
the  conclusion  particular.     Its  moods  are 


DarapU',  Fdflpton,   D/«/m/s,   Datisz,  Bo. 


of  the  thirty-third  order  in  Linnseus's 
Fragments  of  a  Natural  Method,  consist- 
ing  of  plants,  many  of  which  furnish 


cardo,  Fm'son.     We  shall  not  extend  our    beautiful  dyes,  and  the  pericarpium  of 

which,  universally  a  leguminous  pod, 
contains  seeds  that  are  farinaceous  or 
meally  like  those  of  the  bean.  The  cas- 
sia, wild  senna  ;  haematoxylon,  logwood  ; 
mimosa,  sensitive  plant,  &c.  are  of  this 
order. 

LOMONITE,  in  mineralogy,  is  of  a 
snow  white  colour,  vyith  a  slight  tendency 
to  reddish  white.  It  occurs  massive ;  the 
fracture  is  foliated,  and  the  surface  of  the 
folia  are  streaked,  which  gives  a  peculiar 
glimmering  aspect  to  the  surface  of  the 
fossil ;  it  is  ei 


article  to  exemplify  these  moods,  nor 
shall  we  proceed  to  give  instances  of  the 
form  and  complexities  of  syllogisms, 
which  systematic  writers  have  been  more 
solicitous  to  enumerate  and  name,  than 
to  analyze  and  develope.  In  like  manner 
•we  shall  pass  over  the  consideration  of 
the  various  sophisms  treated  of  by  them, 
because  these  objects  would  lead  us  too 
far,  and  their  detection  follows  imme- 
diately upon  a  statement  of  the  premises 
and  conclusions  according  to  rule.  And 
upon  the  whole,  we  shall  conclude  by 
observing,  that  though  the  old  logic  was 
burdensome,  from  the  manner  in  which 


it  is  easily  frangible,  and  not  heavy  : 
when  preserved  from  the  air  it  has  a 
slight  degree  of  coherence ;  but  it  it  is 

it  had  been  suffered  to  enlarge  itself,  yet,  exposed  to  the  action  of  that  fluid,  the 
since  much  of  our  present  modes  ofrea-  folia  spontaneously  separate  from  each 
soning,  and  of  the  expressions  made  use  other,  and  it  is  soon  reduced  to  a  heap  of 
of  at  the  bar,  in  the  senate,  an  J  among  unconnected  parts.  It  forms  a  kind  of 
our  best  writers,  are  derived  from  its  jelly  with  acids,  and  is  found  r.\  the  lead 
rules,  and  since  the  moderns,  when  they  mines  of  Huelgoet  in  Lower  Brittany. 

.1 •    j    i    ._.•..._...  _i    :..      i ,11.  •        i     •. 


decried  and  rejected  it,  have  not  been 
solicitous  to  establish  any  determinate 
or  correct  system,  we  deem  it  entitled  to 
more  attention  than  has  usually  been  paid 
to  it. 


It  received  its  name  from  Gillet  Lau- 
mont,  who  discovered  it  about  twenty 
years  ago. 

LONCHITES,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Cryptogaima  Filices  class  and  order,.  Na- 


LON 


LON 


tural  order  of  Filices,  or  ferns.  Generic 
character :  capsule  disposed  in  lunulated 
lines,  lying  under  the  sinuses  of  the  frond. 
There  are  five  species,  all  natives  of  very 
hot  climates. 

LONCHURUS,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  fishes  of  the  order  Thoracici. 
Generic  character :  the  head  scaly  ;  ven- 
tral fins  separate ;  the  tail  lanceolated. 
The  bearded  lonchurus  is  a  native  of 
Surinam,  about  twelve  inches  in  length, 
has  a  slightly  lengthened  nose,  two  beards 
at  the  lower  jaw,  and  the  first  ray  of  the 
ventral  fins  elongated  into  a  bristle.  Its 
colour  is  a  ferruginous  brown. 

LONG  (ROGER,)  D.  D.  Master  of  Pem- 
broke-hall in  Cambridge,  Lowndes's  pro- 
fessor of  astronomy  in  that  university,  &c. 
was  author  of  a  well  known  and  much 
approved  treatise  of  astronomy,  and  the 
inventor  of  a  remarkably  curious  astro- 
nomical machine.  This  was  a  hollow 
sphere  of  eighteen  feet  diameter,  in  which 
more  than  thirty  persons  might  sit  conve- 
niently. Withinside  the  surface,  which 
represented  the  heavens,  was  painted  the 
stars  and  constellations,  with  the  zodiac, 
meridians,  and  axis  parallel  to  the  axis 
of  the  world,  upon  which  it  was  easily 
turned  round  by  a  winch.  He  died 
December  16, 1770.  at  ninety-one  years  of 
rage. 

A  few  years  before  his  death,  Mr.  Jones 
gave  some  anecdotes  of  Dr  Long,  as  fol- 
lows :  "  He  is  now  in  the  88th  year  of  his 
age,  and  for  his  years  vigorous  and  ac- 
tive. He  was  lately  put  in  nomination 
for  the  office  of  vice-chancellor  :  he  exe- 
cuted that  trust  once  before,  I  think  in 
the  year  1737.  He  is  a  very  ingenious 
person,  and  sometimes  very  facetious. 
At  the  public  commencement,  in  the  year 
1713,  Dr  Greene  (master  of  Bennet  Col- 
lege, and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Ely)  being 
then  vice-chancellor,  Mr.  Long  was  pitch- 
ed upon  for  the  tripos  performance :  it  was 
witty  and  humorous,  and  has  passed 
through  divers  editions.  Some  that  re- 
membered the  delivery  of  it,  told  me, 
that,  in  addressing  the  vice-chancellor, 
(whom  the  university  wags  usually  styled 
Miss  Greene)  the  tripos  orator,  being  a 
native  of  Norfolk,  and  assuming  the  Nor- 
folk dialect,  instead  of  saying,  '  Domine 
vice-cancellarie,'  archly  pronounced  the 
words  thus,  *  Domina  vice-cancellaria ;' 
which  occasioned  a  general  smile  in  that 
great  auditory.  His  friend,  the  late  Mr. 
Boufoy,  of  Ripton,  told  me  this  little  inci- 
dent:'That  he  and  Dr.  Long,  walking 
together  in  Cambridge,  in  a  dusky  even- 
ing, and  coming  to  a  short  post  fixed  in 

VOL.  IV. 


the  pavement,  which  Mr.  Boufoy,  in  the 
midst  of  chat  and  inattention,  took  to  be 
a  boy  standing  in  his  way,  he  said,  in  a 
hurry, « Get  out  of  my  way,  boy.'  'That 
boy,  sir,'  said  the  Doctor,  very  calmly 
and  slyly,  'is  a  post-boy,  who  turns  out 
of  his  way  for  nobody.'  1  could  recollect 
several  other  ingenious  repartees,  if  there 
were  occasion.  One  thing  is  remarkable, 
he  never  was  a  hale  and  hearty  man,  al- 
ways of  a  tender  and  delicate  constitution, 
yet  took  great  care  of  it ;  his  common 
drink  water ;  he  always  dines  with  the 
fellows  in  the  hall.  Of  late  years  he  has 
left  off  eating  flesh-meats ;  in  the  room 
thereof  puddings,  &c.  sometimes  a  glass 
or  two  of  wine," 

LONGEVITY,  the  continuance  of  life 
beyond  its  ordinary  period  of  duration. 
The  term  of  human  life  does  not  in  gene- 
ral much  exceed  80  years,  but  it  is  well 
known  that  instances  occasionally  occur 
of  persons  living  to  the  age  of  100  years 
and  upwards.  '  Such  instances,  however, 
have  not  excited  that  general  attention, 
which  from  the  nature  of  the  subject 
might  be  expected,  and  it  is  only  of  late 
years  that  any  extensive  collection  of 
them  has  been  formed,  or  attempts  made 
to  ascertain  the  circumstances  and  situa- 
tions in  which  the  different  individuals 
preserved  their  lives  to  an  age  so  much 
beyond  the  usual  lot  of  man.  The  most 
extensive  catalogue  of  this  kind,  is  that 
published  by  J.  Easton,  which,  though 
very  defective,  contains  the  names  and 
some  particulars  of  1712  persons,  who  had 
attained  to  a  century  and  upwards,  hav- 
ing died  at  the  following  ages  : 

From  100  to  110  years  ....  1310 

110  to  120 277 

120  to  130 84 

130  to  140 26 


140  to  150 
150  to  160 
160  to  170 
170  to  185 


1712 


The  circumstances  which  chiefly  tend 
to  promote  longevity  may  be  reduced  to 
the  following  heads : 

1.  Climate.  A  large  majority  of  the  re- 
corded instances  of  great  age  were  inha- 
bitants of  Great  Britain  or  Ireland,  of 
France,  Germany,  or  the  north  of  Europe, 
from  which  it  appears,  that  moderate  or 
even  cold  climates  are  the  most  favoura- 


LONGEVITY. 


ble  to  long  life.  Heat  relaxes  and  enfee- 
bles, while  cold  consolidates  and  strength- 
ens the  human  frame.  The  diet  also  of 
hot  countries  is  less  nourishing  than  that 
of  cold  ones ;  and  there  is  generally  a 
greater  disposition,  and  greater  oppor- 
tunities to  indulge  in  various  excesses  in 
the  former,  than  in  the  latter.  There  are 
however  a  few  instances  of  natives  of  very 
hot  climates  having  attained  to  great  age, 
but  they  have  been  chiefly  negroes  in  the 
West  Indies  and  America,  whose  ages 
were  probably  not  very  correctly  ascer- 
tained. 

2.  Parentage.    Being  born  of  healthy 
parents,  and  exempted  from  hereditary 
disease,  are  circumstances  evidently  fa- 
vourable to  the  duration  of  life  ;  and  nu- 
merous instances  warrant  the  opinion, 
that  longevity  prevails  in  some  families 
more  than  in  others,  or  that  descent  from 
long-lived  ancestors  is  one  of  the  circum- 
stances which  give  the  greatest  probabili- 
ty of  attaining  to  extreme  old  age. 

3.  Pom  and  size  of  the  individual.    It  is 
generally  admitted,    that  persons   of  a 
compact  shape,  and  of  a  moderate  stature, 
are  the  most  likely  to  live  long.    Tall 
persons  frequently    acquire  a    habit  of 
stooping,  which  contracts  the  chest,  and 
is  a  great  impediment  to  free  respiration ; 
whereas  the   short  sized  find  little  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  themselves  erect,  and 
are  naturally  much  more  active,  by  which 
the  animal  functions   are  retained  in   a 
state  of  greater  perfection  ;  the  only  dis- 
advantage attending   a   short  stature  is, 
that  it  is  frequently  accompanied    with 
corpulence,  which  is  rather  unfavourable 
to  long1  life. 

4.  Disposition  of  JWind.      Nothing    is 
more  conducive  to  longevity  than  to  pre- 
serve equanimity  and  good  spirits,  and 
not  to  sink  under  the  disappointments  of 
life,  to  which  all,  but  particularly  the  old, 
are  necessarily  subjected.    This  is  a  point 
which  cannot  be  too  much  inculcated,  as 
experience  continually  shows  that  many 
perish  from  despondency,  who,  if  they 
had  preserved  their  spirits  and  vigour  of 
mind,  might  have  survived  many  years 
longer.    Neither  the  irritable,  who  are 
agitated  by  trifles,  nor  the  melancholy, 
who  magnify  the  evils  of  life,  can  expect 
to  live  long.   Even  those  who  suflTer  their 
strength  and  spirits  to  be  exhausted  by 
severe  study,  or  other  mental  exertions, 
seldom  reach  great  age.    In  the  list  be- 
fore referred  to,  of  1712  persons  who 
Jived  about  a  century,  Fontenelle  (who 
did  not  quite  reach  100  years)  is  the  only 
author  of  any  note ;  and  his  great  age  is 
nscribed  to  the  tranquil  ease  of  his  tem- 


per, and  that  liveliness  of  spirits  for 
which  he  was  much  distinguished.  Among 
those  who  have  devoted  themselves  to 
the  study  or  practice  of  music,  a  profes- 
sion which  encourages  cheerfulness  of 
mind,  instances  of  great  age  have  been 
very  frequent. 

5.  Occupation.    No   person  that  leads 
an  idle  life  will  ever  attain  to  great  age ; 
but  health  and   long  life  must  depend 
much  on  the  manner  in  which  the  indivi- 
dual is   employed.    Those    occupations 
are  certainly  the  most  conducive  to  the 
duration  of  life,  which  are  carried  on  in 
the  open  air,  and  require  activity  or  la- 
bour; thus  farmers,  gardeners,  and  la- 
bourers in  the  country,  are  in  general 
the   longest  lived.     Foot  soldiers,  also, 
who  have  survived  the  dangers  of  war, 
are  remarkable  for  long  life :  they  are 
generally  stout  and  vigorous  men,  and 
the  regularity  to  which  surviving  soldiers 
must  have  accustomed  themselves,  whilst 
their  careless  and  disorderly  companions 
have  dropped  off,  the  erect  "posture  to 
which  they  have  been  trained,  and  being 
of  course  men  well  formed  by  nature,  and 
habituated  to  walk  well  (by  which  they 
enjoy  the  most  natural  exercise  in  per- 
fection)   all   combine    in    their    favour. 
Sailors  also  would  furnish  many  instances 
of  longevity,  if  comfortably  provided  for 
in  their  old  age  ;  of  this  a  striking  proof 
is  given  in  the  accounts  drawn  up  by  Dr. 
Robertson  of  the  pensioners  in  Green- 
wich Hospital.     In  the  year  1801,  the 
complement  of  in-pensioners  was  2410, 
of  whom  there  were  96  of  the  age  of  80 
years  and  upwards ;  of  this  number  13 
were  above  90  years  of  age,  and  one  man 
102  years  old.    The  number  of  out-pen- 
sioners was  about  2500,  of  whom  it  ap- 
peared there  were  only  23  from  80  years 
of  age  and  upwards.  Of  the  former  there- 
fore about  4  in  100  survived  80  years  of 
age,  but  of  the  latter  not  1  in  100  attained 
that  age,  a  sufficient  evidence  of  the  bene- 
fits of  regularity  and  ease  in  the  advanced 
period  of  life,  and  of  the  attention  paid 
to  the  health  of  the  in-pensioners  at  that 
excellent  institution. 

6.  Mode  of  Living^.    If  persons  were  to 
live  with  the  simplicity  of  ancient  times, 
it  is  probable  that  they  would  attain  long 
life,  without  experiencing  any  material 
illness,  merely  by  a  proper  attention  to 
air,  exercise,  clothing,  and  diet.     But  in 
the  present  state  of  society,  the  great  bulk 
of  the  community  follow,  not  a  natural, 
but  an  artificial,  mode  of  life,  and  thence 
are  perpetually  exposed  to  various  temp- 
tations, wjiich  they  find  it  difficult  always 
to  resist,  and  to  dangers  which  they  can- 


LON 


LOiN 


liot  always  avoid.  Most  persons  however 
have  it  in  their  power  in  some  degree  to 
regulate  their  manner  of  living  by  their 
own  choice  :  and  by  a  little  attention  to 
their  food,  clothing,  employment,  rest, 
and  temper  of  mind,  might  not  only  con- 
tribute materially  to  the  prolongation  of 
their  lives,  but  preserve  themselves  from 
many  diseases,  and  greatly  increase  their 
relish  for  all  the  enjoyments  of  life. 

The  importance  of  wholesome  food,  for 
the  preservation  of  health  and  promoting 
long  life,  and  the  avoiding  of  excess, 
whether  in  eating  or  drinking,  is  suffi- 
ciently obvious.  Some  instances,  indeed, 
are  recorded  of  persons  who  have  con- 
tinued to  commit  excesses,  and  have 
lived  long ;  but  these  are  to  be  consider- 
ed in  no  other  light  than  as  exceptions  to 
a  general  rule  ;  and  it  may  reasonably  be 
contended,  that  if  such  persons  lived  to 
a  great  age,  notwithstanding  their  intem- 
perance, they  would  have  lived  much 
longer  had  they  followed  a  different 
course.  Experience  will  point  out  those 
articles  of  food  which  are  best  adapted  to 
the  constitution  of  each  individual,  and 
there  cannot  be  a  better  rule  than  to  ad- 
here to  them  as  far  as  circumstances  will 
permit.  It  may  be  observed,  however, 
that  people  in  "general,  especially  those 
who  do  not  labour,  eat  much  more  than 
nature  requires ;  that  a  little  abstinence 
or  self-denial  may  often  be  of  use,  either 
to  prevent  or  to  cure  disease  ;  and  at  any 
rate,  that  none  but  hard  working  people, 
the  young  who  are  growing  fast,  or  per- 
sons who  are  travelling  about,  should  eat 
more  than  one  full  meal  each  day. 

As  to  clothing,  much  must  depend  on 
situation  and  climate  ;  but  it  is  generally 
found  a  useful  practice  to  wear  woollens 
next  the  skin.  It  is  remarked  in  many 
parts  of  Scotland,  that  since  the  use  of 
flannel  shirts  has  been  given  up  by  the 
lower  orders,  the  rheumatism,  and  other 
diseases  formerly  unknown,  have  become 
very  frequent,  and  are  daily  increasing. 
In  the  West  India  islands,  if  care  be  taken 
to  make  the  troops  wear  flannel  shirts, 
they  are  generally  exempt  from  various 
disorders,  which  otherwise  would  pro- 
bably have  attacked  them.  Even  the 
negroes  themselves  are  said  to  prefer 
flannel  to  cotton  or  linen,  and  find  it  a 
much  more  comfortable  and  useful  dress. 

Exercise  cannot  be  too  much  recom- 
mended ;  and  as  the  inhabitants  of  large 
towns,  and  persons  engaged  in  sedentary 
occupations,  cannot  take  all  the  exercise 
abroad  that  may  be  necessary  for  their 
health,  they  ought  as  much  as  possible  to 
accustom  themselves  to  be  walking  about 


even  in  their  own  house,  for  though  this 
practice  does  not  make  up  for  the  want 
of  exercise  abroad,  it  is  certainly  the  best 
substitute  for  it.  Exercise  is  attended 
with  the  advantage  of  creating  an  inclina- 
tion to  retire  early  to  rest,  and  of  induc- 
ing sound|sleep.  Every  one  should  take 
all  the  repose  that  nature  requires,  but 
should  never  continue  long  in  bed  with- 
out sleeping.  Early  rising,  even  if  car- 
ried to  an  extreme,  is  far  more  conducive 
to  health  and  long  life,  than  late  hours 
at  night  and  slumbering  in  bed  in  the 
morning. 

There  is  nothing  that  can  tend  more  to 
long  life  than  for  a  person  to  obtain  a 
complete  command  of  his  passions,  and 
in  particular  to  preserve  his  mind  from 
being  ruffled  by  the  occurrences  of  life. 
Perhaps  there  is  no  maxim  more  likely 
to  promote  good  health,  and  consequently 
the  duration  of  life,  than  that  of  paying  a 
proper  attention  to  temper,  temperance, 
and  sleep.  By  good  temper  the  mind 
is  preserved  from  disease ;  and  by  tem- 
perance, the  body ;  and  both  the  mind 
and  the  body,  when  exhausted,  are  again 
recruited  and  restored  to  their  former 
strength,  by  a  sufficient  quantity  of  re- 
pose. 

LONGIMETRY,  the  art  of  measuring 
lengths,  both  accessible,  as  roads,  &.c, 
and  inaccessible,  as  arms  of  the  sea,  Stc. 
See  SURVEYING. 

LONGITUDE  of  a  star,  in  astronomy, 
an  arch  of  the  ecliptic,  intercepted  be- 
tween the  beginning  of  Aries  aiffl  the 
point  of  the  ecliptic  cut  by  the  star's  cir- 
cle of  longitude.  See  CIUCLK,  &c. 

LONGITUDK  of  a  place,  in  geography, 
is  an  arch  of  the  equator  intercepted  be- 
tween the  first  meridian,  and  the  meri- 
dian passing  through  the  proposed  place; 
which  is  always  equal  to  the  angle  at  the 
pole,  formed  by  the  first  meridian  and  the 
meridian  of  the  place. 

The  first  meridian  may  be  placed  at 
pleasure,  passing  through  any  place,  as 
London,  Paris,  Teneriffe,  &c.  but  among1 
us  it  is  generally  fixed  at  London,  or 
rather  Greenwich,  and  the  loiigitudes 
counted  from  it  will  be  either  east  or 
west,  according  as  they  lie  on  the  east 
or  west  side  of  that  meridian.  The  dif- 
ference of  longitude  between  two  places 
upon  the  earth  is  an  arch  of  the  equator, 
comprehended  between  the  two  meris 
dians  of  these  places ;  and  the  greatest 
possible  is  180  degrees,  when  the  two 
places  lie  on  opposite  meridians. 

Since  the  parallels  of  latitude  always 
decrease,  the  nearer  they  approach  the 
pole,  it  is  plain  a  degree  upon  any  of 


LONGITUDE. 


them  must  be  less  than  a  degree  upon  the 
equator,  in  the  ratio  of  the  co-sine  of  the 
latitude  to  the  radius.  Hence,  as  the 
radius  is  to  the  co-sine  of  any  latitude  ; 
so  is  the  minutes  of  difference  of  longi- 
tude between  two  meridians,  or  their 
difference  in  miles  upon  the  equator,  to 
the  distance  of  these  two  meridians  on 
the  parallel  of  that  latitude,  in  miles. 
And,  by  this  theorem,  is  the  following- 
table  constructed. 

A  TABLE, 

Shewing  how  many  miles  answer  to  a 
Degree  of  Longitude,  at  every  Degree 
of  Latitude. 


p 

p 

1 

p 

• 

p 

H 

Miles. 

r 

Miles. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

59.99 

24 

54.81 

47 

40.92! 

69 

21.50 

2 

59-97 

25 

54.38 

48 

40.15 

70 

20.52 

3 

59.92; 

26 

53.93 

49 

39.36 

71 

19.54 

4 

59.86 

27 

53.46 

50 

38.57 

72 

18.55 

5 

59.77 

28 

52.97 

51 

37.76 

73 

17.54 

6 

59.67 

29 

52.47 

52 

36.94 

74 

16.53 

7 

59.56 

30 

51.96 

53 

36.11 

75 

15.52 

8 

59.42 

31 

51.43 

54 

35.27 

76 

14.51 

9 

59.26 

32 

50.88 

55 

34.41 

77 

13.50 

10 

59.08 

33 

50.32 

56 

33.55 

78 

12.48 

11 

58.89 

34 

49.74 

57 

32.68 

79 

11.45 

12 

58.68 

35 

49.15 

58 

31.79 

80 

10.42 

13 

58.46 

36 

48.54 

59 

30.90 

81 

9.38 

14 

58.22 

37 

47.92 

60 

30.00 

82 

8.35 

15 

57.95 

38 

47.28 

61 

29.09 

83 

7.32 

16 

57.67 

39 

46.62 

62 

28.17 

84 

6.28 

17 

57.37 

40 

45.95 

63 

27.24 

85 

523 

18 

57.06 

41 

45.28 

64 

26.30 

86 

4.18 

19 

56.73 

42 

44.59 

65 

25.36 

87 

3.14 

20 

56.38 

43 

43.88 

66 

24.41 

88 

2.09 

21 

56.01 

44 

43.16167 

23.44 

89 

1.05 

22 

55.63 

45 

42.43  68 

22.48 

90 

0.00 

23 

55.23 

46 

41.68|| 

LONGITUDE,  in  navigation,  the  distance 
of  a  ship  or  place,  east  or  west,  from  an- 
other, reckoned  in  degrees  of  the  equa- 
tor. As  the  discovery  of  a  method  to 
find  the  longitude  would  render  voyages 
safe  and  expeditious,  and  also  preserve 
ships  and  the  lives  of  men,  the  following 
rewards  have  been  offered  by  act  of  par- 
liament, as  an  encouragement  to  any  per- 
son who  shall  discover  a  proper  method 
for  finding  it  out :  the  author  or  authors 
of  any  such  method  shall  be  entitled  to 
the  sum  of  10,0001.  if  it  determines  the 
longitude  to  one  degree  of  a  great  cir- 
cle ;  to  15,0001.  5f  it  determines  the  same 
to  two-thirds  of  that  distance;  and  to 


20,000^.  if  it  determines  the  same  to  one- 
half  of  the  same  distance  ;  and  that  half 
of  the  reward  shall  be  due  and  paid  when 
the  commissioners  of  the  navy,  or  the 
major  part  of  them,  agree  that  any  such 
method  extends  to  the  security  of  ships 
within  80  geographical  miles  of  the 
shores,  which  are  places  of  the  greatest 
danger ;  and  the  other  half,  when  a  ship, 
by  the  appointment  of  the  said  commis- 
sioners, or  the  major  part  of  them,  shall 
thereby  actually  sail  over  the  ocean,  from 
Great  Britain  to  any  such  port  in  the  West 
Indies  as  those  commissioners,  or  the  ma- 
jor part  of  them,  shall  choose  for  the  ex- 
periment, without  losing  their  longitude 
beyond  the  limits  before-mentioned.  The 
French,  Dutch,  Spaniards,  and  other  na- 
tions, have  likewise  offered  rewards  for 
the  same  purpose. 

Since,  by  the  motion  of  the  earth  round 
its  axis,  every  point  upon  its  surface  de- 
scribes the  circumference  of  a  circle,  or 
360°,  in  twenty-four  hours  time,  it  is  plain 
it  must  describe  15°  in  one  hour,  because 
3^  —  15.  Hence  the  difference  of  lon- 
gitude may  be  converted  into  time,  by  al- 
lowing one  hour  for  every  15  degrees, 
and  proportionally  for  minutes  ;  also  dif- 
ference of  time  may  be  converted  into 
difference  of  longitude  by  allowing  15° 
for  every  hour,  and  proportionally  for  a 
greater  or  less  time.  Consequently,  by 
knowing  the  one,  we  can  easily  find  the 
other. 

Whatever  contrivance,  therefore,  shows 
the  hours  of  the  day,  at  the  same  absolute 
point  of  time,  in  two  different  places, 
likewise  serves  to  find  the  difference  of 
longitude  between  those  places.  Now, 
since  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  proceeds 
from  nothing  else  but  an  interposition  of 
the  earth  between  her  and  the  sun,  by 
which  means  she  is  prevented  from  re- 
flecting the  light  she  would  otherwise  re- 
ceive from  the  sun,  the  moment  that  any 
part  of  her  body  begins  to  be  deprived  of 
the  solar  rays,  it  is  visible  to  all  those  peo- 
ple who  can  see  her  at  the  same  time  ; 
whence,  if  two  or  more  different  people, 
at  two  or  more  different  places,  observe 
the  times  when  it  first  began  or  ended, 
or  note  the  time  when  any  number  of  di- 
gits was  eclipsed,  or  when  the  shadow 
begins  to  cover  or  quit  any  remarkable 

r,  the  difference  of  those  times  (if 
e  be  any),  when  compared  together, 
will  give  the  difference  of  longitude  be- 
tween the  places  of  observation. 

The  longitudes  of  places  may  also  be 
determined  from  the  observations  of  so- 
lar eclipses ;  but  these  being  encumber- 


LONGITUDE. 


ed  with  the  considerations  of  parallaxes, 
are  not  near  so  proper  as  those  of  the 
moon  ;  and  each  of  these  happening  but 
rarely,  another  excellent  expedient  has 
been  thought  of,  and  that  is  the  eclipses 
of  Jupiter's  satellites. 

Now  as  neither  Jupiter  nor  any  of  his 
attendants  have  any  native  light  of  their 
own,  but  shine  with  a  borrowed  light 
from  the  sun,  it  happens  that  each  of 
these,  in  every  revolution  about  J  upiter, 
suffers  two  eclipses,  one  at  their  entrance 
into  the  shadow,  the  other  at  the  en- 
trance of  their  passage  behind  his  body  ; 
whence  in  each  revolution  of  the  satellite 
there  are  four  remarkable  appearances, 
by  the  observation  of  any  one  of  which 
the  business  may  be  done,  viz.  one  at  the 
entrance  into  the  shadow,  and  one  at  the 
emersion  out  of  it ;  one  at  the  entrance 
behind  the  body,  and  another  at  the  com- 
ing out ;  but  the  latter  of  these,  viz.  the 
ingress  and  egress  of  the  satellite,  into 
and  from  tinder  the  body,  is  not  so  much 
regarded  by  astronomers  as  the  immer- 
sion into  and  out  of  the  shadow,  because, 
in  the  former,  the  difficulty  of  pronounc- 
ing the  exact  time  is  very  great,  it  re- 
quiring, in  each  observer,  eyes  equally 
good  and  strong,  and  telescopes  equally 
large  ;  but  the  observation  of  the  former 
of  these,  viz.  the  emersion  into,  and 
emersion  out  of  the  shadow,  is  easy  and 
practicable,  because  the  quick  motions  of 
the  satellites  plunge  them  so  quickly  into 
the  shadow  of  Jupiter,  that  it  is  no  diffi- 
cult matter  to  pronounce,  by  any  tele- 
scope by  which  they  may  be  seen,  the 
exact  time  of  their  immersion  and  emer- 
sion, as  any  one  may  soon  be  satisfied,  if 
he  will  but  try  the  experiment. 

And  as  each  of  these  happens  at  the 
same  moment  of  absolute  time,  if  two  or 
more  persons,  in  different  places,  note 
the  time  of  observation,  these,  when  com- 
pared together,  will  give  the  difference 
of  longitude  between  the  two  places  of 
observation.  And  when  we  consider  the 
great  number  of  these  eclipses  that  hap- 
pen eveiy  year,  there  being  more  visible 
in  one  year  than  there  are  days  in  it,  and 
consequently,  but  few  nights  when  Jupi- 
ter may  be  seen,  (and  which  is  near  ele- 
ven months  of  the  year,)  but  that  an 
eclipse  of  one  or  other  happens,  and 
sometimes  two  or  three  in  a  night ;  the 
ease  with  which  they  may  be  made,  re- 
quiring only  a  telescope  of  eight  or  ten 
feet  in  length,  which  may  be  almost  ma- 
naged with  the  hand ;  and  the  little  like- 
lihood there  is  of  missing  the  times  of  in- 
gress or  egress,  they  being  in  a  manner 
momentaneous  ;  and,  lastly,  the  great  ex- 


actness to  wliich  they  would  give  the  dit' 
ference  of  longitude,  it  being  certainly  as 
exact  as  the  latitude  can  at  present  be  ta- 
ken ;  it  is  much  to  be  wondered  at,  that 
the  more  skilful  pai-t  of  our  seamen  have 
so  long  neglected  them,  and  especially  in 
the  several  ports  into  which  they  sail. 
The  eclipses  of  Jupiter's  satellites,  and 
their  configurations,  are  given  in  the  nau- 
tical ephemeris. 

Besides  these,  there  is  another  method 
equally  useful,  expeditious,  and  certain ; 
and  that  is,  the  appulses  of  the  moon  to 
certain  fixed  stars,  and  their  occultations 
by  the  interposition  of  her  body ;  for,  the 
moon  finishing  her  revolution  in  the 
space  of  twenty-seven  days,  seven  hours, 
forty-three  minutes,  there  are  but  few- 
clear  nights  when  the  moon  does  not 
pass  over  or  so  near  to  some  fixed  star, 
that  her  distance  from  it,  or  the  time  of 
her  visible  conjunction  with  it,  may  be 
easily  observed  by  the  telescope,  and  mi- 
crometer only ;  and  these,  when  com- 
pared together,  or  with  the  visible  time 
computed  to  the  meridian  of  some  place, 
will  show  the  difference  of  longitude  of 
those  places. 

It  is  a  great  objection  to  the  methods 
here  described,  that  the  agitation  of  a 
ship  at  sea  prevents  their  being  useful. 
But  the  invention  of  Hadley's  quadrant 
and  its  modern  improvements,  with  the 
degree  of  perfection  to  which  the  moon's 
place  can  now  be  had,  by  computation, 
added  to  the  great  facilities  afforded  by 
the  nautical  almanack  and  requisite  ta- 
bles, published  by  the  commissioners  of 
longitude,  and  other  works,  particularly 
Mendoza's  extensive  Tables,  patronized 
by  them,  have  rendered  the  determina- 
tion of  the  longitude  at  sea  a  thing  of 
easy  and  general  practice,  by  observations 
of  the  angular  distance  of  the  moon  from 
a  fixed  star.  This  was  first  proposed  by 
John  Warner,  in  his  Notes  to  Ptolemy's 
Geography,  in  1514,  and  since  by  others, 
particularly  our  Sir  Jonas  Moor,  Flam- 
stead,  Halley,  Bradley ;  and  in  later  times, 
with  great  diligence,  zeal,  and  ability,  by 
the  present  Astronomer  Royal,  Dr.  Mas- 
kelyne.  For  the  processes  and  computa- 
tions, the  reader  will  have  recourse  to 
the  works  just  mentioned.  The  princi- 
ple is  simple  and  easy.  An  observer  at 
sea  measures  the  angle  between  the  moon 
and  the  sun,  or  a  fixed  star,  while  two 
other  observers  take  their  altitudes,  in  or- 
der to  determine  the  quantities  of  refrac- 
tion and  parallax.  The  two  zenith  dis- 
tances, and  the  oblique  distance,  consti- 
tute a  spherical  triangle ;  of  which  -the 
angle  of  the  zenith  may  be  determined, 


LON 


LOO 


and  then  by  correcting  the  altitudes  for 
parallax  and  refraction,  two  other  zenith 
distances  may  be  had,  which  are  correct, 
and  with  these  and  the  angle  at  the  ze- 
nith, a  new  triangle  is  constituted,  of 
which  the  oblique  side  is  the  correct  dis- 
tance. _  By  comparing  this  distance  with 
those  in  the  nautical  almanack,  the  time 
at  Greenwich  is  obtained,  and  the  differ- 
ence between  this  and  the  time  (observed 
by  an  altitude  or  otherwise)  at  the  ship, 
gives  the  difference  of  longitude.  Though 
this  computation  with  tables,  which  give 
every  tenth  second,  is  not  operose,  it  is 
much  abridged  by  the  formulae  given  in 
the  said  works. 

Time-pieces  are  likewise  rendered  so 
perfect  at  present,  that  they  afford  the 
most  inestimable  assistance  to  mariners. 
See  CHRONOMETER  and  HOROLOGY.  Our 
John  Harrison,  between  the  years  1726 
and  1762,  first  vanquished  the  great  diffi- 
culty, and  was  rewarded  with  20,0001. 
from  the  English  government.  Very  libe- 
ral encouragement  has  since  been  given 
to  other  artists,  such  as  Arnold,  Earn- 
shaw,  and  others. 

LONGITUDE  of  motion,  according  to 
some  philosophers,  is  the  distance  which 
the  centre  of  any  moving  body  runs 
through,  as  it  moves  on  in  a  right  line. 

LONGITUDINAL,  in  general,  denotes 
something  placed  lengthwise  :  thus  some 
of  the  fibres  of  the  vessels  in  the  human 
body  are  placed  logitudinally,  others  trans- 
versely, or  across. 

LONGOMONTANUS  (CHRISTIAN),  a 
learned  astronomer,  born  in  Denmark  in 
1562,  in  the  village  of  Longomontam, 
whence  he  took  his  name.  Vossius,  by 
mistake,  calls  him  Christopher.  Being 
the  son  of  a  poor  man,  a  ploughman,  he 
was  obliged  to  suffer,  during  his  studies, 
all  the  hardships  to  which  he  could  be 
exposed,  dividing  his  time,  like  the  phi- 
losopher Cleanthes,  between  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  earth,  and  the  lessons  he  re- 
ceived from  the  minister  of  the  place.  At 
length,  at  fifteen  years  old,  he  stole  away 
from  his  family,  and  went  to  Wiburg, 
where  there  was  a  college,  in  which  he 
spent  eleven  years;  and  though  he  was 
obliged  to  earn  his  livelihood  as  he  could, 
his  close  application  to  study  enabled 
him  to  make  a  great  progress  in  learn- 
ing, particularly  in  the  mathematical 
sciences. 

From  hence  he  went  to  Copenhagen ; 
where  the  professors  of  that  University 
soon  conceived  a  very  high  opinion  of 
him,  and  recommended  him  to  the  cele- 
brated Tycho  Brahe ;  with  whom  Longo- 
montanus  lived  eight  years,  and  was  of 


great  service  to  him  in  his  observations 
and  calculations.  At  length,  being  very 
desirous  of  obtaining  a  professor's  chair 
in  Denmark,  Tycho  Brahe  consented  with 
some  difficulty  to  his  leaving  him;  giving 
him  a  discharge  filled  with  the  highest 
testimonies  of  his  esteem,  and  furnishing 
him  with  money  for  the  expense  of  his 
long  journey  from  Germany,  whither 
Tycho  had  retired. 

He  accordingly  obtained  a  professor- 
ship of  mathematics  in  the  University  of 
Copenhagen,  in  1605  ;  the  duty  of  which 
he  discharged  very  worthily  till  his  death, 
which  happened  in  1647,  at  eighty-five 
years  of  age. 

Longomontanus  was  author  of  several 
works,  which  show  great  talents  in  mathe- 
matics and  astronomy.  The  most  distin- 
guished of  them  is  his  "  Astronomica  Da- 
nica,"  first  printed  in  quarto,  1621,  and 
afterwards  in  folio,  in  1640,  with  augmen- 
tations. He  amused  himself  with  endea- 
vouring to  square  the  circle,  and  pre- 
tended that  he  had  made  the  discovery 
of  it ;  but  our  countryman,  Dr.  John  Pell, 
attacked  him  warmly  on  the  subject,  and 
proved  that  he  was  mistaken.  It  is  re- 
markable, that,  obscure  as  his  village  and 
father  were,  he  contrived  to  dignify  and 
eternize  them  both ;  for  he  took  his  name 
from  his  village,  and  in  the  title-page 
to  some  of  his  works,  he  wrote  himself 
Christianus  Longomontanus  Severini  fi- 
lius;;his  father's  name  being  Severin  or 
Severinus. 

LONICERA,  in  botany,  honeysuckle^ 
named  from  A.  Lonicer,  a  genus  of  the 
Pentandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Aggregate.  Caprifolia, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character :  corolla  one- 
petalled,  irregular;  berry  many-seeded, 
two-celled,  inferior.  There  are  nineteen 
species,  of  which  L.  grata,  ever-green 
honeysuckle,  is  the  most  beautiful :  it 
grows  naturally  in  North  America :  it  has 
strong  branches,  covered  with  a  purple 
bark,  which  are  ornamented  with  lucid 
green  leaves,  embracing  the  stalks,  and 
continuing  their  verdure  all  the  year ; 
the  flowers  are  produced  in  whorled 
bunches  at  tke  end  of  the  branches ; 
there  are  frequently  two,  and  sometimes 
three,  of  these  bunches  rising  one  out 
of  the  other ;  they  are  of  a  bright  red  on 
their  outside,  and  yellow  within,  of  a 
strong  aromatic  flavour;  it  begins  to 
flower  in  June,  and  there  is  a  constant 
succession  of  flowers  till  the  frost  puts  an 
end  to  them. 

LOO,  or  lanter-loo,   a  game  at  cards. 
See  LAXTER-LOO. 
LOOP,  in  the  sea-language,  is  a  term 


LOP 


LOT 


used  in  various  senses ;  thus  the  loof  of  a 
ship  is  that  part  of  her  aloft  which  lies 
just  before  the  chest-tree ;  hence  the 
guns  which  lie  there  are  called  loof- 
picces:  keep  your  loof,  signifies  keep 
the  ship  near  to  the  wind;  to  loof  into  a 
harbour,  is  to  sail  into  it  close  by  the 
wind;  loof  up,  is  to  keep  nearer  the 
wind ;  to  spring  the  loof,  is  when  a  ship 
that  was  going  large  before  the  wind  is 
brought  close  by  the  wind. 

LOOKING-g-fcmes,  are  nothing  but 
plane  mirrors  of  glass ;  which  being  im- 
pervious to  the  light,  reflect  the  images 
of  things  placed  before  them.  See  OP- 
TICS. 

LOOM,  a  frame  composed  of  a  variety 
of  parts,  used  in  all  the  branches  of  weav- 
ing; for  a  particular  description  of  which 
see  WEAVING. 

LOOM,  in  the  sea-language:  when  a  ship 
appears  big,  when  seen  at  a  distance,  they 
say  she  looms. 

Loont  gale,  a  gentle  easy  gale  of 
wind,  in  which  a  ship  can  carry  her  top- 
sails a-trip. 

LOOP,  in  the  iron  works,  denotes  a  part 
of  a  sow,  or  block  of  cast  iron,  broken  or 
melted  off  from  the  rest. 

LOOP  holes,  in  a  ship,  are  holes  made  in 
the  coamings  of  the  hatches  of  a  ship,  and 
in  their  bulk-heads,  to  fire  muskets 
through,  in  a  close  fight. 

LOPHIUS,  the  angler,  in  natural  histo- 
ry, a  genus  of  fishes  of  the  order  Cartila- 
ginei.  Generic  character :  head  depress- 
ed ;  teeth  numerous  and  sharp ;  mouth 
armed  with  teeth  ;  pectoral  fins  brachiat- 
ed.  There  are  eight  species,  of  which 
we  shall  notice  the  following.  L.  euro- 
paeus,  or  the  European  angler,  is  a  native 
of  the  European  seas,  and  measures  some- 
times seven  feet  in  length,  but  is  general- 
ly about  three,  in  shape  similar  to  a  tad- 
pole. It  frequents  the  shallow  parts  of 
the  sea,  and  imbedding  itself  almost  com- 
pletely in  sand  'or  gravel,  moves  its  ten- 
tacula,  or  the  long  processes  on  its  head, 
in  various  directions.  The  small  fishes, 
mistaking  these  for  worms,  catch  at  them 
with  avidity,  and  in  the  moment  of  ex- 
pected happiness  find  certain  destruction. 
L.  histrio,  or  the  harlequin  angler,  is  a 
native  of  the  Indian  and  American  seas, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  curious  and  remark- 
able of  fishes;  but  we  have  not  here  room 
for  the  detail  of  its  form  and  appendages. 
Its  general  length  is  about  a  foot.  Its 
ventral  fins  resemble  short  arms,  and 
Shaw  mentions  Renard's  stating,  that  he 
knew  an  instance  of  some  of  these  fishes 
living  without  water  for  three  days,  and 


walking  about  the  house  in  the  manner  of 
a  dog !  For  a  representation  of  this  fish, 
see  Pisces,  Plate  V.  fig.  3. 

LOPPING,  among  gardeners,  the  cut- 
ting off  the  side-branches  of  trees. 

LORANTHUS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Hexandria  Monogynia  class  and  or- 
der. Natural  order  of  Aggregate.  Ca- 
prifolia,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  : 
germ  inferior  ;  calyx  none  ;  corolla  six- 
cleft,  revolute;  stamens  at  the  tips  of 
the  petals;  berry  one-seeded.  There 
are  eighteen  species ;  these  are  mostly 
parasitical  shrubs,  having  thick  opposite 
leaves,  and  axillary  flowers:  natives  of 
warm  climates. 

LORD's  day.  All  persons  not  having 
a  reasonable  excuse,  shall  resort  to  their 
parish  church  or  chapel  (or  some  con- 
gregation of  religious  worship  allowed 
by  the  toleration  act)  on  every  Sunday, 
on  pain  of  punishment  by  the  censures  of 
the  church,  and  of  forfeiting  one  shilling 
to  the  poor  for  every  offence.  To  be  le- 
vied by  the  church- wardens  by  distress, 
by  warrant  of  one  justice.  The  hundred 
shall  not  be  answerable  for  any  robbery 
committed  on  the  Lord's  day.  No  per- 
son upon  the  Lord's  day  shall  serve  or  ex- 
ecute any  writ,  process,  warrant,  order, 
judgment,  or  decree  (except  in  cases  of 
treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace), 
but  the  service  thereof  shall  be  void.  Pub- 
lic houses  are  shut  during  the  usual  hours 
of  divine  service. 

LORICAR1A,  in  natural  history,  a  ge- 
nus of  fishes  of  the  order  Abdominales. 
Generic  character :  head  smooth  ;  mouth 
without  teeth ;  gill  membrane  six-rayed ; 
body  mailed.  Of  this  genus  there  are,  ac- 
cording to  Gmelin,  two  species.  Shaw 
enumerates  seven.  The  L.  costata  is 
found  both  in  the  seas  of  India  and  Ame- 
rica, and  is  a  fish  highly  daring,  and,  by 
the  strength  and  acuteness  of  its  spines, 
capable  of  wounding  and  lacerating  those 
who  attempt  to  take  it  with  great  severi- 
ty. By  the  fishermen  in  those  seas  they 
are  regarded  as  formidable  enemies.  Se.e 
Pisces,  Plate  V.  fig.  4.  L.  callicthys,  which 
alone  we  shall  add  to  the  former,  is  about 
twelve  inches  in  length,  and  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Surinam  is  regarded  as  a  delica- 
cy. It  is  stated  by  a  writer  of  most  ludi- 
crous or  contemptible  credulity,  that  this 
fish  being  harassed  occasionally  by  the 
shallowness  of  the  stream  which  it  has  in- 
habited, makes  an  excursion  by  land 
in  search  of  another  that  it  may  find 
deeper,  or  even  perforates  the  land  for 
the  same  purpose. 

LOTION,  in  medicine  and  pharmacy, 
is  such  washing-  as  concerns  beautify- 

' 


LOTTERY. 


mg  the  skin,  by  cleansing  it  of  those 
deformities  which  a  distempered  blood 
sometimes  throws  upon  it,  or  rather 
are  made  by  a  preternatural  secretion. 
There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  almost 
till  the  lotions  advertised  for  sale  as 
quack  medicines,  contain  much  delete- 
rious matter,  such  as  muriated  mercury, 
and  therefore  ought  never  to  be  had  re- 
course to. 

LOTTERY,  a  game  of  hazard,  in  which 
small  sums  are  adventured  for  the  chance 
of  obtaining  a  larger  value,  either  in  mo- 
]\ey  or  other  articles.  Lotteries  are  form- 
ed on  various  plans ;  but  in  general  they 
consist  of  a  certain  number  of  tickets, 
which  are  drawn  at  the  same  time,  with  a 
corresponding  number  of  blanks  and 
prizes  mixed  together,  and  by  which  the 
fate  of  the  tickets  is  determined.  This 
species  of  gaming  has  been  sanctioned  by 
the  governments  of  France,  Holland, 
Great  Britain,  and  other  countries,  as  a 
means  of  raising  money  for  public  pur- 
poses ;  as,  from  the  contributions  being 
voluntary,  it  is  always  easier  to  obtain  mo- 
ney in  this  way  than  by  new  taxes :  it  is, 
however,  liable  to  the  serious  objection, 
that  it  tempts  many  persons  to  lose  more 
than  they  can  conveniently  spare,  par- 
ticularly among  the  lower  classes  of  socie- 
ty, who  are  led  to  neglect  the  gains  of 
honest  industry  for  the  chance  of  acquir- 
ing sudden  riches  by  a  prize  in  the  lot- 
tery. 

The  proposals  for  the  first  public  lotte- 
ry in  England  were  published  in  1567  and 
1568,  and  it  was  drawn  in  1569,  at  the 
west  door  of  St.  Paul's  cathedral.  The 
tickets  were  sold  at  ten  shillings  each, 
and  there  were  no  blanks.  The  prizes 
consisted  chiefly  of  plate;  and  the  profits 
of  it  were  intended  for  the  repair  of  the 
havens  of  the  kingdom,  and  other  public 
works.  In  1612,  King  James  granted  per- 
mission for  a  lottery,  to  be  held  at  the 
west  end  of  St.  Paul's,  of  which  the  high- 
est prize  was  of  the  value  of  four  thousand 
crowns,  in  plate  :  this  was  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Virginia  company,  who  were 
licensed  to  open  lotteries  in  any  part  of 
England,  by  which  means  they  raised 
29,000/.  At  length  these  lotteries  came 
to  be  considered  a  public  evil ;  they  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  parliament,  were 
represented  by  the  commons  as  a  griev- 
ance, and  in  1620  were  suspended  by  an 
order  of  council.  In  1630,  however, 
Charles  I.  granted  a  special  licence  for  a 
lottery,  or  lotteries,  "  according  to  the 
course  of  other  lotteries  heretofore  used 
or  practised,"  for  defraying  the  expenses 


of  a  project  for  conveying  water  to  Lon- 
don. 

Soon  after  the  revolution  lotteries  were 
resorted  to,  among  other  expedients,  for 
raising  part  of  the  extraordinary  sums  ne- 
cessary for  the  public  service,  by  which 
the  disposition  for  this  species  of  gambling 
was  greatly  encouraged  and  extended  ; 
and  private  lotteries,  formed  on  the  most 
delusive  and  fraudulent  principles,  be- 
came so  general,  not  only  in  London,  but 
in  all  the  other  principal  towns  of  En- 
gland, that  parliament  found  it  neceseary, 
in  1698,  to  pass  an  act  for  suppressing 
them  ;  by  which  a  penalty  of  500/.  was 
laid  on  the  proprietors  of  any  such  lotte- 
ries, and  of  20/.  on  every  adventurer  in 
them ;  notwithstanding  which,  the  dispo- 
sition to  fraud  on  the  one  hand,  and  for 
adventure  on  the  other,  continued  to  pre- 
vail, and  small  lotteries  were  carried  on 
under  the  denomination  of  sales  of  gloves, 
fans,  cards,  plate,  and  other  articles.  This 
was  attempted  to  be  checked  by  a  clause 
of  an  act  passed  in  1712,  which  only  gave 
rise  to  a  new  mode  of  carrying  on  this 
kind  of  gaming.  The  adventure  was  now 
made  to  depend  on  the  drawing  of  the 
government  lottery ;  and  the  selling  and 
buying  of  chances  and  parts  of  chances  of 
tickets  in  the  state  lotteries  became  a  ge- 
neral practice,  till  it  was  prohibited  by  ah 
act  passed  in  1718,  by  which  all  undertak- 
ings resembling  lotteries,  or  being  depen- 
dent on  the  state  lottery,  were  strictly 
prohibited,  under  the  penalty  of  100Z.  over 
and  above  all  penalties  enjoined  by  former 
acts  of  parliament  against  private  lotte- 
ries. 

During  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  the 
lotteries  were  generally  for  terminable 
annuities,  to  which  both  blanks  and  prizes 
were  entitled,  at  different  rates  :  thus,  in 
1710,  the  lottery  consisted  of  150,000 
tickets,  valued  at  10/.  each  ;  every  ticket 
being  entitled  to  an  annuity  for  thirty -two 
years,  the  blanks  at  14s.  per  annum, 
and  the  prizes  to  greater  annuities,  from 
51.  to  1,OOOJ.  per  annum.  This  was  the 
first  lottery  for  which  the  Bank  of  En- 
gland received  the  subscriptions  for  go- 
vernment. In  the  following  year,  the 
whole  of  the  money  advanced  for  the 
tickets  was  to  be  repaid,  both  in  blanks 
and  prizes,  in  thirty-two  years,  with  in- 
terest at  6  per  cent,  and  an  additional 
sum  of  nearly  half  a  million  to  be  divided 
in  order  to  form  the  prizes;  which  addi- 
tional capital  was  to  be  paid,  with  the  like 
interest,  within  the  same  period  as  the 
original  sum.  In  this  manner,  which  was 
continued  in  several  of  the  subsequent 


LOTTERY. 


years,  a  very  considerable  premium  was 
given  for  the  money  advanced,  in  addition 
to  a  high  rate  of  interest. 

According  to  the  lottery  plans  which 
prevailed  from  Sir  Robert  Walpole's  ad- 
ministration to  that  of  the  Duke  of  Graf- 
ton,  the  tickets  were  issued  at  101.  each  ; 
and  occasionally  the  subscription  was  open 
to  the  public  at  large.  The  highest  prize 
was  generally  10,000/,  and  the  lowest  20/. 
There  were  from  four  to  six  blanks  to  one 
prize,  and  the  blanks  entitled  the  bearers 
to  five  or  six  pounds  stock  in  3  or  4  pel- 
cent,  bank  annuities,  the  value  of  the 
blanks  arid  prizes  being  generally  funded. 
The  office-keepers  divided  the  tickets  in- 
to shares  and  chances  ;  the  former  en- 
titling the  holders  to  the  proportion  they 
had  purchased  of  blanks  and  prizes  ;  the 
chances  to  prizes  only;  that  is,  they  had 
no  return  if  the  ticket  was  drawn  a  blank. 
The  tickets,  according  to  the  advantage 
or  disadvantage  of  the  scheme,  in  respect 
to  the  number  of  blanks  to  a  prize,  and 
the  number  of  high  prizes,  generally  sold 
at  from  111.  to  121.  before  the  drawing. 
When  the  ticket  sold  for  111.  and  the 
blank  was  entitled  to  61.  in  the  3  per  cent, 
annuities,  as  the  blank  might  be  sold  for 
51.  8s.  ready  money,  when  the  3  per  cents. 
were  at  90,  the  adventurer  only  gambled 
at  the  risk  of  51.  12s. ;  and  at  the  1  ugliest 
calculation,  when  tickets  were  worth  131. 
he  never  staked  more  than  71  12*.  for  a 
ticket  before  the  drawing. 

In  1759,  the  scheme  of  the  lottery  in- 
cluded two  prizes  of  20,OOG/.  each,  which 
had  not  been  the  case  in  any  lottery  since 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  The  scheme 
for  the  year  1767  contained  one  prize  of 
20,000/.  and  this  was  for  many  years  after 
the  usual  amount  of  the  highest  prize.  A- 
bout  this  time  a  material  alteration  was 
made  in  the  plan  of  the  lotteries ;  the  al 
lowance  to  blanks  was  discontinued,  *le 
whole  sum  being  divided  into  prizes  the 
number  of  which  was  of  course  cp*sicler- 
ably  increased,  particularly  as  the  propor- 
tion of  small  prizes  was  much  grater  than 
it  has  since  been,  and  in  several  of  the 
follow  ing  years  was  less  lh>n  two  blanks 
to  a  prize.'  All  the  lottc-'ies  during  the 
time  Lord  North  was  chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  were  forrvedon  this  principle, 
with  some  variations  in  the  schemes, 
which  favoured  tie  holders  of  tickets  and 
the  lottery-ofnre  keepers,  and  greatly  ex- 
panded the  spirit  of  gaming:  such  as  pay- 
ing the  prizes  in  money  instead  of  stock, 
and  making  the  first  drawn  ticket  for  se- 
veral successive  days  a  capital  prize  of 
1000J.  or  more,  which  enhanced  the  price 
of  tickets,  and  encouraged  persons  who 

VOL.  IV. 


had  blanks  drawn  to  buy  in  again.  Some 
judicious  regulations  were,  however,  a- 
dopted,  for  the  security  of  persons  pur- 
chasing shares  of  tickets,  by  confining  the 
shares  into  which  tickets  may  be  divided 
into  halves,  quarters,  eighths,  and  six- 
teenths, and  obliging'  all  lottery -office 
keepers  to  deposit  the  tickets  they  divide 
into  shares  in  the  bank,  and  to  "have  the 
said  shares  examined  and  stamped.  The 
practice  of  insuring  tickets  and  shares 
was  likewise  restrained,  by  enacting  that 
"No  person  shall  sell  the  chance  or 
chances  of  any  ticket,  or  any  share,  for 
any  time  less  than  the  whole  time  ot 
drawing  from  the  day  of  sale  r  nor  shall 
receive  any  sum  of  money  whatsoever,  in 
consideration  for  the  repayment  of  any 
sum,  in  case  any  ticket  shall  prove  fortu- 
nate, or  in  aiiy  case  of  any  chance  ftr 
event  relating  to  the  drawing,  either  as  to 
time,  or  its  being  fortunate  ;  nor  shall 
publish  proposals  for  the  same;  under 
the  penalty  of  500/.  one  half  to  be  paid 
to  the  person  suing  for  the  same,  and  the 
other  moiety  to  bis  Majesty." 

During  MY.  Pitt's  administration,  the 
lotteries  were  contracted  for  entirely  dis- 
tinct from  the  loans  of  tl*J  respective 
years  ;  and  as  it  became  yecessaiy  to  en- 
deavour to  augment  e'«ry  source  of  re- 
venue as  much  aspo^ble,  various  altera- 
tions were  made  in  the  lottery  schemes, 
chiefly  with  the  'iew  of  raising  the  price 
of  tickets,  and  of  keeping  up  the  price 
during  the  tive  of  drawing.  The  number 
and  amount  of  tSie  highest  prizes  were  in- 
creased,  «ome  of  the  schemes  containing1 


gr 

c/iirse  of  the  year,  the  lottery  was  divided 
into  two  or  three  smaller  ones,  drawn  at 
different  times.  The  amount  of  the  princi- 
pal prizes  was  afterwards  still  further  aug- 
mented ;  the  lottery  drawn  in  October, 
1807,  containing  a  prize  of40,000/.  and  that 
drawn  in  June  1803,  six  prizes  of  20,000/. 
Notwithstanding  the  temptations  which 
these  schemes  held  out  to  the  inconsider- 
ate, the  contractors  found,  either  from 
the  greater  frequency  of  lotteries,  or  the 
increased  number  of  tickets,  that  it  be- 
came impossible  to  get  the  tickets  oft' 
their  hands,  without  resorting  to  a  variety 
of  expedients  for  attracting  the  public  at- 
tention, which  were  carried  so  far  as  to 
become  a  public  nuisance  and  disgrace. 
In  1808,  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  was  appointed,  to  inquire  how 
far  the  evils  attending  lotteries  have  been 
remedied  by  the  laws  passed  respecting 
the  same ;  who  in  their  report  were  of 
Y 


LOI  LOX 


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LUJN 


LUN 


LUMBAGO,  in  medicine,  a  rheuma- 
tic affection  of  the  muscles  about  the 
loins. 

LUMBRICUS,  in  natural  history,  the 
earth-worm,  a  genus  of  the  Verrnes  Intes- 
tina :  body  round,  annulate,  with  general- 
ly an  elevated  fleshy  belt  near  the  head, 
mostly    rough,   with   minute    concealed 
prickles,  placed   longitudinally,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  lateral  aperture.     Gmelin 
has  enumerated  sixteen  species,  of  which 
we  shall  notice  the  following  :  L.  terristris, 
dew-worm  ;    body   red,  with  eight  rows 
of  prickles  ;  there  are  two  varieties,  one 
being  as  long  again  as  the  other.     It  in- 
habits decayed  wood,  and  the  common 
soil,  which,  by  perforating,  it  renders  tit  to 
receive  rain  ;  devours  the  cotyledons  of 
young  plants,  and  wanders  about  in  the 
night ;  is  the  food  of  rnoles,  and  various 
birds.     It  is  said  to  have  about  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  rings  ;  head  taper ;  n^uth 
at  the  end,  round ;  fore-part  of  the  worm 
cylindric,  the  rest  depressed;   at  about 
one  third  of  its  length  is  a  prominent  an- 
milated  belt ;  on  each  side  of  the  belly  a 
row  of  minute    spines,    distinguishable 
only  by  the  touch,  but  which  are  of  aid 
to  their  motion.     L.   marinus,  the   lug; 
back  with  two  rows  of  bristly  tubercles. 
This  species  inhabits  the  shores  of  the 
sea,  where  it  buries  itself  deep  in  the 
sand,  leaving  a  little  rising  with  an  aper- 
ture on  the  surface,  and  is  used  as  a  bait 
for  fish.     Body  pale  red,  round  and  an- 
nulate, with  greater  and  lesser  rings  ;  the 
first  prominent,  with  two  opposite  tufts  of 
short   bristles  on  each;   the  lower  part 
smooth.  L.  vermicularis,  body  white,  with 
two  rows  of  prickles ;  inhabits  the  wet 
and  decayed  trunks  of  trees,  and  among 
moist  leaves,  moving  very  expeditiously 
in  humid  places,  but  twisting  itself  up  in 
dry  ones  :    body  polished,  glabrous.     L, 
edulis,  bod}'  whitish  flesh-coloured ;  sub- 
clavate  behind,  dilated  and  papillous  be- 
fore ;  mouth   terminal,   and   surrounded 
with  a  very  viliose  rim  or  wrinkle.     It  in- 
habits the  sandy  shores  of  the  islands  in 
the  Indian  ocean  ;  nearly  a  foot  long,  and 
about  as  thick  as  a  goose  quill ;  buries  it- 
self about  a  foot  or  more  deep  in  the  sand, 
and  is  eaten  by  the  Chinese :  the  rings 
between  the  villous  part  and  the  hinder 
end  278,  and  separated  by  an  annular 
stria  ;  the  hind  part  bulbous,  with  a  dou- 
ble papilla;  the  fore-part  beset  with  nu- 
merous flesh-coloured  ones,  disposed  in 
transverse  rows. 

LUNA,  in  astronomy,  the  moon.    See 
MOON. 


LUNA,  among  chemists,  signifies  silver, 
See  SILVER. 

LUNAR,  something  belonging  to  the 
moon  -,  thus  we  say  lunar  month,  lunar 
year,  lunar  dial,  lunar  eclipse,  &c. 

LUNAR  caustic^  is  the  old  name  for 
nitrate  of  silver,  a  very  powerful  caustic, 
much  used  in  medicine.  It  is  also  called 
"  Lapis  Infernalis,"  by  surgeons. 

LUNARIA,  in  botany,  honesty,  a  genus 
of  the  Tetradynamia  Siliculosa  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Siliquosx  or 
Oucifbrmes.  Essential  character  :  sili- 
cic entire,  elliptic,  compressed,  flat,  pe- 
dicelled  ;  valves  equal,  and  parallel  to  the 
partition,  flat ;  calyx  with  bugged  leaflets. 
There  are  three  species,  viz.  the  perenni- 
al, annual,  and  Egyptian  honesty. 
LUNATIC.  See  IDIOT. 
LUNATION,  the  period  or  time  be- 
tween  one  new  moon  and  another  :  it  is 
also  called  the  synodical  month,  consist- 
ing of  29<i  12''  44'  3"  Hods;  exceeding 
the  periodical  month  by  2d  5h  0'  55". 

LUNE,  in  mathematics,  is  a  geometri- 
cal figure,  in  form  of  a  crescent,  termi- 
nj<ted  by  the  arcs  of  two  circles  that  in- 
lers^ct  each  other  within.  Though  the 
quudtature  of  the  whole  circle  has  never 
been  ejected,  yet  many  of  its  parts  have 
been  squared.  The  first  of  these  partial 
quadratures  was  that  of  the  lunula,  given 
by  Hippocrates,  of  Scio,  or  Chios  ;  who, 
from  being  ».  shipwrecked  merchant, 
commerced  geometrician.  But  although 
the  quadrature  of  the  lune  be  generally 
ascribed  to  Hippocrates,  yet  Proclus  ex- 
pressly says,  *  was  found"  out  by  Oenopi- 
das  of  the  same  place.  The  lune  of  Hip- 
pocrates is  this  :  let  A  B  C,  Plate  IX. 
Miscel.  fig.  7,  be  a  h«mi-circle,  having  its 
centre  E;  and  A  D  C  *  quadrant,  having 
its  centre  F  ;  then  the  figure  AB  C  D  A, 
contained  between  the  arcs  of  the  semi- 
circle and  quadrant,  is  his  lune  ;  and  it  is 
equal  to  the  right-angled  triangle  A  C  F, 
as  is  thus  easily  proved.  Since  A  F2  = 
2  A  E%  that  is,  the  square  of  the  radius 
of  the  quadrant  equal  to  (iouble  the 
square  of  the  radius  of  the  senu-circle  ; 
therefore  the  quadrant-area,  AbCFA, 
is  s=  the  semi-circle  of  A  B  C  E  A ;  from 
each  of  these  take  away  the  common 
space  ADCEA,  and  there  remains  the 
triangle  A  C  F  =  the  lune  A  B  C  D  A. 
Another  property  of  this  lune,  which  is 
the  more  general  one  of  the  former,  is, 
that  if  F  G  be  any. line  drawn  from  the 
point  F,  and  A  H  perpendicular  to  it  ; 
then  is  the  intercepted  part  of  the  lune 
A  G I A  =  the  triangle  A  G  H,  cut  off  by 


LUP 


the  chord  line  A  G;  or,  in  general,  that 
the  small  segment,  A  K  G  A,  is  equal  to 
the  tri-lineal  A  I  H  A.  For,  the  angle 
A  F  G  being  at  the  centre  of  the  one  cir- 
cle, and  at  the  circumference  of  the  other, 
the  arcs  cut  off  A  G,  A  I  are  similar  to 
the  wholes  ABC,  ADC,  therefore  the 
small  segment  A  K  G  A  is  to  the  semi- 
segment  A  I  H,  as  the  whole  semi-circle 
A  B  C  A  to  the  semi-segment  or  quadrant 
A  D  C  F,  that  is,  in  a  ratio  of  equality. 
Again,  if  A  B  C  (fig.  8)  be  a  triangle, 
right-angled  at  C,  and  it  semi-circles  be 
described  on  the  three  sides  as  diameters  ; 
then  the  triangle  T  (ABC)  is  equal  to 
the  sum  ot "the  two  limes  L  1,  L  2.  For 
the  greatest  semi-circle  is  equal  to  the 
sum  of  both  the  other  two ;  from  the 
greatest  semi-circle  take  away  the  seg- 
ments S  1,  and  S  2,  and  there  remains  the 
triangle  T ;  also  from  the  two  less  semi- 
circles take  away  the  same  two  segments 
S  1  and  S  2,  and  there  remains  the  two 
lunesLl,  and  L2;  therefore  the  trian- 
gle T  =  L  I  -f-  L  2,  the  two  lunes. 

LUNETTE,  in  fortification,  an  enve- 
loped counter-guard,  or  mound  of  earth, 
made  beyond  the  second  ditch,  opposite  to 
the  place  of  arms;  differing  from  the  ra- 
velines  only  in  their  situation.  Lunettes 
are  usually  made  in  wet  ditches,  and  serve 
to  defend  the  passage  of  the  ditch. 

LUNGS,  a  part  of  the  human  body, 
which  is  the  cause  or  instrument  of  respi- 
ration. 

LUP1NUS,  in  botany,  lupine,  a  genus  of 
the  Diadelphia  DecandYia  class  and  order- 
Natural  order  of  Papilionacese  or  Legu- 
minosce.  Essential  character  :  calyx  two 
lipped ;  anthers  five  oblong,  five  round- 
ish; legume  coriaceous.  There  are  ten 
species,  the  most  common  is  the  L.  luteus, 
yellow  lupine,  which  is  about  one  foot  in 
height,  having  digitate  leaves,  composed 
of  seven,  eight,  or  nine  hairy  leaflets, 
nearly  two  inches  long  :  the  flowers  are 
odorous  in  loose  spikes  at  the  end  of  the 
branches,  composed  of  several  whorls, 
terminated  by  three  or  four  flowers,  sit- 
ting close  at  the  top  ;  these  are  succeed- 
ed by  ovate  flattish  hairy  pods,  about  two 
inches  long,  standing  erect,  inclosing  four 
or  five  seeds,  compressed,  of  a  yellowish 
white  colour,  variegated  with  dark  spots : 
it  is  a  native  of  Sicily. 

LUPULUS,   the   hop,   in    botany,    &c. 
See  HOP  andHuwuLus. 
LUPUS.     See  CANIS. 
LUPUS,  in  ornithology,  the  same  with 
the  monedula,  or  jackdaw-     See 


LUPUS  marinus,  the  sen-wo//,  in  ichthv 
ology,  formerly  constituted  a  genus  of  ma  - 
lacopterygious  fishes,  with  a  compressed 
body,  and  six  or  more  ossicles  in  the 
membrane  of  the  gills.  On  the  back 
there  is  only  one  fin,  which  extends  al- 
most from  the  head  to  the  tail.  It  is  a 
very  singular  fish,  growing  to  four  or  five 
feet  long.  This  fish  is  now  called  AN- 
ARRHICH  AS,  by  the  generality  of  authors  ; 
which  see. 

LUPUS,  in  astronomy,  a  southern  con- 
stellation, consisting  of  nineteen,  or,  ac- 
cording to  Fiamstead,  of  twenty.four 
stars. 

LURIDJE,  in  botany,  the  name  of  the 
twenty -eighth  order  in  Linnaeus's  "Frag- 
ments of  a  Natural  Method,"  consisting  of 
plants  whose  pale  and  ominous  appearance 
seems  to  indicate  something  noxious  in 
their  nature  and  quality  :  theatropa,  dead- 
ly night-shade  ;  capsicum,  guinea-pepper ; 
digitalis,  fox-glove ;  nicotiania,  tobacco, 
&c.  are  of  this  order.  Most  of  the  plants 
contained  in  the  order  are  herbaceous 
and  perennial ;  the  roots  are  generally 
branched,  sometimes  tuberous ;  the  stems 
and  branches  are  cylindric :  the  leaves 
are  simple,  and  placed  alternate ;  the 
flowers  are  hermaphrodite  ;  the  calyx  is 
one  piece  deeply  divided  into  five  parts  ; 
the  corolla  consists  of  one  petal,  which 
is  either  bell,  funnel,  or  wheel-shaped ; 
the  stamina  are  four  or  five  ;  the  seed- 
bud  is  placed  above  the  receptacle  of 
the  flower;  the  seed  vessel  is  some- 
times a  berry,  sometimes  a  capsule;  the 
seeds  are  numerous,  and  frequently  kid- 
ney-shaped. These  plants  have  an  insi- 
pid taste,  and  a  nauseous  disagreeable 
smell ;  the  greater  part,  taken  internally, 
if  in  considerable  quantity,  prove  mor- 
tal, unless  prevented  operating  by  eme- 
tics, &c. 

LUST,  in  the  sea-language.  When  a 
ship  heels  more  one  way  than  another, 
she  is  said  to  have  a  lust  that  way. 

LUSTRE,  in  mineralogy,  is  a  term 
much  used  in  modern  works  of  chemis- 
try. The  lusire  of  minerals  in  respect  of 
intensity  is  of  five  kinds;  1.  Splendent, 
when  in  full  daylight  the  lustre  can  be 
seen  at  a  great  distance :  2.  Shining, 
when  at  a  distance  the  reflected  light  is 
weak :  3  Glistening,  when  the  lustre  is 
only  observable  at  no  greater  distance 
than  an  arm's  length  :  4.  Glimmering-, 
when  the  surface  held  near  the  eye  in 
full  daylight  presents  a  number  of  shin- 
ing points :  5.  Dull,  when  the  surface 
hfts  no  lustre-  There  are  two  kinds  of 


LUT 


LUT 


lustre,  the  metallic  and  common.    See 
Thompson's  Chemistry. 

LUTE,  a  musical  instrument  with 
strings.  The  lute  consists  of  four  parts, 
viz.  the  table ;  the  body  or  belly,  which 
has  nine  or  ten  sides ;  the  neck,  which 
has  nine  or  ten  stops  or  divisions, 
marked  with  strings ;  and  the  head,  or 
cross,  where  the  screw  for  raising  and 
lowering  the  strings  to  a  proper '  pitch 
of  tone  are  fixed.  In  the  middle  of  the 
table  there  is  a  rose  or  passage  for  the 
sound ;  there  is  also  a  bridge  that  the 
strings  are  fastened  to,  and  a  piece  of 
ivory,  between  the  head  and  the  neck, 
to  which  the  other  extremities  of  the 
strings  are  fitted.  In  playing,  the  strings 
are  struck  with  the  right  hand,  and  with 
the  left  the  stops  are  pressed.  The  lutes 
of  Bologna  are  esteemed  the  best,  on  ac- 
count of  the  wood,  which  is  said  to  have 
an  uncommon  disposition  for  producing  a 
sweet  sound. 

LUTES.     See  LABOHATORT. 

LUTHERANS,  so  called  from  their 
founder,  Martin  Luther,  an  Augustine 
friar,  and  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  re- 
formers. Some  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  Lutherans,  as  they  were  originally 
taught  by  their  founder,  seem  to  have  dif- 
fered in  but  a  very  slight  degree  from 
those  of  the  church  of  Rome,  from  whom 
Luther  dissented.  For  that  reformer  held 
sacred,  or  at  least  connived  at,  many 
things  which  Calvin,  Zuinglius,  and  the 
rest  of  the  reformers,  abhorred  as  so  ma- 
ny of  the  gaudy  vestments  and  abomina- 
tions of  the  Whore  of  Babylon.  Con- 
cerning transubstantiation,  Luther  seems 
to  have  differed  more  in  word  than  in  sub- 
stance from  the  Church  of  Rome.  He 
held  that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
were  materially  present  in  the  Eucharist, 
though  he  professed  his  ignorance  of  the 
manner  in  which  that  presence  was  ac- 
complished. It  is  true,  he  laid  aside  the 
offensive  term  transubstantiation,  and  sub- 
stituted that  of  consubstantiation  in  the 
room  of  it ;  but  whether  the  bread  and 
wine  are,  as  the  Catholics  declare,  tran- 
substantiated into  the  real  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  or  whether,  as  Luther  asserted, 
the  material  elements  are  mystically  con- 
substantiated  with  the  body  and  blood  of 
the  Saviour,  by  the  consecration  of  the 
priest,  it  is  clear  the  Catholics  and  the 
Lutherans  both  held  the  doctrine  of  the 
real  presence. 

Luther  also  tolerated  the  use  of  images, 
altars,  wax  tapers,  the  form  of  exorcism, 
and  private  confession.  But  the  grand 
and  leading  doctrine  of  Lutheranism,  and 


that  on  which  the  permanent  foundation 
of  the  reformation  was  laid,  is  the  right  of 
private  judgment  in  matters  of  religion. 
"  To  the  defence  of  this  proposition," 
says  Mr.  Roscoe,  the  candid  and  elegant 
biographer  of  Leo  the  Tenth,  "  Luther 
was  at  all  times  ready  to  devote  his  learn- 
ing, his  talents,  his  repose,  his  character, 
and  his  life  ;  and  the  great  and  imperish- 
able merit  of  this  reformer  consists  in  his 
having  demonstrated  it  by  such  argu- 
ments, as  neither  the  efforts  of  his  adver- 
saries, nor  his  own  subsequent  conduct, 
have  been  able  either  to  confute  or  inva- 
lidate." 

No  sooner,  however,  had  Luther  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  a  separation  from  the 
Church  of  Rome,  than  he  set  himself  to 
establish  another  system  of  religious  go- 
vernment ;  in  which  he  manifested,  that, 
however  he  might  abominate  many  of  the 
doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Papal  go- 
vernment, he  still  retained  no  small  por- 
tion of  that  spirit  of  domination  by  which 
the  old  church  had  so  long  been  charac- 
terized. The  odium  theologicwn  threaten- 
ed to  receive  new  strength  with  the  re- 
formation, and,  under  the  auspices  of  Cal- 
vin and  Luther,  the  religious  world  seem- 
ed likely  to  derive  no  other  benefit  from 
the  reformation  than  that  of  a  change  of 
masters.  It  was  more  easy  to  change  the 
head  than  the  heart ;  and  the  language  of 
liberty  afforded  a  ready  but  a  miserable 
substitute  for  liberty  itself.  Nor,  indeed, 
did  Luther  at  all  times  even  make  use  of 
such  language  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected from  one  who  had  so  ably  main- 
tained that  great  and  leading  truth*,  which 
inculcates  tl>e  unfettered  rights  of  pri- 
vate judgment.  The  man  who  could  stig- 
matize the  learned  and  mild  Erasmus, 
who  had  defended  the  freedom  of  the  hu- 
man will,  as  "an  exasperated  viper;" 
"  a  vain-glorious  animal,"  seemed  but  ill 
qualified  to  emancipate  the  religious 
world  from  the  fetters  of  spiritual  tyran- 
ny. Nor  was  it  very  flattering  to  the  re- 
formation, that  one  of  its  ablest  defenders 
and  founders  could,  in  his  zeal  for  the  om- 
nipotence of  faith,  declare  that  the  Epis- 
tle of  James,  in  which  the  necessity  of 
good  works  is  stated  and  enforced,  is,  in 
comparison  with  the  writings  of  Peter 
and  Paul,  a  mere  book  of  straw  !  These 
were  but  ill  omens  of  the  success  of  the 
reformation.  Whilst  Luther  was  engaged 
in  his  opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
he  asserted  the  right  of  private  judgment 
in  matters  of  faith,  with  the  confidence 
and  courage  of  a  martyr ;  but  no  sooner 
had  he  freed  himself  and  his  followers 
from  the  ecclesiastical  tyranny  of  the 


LUT 


LUT 


Pope,  than  he  attempted  to  establish  an- 
other tyranny  equally  intolerable  ;  "  and 
it  was  the  employment  of  his  latter  years 
to  counteract  the  effects  produced  by  his 
former  labours.     The  great  example  of 
freedom,"  continues  Mr.  Koscoe,  "  which 
he  had  exhibited,  could  not,  however,  be 
so  soon  forgotten ;  and  many   who  had 
thrown  off  the  authority  of  the  Romish 
see,  refused  to  submit  their  consciences 
to  the  control  of  a  monk,  who  had  arro- 
gated to  himself  the  sole   right  of  ex- 
pounding those  scriptures  which   he  had 
contended  were  open  to  all."     The  re- 
formation consequently  gained   ground, 
in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  both  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  the  example  of  the 
Lutherans.     Aided   by  the   invention  of 
printing,  the  genuine  principles  of  rea- 
son, philosophy,  and  revelation,  began  to 
make  rapid  progress.     The  doctrines  of 
justification  by  faith  alone,  and  of  abso- 
lute unconditional  election  and  reproba- 
tion, could  no  more  prevent  the  spread 
of  knowledge  than  the  worship  of  images, 
or  the  invocation  of  saints.     Luther  had 
taught  the  religious  world,  that  the  mind 
of  man  cannot  be  subjected  to   the  im- 
perious decrees  of  fallible  councils  and 
human  power,  and  the  result  was  glo- 
rious.    The  human  mind,  delivered  from 
the  external  constraint  imposed  upon  it 
by  hierarchical  despotisms,  and  from  the 
internal  constraint  of  the  apathy  in  which 
it  was  kept  by  a  blind  superstition,  soon 
found  itself  emancipated  from  guardian- 
ship, and  began  to  make  a  free,  energe- 
tic, and  proper  use  of  its  faculties.     The 
documents  of  religion  were  subjected  to 
a  profound  criticism  ;  and,  as  the  study  of 
the  fathers  and  of  councils  were  connect- 
ed with  the  decretals  of  antiquity,  histo- 
ry, and  languages,  the   great  objects  of 
classical  learning  began  to  assume  a  new 
aspect,  and  to  be  illuminated  by  a  new 
light.    The  scholastic  philosophy  found  in 
the  Lutherans  most  formidable  adversa- 
ries, who  unveiled  its  vices,  and  attacked 
its   weak  sides.    The    torch   of  reason, 
which  had  too  long  smothered  in  the  re- 
cesses of  the  cloister,  and  glimmered  in 
the  cells  of  the  monks,  was  no  sooner  ad- 
mitted to  the  re-animating  atmosphere  of 
freedom  and  philosophy,  than  it  began  to 
shine  forth  in  its  native  lustre.  The  empty 
science  of  the  casuists  vanished  before  the 
morality  of  the  gospel.     In  short,  the  hu- 
man mind,  thus  liberated  from  the  fetters 
of  priestcraft  and  tyranny,  shook  off  the 
corruptions  which  it  had  gathered  during 
the  middle  ages,  and  without  fear  of  the 
inquisition  here,  or  the  terrors  of  eternal 
damnation  hereafter,  began  to  display  its 


native  activity,  to  probe  the  foundation?, 
of  tottering  societies,  the  rights  of  man- 
kind, the  laws  of  empires,  and  the  go- 
vernments of  churches.  May  the  happy 
influence  of  the  reformation,  thus  brought 
into  action  by  the  fearless,  though  priest- 
ly Luther,  continue  to  spread  itself  till 
the  whole  world  is  freed  from  the  shac- 
kles of  superstition,  and  the  glorious  em- 
pire of  truth,  reason,  and  religion,  shall 
be  established  in  every  country,  and  its 
mild  laws  be  written  on  every  heart ! 

LUTRA,  the  otter,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  mammalia  of  the  order  Ferae, 
Generic  character :  six  cutting  teeth  ra- 
ther sharp ;  canine  teeth  longer ;  feet 
webbed.  There  are  eight  species,  of 
which  we  shall  notice  only  the  following. 
L.  vulgaries,  is  met  with  in  almost  all 
the  countries  of  Europe,  and  throughout 
the  north  of  Asia.  It  is  not  considered  as 
completely  amphibious,  but  can  subsist  a 
long  while  under  water,  lives  principally 
upon  fish,  and  takes  its  prey  with  grea't 
facility  in  rivers  and  lakes,  in  the  banks  of 
which  it  generally  fixes  its  habitation, 
forming  it  with  extreme  elaborateness 
and  precaution  with  respect  to  danger. 
When  unable  to  procure  fishes,  it  de- 
stroys and  devours  the  smaller  quadru- 
peds. It  is  highly  fierce,  and,  when  pur- 
sued by  dogs,  will  defend  itself  with  un- 
common vigour  and  perseverance,  utter- 
ing no  sounds  of  pain  or  fear,  though  al- 
most torn  to  pieces  by  its  assailants,  but 
employing  its  last  efforts  of  existence  in 
inflicting  upon  them  in  return  the  most, 
dreadful  wounds  and  lacerations.  The  fe- 
male produces  four  or  five  young  in  the 
spring.  Otters  have  been  so  successfully 
tamed,  notwithstanding  all  their  fierce- 
ness, as  to  accompany  their  owners  like 
dogs,  and  obey  calls  and  signals  with  the 
same  promptitude.  Mr.  Bewick  relates, 
that  Mr.  James  Campbell  possessed  a 
young  otter  of  this  description,  and 
which  had  been  trained  by  him  with  such 
success  to  catch  fish,  that  in  a  single  da\ 
it  would  sometimes  take  ten  salmon. 
When  wearied  with  its  hunt,  it  would  de- 
cline further  exertion,  and  receive  its  re- 
ward in  an  ample  repast  on  the  fish  it  had 
taken,  and  fall  almost  instantaneously  to 
sleep,  being  generally  conveyed  home  in 
that  state.  It  would  fish  in  the  sea  as 
well  as  in  rivers.  Otters  are  sometimes 
seen  in  Guinea  in  large  companies,  and  of 
immense  sijse,  weighing  not  less  than  one 
hundred  pounds,  and  so  savage  as  to  be 
highly  dangerous.  Otters  are  remarked  for 
eating  only  the  head  and  upper  parts  of  the 
fishes  which  they  take,  unless  particular- 
ly pressed  by  hunger,  and  appear  to  have 


LYC 


LYI 


a  propensity  to  destruction  itself,  like  the 
pole-cat,  always  killing  many  more  ani- 
mals than  it  can  devour.  See  Mammalia, 
Plate  XVI.  fig.  6. 

L.  Marina,  or  the  sea-otter,  is  about 
four  feet  and  a  quarter  in  its  whole  length, 
und  is  found  almost  solely  between  the 
forty-fourth  and  sixtieth  degree  of  N.  la- 
titude, and  the  one  hundred  und  twen- 
tieth and  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  degree 
of  E.  longitude.  Its  skin  is  an  important 
article  of  commerce  between  the  Rus- 
sians and  the  Chinese,  and  a  single  fur  of 
this  animal  is  not  uufrequently  sold  for 
the  amazing  price  of  twenty-five  pounds. 
Sea-otters  are  perfectly  inoffensive,  and 
the  female  manifests  the  most  affection- 
ate attachment  to  her  young,  fondling  it 
with  endless  caresses,  and  often  throwing 
it  in  the  air  and  catching  it  with  the  ut- 
most caution  and  tenderness.  These  ani- 
mals feed  on  crabs,  lobsters,  and  other 
shell-fish,  and  frequent  the  shallo.ws  which 
are  most  thickly  covered  with  sea  weeds. 
The  flesh  of  the  young  is  thought  parti- 
cularly like  lamb,  and  is  highly  valued. 
The  American  species  are,  the  Canaden- 
sis,  Lutris,  Lutra,  Lutreola,  and  Minx. 

LUXATION,  in  surgery,  is  when  any 
bone  is  moved  out  of  its  place  or  articu- 
lation, so  as  to  impede  or  destroy  its  pro- 
per motion  or  office  :  hence  it  appears, 
that  luxations  are  peculiar  to  such  bones 
as  have  moveable  joints. 

LYCHNIS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Decandria  Pentagynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Caryophyllei.  Essential 
character:  calyx  one-leafed, oblong, even; 
petals  live,  with  claws,  and  a  sub-bifid 
border  ;  capsule  five-celled.  There  are 
twelve  species. 

LYCIUM,  in  botany,  box-thorn,  a  genus 
of  the  Pentandria  Monogynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Luridae.  Sola- 
neae,  Jussieu.  Essential  character :  corol- 
la tubular,  closed  at  the  throat  by  the 
beard  of  the  filaments;  berry  two-celled, 
many-seeded.  There  are  thirteen  spe- 
cies. Several  of  these  shrubs,  from  China 
and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  will  bear  the 
open  air  in  a  warm  situation  and  dry  soil, 
when  they  have  once  acquired  strength, 
except  in  very  severe  winters,  especially 
if  the  roots  are  covered  with  litter,  and 
the  branches  with  mats. 

LYCOPERDON,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Cryptogamia  Fungi  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Fungi,  or  Mushrooms. 
Generic  character:  fungus  roundish, 
fleshy,  firm,  becoming  powdery,  and 
opening  at  the  top  ;  seeds  fixed  to  fila- 
ments connected  with  the  inner  coat  of 


the  plant.  These  singular  fungi  are  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Withering ;  there  is  also  an 
elaborate  dissertation  on  the  British  stel- 
lated lycoperdons,  by  Mr.  Woodward,  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  Transactions  of 
the  Linnean  Society  of  London. 

LYCOPODIUM,  in  botany,  wolf 's  foot, 
or  wolfs  claw  moss,  a  genus  of  the  Crypto- 
gamia Miscellanea:  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Musci,  or  Mosses.  Generic 
character :  fructifications  in  the  axils  of 
the  scales  digested  into  oblong  imbricate 
spikes,  or  the  leaves  themselves,  ses- 
sile ;  capsule  kidney-shaped,  two-valved, 
elastic,  many-seeded;  veil  none.  There 
are  several  species;  six  of  these  are  na- 
tives of  Britain,  figured  by  IJUlenius  and 
others. 

LYCOPSIS,  in  botany,  wild  bugloss,  a 
genus  of  the  Pentandria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Asperifolise. 
Borragineze,  Jussieu.  Essential  character : 
corolla  with  the  tube  bent  in.  Natives  of 
the  South  of  Europe. 

LYCOPUS,  in  botany,  water  hore- 
hnu.nd,  a  genus  of  the  Diandria  Monogy- 
nia class  and  order.  Natural  order  of 
Verticellatx.  Labiatx,  Jussieu.  Essen- 
tial character  :  corolla  four-cleft ;  with 
one  division  emarginate ;  stamina  dis- 
tant ;  seeds  four,  retuse.  There  are  three 
species. 

LYDIAN  stone,  in  mineralogy,  is  of  a 
greyish  black  colour,  which  passes  into 
velvet  black ;  it  occurs  massive,  and  is 
likewise  found  in  trapezoidal-shaped  roll- 
ed pieces,  with  rounded  angles ;  it  is 
hard,  but  not  very  heavy.  This  mineral 
is  found  near  Prague  and  Carlsbad,  in 
Bohemia ;  in  other  parts  of  Germany ;  and 
in  Scotland.  When  polished,  it  is  used 
as  a  test  stone  for  determining  the  puri- 
ty of  gold  and  silver  ;  owing,  however, 
to  its  great  hardness,  it  is  less  suited  for 
this  purpose  than  basalt.  Ic  takes  its 
name  from  the  circumstance  of  its  being 
first  found  in  the  province  of  Lydia  in 
Lesser  Asia. 

LYGEUM,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Triandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Graminese,  or  Grasses. 
Essential  character:  spathe  one-leafed; 
corolla  two  on  the  same  germ;  nut  two- 
celled.  There  is  only  one  species,  vis.  L. 
spartum,  rush-leaved  lygeum,  or  hooded 
matweed,  which  is  a  native  of  Spain, 
where  it  is  useful  for  making  baskets  and 
ropes,  also  for  filling  their  paillasses  or 
lower  mattresses. 

LYING  to,  in  naval  affairs,  the  situa- 
tion of  a  ship  when  she  is  retarded  in 
her  course,  by  arranging  the  sails  in  such 


LYO 


LYR 


a  manner  as  to  counteract  each  other 
with  nearly  equal  effort,  and  render  the 
ship  almost  stationary  with  respect  to 
her  head-way ;  a  ship  is  usually  brought 
to  by  laying  either  her  main-top-sail 
aback,  the  helm  being  put  close  down  to 
leeward.  This  is  particularly  practised 
in  a  general  engagement,  when  the  hos- 
tile fleets  are  drawn  up  in  two  lines  of 
battle  opposite  each  other.  It  is  also  used 
to  wait  for  some  other  ship,  either  ap- 
proaching or  expected ;  or  to  avoid  pur- 
suing a  dangerous  course,  especially  in 
foggy  weather,  &,c. 

LYMPH,  a  fine  fluid,  separated  in  the 
body  from  the  mass  of  blood,  and  con- 
tained in  peculiar  vessels.  It  is  distin- 
guished into  watery  and  coagulable 
lymph  ;  the  former,  as  tears,  for  an  exam- 
ple, is  little  else  than  water  holding  in  so- 
lution a  small  portion  of  salt,  and  still  less 
of  animal  matter.  Coagulable  lymph, 
which  is  found  in  the  dropsy,  contains  a 
very  considerable  portion  of  albumen,  so 
as  to  be  viscid  to  the  touch;  and  when 
heated  to  coagulate  firmly,  like  the  white 
of  an  egg. 

LYMPHATICS,  or  LTMPHEDUCTS,  in 
anatomy.  See  preceding  article. 

LYONS  (ISHAKL),  a  good  mathemati- 
cian and  botanist,  was  the  son  of  a  Polish 
Jew,  silversmith,  and  teacher  of  Hebrew 
at  Cambridge,  in  England,  where  he  was 
come  to  scitle,  and  where  young  Lyons 
was  born,  1739.  He  was  a  very  extraor- 
dinary young  man  for  parts  and  ingenui- 
ty ;  and  showed  very  early  in  life  a  'great 
inclination  to  learning,  particularly  in  ma- 
thematics, on  which  account  he  was  much 
patronised  by  Dr.  Smith,  master  of  Trini- 
ty College.  About  1755  he  began  to 
study  botany,  which  he  continued  occa- 
sionally till  his  death ;  in  which  he  made 
a  considerable  progress,  and  could  re- 
member not  only  the  Linn  scan  names  of 
almost  all  the  English  plants,  but  even 
the  synonyrna  of  the  old  botanists ;  and 
he  had  prepared  large  materials  for  a 
Flora  Cantabrigiensis,  describing  fully 
every  part  of  each  plant  from  the  speci- 
men, without  being  obliged  to  consuL,  or 
being  liable  to  be  misled,  by  former  au- 
thors. 

In  1758,  he  obtained  much  celebrity, 
by  publishing  "  A  Treatise  on  Fluxions," 
dedicated  to  his  patron  Dr.  SmitJi :  and  in 
1763,  "  Fasciculus  Plantarum  circa  Can- 
tabrigiam,"  &c.  In  the  same  year,  or  the 
year  before,  he  read  lectures  on  botany 
at  Oxford  with  great  applause,  to  at  least 
sixty  pupils ;  but  he  could  not  be  prevail- 
ed on  to  make  a  long  absence  from  Cam- 
bridge. 
VOL.  IV, 


Mr.  Lyons  was  some  time  employed  as 
one  o*'  the  computers  of  the  nautical  al- 
manac; and  besides  he  received  frequent 
other  presents  from  the  Board  of  Longi- 
tude for  his  own  inventions.  He  had 
studied  the  English  history,  and  could 
quote  whole  passages  from  the  monkish 
writers  verbatim.  He  could  read  Latin 
and  French  with  ease,  but  wrote  the  for- 
mer ill.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Board 
of  Longitude  to  sail  with  Captain  Phipps, 
in  his  voyage  towards  the  north  pole, 
in  1773,  as  astronomical  observator;  and 
he  discharged  that  office  to  the  satis- 
faction of  his  employers.  After  his  return 
from  this  voyage  he  married,  and  settled 
in  London,  where  he  died  of  the  measles 
in  about  two  years. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  en- 
gaged in  preparing  for  the  press  a  com- 
plete edition  of  all  the  works  of  the  late 
learned  Dr.  Halley,  a  work  very  much 
wanted.  His  calculations  in  "  Spherical 
Trigonometry  abridged,"  wrere  printed 
in  the  Philos.  Trans,  vol.  Ixv.  for  the  year 
1775,  page  470.  After  his  death,  his 
name  appeared  in  the  title-page  of  a  Geo- 
graphical Dictionary,  the  astronomical 
parts  of  which  were  said  to  be  "  taken 
from  the  papers  of  the  late  Mr.  Israel 
Lyons  of  Cambridge,  author  of  several 
valuable  mathematical  productions,  and 
astronomer  in  Lord  Mulgrave's  voyage  to 
the  northern  hemisphere."  The  astrono- 
mical and  other  mathematical  calcula- 
tions, printed  in  the  account  of  Captain 
Phipps's  voyage  towards  the  north  pole, 
mentioned  above,  were  made  by  Mr. 
Lyons.  This  appeared  afterwards,  by 
the  acknowledgment  of  Captain  Phipps, 
when  Dr.  Horsley  detected  a  material  er- 
ror, in  some  part  of  them,  in  his  "  Re- 
marks on  the  Observations  made  in  the 
late  Voyage,  &c."  1774. 

"  The  Scholar's  Instructor,  or  Hebrew 
Gra  '.mar,  by  Israel  Lyons,  teacher  of  the 
Hebrew  tongue  in  the  university  of 
Cambridge,"  the  2d  edition,  &c.  1757, 
8vo. ;  was  the  production  of  his  father, 
as  was  also  another  treatise,  printed 
at  the  Cambridge  press,  under  the  title 
of  *'  Observations  and  Inquiries  relating 
to  various  parts  of  Scripture  History, 
1761. 

LYRE,  a  musical  instrument  of  the 
string  kind,  much  used  by  the  ancients. 
From  the  lyre,  which  all  agree  to  have 
been  the  first  instrument  of  the  string 
kind  in  Greece,  arose  an  infinite  number 
of  others,  diiutring  in  shape  and  number 
of  strings,  ai  the  psafterion,  trigon,  sam- 
bucus,' pectis,  magadis,  burbiton,  testudo, 
(the  two  last  are  used  promiscuously  by 


LYR 


LYT 


Horace  with  cythara  and  lyra)  epigo- 
nium,  simmicium,  and  pandoron  ;  which 
were  all  struck  with  the  hand,  a  plectrum 
or  a  little  iron-rod.  We  have  no  satisfac- 
tory account  of  their  shape,  structure,  or 
number  of  strings  ;  their  bare  names  only 
have  been  transmitted  to  us  by  the  an- 
cients. We  see,  indeed,  numbers  of  in- 
struments on  old  medals ;  but  whether 
they  are  any  of  these,  we  cannot  find  out. 
The  modern  lyre,  or  Welsh  harp,  con- 
sisting- of  forty  strings,  is  sufficiently 
known.  The  lyre  among  poets,  painters, 
statuaries,  carvers,  &c.  is  attributed  to 
Apollo  and  the  Muses. 

LYKE,  in  astronomy,  a  constellation  of 
the  northern  hemisphere.  See  ASTRO- 
NOMY. 

LYRIC,  in  general,  signifies  something 
sung  or  played  on  the  lyre  ;  but  it  is  more 
particularly  applied  to  the  ancient  odes 
and  stanzas,  answering  to  our  airs  and 
songs,  and  may  be  played  on  instruments. 
This  species  of  poetry  was  originally  em- 
ployed in  celebrating  the  praises  of  gods 
and  heroes,  though  it  was  afterwards  in- 
troduced into  feasts  and  public  diversions. 
Mr.  Barnes  shows  how  unjust  it  is  to  ex- 
clude heroic  subjects  from  this  kind  of 
verse,  which  is  capable  of  all  the  eleva- 
tion such  matters  require.  The  charac- 
teristic of  this  kind  of  poetry  is,  accord- 
ing to  Trap,  the  sweetness  and  variety 
of  the  verse,  the  delicacy  of  the  words 
and  thoughts,  the  agreeableness  of  the 
numbers,  and  the  description  of  things 
most  pleasing  in  their  own  natures.  At 
first  the  lyric  verse  was  only  of  one  kind, 
but  afterwards  they  so  continued  to  vary 
the  feet  and  numbers,  that  the  variety  of 
them  now  are  almost  innumerable, 

This  kind  of  poem  is  distinguished 
from  all  other  odes,  by  the  happy  transi- 
tions and  digressions  which  it  beautifully 
admits,  and  the  surprising  and  natural 
easy  returns  to  the  subject,  which  is  not 
to  be  obtained  without  great  judgment 
and  genius. 

The  lyric  is,  of  all  kinds  of  poetry,  the 
most  poetical,  and  is  as  distinct,  both  in 
style  and  thought,  from  the  rest,  as  poe- 
try is  in  general  from  prose :  it  is  the 


boldest  of  all  other  kinds,  full  of  rapture, 
and  elevated  from  common  languu 
most  that  is  possible  :  some  odes  there 
are  likewise,  in  the  free  and  loose  manner, 
which  seem  to  avoid  all  method,  and  yet 
are  conducted  by  a  very  clear  one,  which 
affects  transitions  seemingly  without  art, 
but  for  that  reason  have  tiie  more  of  \t ; 
which  are  above  connection,  and  delrght 
in  exclamations  and  frequent  invocations 
of  the  muses,  which  begin  and  end 
abruptly,  and  are  carried  on  through  a 
variety  of  matter  with  a  sort  of  divine 
pathos,  above  rules  and  laws,  and  without 
regard  to  the  common  forms  of  grammar. 
Pindar  has  set  his  successors  the  example 
of  digressions  and  excursions.  To  write 
a  lyric  poem  are  required,  not  only  a 
flowing  imagination,  brightness,  life,  sub- 
limity, and  elegance,  but  the  nicest  art 
and  finest  judgment,  so  as  to  seem  luxu- 
riant, and  not  be  so  ;  and  under  the  show 
of  transgressing  all  laws,  to  preserve 
them. 

LYSIMACHIA,  in  botany,  loosestrife, 
a  genus  of  the  Pentandria  Monogynia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Rota- 
cex.  Lysimachiae,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character:  corolla  wheel-shaped;  cap- 
sule globular,  mucronate,  ten-valved. 
There  are  twelve  species;  most  of  these 
have  perennial  roots,  herbaceous  stems, 
and  the  leaves  opposite  ;  flowers  axillary, 
or  terminating  solitary,  or  else  in  spike* 
or  corymbs. 

LYTHRUM,  in  botany,  ivilloiv-herb,  a 
genus  of  the  Dodecandria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Caly can the- 
mae.  Salicariae,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  calyx  twelve-toothed  ;  petals  six, 
inserted  into  the  calyx :  capsule  two- 
celled,  many-seeded.  There  are  eighteen 
species. 

LYTTA,  in  natural  history,  a  genus  of 
insects  of  the  order  Coleoptera.  Antennae 
filiform ;  four  feelers,  unequal,  the  hind 
ones  clavate  ;  thorax  roundish  ;  head  in- 
flected, gibbous ;  shells  soft,  flexile,  as 
long  as  the  abdomen.  There  are  upwards 
of  thirty  species,  many  of  which  are  equal 
in  virtue  to  the  L.  vesicatoria  or  blistering 
fly,  (Cantharides  of  the  shops.) 


MAB 


MAC 


M. 


MOr  m,  the  twelfth  letter  and  ninth 
9  consonant  of  our  alphabet :  it  is  a 
liquid  and  labial  consonant,  pronounced 
by  striking  or  moving  the  under  lip 
against  the  upper  one :  its  sound  is  al- 
ways the  same  in  English,  and  it  admits 
no  consonant  after  it  in  the  beginning  of 
words  and  syllables,  except  in  some  Greek 
words,  nor  does  it  come  after  any  in  that 
case.  It  suffers  not  the  sound  of  n,  com- 
ing after  it,  to  be  heard,  as  in  autumn, 
solemn,  &c. 

As  a  numeral,  M  stands  for  mille,  a 
thousand ;  and  with  a  dash  over  it  thus, 
M~,  for  a  thousand  times  a  thousand,  or, 
1,000,000.  M.  A.  magister  artium ;  M.  D. 
medicinz  doctor ;  MS.  manuscript ;  and 
MSS.  manuscripts,  in  the  plural.  In  the 
prescription  of  physicians,  M.  stands  for 
manipulus,  a  handful ;  and  sometimes  for 
misce,  or  mixtura  :  thus  M.  F.  Jupalium, 
signifies  mix  and  make  into  a  julap.  In 
astronomy,  &c.  M  is  used  for  meridian  or 
meridional. 

MAB  A,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Dioe- 
cia  Triandria  class  and  order.  Essential 
character :  calyx  trifid ;  male,  corolla 
trifid ;  female,  drupe  superior,  two-celled. 
There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  M.  elliptica. 
This  is  a  smooth  tree,  with  the  twigs  and 
young  leaves  hairy  ;  leaves  alternate,  on 
short  petioles,  elliptic,  and  veined;  pe- 
duncles axillary,  short,  often  three-flow- 
ered ;  flowers  small,  and  remarkable  for 
having  the  outside  of  the  calyx  and  corolla 
more  villose  than  the  rest  of  the  plant. 
There  is  another  species,  or  variety, 
which  Foster  calls  maba  major ;  for  this 
reason,  the  drupe,  or  fruit,  is  three  times 
the  size  of  the  other,  having  three-sided 
kernels  in  the  cells,  which  are  tough  and 
insipid  ;  they  art,,  however,  eaten  by  the 
inhabitants :  in  all  the  Friendly  Islands 
they  plant  this  tree  about  their  houses. 

MABEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the  Mo- 
noecia  Polyandria  class  and  order.  Natu- 
ral order  of  Tricoccse.  Euphorbias,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  one- 
leafed,  five-toothed ;  corolla  none  :  male, 
filaments  nine  to  twelve,  inserted  into  the 
bottom  of  the  calyx :  female,  germ  and 
style  one ;  stigma  three,  revolute  ;  cap- 
sule covered  with  a  thick  bark,  three- 
celled,  three-seeded.  There  are  two 
species,  viz.  M.  piriri,  and  M.  tarquari, 
both  shrubs,  yielding  a  milky  juice ;  the 


Negroes  use  the  smaller  branches  for 
pipes,  for  which  reason  the  trees  are 
called  pipe  wood,  or  bois  a  calumet. 

MACAO,  or  MACAW,  in  ornithology,  a 
name  given  to  the  larger  species  of  par- 
rots with  very  long  tails.  See  PTISSACUS. 

MACARONIC,  or  MACARONIAN,  an  ap- 
pellation given  to  a  burlesque  kind  of 
poetry,  made  up  of  a  jumble  of  words  of 
different  languages,  and  words  of  the  vul- 
gar tongue  latinized. 

The  Italians  are  said  to  have  been  the 
inventors  of  it.  The  Germans,  French, 
Spaniards,  See.  have  also  had  their  maca- 
ronic poets  ;  nor  is  Great  Britain  outdone 
in  this  respect,  witness  Drummond  of 
Hauthornden's  poem  called  Polemo  Mid- 
dinia,  which  begins  thus : 

Nymphs,  qux  colitis  highissima  monta 
Fifxa, 

Seu  vos  Pittemveema  tenet,  seu  Crella 
crofta,  &c. 

MACE,  the  second  coat  or  covering  of 
the  kernel  of  the  nutmeg,  is  a  thin  and 
membranaceous  substance,  of  an  oleagi- 
nous nature,  and  a  yellowish  colour; 
being  met  with  in  flakes  of  an  inch  and 
more  in  length,  which  are  divided  into  a 
multitude  of  ramifications.  It  is  of  an  ex- 
tremely fragrant,  aromatic,  and  agreeable 
flavour,  and  of  a  pleasant,  but  acrid  and 
oleaginous  taste.  See  NUTMEG. 

MACERATION,  in  pharmacy,  is  an  in- 
fusion of  or  soaking  ingredients  in  water, 
or  any  other  fluid,  in  order  either  to 
soften  them,  or  draw  out  their  virtues. 

MACHINE,  in  general,  whatever  hath 
force  sufficient  to  raise  or  stop  the  motion 
of  a  heavy  body. 

Machines  are  either  simple  or  com- 
pound: the  simple  ones  are  the  seven 
mechanical  powers,  viz.  lever,  balance, 
pully,  axis  and  wheel,  wedge,  screw,  and 
inclined  plane. 

From  these  the  compound  ones  are 
formed  by  various  combinations,  and  serve 
for  different  purposes  ;  in  all  which,  the 
same  general  laws  take  place,  viz.  that 
the  power  and  weight  sustain  each  other, 
when  they  are  in  the  inverse  proportion 
of  the  velocities  they  would  have  in  the 
directions  wherein  they  act,  if  they  were 
put  in  motion.  Now,  to  apply  this  law  to 
any  compound  machine,  there  are  four 
things  to  be  considered  :  1.  The  moving 
power,  or  the  force  that  puts  the  machine 
m  motion  ;  which  may  be  eitiker  men  or 


MAC 


MAC 


P 


other  animals,  weights,  springs,  the  wind, 
a  stream  of  water,  &c.  2.  The  velocity 
of  this  power,  or  the  space  it  moves  over 
in  a  given  time.  3.  The  resistance,  or 
quantity  of  the  weight  to  be  moved.  4. 
The  velocity  of  this  weight,  or  the  space 
it  moves  over  in  the  same  given  time. 

The  two  first  of  these  quantities  are  al- 
ways in  the  reciprocal  proportion  of  the 
two  last :  that  is,  the  product  of  the  first 
two  must  always  be  equal  to  that  of  the 
last :  hence,  three  of  these  quantities 
being  given,  it  is  easy  to  find  the  fourth  ; 
for  example,  if  the  quantity  of  the  power 
be  4,  its  velocity  15,  and  the  velocity  of 
the  weight  2,  then  the  resistance,  or  quan- 
tity of  the  weight,  will  be  equal  to 
4X15  60 
~T~  ~~2  ~ 

Compound  machines  are  extremely  nu- 
merous, as  mills,  pumps,  wheel-carriages, 
clocks,  fire-engines,  &c.  See  ENGINE, 
MILL,  Pu^rp,  WATER  •worfrs,  &c. 

Machine  denotes  any  thing  that  serves 
to  augment  or  regulate  moving  powers, 
or  it  is  a  body  designed  to  produce  mo- 
tion, so  as  to  save  either  time  or  force. 
Machines  are  either  simple  or  compound. 
The  simple  machines  ave  the  mechanical 
powers,  viz.  the  lever,  the  wheel  and 
axis,  the  pulley,  the  inclined  plane,  the 
wedge,  and  the  screw.  See  MECHANICS' 

These  simple  machines  serve  for  dif- 
ferent purposes,  and  it  is  the  business  of 
the  skilful  mechanician  *o  select  and  com- 
bine them  in  such  a  manner,  as  may  be 
best  adapted  to  produce  the  effect  of 
which  he  stands  in  need.  Compound 
machines  are  formed  from  these  simple 
ones.  These  may  be  indefinitely  varied, 
and  they  belong  to  all  the  branches  of 
science.  Descriptions  of  many  of  the 
most  useful,  and  which  serve  to  exhibit 
the  principles  of  machinery,  will  be 
found  in  various  parts  of  our  work.  See 
ENGINE,  HYDRAULICS,  PNEUMATICS, 
&c  &c. 

The  modes  of  applying  mechanical 
forces  are  almost  as  various  as  the  ma- 
chines that  are  constructed,  and  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  are  employed.  In 
general  the  human  strength  is  applied  by 
means  of  levers,  or  winches,  or  by  walk- 
ing wheels,  which  slide  beneath  them  as 
they  attempt  to  ascend.  The  force  of 
other  animals  is  applied  by  a  horizontal 
arm  projecting  from  a  vertical  axis,  to 
which  they  are  harnessed.  When  mo- 
tion is  simply  communicated  to  a  sub- 
stance placed  before  the  moving  body, 
such  materials  are  used  as  are  capable  of 
exerting  a  repulsive  force ;  but  when  the 


body  to  be  moved  is  behind  the  moving 
power,  and  is  pulled  along  with  it,  chains 
or  ropes  are  sometimes  more  convenient. 
When  the  direction  of  motion  communi- 
cated is  also  to  be  changed,  levers  or 
cranks  may  be  employed,  united  by  joints 
or  hinges  of  various  kinds.  Sometimes  a 
long  series  of  connected  rods  is  suspend- 
ed by  other  rods  or  chains,  so  as  to  con- 
vey the  effect  of  the  force  to  a  considera- 
ble distance  ;  in  this  case  the  motion  is 
generally  alternate,  as  when  pumps  are 
worked  by  means  of  a  water  wheel  at  a 
distance  from  the  shafts  in  which  the 
pumps  are  placed.  For  the  communica- 
tion of  a  rotatory  motion,  Dr  Hooke's 
universal  joint,  formed  by  a  cross,  mak- 
ing the  diameters  of  two  semicircles,  one 
of  which  is  fixed  at  the  end  of  tach  axis, 
is  frequently  used.  The  best  mode  of 
connecting  a  rotatory  motion  with  an  al- 
ternate one  is,  in  all  common  cases,  to 
employ  a  crank,  acting  on  one  end  of  a 
long  rod  which  has  a  joint  at  the  other. 
If  the  rotatory  motion  of  the  crank  be 
equable,  the  progressive  motion  of  the 
rod  will  be  gradually  accelerated  and  re- 
tarded, and  for  a  considerable  part  of  the 
revolution  the  force  exerted  will  be  near- 
ly uniform.  The  force  applied  to  a  ma- 
chine may,  in  general,  be  divided  into  two 
portions,  the  one  employed  in  opposing 
another  force,  so  as  to  produce  equili- 
brium only,  the  other  in  generating1  mo- 
mentum. With  respect  to  tlu-  first  por- 
tion, a  single  crank  has  the  inconvenience 
of  changing  continually  the  mechanical 
advantage  of  the  machinery  ;  with  regard 
to  the  second,  its  motion  in  the  second 
quarter  of  its  revolution  is  accelerated, 
instead  of  being  retarded,  by  the  inertias 
which  this  portion  of  the  force  is  intended 
to  overcome  ;  hence  the  motion  is  irregu- 
lar. This  difficulty  may  be  remedied  by 
employing  cranks  in  pairs,  one  of  which 
being  fixed  so  as  to  make  a  right  angle 
with  the  other,  which  is  moreover  the  best 
position  for  two  winches  to  be  turned  by 
two  labourers;  since  the  point  of  the 
circle,  in  which  a  man  can  exert  his 
greatest  strength,  is  nearly  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  right  angle,  or  a  little  more, 
from  the  point  at  which  his  force  is 
smallest.  But  of  all  the  modes  of  com- 
municating motion,  the  most  extensively 
useful  is  employment  of  wheel-work, 
which  is  capable  of  varying  its  direction 
and  its  velocity  without  any  limit.  See 


1VJ  ACHINE,  electric.  The  electric  ma- 
chine consists  of  three  parts,  the  electric 
body,  which  is  rubbed  ;  the  rubber,  which 


MACHINE,  ELECTRIC. 


is  a  compounded  conductor ;  and  the 
prime  conductor,  which  is  destined  to  re- 
ceive and  convey  the  electricity,  in  mak- 
ing- experiments.  The  first  electrical  ap- 
paratus consisted  of  a  tube  of  glass,  or  a 
stick  of  sealing-wax,  rubbed  by  the  hand. 
Glass  globes,  whirled  quickly  on  an  axis, 
Were  substituted  as  an  improvement,  and 
the  rubber  was  still  the  hand  :  but  subse- 
quently a  round  concave  cushion  These 
were  succeeded  by  glass  cylinders,  which 
are  cheap,  sate,  and  considerably  power- 
ful; but  the  present  fashion  determines 
in  favour  of  flat  glass  plates,  on  account 
of  the  advantage  of  a  large  surface,  rub- 
bed by  two  or  more  pairs  of  cushions, 
and  the  equality  of  pressure,  which  causes 
the  supply  of  electricity  to  be  steady  and 
without  undulation,  as  to  its  quantity. 
Machines  of  very  great  power  (see  "  Ni- 
cholson's Journal,"  quarto),  have  been 
mude  by  M.  Walckiers,  consisting  of  an 
endless  web  or  jack-towel  of  silk,  passing 
between  two  pair  of  cylindrical  rubbers, 
faced  with  cat  skin ;  the  electricity  being 
communicated  to  a  prime  conductor,  ly- 
ing between  the  parallel  pieces  of  the 
silk. 

The  rubber  is  usually  a  piece  of  wood 
fitted  to  the  surface  intended  to  be  sub- 
jected to  friction,  and  covered  first  with 
two  or  three  thicknesses  of  elastic  cloth, 
then  with  smooth  leather,  and  lastly  with 
a  flap  of  silk,  pasted  upon  the  edge  at 
which  the  glass  in  its  rotation  arrives,  and 
passing  loose  over  the  face  of  the  cushion, 
and  thence  upon  the  surface  of  the  glass, 
as  far  as  the  commencement  of  the  prime 
conductor.  Its  use  has  been  explained 
under  the  article  EXCITATION. 

In  fig  1,  Plate  Machine  Electric,  \  re- 
presents the  glass  cylinder  of  a  machine, 
turned  by,  B,  the  handle.  Its  surface 
rubs  against,  C,  the  cushion,  which  pro- 
ce  d,  I),  the  sill  flap,  and  the  electricity 
is  conveyed  to  E,  the  prime  conductor. 
The  supports  of  the  cylinder,  the  cushion, 
and  (indispensably)  f>f  the  prime  con- 
ductor, are  made  of  glass  or  baked  wood, 
in  order  that  the  electricity  may  not  be 
conveyed  to  the  earth,  unless  when  the 
operator  chooses  to  make  the  communi- 
cation by  some  conducting  body.  A  prime 
conductor  is  sometimes  applied  to  the 
rubber. 

Though  we  have  produced  as  strong 
an  excitation  as  we  have  ever  heard  of, 
by  the  amalgam  of  mercury  and  zinc, 
with  a  little  tallow,  as  mentioned  under 
the  article  EXCITATION,  yet  as  many 
electricians,  particularly  the  experienced 
Mr.  Cuthbertson,  prefers  tin  and  zinc, 


and  it  is  probable  that  this  mixture  may 
afford  a  speedier  oxydation,  we  shall 
give  his  receipt. 

Melt  two  parts  of  tin  and  zAnc  in  a  cru- 
cible, and  pour  them  on  two  parts  of  mer- 
cury in  a  wooden  box  made  for  that  pur- 
pose, which  close  and  agitate  till  the 
metals  are  cold.  Then  pulverize  the 
granulated  muss  very  finely,  and  make  it 
into  a  paste  with  hog's  lard 

Fig.  2,  shows  the  plate  machine,  with 
Nicholson's  cylinder  improvements  for 
changing  the  two  states  at  pleasure,  as 
adapted  by  Dr.  Von  Marum,  of  Haerlem. 

The  glass  plate,  G  G,  is  fastened  to  the 
axis,  B  B,  by  means  of  a  screw  on  the 
axis  passing  through  a  hole  in  the  centre 
of  the  plate,  and  secured  by  a  nut,  C,  on 
the  opposite  side.  The  axis  is  supported 
by  a  .single  pillar,  A,  which  for  this  pur- 
pose is  provided  with  a  bearing  piece, 
K,  on  which  are  two  brass  collar  pieces, 
that  carry  the  axis;  and  on  the  end  of  the 
axis,  opposite  the  glass,  is  a  counterpoise, 
O,  of  leaii,  to  prevent  too  great  a  friction 
in  the  collar  nearest  the  handle.  The 
arc  of  the  conductor,  E  E,  which  carries 
the  two  small  receiving  conductors,  F  F, 
is  fixed  to  an  axis  turning  in  the  ball,  H. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  plate  is  the  other 
arc,  1,  of  brass  wire,  fixed  in  the  bearing 
piece,  K,  but  so  as  to  admit  of  being 
turned  round  like  the  arc  EE.  P  is  a 
copper  tube,  moving  like  a  radius  on  the 
stem  of  the  ball,  S,  which,  being  screwed 
into  the  conductor,  H,  serves  to  confine 
the  arm,  P,  in  any  position  that  may  be 
required.  The  dissipation  of  electricity 
along  the  glass  supports  is  prevented  by 
a  kind  of  cap,  T,  of  mahogany,  which 
affords  an  electrical  well  or  cavity  under- 
neath, and  likewise  effectually  covers  the 
metallic  cap  into  which  the  glass  is  ce- 
mented. The  lower  extremity  of  the  pil- 
lar is  guarded  in  the  same  manner  by  a 
hollow  piece  or  ring  of  mahogany,  V. 
The  three  glass  pillars  are  set  in  sliding 
pieces,  WWW,  adjustable  by  screws;  at 
each  extremity  of  the  horizontal  diame- 
ter of  the  plate  are  two  rubbers,  X,  one 
on  each  side,  pressed  regularly  and  uni- 
formly against  the  plate  by  means  of  a 
spring,  Y,  the  force  of  pressure  of  which 
is  regulated  by  means  of  a  screw.  To 
these  rubbers  are  attached  silk  flaps,  ZZ, 
those  of  one  pair  of  rubbers  descending, 
and  those  of  the  other  pair  ascending,  in 
the  direction  in  which  the  plate  is  work- 
ed. A  piece  of  fine  dry  writing  paper,  at, 
long  as  the  rubber,  and  half  an  inch 
broader,  so  as  to  cover  the  seam  that  fas- 
tens the  silk  to  the  leather,  allows  greater 


1 


MACHINE,  ELECTRIC. 


pressure  to  be  employed,  by  diminishing 
the  friction,  and  prevents  both  the  glass 
and  silk  from  being  soiled  by  the  amal- 
gam, so  that  the  excitement  is  more 
powerful,  and  the  amalgam  requires  to 
be  renewed  less  frequently.  As  the  semi- 
circular branch  of  the  prime  conductor 
is  moveable,  it  may  be  made  to  exhibit 
the  electricity  of  the  rubber  at  any  time, 
by  placing  the  cylindrical  ends  in  contact 
with  the  cushions,  the  semicircular  wire, 
I,  being  at  the  same  time  turned  so  as  to 
cross  it  at  right  angles,  which  insulates 
the  cushions.  When  the  conductor  is  re- 
quired to  give  electricity  from  the  glass, 
the  arc  I  must  be  in  contact  with  the 
cushions,  and  the  arc  EE  perpendicular 
to  the  horizon. 

If  the  insulated  prime  conductor  of  a 
machine  be  well  polished,  and  without 
corners  or  angles,  it  will  retain  its  electric 
state  very  well,  and  will  emit  strong 
sparks  upon  the  approach  of  any  uninsu- 
lated conductor.  If  the  uninsulated  con- 
ductor be  broad,  round,  and  polished  at 
the  end,  the  sparks  will  be  short  and 
dense,  and  will  produce  a  considerable 
sound ;  if  less  broad,  the  spark  will  be 
long,  crooked,  and  less  sounding ;  if  the 
breadth  be  still  more  diminished,  the  con- 
ductor begins  to  come  under  the  deno- 
mination of  a  pointed  body,  the  electric 
matter  passes  to  it  from  the  prime  con- 
ductor, through  a  great  space  of  air,  with 
a  hissing  or  rustling  noise,  and  in  a  con- 
tinual stream  :  a  still  greater  sharpness 
enables  the  electricity  to  pass  over  a 
greater  space,  but  silently,  and  nothing  is 
seen  but  a  small  light  upon  the  point.  If 
a  similar  point  issue  from  the  prime  con- 
ductor, and  the  uninsulated  conductor  be 
round  and  polished,  the  same  effects  hap- 
pen in  like  situations;  but  if  both  be 
pointed,  the  electricity  is  more  readily 
discharged:  and  in  all  these  cases  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  electric  matter  at  the 
point  of  the  prime  conductor  will  be  that 
which  is  peculiar  to  its  electricity,  a  large 
divergent  cone,  if  positive,  or  a  small 
globular  light  or  cone,  if  negative,  and 
the  light  at  the  point  presented  to  the 
prime  conductor  will  be  distinctive  of  the 
contrary  electricity.  Whether  a  pointed 
conductor  be  electrified  positively  or  ne- 
gatively, if  the  nose  be  brought  near  the 
point  during  the  electrixation,  a  wind  will 
be  felt  blowing  from  the  point,  and  the 
sense  will  be  affected  with  a  sulphureous 
or  phosphoreal  smell. 

The  reaction  of  the  force  by  which  the 
air  is  put  into  motion,  is  exerted  on  the 
pointed  body.  This  is  shewn  by  a  pleas- 


ing experiment  with  an  electrified  wire ; 
thus,  to  the  middle  of  the  wire,  or  rather 
between  two  wires  that  lie  in  the  same 
line,  is  affixed  a  centre-cap  like  those 
used  in  sea-compasses,  so  that  the  wire 
may  easily  be  moved  on  a  point  in  a  hori- 
zontal direction,  as  magnetical  needles 
are  :  and  the  ends  of  the  wire  are  pointed 
and  bent  contrary  ways,  to  point  in  the 
direction  of  the  tangent  to  the  circle  de- 
scribed by  them.  Now  if  this  wire,  thus 
suspended  on  a  point,  be  insulated  and 
electrified,  its  sharp  ends  will  become  lu- 
minous, and  it  will  revolve  in  a  direction 
contrary  to  that  in  which  its  ends  are  bent ; 
or  if  it  be  suspended  on  an  uninsulated 
point,  and  brought  near  the  electrified 
prime  conductor,  the  same  effect  will  fol- 
low. 

It  may  be  thought  strange  that  the  air 
should  issue  from  an  electrified  point, 
whether  its  electricity  be  positive  or  ne- 
gative. It  is  easy  to  conceive  that  the  is. 
suing  out  of  the  electric  matter  may  cause 
the  air  to  move  in  the  same  direction  ;  but 
it  appears  odd,  that  the  electric  matter 
rushing  towards  a  point  should  cause  the 
air  to  move  directly  contrary,  that  is  to 
say,  likewise  from  the  point.  If,  however, 
the  circumstance  be  examined  more  nar- 
rowly, the  difficulty  will  vanish.  For  it 
is  highly  probable  that  the  electric  mat- 
ter passes  too  swiftly  to  excite  any  mo- 
tion in  the  air,  but  that  undulation  where- 
in sound  consists  ;  to  which  may  be  add- 
ed, that  if  the  electric  matter  do  act  on 
the  air  to  put  it  in  motion,  the  air  must 
react  with  an  equal  force ;  and,  therefore, 
that  a  current  of  air  blown  against  the 
course  of  the  electric  matter  must  affect 
its  appearance,  by  retarding  the  rays  and 
deflecting  those  against  which  it  struck 
obliquely  :  the  contrary  to  which  is,  by 
experience,  known  to  obtain  ;  for  the  lu- 
minous cones  are  not  sensibly  affected  by 
such  treatment.  The  air  being  thus  in- 
different as  to  the  motion  of  the  electric 
matter,  its  motion  may  be  shewn  to  depend 
on  the  established  principles  of  electrici- 
ty. The  point  is  electrified  either  posi- 
tively or  negatively,  and  the  air  imme- 
diately opposite  and  contiguous  to  the 
point,  must,  by  the  emission  or  exhaus- 
tion of  the  electric  matter,  become  strong- 
ly possessed  of  an  electric  state  of  the 
same  kind  with  that  of  the  point  :  it 
is  therefore,  repelled  and  replaced  by 
other  air  which  is  also  electrified  and 
repelled,  by  which  means  a  constant 
stream  is  produced  blowing  from  the 
point,  and  that  equally,  whether  the  elec- 
trization be  positive  or  negative.  And  the 


MACHINE,  ELECTRIC. 


point  repelling  the  air  must  itself  also  be 
equally  repelled  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion ;  whence  the  horizontal  wire  above 
described  is  turned,  and  that  always 
one  way,  namely,  contrary  to  that  in 
which  the  air  is  moved,  or  to  the  direc- 
tion of  its  bent  points. 

If  an  insulated  conductor,  free  from 
points,  be  brought  within  a  certain  dis- 
tance of  the  prime  conductor  or  cylin- 
der in  an  electric  state,  it  will  also  ex- 
hibit  signs  of  electricity  of  the  same 
kind;  but  if  those  signs  be  removed, 
by  taking  the  spark,  and  the  conductor 
taken  from  the  prime  conductor,  it  will 
exhibit  signs  of  the  contrary  electricity- 
This  is  a  very  remarkable  appearance, 
but  may  be  accounted  for,  if  two  suppo- 
sitions be  admitted,  viz.  first,  that  the 
electric  matter  is  attracted  by  conducting 
bodies  ;  and  secondly,  that  "the  parts  of 
the  electric  matter  mutually  repel  each 
other,  the  forces  of  each  power  being 
in  a  certain  inverted  ratio  of  the  dis- 
tance. 

For  the  electric  matter,  in  an  insulated 
and  uniform  conductor,  will  then  be  equal- 
ly diffused  through  its  whole  mass,  and 
the  attraction  which  that  conductor  will 
exert  on  any  mass  of  electric  matter  pre- 
sented from  without,  must  be  the  excess 
of  the  attractive  force  of  the  body  over 
the  repulsive  force  of  the  electricity  it 
contains.  Whence  a  given  conductor  will 
attract  the  electric  matter  the  most  pow- 
erfully, when  the  quantity  it  already  pos- 
sesses is  the  least  possible,  and  its  attrac- 
tive force  will  decrease  as  it  becomes 
more  saturated  with  electricity.  Let  two 
equal  conductors,  composed  of  like  mat- 
ter, be  brought  within  a  small  distance  of 
each  other,  then  if  the  quantities  of  elec- 
tricity they  contain  be  equal,  the  attrac- 
tions they  mutually  exert  on  those  quan- 
tities will  be  equal,  and  it  will  remain  un- 
disturbed in  each  body.  But  if  one  con- 
ductor, A,  contain  more  electricity  than 
the  other,  B,  the  attractive  power  of  B 
will  be  greatest,  and  will  draw  the  elec- 
tric matter  from  A,  till  an  equilibrium  is 
obtained.  It  follows,  also,  that  in  a  num- 
ber of  conducting  bodies,  communicating 
with  each  other,  the  electric  matter  will 
be  every  where  of  the  same  density,  if  the 
greatest  attractive  force  of  the  bodies  be 
supposed  equal;  but  if  different  bodies 
be  supposed  to  attract  the  electric  matter 
with  different  forces,  as  is  most  probable, 
the  densities  must  vary  with  the  forces. 
This  may  be  called  the  natural  state. 

To  apply  this  to  the  particular  instance 
above  recited,  suppose  the  end  of  an  in- 


sulated conductor  to  be  brought  near  the 
prime  conductor  in  a  positive  state,  the 
attractive  power  of  the  first  mentioned 
conductor  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
prime  conductor,  yet,  not  being  sufficient 
to  draw  sparks,  at  the  given  distance,  the 
only  effect  it  can  produce  is  to  make  the 
electric  matter  accumulate,  and  become 
more  dense  in  that  part  of  the  prime  con- 
ductor, near  which  it  is  presented ;  by 
which  accumulation  the  rest  of  the  prime 
conductor  becomes  less  electrified,  as  ex- 
perience testifies.  This  accumulated  bo- 
dy of  electricity  repels,  and  consequently 
rarifies  the  electric  matter  naturally  con- 
tained in  that  end  of  the  conductor,  which 
is  presented  to  the  prime  conductor ;  the 
rest  of  the  fluid  becomes  more  dense,  and 
the  other  parts  of  the  conductor  which  is 
presented,  exhibit  signs  of  electricity  ; 
yet,  as  this  conductor  in  the  whole  con- 
tains no  more  than  its  natural  quantity,  if 
the  electric  state  be  taken  off" by  drawing 
the  spark,  and  it  be  afterwards  removed 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  prime  conductor, 
it  becomes  negative  throughout,  by  rea- 
son of  the  loss  of  the  spark.  If  a  con- 
ductor be  presented  to  the  prime  con- 
ductor in  a  negative  state,  the  effects  are 
reversed,  the  attraction  being  strongest 
at  the  prime  conductor,  and  the  accumu- 
lation being  in  the  conductor  which  is 
presented,  it  exhibits  a  negative  state, 
which,  being  destroyed,  upon  removal  it 
becomes  positive,  by  reason  of  the  spark 
which  was  given  to  it  when  apparently 
negative. 

These  effects  are  more  considerable 
the  less  the  distance  is  between  the  two 
conductors  ;  and  the  intercedent  electric 
body  is  peculiarly  affected :  the  manner  of 
which  may  be  better  understood  by  ob- 
serving the  phenomena  of  non-electrics, 
separa  ed  by  electrics  which  are  less  lia- 
ble to  allow  the  passing  of  the  spark  than 
the  air  is. 

Upon  an  insulated  horizontal  plate  of 
metal,  lay  a  plate  of  glass,  considerably 
larger,  so  that  there  may  be  a  rim  of  three 
or  four  inches  projecting  beyond  the  me- 
tal on  every  side.  Upon  the  glass  lay 
another  plate  of  metal,  of  the  same  size 
as  the  former,  so  as  precisely  to  cover  it. 
Electrify  the  upper  plate,  and  the  lower 
will  exhibit  signs  of  electricity.  Conti- 
nue the  electrization,  and  the  lower  plate 
will  emit  sparks  to  an  uninsulated  body 
for  a  time,  and  afterwards  cease  Sepa- 
rate the  plates  from  the  glass  without  un- 
insulating  them,  and  the  glass  will  appear 
to  be  possessed  of  the  contrary  electrici- 
ties on  the  opposite  sides.  That  side 


1 


MACHINE,  ELECTRIC. 


which  communicated  with  the  prime  con- 
ductor, during  the  electrization,  will  have 
a  like  electricity,  and  the  other  the  con- 
trary.  Take  off  the  electricity  of  the 
plates  of  metal,  and  carefully  replace  the 
glass  on  the  lower,  without  destroying 
the  insulation,  and  also  replace  the  upper 
plate  with  ti.e  same  precaution.  Then, 
with  one  end  of  an  insulated  wire,  not 
pointed,  but  knobbed  ai  the  ends,  touch 
one  of  the  plates,  and  bring  the  other  end 
near  the  other  plate:  the  consequence 
will  be,  that  a  strong  and  loud  spark  will 
pass  between  it  and  the  wire,  the  electri- 
ty  ot"  the  giuss  will  be  discharged,  and 
the  plates  and  the  wire  will  exhibit  tew 
or  no  signs  of  electricity. 

An  electric  body,  the  surfaces  of  which 
are  thus  possessed  of  the  contrary  elec- 
tricities, is  said  to  be  charged.  The  insu- 
lation of  the  lower  metallic  plate,  and  of 
the  dischaiging  wire  is  not  necessary,  ex- 
cept for  ihe  purpose  of  drawing  inferen- 
ces, respecting  the  manner  of  charging 
the  electric  plate.  If  the  electricity  of  the 
prime  conductor  be  strong,  and  the  glass 
thick,  the  discharge  wilt  often  be  made  by 
a  spark  from  the  one  metallic  plate  to  the 
other,  over  the  surface  of  the  glass  winch 
projects  on  every  side  ;  but  if  the  glass 
plate  be  thin,  in  which  case,  at  an  equal 
intensity,  it  admits  of  a  much  greater 
charge,  the  discharge  will  be  made 
through  its  substance.  Glass,  as  thick 
as  one  eighth  of  an  inch,  may  be  pene- 
trated by  this  means,  one  or  more  holes 
being  made  where  the  electric  matter 
lias  passed,  in  which  holes  the  glass  is 
pulverised,  and  may  be  picked  out  with 
a  pin. 

It  is  not  possible  to  charge  an  electric 
plate  by  inducing  an  electric  state  on  one 
of  its  surfaces,  unless  the  other  be  at  the 
same  time  sufficiently  near  to  a  non-elec- 
tric to  assume  the  contrary  state,  by  emit- 
ting or  receiving  the  electric  matter. 

If  a  plate  of  glass  be  laid  upon  an  un- 
insulated plate  of  metal,  the  upper  sur- 
face may  be  rendered  electric  by  friction, 
or  by  applying  an  electrified  body  succes- 
sively to  its  parts.  This  electricity  may 
be  taken  off  by  touching  the  upper  sur- 
face with  an  uninsulated  metallic  plate  of 
the  same  dimensions  as  that  upon  which 
the  glass  is  placed,  but  will  not  be  entire- 
ly taken  off,  because  the  communication 
between  the  two  surfaces  in  this  method 
is  not  perfect,  and  because  the  metal  can- 
not by  ordinary  means  be  brought  into 
actual  contact  with  the  glass.  The  small 
quantity  which  remains,  produces  an  ef- 
fect which  has  been  mistaken  for  a  per- 


petual electricity.  For  if  a  plate  of  me. 
tal,  to  which  a  glass  handle  is  affixed,  be 
laid  upon  the  glass,  this  small  quantity  of 
electricity  will  influence  the  melal,  and, 
without  actually  communicating  the  elec- 
tric matter,  will  cause  it  to  exhibit  a  simi- 
lar state.  If  this  be  taken  off,  by  drawing 
the  spark,  and  the  metal  then  removed, 
by  means  of  the  glass  handle,  it  will  be 
found  possessed  of  the  contrary  state  of 
electricity,  and  another  spark  may  be  ob- 
tained. The  metallic  plate  may  be  then 
again  applied  to  the  surface  of  the  glass, 
and  the  process  again  repeated,  and  so  on 
for  a  prodigious  number  of  thncs,  with- 
out any  sensible  difference  in  the  event. 
For  the  electricity  at  the  surface  of  the 
glass  being  almost  in  the  natural  state,  as 
to  condensation,  docs  not  disappear  for  a 
very  long  time,  and  the  very  near  ap- 
proach of  the  metal  enables  it  to  produce 
the  same  effect  as  would  be  obtained  at  a 
greater  distance  from  a  stronger  electri- 
city. This  is  made  obvious,  by  bringing 
the  metallic  plate  near  the  surface  of  the 
glass  before  its  first  strong  electricity  is 
taken  off,  for  the  same  event  is  then  per- 
ceived at  the  distance  of  four,  five,  or  six 
inches,  as  in  the  former  case  is  produced 
by  contact. 

The  vapours  of  the  atmosphere  are  con- 
tinually attaching  themselves  to  the  sur- 
face of  cold  glass,  and  by  that  means  de- 
stroy the  electricity.  Sulphur,  wax,  or 
resin,  being  less  subject  to  this,  retain 
their  electric  state  much  longer.  A  plate 
of  glass  or  wood,  coated  over  with  any 
substance  of  this  nature,  may  be  excited 
by  friction,  and  will  produce  electricity 
in  a  metallic  plate,  in  the  manner  above 
described,  for  a  very  great  length  of 
time.  Such  a  plate,  together  with  its  me- 
tal, has  been  named  the  electropho- 
phorus,  fig.  3. 

If  the  discharge  of  an  electrified  plate 
be  made  by  the  parts  of  a  living  animal,  a 
considerable  pain  will  be  felt,  chiefly  at 
the  extremities  of  the  muscles.  For  ex- 
ample, if  the  lower  mt.JJic  plate  be 
touched  with  one  hand,  and  the  other 
brought  to  the  upper  plate,  at  the  instant 
of  the  emission,  a  pain  will  be  felt  at  the 
wrist  and  elbows,  which  as  instantly  va- 
nishes. If  a  larger  glass  plate  be  used, 
the  pain  will  be  felt  on  the  breast ;  if  yet 
larger,  the  sensation  will  be  that  of  a  uni- 
versal blow.  This  sensation  has  obtained 
the  name  of  the  shock,  and  will  deprive 
animals  of  life,  if  sufficiently  strong.  The 
shock  from  thirty  square  inches  of  glass, 
well  charged,  will  instantly  kill  mice, 
sparrows,  or  other  small  animals.  Six 


MACHINE,  ELECTRIC. 


square  feet  of  glass  will  deprive  a  man  of 
sensation  for  a  time,  if  the  head  be  made 
a  part  of  the  circuit  through  which  the 
electricity  moves.  No  inconvenience  has 
been  found  from  the  electric  shock  by 
men  of  strong1  habits  ;  but  women  of  de- 
licate constitutions  have  had  convulsions 
from  a  violent  shock.  It  may  be  observed, 
that  the  electric  shock  is  a  proof  that  the 
electric  matter  can  pass  through  the  sub- 
stance of  non-electrics,  and  is  not  uni- 
versally conducted  along  the  surfaces 
alone,  as  some  have  supposed. 

The  object  of  the  philosopher  being, 
in  general,  to  collect  a  large  quantity  of 
electricity,  by  means  of  the  surfaces  of 
electrics,  it  is  more  usual  to  employ  jars, 
and  not  plates.  These  are  made  of  va- 
rious shapes  and  magnitudes ;  but  the 
most  useful  are  thin  cylindrical  glass  ves- 
sels, about  four  inches  in  diameter,  and 
fourteen  in  height,  coated  within  and 
without  with  tin-foil,  which  is  stuck  on 
with  gum-water,  paste,  or  wax,  excepting 
two  inches  of  the  i-im  or  edge,  which  is* 
left  bare,  to  prevent  the  communication 
between  the  coatings.  About  four  inches 
from  the  bottom,  within,  is  a  large  cork, 
that  receives  a  thick  wire,  ending  in  seve- 
ral ramifications,  which  touch  the  inside 
coating ;  the  upper  end  of  the  wire  ter- 
minating with  a  knob,  considerably  above 
the  mouth  of  the  jar,  fig.  4.  When  it  is 
required  to  be  charged,  it  may  be  held  in 
the  hand,  or  placed  on  an  uninsulated  ta- 
ble, and  the  knob  of  the  wire  applied  to 
the  conductor ;  the  inside  coated  surface 
becomes  possessed  of  the  electricity  of 
the  conductor,  and  the  external  surface 
acquires  the  contrary  electricity,  by 
means  of  its  uninsulated  coating.  When 
a  jar  of  this  kind  is  highly  charged,  it  will 
discharge  spontaneously  over  the  uncoat- 
ed  surface,  and  seldom  through  the  glass; 
whereas,  when  the  uncoated  surface  is 
krge,  it  is  more  apt  to  break  by  that 
means,  and  become  useless.  Yet  there 
is  no  certainty  that  a  jar,  which  has  dis- 
charged itself  over  its  surface,  will  not  at 
another  time  break  by  a  discharge  through 
the  glass,  as  the  contrary  often  happens. 
If  paper  covered  with  tin-foil  be  used  for 
the  coating,  with  the  paper  next  the 
glass,  the  jar  will  be  less  liable  to  break. 

A  jar  of  considerable  thickness,  with  a 
neck  like  a  bottle,  in  which  is  cemented 
a  thick  tube  to  receive  the  wire,  will  sus- 
tain a  very  high  charge,  and  produce 
much  greater  effects  than  one  of  the  last 
description.  The  charging  wire  being 
inserted  loosely  into  the  tube,  will  fall  out 
on  inverting  the  jar,  and  the  charge  will 
remain  for  several  weeks  without  much 

VOL.  iv. 


loss.  A  jar  thus  charged,  may  be  put  in- 
to the  pocket,  and  applied  to  many  pur- 
poses that  the  common  jar  cannot  be  used 
for. 

If  the  inside  of  the  jar  be  considerably 
damped,  by  blowing  into  it,  through  a 
tube  reaching  to  the  bottom,  it  will  take 
a  charge  nearly  one-third  greater  than  in 
the  ordinary  state. 

When  a  greater  degree  of  electric  force 
is  required,  larger  jars  must  be  used,  in 
which  the  form  is  of  no  consequence,  ex- 
cept as  far  as  relates  to  convenience.  But 
it  is  less  expensive,  and  nearby  as  effec- 
tual, to  use  a  number  of  smaller  jars,  hav- 
ing; the  same  quantity  of  coated  surface 
as  the  large  jars.  In  this  case,  a  commu- 
nication must  be  formed  between  all  the 
outside  coaurjg-s,  which  may  be  done  by 
placing  them  on  a  stand  of  metal ;  and 
also  between  all  the  inner  coalings,  wliicti 
is  best  done  by  means  of  wires.  Such  a 
collection  is  called  a  battery,  and  may  be 
charged  and  discharged  like  a  single  jar, 
fig-  5. 

In  discharging  electrical  jars,  the  elec- 
tricity goes  in  the  greatest  quantity 
through  the  best  conductors,  and  by  the 
shortest  course.  Thus,  if  a  chain  and  a 
wire,  communicating  with  the  outer  coat- 
ing,  be  presented  to  the  knob  of  a  jar, 
the  greater  part  of  the  charge  will  pass 
by  the  wire,  and  very  little  by  the  chain, 
which  is  a  worse  conductor,  by  reason  of 
its  discontinuation  at  every  link.  When 
the  discharge  is  made  by  the  chain  only, 
sparks  are  seen  at  every  link,  which  is  a 
proof  that  they  are  not  in  contact ;  and 
as  the  chain  must  be  stretched  by  a  con- 
siderable force  before  the  sparks  cease  to 
appear  on  the  discharge,  it  follows,  that 
there  is  a  repulsive  power  in  bodies,  by 
which  they  are  prevented  from  coming- 
into  contact,  unless  by  means  of  a  certain 
force. 

By  accurate  experiments,  it  appears, 
that  the  force  of  the  electric  shock  is 
weakened,  that  is,  its  effects  are  diminish- 
ed, by  using  a  conductor  of  great  length 
in  making  the  discharge.  Dr.  Watson, 
and  other  gentlemen  of  eminence  in  the 
philosophical  world,  were  at  the  pains  of 
making  experiments  of  the  same  kind, 
but  much  more  accurate.  They  found, 
by  means  of  wire  insulated  on  baked 
wood,  that  the  electric  shock  was  trans- 
mitted instantaneously  through  the  length 
of  12,276  feet. 

When  any  animator  substance  is  to  be 
subjected  to  the  shock,  it  is  done  by 
means  of  two  chains,  one  of  which  con- 
nects one  extremity  of  the  animal  or  sub- 
stance with  the  outer  coating,  and  the 
A  a 


MAU 


MAC 


other  being  made  to  touch  the  other  ex- 
tremity,  is  applied  to  the  knob  of  the  in- 
ner coating,  to  make  the  discharge.  The 
animal  or  substance  thus  forming  a  part 
of  the  circuit,  receives  the  whole  shock. 
The  strong  shock  of  a  battery  will  melt 
wire  of  the  seventieth  of  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter, and  wires  of  less  diameters  are 
frequently  blown  away  and  dispersed; 
and  the  eflect  is  the  same  with  equal 
quantities  of  electricity,  whether  the  in- 
tensity be  greater  or  less,  within  certain 
extended  limits.  Gunpowder  may  be 
fired  by  a  charge  of  three  square  feet : 
the  method  is,  t^o  put  it  into  a  quill,  and 
thrust  a  wire  into  each  end,  so  as  not  to 
•meet,  and  then  make  these  wires  a  part 
of  the  circuit.  A  less  charge  will  serve, 
if  iron  filings  be  mixed  with  the  gunpow- 
der. Alcohol,  ether,  or  a  mixture  of  com- 
mon air  and  hydrogen,  may  also  be  fired 
by  the  same  means,  or  even  by  the  spark 
from  the  conductor. 

If  the  ball  of  a  thermometer  be  placed 
in  a  strong  current  of  electricity,  the 
mercury  or  spirit  will  rise  many  de- 
grees. 

If  a  thin  bottle  be  exhausted  of  air  by 
means  of  the  air-pump,  it  will  receive  a 
considerable  charge  by  applying  its  bot- 
tom to  the  electrified  prime  conductor, 
during  which  time  the  electric  matter 
will  pass  through  the  vacuum  between 
the  hand  and  the  inner  surface  of  that 
part  of  the  glass  which  is  nearest  the 
prime  conductor.  This  appearance  is  ex- 
ceedingly beautiful  in  the  dark,  especially 
if  the  bottle  be  of  a  considerable  length. 
It  exactly  resembles  those  lights  which 
appear  in  the  northern  sky,  and  are  call- 
ed streamers,  or  the  aurora  borealis.  If 
one  hand  be  applied  to  the  part  of  the 
bottle  which  was  applied  to  the  conduc- 
tor, while  the  other  remains  at  the  neck, 
the  shock  will  be  felt,  at  which  instant 
the  natural  state  of  the  inner  surface  is 
restored  by  a  flash,  which  is  seen  per- 
vading the  vacuum  between  the  two 
hands. 

MACHINERY,  in  epic  and  dramatic 
poetry,  is  when  the  poet  introduces  the 
use  of  machines,  or  brings  some  super- 
natural being  upon  the  stage,  in  order  to 
solve  some  difficulty,  or  to  perform  some 
exploit  out  of  the  reach  of  human  power. 
The  ancient  dramatic  poets  never  made 
use  of  machines,  unless  where  the  re  was 
an  absolute  necessity  for  so  doing;  whence 
the  precept  of  Horace, 

"  Ncc  Deus  intersit,  nisi  dignus  vindice 
noJas — incident. 


It  is  quite  otherwise  with  epic  poets, 
who  introduce  machines  in  every  part  ot 
their  poem  ;  so  that  nothing  is  done  with- 
out th?  intervention  of  the  gods.  In  Mil- 
ton's Paradise  Lost,  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  actors  are  supernatural  per- 
sonages :  Homer  and  Virgil  do  nothing 
without  them  ;  and  in  Voltaire's  Henri- 
ade,  the  poet  has  made  excellent  use  of 
Saint  Louis. 

MACKREL,  in  ichthyology.  See  ICOM- 
BER. 

MACLAURIN  (COLIN,)  in  biography, 
a  most  eminent  mathematician  and  phi- 
losopher, was  the  son  of  a  clergyman,  and 
born  at  Kilmoddan  in  Scotland,  in  the 
)ear  1698.  He  was  sent  to  the  university 
of  Glasgow  in  17^9 ;  where  he  continued 
five  years,  and  applied  to  his  studies  in  a 
very  intense  manner,  and  particularly  to 
the  mathematics.  His  great  genius  for 
mathematical  learning  discovered  itself 
so  early  as  twelve  years  of  age  ;  when, 
having  accidentally  met  with  a  copy  of 
«*  Euclid's  Elements"  in  a  friend's  cham- 
ber, he  became  in  a  few  days  master  ot" 
the  first  six  books  without  any  assistance; 
and,  it  is  certain,  that  in  liis  sixteenth 
year  he  had  invented  many  of  the  propo- 
sitions which  were  afterwards  published 
as  part  of  his  work,  entitled,  "  Geome- 
trix  Organica."  In  his  fifteenth  year  he 
took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  ;  on 
which  occasion  he  composed,  and  pub- 
licly defended,  a  thesis  on  the  power  of 
gravity,  with  great  applause.  After  this 
he  quitted  the  university,  and  retired  to 
a  country  seat  of  his  uncle,  who  had  the 
care  of  his  education  ;  his  parents  being- 
dead  some  time.  Here  he  spent  two  or 
three  years  in  pursuing  his  favourite  stu- 
dies ;  but  in  1717,  at  nineteen  years  of  age 
only,  he  offered  himself  a  candidate  for 
the  professorship  of  mathematics  in  the 
Marischal  College  of  Aberdeen,  and  ob- 
tained it  after  a  ten  day's  trial,  against  a 
very  able  competitor. 

In  1719,  Mr.  Maclaurin  visited  London, 
where  he  left  his  "  Geometria  Organica'3 
to  print,  and  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Hoadley,  then  bishop  of  Banker, 
Dr.  Clarke,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  and  olhci 
eminent  men  .  at  which  time  also  he  was 
admitted  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society  ; 
and  in  another  journey  in  1721,  he  con- 
tracted an  intimacy  with  Martin  Folkes, 
Esq.  the  president  of  it,  which  continued 
during  his  whole  life. 

In  1722,  Lord  Polwortli,  plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  at  the 
congress  of  Cambray,  engaged  Maclaurin 
to  go  as  a  tutor  and  companion  to  his 


MACLAURIN. 


eldest  son,  who  was  then  to  set  out  on  his 
travels.  After  a  short  stay  at  Paris,  and 
visiting-  oilier  towns  in  France,  they  fixed 
in  Lo train,  where  he  wrote  his  piece  on 
the  percussion  of  bodies,  which  gained 
him  the  prize  of  the  Koyal  Academy  of 
Sciences  for  the  year  1724  But  his  pupil 
dying  soon  after  at  Montpelier,  he  re- 
turned immediately  to  his  profession  at 
Aberdeen.  He  was  hardly  settled  here 
when  he  received  an  invitation  to  Edin- 
burgh ;  the  curators  of  lhat  university 
being  desirous  that  he  should  supply  the 
place  of  Mr.  James  Gregory,  whose  great 
age  and  infirmities  had  rendered  him  in- 
capable of  teaching.  He  had  here  some 
difficulties  to  encounter,  arising  from 
competitors,  who  had  good  interest  with 
the  patrons  of  tiie  university,  and  also 
from  the  want  of  an  additional  fund  for 
the  new  professor ;  which,  however,  at 
length  were  all  surmounted,  principally 
by  the  means  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  November  1725,  he  was  in- 
troduced into  the  university,  as  was  at 
the  same  time  his  learned  colleague  and 
intimate  friend,  Dr.  Alexander  Munro, 
professor  of  anatomy.  After  this,  the 
mathematical  classes  soon  became  very 
numerous,  there  being  generally  upwards 
of  one  hundred  students  attending  his 
lectures  every  year  ;  who  being  of  differ- 
ent standings  and  proficiency,  he  was 
obliged  to  divide  them  into  four  or  five 
classes,  in  each  of  which  he  employed  a 
full  hour  every  day,  from  the  first  of  No- 
vember to  the  first  of  June.  In  the  junior 
class  he  taught  the  first  six  books  of  "  Eu- 
clid's Elements,"  plane  trigonometry, 
practical  geometry,  the  elements  of  forti- 
fication, and  an  introduction  to  algebra. 
The  second  class  studied  algebra,  with 
the  eleventh  and  twelfth  books  of  Euclid, 
spherical  trigonometry,  conic  sections, 
and  the  general  principles  of  astronomy. 
The  third  went  on  in  astronomy  and  per- 
spective, read  a  part  of  "  Newton's  Prin- 
cipia,"  and  had  performed  a  course  of 
experiments  for  illustrating  them  ;  he  af- 
terwards read  and  demonstrated  the  ele- 
ments of  fluxions.  Those  in  the  fourth 
class  read  a  system  of  fluxions,  the  doc- 
trine of  chances,  and  the  remainder  of 
"  Newton's  Principia  " 

In  1734,  Dr.  Berkley,  Bishop  of  Cloy  ne, 
published  a  piece  called  the  "  Analyst," 
in  which  he  took  occasion,  from  some  dis- 
putes that  had  arisen  concerning  the 
grounds  of  the  fiuxionary  method,  to  ex- 
plode the  method  itself ;  and  also  to 
charge  mathematicians  in  general  with 
htfidelity  in  religion,  Maclaurin  thought 


himself  included  in  this  charge,  and  be- 
gan an  answer  to  Berkley's  book;  but 
other  answers  coming  out,  and  as  he 
proceeded,  so  many  discoveries,  so  many 
new  theories  and  problems  occurred  to 
him,  that  instead  of  a  vindicatory  pam- 
phlet, he  produced  a  complete  system  of 
fluxions,  with  their  application  to  the 
most  considerable  problems  in  geometry 
and  natural  philosophy.  This  work  was 
published  at  Edinburgh  in  1742,  2  vols. 
4to. ;  and  as  it  cost  him  infinite  pains,  so 
it  is  the  most  considerable  of  all  his 
works,  and  will  do  him  immortal  ho- 
nour, being  indeed  the  most  complete 
treatise  on  that  science  that  has  yet  ap- 
peared. 

In  the  mean  time,  lie  was  continually 
obliging  the  public  with  some  observa- 
tion or  performance  of  his  own,  several 
of  which  were  published  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  volumes  of  the  Medical  Essays  at 
Edinburgh.  Many  of  them  were  like- 
wise published  in  the  Philos.  Trans,  as 
the  following  :  1.  On  the  construction  and 
measure  of  curves,  vol.  30. — 2.  A  new 
method  of  describing  all  kinds  of  curves, 
vol.  30. — 3.  On  equations  with  impossible 
roots,  vol.  34 — 4  On  the  roots  of  equa- 
tions, &c.  vol.  34. — 5.  On  the  description 
of  curve  lines,  vol.  39.— 6.  Continuation 
of  the  same,  vol.  39 — 7.  Observations 
on  a  solar  eclipse,  vol.  40.— 8  A  rule 
for  finding  the  meridional  parts  of  a  sphe- 
roid, with  the  same  exactness  as  in  a 
sphere,  vol.  41. — 9.  An  account  of  the 
treatise  of  fluxions,  vol.  42. — 10.  On  the 
basis  of  the  cells,  where  the  bees  deposit 
their  honey,  vol.  42. 

In  the  midst  of  these  studies,  lie  was 
always  ready  to  lend  his  assistance  in 
contriving  and  promoting  any  scheme 
which  might  contribute  to  the  public 
service.  When  the  Earl  of  Morton  went, 
in  1739,  to  visit  his  estates  in  Orkney  and 
Shetland,  he  requested  Mr.  Maclaurin  to 
assist  him  in  settling  the  geography  of 
those  countries,  which  is  very  erroneous 
in  all  our  maps  ;  to  examine  their  natural 
history,  to  survey  the  coasts,  and  to  take 
the  measure  of  a  degree  of  the  meridian. 
Maclaurin's  family  affairs  would  not.  per- 
mit him  to  comply  wit!)  this  request ;  he 
drew  up  however  a  memorial  of  what  he 
thought  necessary  to  be  observed,  and 
furnished  proper  instruments  for  the 
work,  recommending  Mr.  Short,  the 
noted  optician,  as  a  fit  operator  for  the 
management  of  them. 

Mr.  Maclaurin  had  still  another  scheme 
for  the  improvement  of  geography  and 
navigation,  of  a  more-  extensive  nature ; 


MACLAURIN. 


which  was,  the  opening  a  passage  from 
Greenland  to  the  South  Sea  by  the  north 
pole-  That  such  a  passage  might  be 
found,  he  was  so  fully  persuaded,  that  he 
used  to  say,  if  his  situation  could  admit 
of  such  adventures,  he  would  undertake 
the  voyage,  even  at  his  own  charge.  But 
when  schemes  for  finding  it  were  laid  be- 
fore the  parliament  in  1741,  and  he  was 
consulted  by  several  persons  of  high  rank 
concerning  them,  and  before  he  could 
finish  the  memorial  he  proposed  to  send, 
the  premium  was  limited  to  the  discovery 
of  a  north-west  passage  ;  and  he  used  to 
regret  that  the  word  west  was  inserted, 
because  he  thought  that  passage,  if  at  all 
to  be  found,  must  lie  not  far  from  the 
pole 

In  1745,  having  been  very  active  in  for- 
tifying the  city  of  Edinburgh  against  the 
rebel  army,  he  was  obliged  to  fly  from 
thence  into  England,,  where  he  was  in- 
vited by  Dr.  Herring,  Archbishop  of 
York,  to  reside  with  him  during  his  stay 
in  this  country.  In  this  expedition,  how- 
ever, being  exposed  to  cold  and  hard- 
ships, and  naturally  of  a  weak  and  ten- 
dcr  constitution,  which  had  been  much 
more  enfeebled  by  close  application  to 
study,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  an  ill- 
ness which  put  an  end  to  his  life,  in 
June  1746,  at  forty -eight  years  of  age, 
leaving  his  widow  with  two  sons  and  three 
daughters. 

Mr.  Maclaurin  was  a  very  good,  as 
well  as  a  very  great  man,  and  worthy  of 
love  as  well  as  admiration.  His  peculiar 
merit  as  a  philosopher  was,  that  all  his 
studies  were  accommodated  to  general 
utility ;  and  we  find,  in  many  places  of 
his  works,  an  application,  even  of  the 
most  abstruse  theories,  to  the  perfecting 
of  mechanical  arts.  For  the  same  pur- 
pose he  had  resolved  to  compose  a  course 
of  practical  mathematics,  and  to  rescue 
several  useful  branches  of  the  science 
from  the  ill  treatment  they  often  met  with 
in  less  skilful  hands.  These  intentions 
however  were  prevented  by  his  death ; 
unless  we  may  reckon,  as  a  part  of  his  in- 
tended work,  the  translation  of  Dr.  David 
Gregory's  Practical  Geometry,  which  he 
revised,  and  published  with  additions,  in 
1745. 

In  his  life-time,  however,  he  had  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  serving  his  friends 
and  his  country  by  his  great  skill.  What- 
ever difficulty 'occurred  concerning  the 
constructing  or  perfecting  of  machines, 
the  working  of  mines,  the  improving  of 
manufactures,  the  conveying  of  water,  or 
the  execution  of  any  public  work,  he  was 


always  ready  to  resolve  it.  He  \vu*  em- 
ployed to  terminate  some  disputes  of  con- 
sequence that  had  arisen  at  Glasgow,  con- 
cerning the  gauging  of  vessels  ;  and  for 
that  purpose  presented  to  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  excise  two  elaborate  me- 
morials, with  their  demonstrations,  con- 
taining rules  by  which  the  officers  now 
act.  He  made  also  calculations  relating 
to  the  provision,  now  established  by  law, 
for  the  children  and  widows  of  the  Scotch 
clergy,  and  of  the  professors  in  the  uni- 
versities, entitling  them  to  certain  annui- 
ties and  sums,  upon  the  voluntary  an- 
nual payment  of  a  certain  sum  by  the  in- 
cumbent. In  contriving  and  adjusting 
this  Avise  and  useful  scheme,  he  be- 
stowed a  great  deal  of  labour,  and  con- 
tributed not  a  little  towards  bringing  it  to 
perfection. 

Of  his  works,  we  have  mentioned  his 
"  Geometrica  Organica,"  in  which  he 
treats  of  the  description  of  curve  lines  by 
continued  motion;  as  also  of  his  piece 
which  gained  the  prize  of  the  Royal  Ac- 
ademy of  Sciences  in  1724.  In  1740,  he 
likewise  shared  the  prize  of  the  same  aca- 
demy with  the  celebrated  D.Bernoulli  and 
Euler,  for  resolving  the  problem  relating 
to  the  motion  of  the  tides  from  the  theory 
of  gravity,  a  question  which  had  been 
given  out  the  former  year  without  receiv- 
ing any  solution.  He  had  only  ten  days 
to  draw  this  paper  up  in,  and  could  not 
find  leisure  to  transcribe  a  fair  copy  ;  so 
that  the  Paris  edition  of  it  is  incorrect. 
He  afterwards  revised  the  whole,  and  in- 
serted it  in  his  treatise  of  fluxions ;  as 
he  did  also  the  substance  of  the  former 
piece.  These,  with  the  treatise  of  flux- 
ions, and  the  pieces  printed  in  the  Medi- 
cal Essays,  and  the  Philos.  Trans,  a  list  of 
which  is  given  above,  are  all  the  writings 
which  our  author  lived  to  publish. 

Since  his  death,  however,  two  more 
volumes  have  appeared ;  his  algebra,  and 
his  account  of  Sir  Isaac  Xewton's  philoso- 
phical discoveries.  The  algebra,  though 
not  finished  by  himself,  is  yet  allowed  to 
be  excellent  in  its  kind;  containing,  within 
a  moderate  compass,  a  complete  elementa- 
ry treatise  of  that  science,  as  far  as  it  has 
hitherto  been  carried ;  besides  some  neat 
analytical  papers  on  curve  lines.  His  ac- 
count of  Xewton's  philosophy  was  occa- 
sioned in  the  following  manner.  Sir 
Isaac  dying  in  the  beginning  of  1728,  his 
nephew,  Mr.  Conduitt,  proposed  to  pub- 
lish an  account  of  >his  life,  and  desired  Mr. 
Maclaurin's  assistance.  The  latter,  out 
of  gratitude  to  his  great  benefactor,  cheer- 
fully undertook,  and  soon  finished,  the 


MAC 


MAC 


history  of  the  progress  which  philosophy 
had  made  before  Newton's  time ;  and 
this  was  the  first  draught  of  the  work  in 
hand ;  which  not  going  forward,  on  ac- 
count of  Mr.  Conduitt's  death,  was  re- 
turned to  Mr.  Maclaurin.  To  this  he  af- 
•  erwards  made  great  additions,  and  left  it 
in  the  state  in  which  it  now  appears.  His 
main  design  seems  to  have  been,  to  ex- 
plain only  those  parts  of  Newton's  philo- 
sophy which  have  been  controverted ; 
and  this  is  supposed  to  be  the  reason  why 
liis  grand  discoveries  concerning  light  and 
colours  are  but  transiently  and  generally 
touched  upon ;  for  it  is  known,  that  when- 
ever the  experiments  on  which  his  doc- 
trine of  light  and  colours  is  founded  had 
been  repeated  with  clue  care,  this  doc- 
trine hud  not  been  contested;  while 
his  accounting  for  the  celestial  mo- 
tions, and  the  other  great  appearances 
sf  nature,  from  gravity,  had  been  mis- 
understood, and  even  attempted  to  be 
ridiculed. 

MACQUER  (JOSEPH),  in  biography,  an 
eminent  chemist,  was  born  at  Paris  in 
1710.  He  was  brought  up  to  physic,  and 
became  a  doctor  of  the  faculty  of  medi- 
cine, in  the  university  of  Paris,  professor 
of  pharmacy,  and  censor  royal.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  academies  of  scien- 
ces of  Turin,  Stockholm,  and  Paris,  and 
he  held  the  medical  and  chemical  depart- 
ments in  the  Journal  des  Savans.  M. 
Macqvier  made  himself  well  known  by 
several  useful  and  popular  works  on  che- 
mistry, of  which  science  he  was  one  of 
the  most  successful  cultivators  on  the 
modern  rational  plan,  before  the  new  mo- 
delling which  it  lias  received  of  late 
years.  His  publications  were,  "  Elemens 
de  Chymie  Pratique,"  two  vols.  12mo. 
1751-1756.  "  Plan  d'un  Cours  de  Chymie 
experimentale  etraisonnee,"  l!Jrno.  1757. 
This  was  drawn  up  in  conjunction  with 
M.  Baum£,  who  lectured  on  chemistry 
in  partnership  with  him  ;  "  Dictionnaire 
de  Chymie,"  two  vols.  8vo.  1766.  These 
works  have  been  translated  into  English 
and  German  :  the  dictionary,  particularly, 
by  Mr.  Keir,  with  great  additions  and 
improvements.  He  wrote  likewise  "  For- 
mulae Medicament  or  um  Magistralium," 
1763 ;  and  "  L'Art  de  la  Teinture  de 
Soie,"  1763  ;  and  he  had  a  share  in  the 
"  Pharmacopeia  Parisiensis,"  of  1758. 
This  meritorious  writer  died  in  1784. 
Diet.  Hist,  de  la  Med.  par  Eioy.  Nouv. 
Diet.  Hist. 

MACROCEPHALUS,  in  natural  his- 
tory, a  genus  of  insects  of  the  order  He- 
miptcra:  snout  inflected;  the  sheath 


onc-valved,  three  jointed,  and  furnished 
with  three  bristles  ;  antennae  projecting, 
very  short,  submoniliform,  clavate  ;  head 
oblong,  cylindrical  above  ;  scutel  as  long 
as  the  abdomen,  depressed,  membranace- 
ous.  There  is  only  one  species,  viz.  M. 
cimicoides,  found  in  North  America ;  the 
body  is  a  ferruginous  grey;  scutel  pale 
ash  with  a  yellow  rigid  spot ;  under- 
wings  purplish  violet ;  fore-shanks  thick- 
ened. 

MACROCNEMUM,  in  botany,  a  genus 
of  the  Pentandria  Monogynia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Contorts.  Ru- 
biacese,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  co- 
rolla bell-shaped;  capsule  two-celled,  two 
valved,  with  the  valves  gaping  outwardly 
at  the  sides  ;  seeds  imbricate.  There  are 
three  species. 

MACROLOBIUM,  in  botany,  a  genus 
of  the  Triandria  Monogynia  class  and  or- 
der. Natural  order  of  Lomentacece.  Le- 
guminosse,  Jussieu.  Essential  character -. 
calyx  double,  outer  two-leaved,  inner 
one-leaved ;  petals  five,  upper  one  very 
large,  the  rest  small,  equal;  germ  pedi 
celled,  legume.  There  are  three  species, 
all  of  them  tall  trees,  from  sixty  to  eighty 
feet  in  height;  they  are  natives  of  the 
large  forests  of  Guiana. 

MACROPUS,  the  kanguroo,  in  natural 
history,  a  genus  of  mammalia  of  the  order 
Ferae.  Generic  character  :  six  front  teeth 
in  the  upper  jaw,  emarginated ;  two  in 
the  lower,  and  very  long,  sharp,  large, 
and  pointing  forwards;  five  grinders  on 
each  side  of  the  upper  and  under  jaw, 
distant  from  the  other  teeth ;  fore  legs 
very  short ;  hind  ones  very  long  ;  the  fe- 
male with  an  abdominal  pouch.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  curious  of  all  the  animals 
discovered  on  the  continent  of  New 
South  Wales,  where  it  was  observed  by 
some  of  the  sailors  of  Captain  Cook  in 
the  year  1770.  When  lull  grown,  it 
weighs  about  150  pounds.  Its  head 
somewhat  resembles  that  of  a  deer,  but. 
is  destitute  of  horns;  its  countenance  is 
gentle  and  complacent;  its  colour  is  of  a 
pale  brown  ;  its  length  from  the  nose  to 
the  tail  is  between  tour  and  live  feet,  and 
the  length  of  the  tail  is  about  three  feet. 
Its  general  position,  when  resting,  is  that, 
of  standing  on  its  hind  feet,  on  their 
whole  extent  to  the  knees,  and  its  fore 
feet  are  frequently  employed,  like  those 
of  the  squirrel,  as  hands.  The}'  are  often, 
however,  laid  on  the  ground,  and  the 
kanguroo  is  often  seen  in  this  posture, 
feeding.  Vegetables,  and  particularly 
grass,  constitute  its  only  nourishment. 
In  its  rapid  motions,  however,  the  fore 


MAG 


MAC 


feet  are  wholly  useless,  and  it  proceeds 
by  leaping  on  its  hind  feet,  which  it  will 
do  to  the  distance  of  fourteen  or  sixteen 
ieet,  and  with  bounds  so  rapid  in  succes- 
sion, that  it  exceeds  in  swiftness  a  com- 
mon dog1.  Kangaroos  possess  the  faculty 
of  separating-  at  pleasure  the  two  front 
teeth  of  their  lower  jaw ;  and  the  female 
is  furnished  vvitl^  a  pouch  in  the  abdo- 
men, of  extraordinary  depth,  in  which  are 
placed  two  teats.  But  one  young  one 
is  produced  at  a  time,  which,  when  first 
observed  in  the  pouch,  after  its  birth,  is 
scarcely  more  than  an  inch  in  length,  but 
grows  to  a  considerable  size  in  this  na- 
tural receptacle  before  it  quits  it,  and 
frequently  recurs  to  it  for  warmth  and 
security  after  its  first  dislodgment  from 
it.  This  animal  is  in  this  striking1  cir- 
cumstance allied  to  the  opossum  genus, 
::uder  which  Gmelin  ranks  it,  but  it  dif- 
fers from  the  opossum  materially  iu  re- 
spect to  the  structure  of  the  teeth.  Inks 
general  appearance  it  strongly  resembles 
(be  jerboa.  It  was  the  only  quadruped 
which  Australasia  supplied  to  the  English 
colonists  for  food.  It  has  been  not  only 
imported  into  England,  but  has  repeated- 
ly bred  in  that  country,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered as  now  naturalized ;  and  though 
not  apparently  convertible  to  any  impor- 
tant service,  exhibits  a  very  interesting- 
variety  to  the  observer  of  nature.  Many 
of  these  animals  are  kept  in  the  royal 
premises  at  l\ew,  where  those  unacquaint- 
ed with  their  form  and  habits  may  be  ea- 
sily gratified  by  a  sight  of  them  in  various 
stages  of  growth,  and  bounding1  before 
him  with  a  vivacity  and  elasticity  highly 
entertaining.  See  Mammalia,  Plate  IX. 

fig.  3. 

MACTRA,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
of  the  Yermes  Testacea  class  and  order. 
Animal  a  tethys ;  shell  bivalve,  unequal 
sided,  equivafvc;  middle  tooth  of  the 
hinge  complicated,  with  a  small  hollow- 
on  each  side  ;  lateral  ones  remote  and  in- 
serted into  each  other.  There  are  twenty- 
seven  species. 

MACULJE,  in  astronomy,  dark  spots 
appearing'  on  the  luminous  faces  of  the 
sun,  moon,  and  even  some  of  the  planets ; 
in  which  sense  they  stand  contradistin- 
guished from  faculse.  See  FACUL.T;. 

These  spots  are  most  numerous  and 
ou.sily  observed  in  the  sun.  It  is  not  un- 
common to  see  them  in  various  forms, 
magnitudes,  and  numbers,  moving  over 
the  sun's  disc.  They  were  first  of  all 
discovered  by  astronomer  Galileo,  in  the 
year  1610,  soon  after  he  had  finished  his 
new-invented  telescope.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  these  spots  adhere  to,  or 


float  upon,  the  surface  of  the  sun,  for  the 
following  reasons.  1.  Many  of  them  are 
observed  to  break  out  near  the  middle 
of  the  sun's  disc;  others  to  decay  and 
vanish  there,  or  at  some  distance  from  his 
limb.  2.  Their  apparent  velocities  are 
always  greatest  over  the  middle  of  the 
disc,  and  gradually  slower  from  thence 
on  each  si4e  towards  the  limb.  3.  The 
shape  of  the  spots  varies  according  to 
their  position  on  the  several  parts  of  the 
disc  :  those  which  are  round  and  broad 
in  the  middle,  grow  oblong  and  slender 
as  they  approach  the  limb,  according  as 
they  ought  to  appear  by  the  rules  of  op- 
tics. 

By  comparing  many  observations  of  the 
intervals  of  time  in  which  the  spots  made 
their  revolution,  by  Galileo,  Cassini, 
Scheiner,  Hevelius,  Dr.  Halley,  Dr.  Der- 
ham,  and  others,  it  is  found  that  27  days, 
12  hours,  20  minutes,  is  the  measure  of 
one  of  them  at  a  mean  ;  but  in  this  time 
the  earth  describes  the  angular  motion 
of  26°  22',  about  the  sun's  centre  :  there- 
fore say,  as  the  angular  motion  of  360°  -j- 
26°  22V,  is  to  360°  ;  so  is  27  days,  12 
hours,  20  minutes,  to  25  days,  15  hours, 
16  minutes  ;  which,  therefore,  is  the  time 
of  the  sun's  revolution  about  its  axis. 

As  to  the  magnitude  of  the  spots,  they 
are  very  considerable,  as  will  appear  if  we 
observe  that  some  of  them  are  so  large  as 
to  be  plainly  visible  to  the  naked  eye : 
thus  Galileo  saw  one  of  them  in  the  year 
1612  ;  and  Mr.  Martin  assures  us,  tha't  he 
knew  two  gentlemen  that  thus  viewed 
them  several  years  ago ;  whence  he  con- 
cludes, that  these  spots  must  therefore 
subtend,  at  least,  an  angle  of  one  minute. 
Xow  the  diameter  of  the  earth,  if  removed 
to  the  sun,  would  subtend  an  angie  of 
but  20" ;  so  that  the  diameter  of  a  spot, 
just  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  is,  to  the 
diameter  of  the  earth,  as  60  to  20,  or  as 
3  to  1  ;  and,  therefore,  the  surface  of  the 
spot,  if  circular,  to  a  great  circle  of  the 
earth,  is  as  9  to  1 ;  but  4  great  circles 
are  equal  to  the  earth's  superficies ; 
whence  the  surface  of  the  spot  is,  to  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  as  9  to  4 ;  or  as  2£ 
to  1.  Gassenclus  says,  he  saw  a  spot 
whose  diameter  was  equal  to  •%•§  of  that 
of  the  sun,  and  therefore  subtended  an 
angle  at  the  eye  of  If  30" ;  its  surface 
must  have  been  five  times  larger  than  the 
surface  of  the  whole  earth.  What  these 
spots  are,  it  is  presumed,  nobody  can  tell ; 
but  they  seem  to  be  rather  thin  sub- 
stances than  solid  bodies,  because  they 
lose  the  appearance  of  solidity  in  going 
off  the  disc  of  the  sun:  they  resemble 
something  of  the  nature  of  scum  or  scoria. 


MAD 


swimming  on  the  surface,  which  are  gene- 
ral ed  and  dissolved  by  causes  little  known 
to  us :  but  whatever  these  solar  spots 
are,  it  is  certain  they  are  produced  from 
causes  very  inconstant  and  irregular ;  for 
Scheiner  says  he  frequently  su\v  fifty  at 
once,  but  for  twenty  years  after  scarce 
any  appeared.  And  in  the  last  century 
the  spots  were  very  frequent  and  nume- 
rous till  the  year  1741,  when,  for  three 
years  successively,  very  few  appeared; 
and  now,  since  the  year  1744,  they  have 
again  appeared  as  usual. 

These  macula  are  not  peculiar  to  the 
sun,  they  have  been  observed  in  all  the 
planets.  Thus  Venus  was  observed  to 
have  several  by  Signior  Blanchini,  in  the 
year  1726.  As  in  Venus,  so  in  Mars, 
both  dark  and  bright  spots  have  been  ob- 
served, first  by  Galileo,  and  afterwards  by 
Cassini,  &c.  Jupiter  has  had  his  spots 
observable  ever  since  the  invention  and 
use  of  large  telescopes.  Saturn,  by  reason 
of  his  great  distance  on  one  hand,  and 
Mercury,  by  reason  of  his  smallness  and 
vicinity  to  the  sun  on  the  other,  have  not 
as  yet  had  any  spots  discovered  on  their 
surfaces,  and  consequently  nothing  in  re- 
lation to  their  diurnal  motions  and  incli- 
nations of  their  axis  to  the  planes  of  their 
orbits  can  be  known,  which  circumstances 
are  determined  in  all  the  other  planets, 
as  well  as  in  the  sun,  by  means  of  these 
maculae. 

The  spots,  or  macube,  observable  on  the 
moon's  surface,  seem  to  be  only  cavities 
or  large  caverns,  on  which  the  sun  shin- 
ing very  obliquely,  and  touching  only 
their  upper  edge  with  his  light,  the 
deeper  places  remain  without  light ;  but 
as  the  sun  rises  higher  upon  them,  they 
receive  more  light,  and  the  shadow,  or 
dark  parts,  grow  smaller  and  shorter,  till 
the  sun  comes  at  last  to  shine  directly 
upon  them,  and  then  the  whole  cavity 
will  be  illustrated :  but  the  dark  dusky 
spots,  which  continue  always  the  same, 
are  supposed  to  proceed  from  a  kind  of 
matter  or  soil  which  reflects  less  light 
than  that  of  the  other  regions.  See 
Moosr. 

MADDER  is  a  plant,  with  rough  nar- 
row leaves,  set  in  form  of  a  star,  at  the 
joints  of  the  stalk.  The  root,  which  is 
the  only  part  made  use  of,  is  long,  slender, 
of  a  red  colour,  both  on  the  outside  and 
within,  excepting  a  whitish  pith  which 
runs  along  the  middle.  For  cultivating 
this  plant,  the  ground  is  ploughed  deep 
in  autumn,  and  again  in  March  ;  and  then 
laid  up  in  ridges,  eighteen  inches  asunder, 
and  about  a  foot  high.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  April,  they  open  the  ground 


where  old  roots  are  planted,  and  take  off 
all  the  side  shoots  which  extend  them- 
selves horizontally  ;  these  they  transplant 
immediately  upon  the  new  ridges,  at 
about  a  foot  distance,  where  they  remain 
two  seasons:  and  at  Michaelmas,  when 
the  tops  of  the  plants  are  decayed,  they 
take  up  the  roots.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  this  method  of  planting  in  ridges  is 
only  necessary  in  wet  land,  and  that  the 
rows  are  sometimes  planted  three  feet, 
and  the  plants  in  the  rows  eighteen 
inches  asunder.  If  all  the  horizontal 
roots  are  destroyed  from  time  to  time,  it 
will  cause  the  large,  downright  roots,  to 
be  much  bigger,  in  which  the  goodness 
of  this  commodity  chiefly  consists.  Mad- 
der gives  out  its  colour,  both  to  water  and 
rectified  spirit :  the  watery  tincture  is  of 
a  dark  dull  red ;  the  spirituous  of  a  deep 
bright  one.  It  imparts  to  woollen  cloth, 
prepared  with  alum  and  tartar,  a  very 
durable,  though  not  a  very  beautiful  red 
dye.  As  it  is  the  cheapest  of  all  the  red 
drugs  that  give  a  durable  colour,  it  is  the 
principal  one  commonly  made  use  of  for 
ordinary  stuffs.  Sometimes  its  dye  is 
heightened  by  the  addition  of  Brazil- 
wood, and  sometimes  it  is  employed  in 
conjunction  with  the  dearer  reds,  as 
cochineal;  for  demi-scarlets,  and  demi- 
crimsons. 

MADREPORA,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  the  Vermes  Zoophyta  class  and 
order.  Animal  resembling  a  medusa; 
coral  with  lamellate  star-shaped  cavities. 
This  is  a  very  numerous  genus,  compre- 
hending about  120  species,  separated  into 
distinct  divisions.  A.  composed  of  a  sin- 
gle star.  B.  with  numerous  separate 
stars,  and  continued  gills.  C.  with  nume- 
rous united  stars.  D.  aggregate,  undivid- 
ed, with  distinct  stars  and  porulous  tuber- 
culous prominent  undulations.  E.  branch- 
ed, with  distinct  stars  and  tuberculous 
porulous  undulations.  M.  verrucaria, 
star  orbicular,  flattish,  sessile,  with  a  con- 
vex disc  full  of  tubular  pores  and  radiate 
border :  it  inhabits  the  European,  Medi- 
terranean, and  Red  Seas,  adhering  to  ma- 
rine vegetables  and  the  softer  zoophytes; 
size  of  a  split-pea,  and  appears  an  inter- 
mediate species  between  the  madrepore, 
tubiporer  and  millepore ;  white  or  yel- 
lowish, with  aggregate  tubes  on  the  disc 
like  the  florets  of  a  composite  flower,  and 
a  flattened  striate  border  like  the  rays  of 
these  flowers.  A.  ananas,  with  angular 
convex  stars,  which  are  concave  on  the 
disc,  inhabits  the  Mediterranean  and 
South  American  Sea,  and  is  frequently 
found  fossile ;  gibbous,  and  when  dis- 
sected transversely,  resembling  a  white 


MAG 


MAG 


net  with  hexangular  spots,  including  a 
white  ring1,  and  striate  between  the  net 
and  ring.  See  ZOOPHYTA. 

MADREPORITE,  a  mineral  found  in 
the  valley  of  Russback,  in  Salzburg1,  and 
so  called  from  its  external  resemblance 
to  madrepore.  It  is  found  in  large  mas- 
ses, is  brittle  and  moderately  heavy.  Its 
component  parts  are, 

Carbonate  of  lime  .  .  .  93.00 
Carbonate  of  magnesia  .  0.50 
Carbonate  of  iron  .  .  .  2.25 

Charcoal 0.50 

Silica 4.50 


Loss 


99.75 
.    25 

100 


MADRIER,  in  the  military  art,  a  long 
and  broad  plank  of  wood,  used  for  sup- 
porting the  earth  in  mining  and  carrying 
on  a  sap,  and  in  making  cotters,  caponiers, 
galleries,  and  for  many  other  uses  at  a 
siege.  Madriers  are  also  used  to  cover 
the  mouths  of  petards,  after  they  are 
loaded,  and  are  fixed  with  the  petards  to 
the  gates  or  other  places  designed  to  be 
forced  open. 

MADRIGAL,  in  the  Italian,  Spanish, 
and  French  poetry,  is  a  short  amorous 
poem,  composed  of  a  number  of  free  and 
unequal  verses,  neither  confined  to  the 
regularity  of  a  sonnet,  nor  to  the  point  of 
an  epigram,  but  only  consisting  of  some 
tender  and  delicate  thought,  expressed 
with  a  beautiful,  noble,  and  elegant  sim- 
plicity The  madrigal  is  usually  consid- 
ered as  the  shortest  of  all  the  lesser  kinds 
of  poetry,  except  the  epigram  :  it  will  ad- 
mit  of  fewer  verses  than  either  the  sonnet 
or  the  roundelay ;  no  other  rule  is  regard- 
ed in  mingling  the  rhymes,  and  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  verse,  but  the  fancy  and 
convenience  of  the  author:  however,  this 
poem  allows  of  less  licence  than  many 
others,  both  with  respect  to  rhyme,  mea- 
sure, and  delicacy  of  expression. 

MAGAZINE,  a  place  in  which  stores 
are  kept,  of  arms,  ammunition,  provisions, 
&c.  Every  fortified  town  ought  to  be 
furnished  with  a  large  magazine,  which 
should  contain  stores  of  all  kinds,  suffici- 
ent to  enable  the  garrison  and  inhabitants 
to  hold  out  a  long  siege,  and  in  which 
smiths,  carpenters,  wUeelrights,  &c.  may 
be  employed,  in  making  every  thing  be- 
longing to  the  artillery,  as  carriages,  wag- 
gons,  &.c. 

MAGAZINE,  powder,  a  place  in  which 


powder  is  kept  in  large  quantities,  and 
which,  on  account  of  the  nature  of  the  sub. 
stance  preserved,  should  be  arched  and 
bomb-proof.  According  to  the  plan  of 
Vauban,  they  are  sixty  feet  long  and  twen- 
ty-five broad  in  the  inside.  The  founda- 
tions are  eight  or  nine  feet  thick,  and 
about  as  many  feet  high  from  the  founda- 
tion to  the  spring  of  the  arch.  As  some 
inconveniencies  have  arisen  from  this 
structure,  Dr.  Huttou  proposes  to  find 
an  arch  of  equilibration,  which  he  would 
have  constructed  to  a  span  of  twenty 
feet,  the  pitch  being  ten  feet;  the  ex- 
terior walls  at  top  forming  an  angle  of 
113°,  and  the  height  of  the  angular  point 
above  the  top  of  the  arch  to  be  seven 
feet. 

MA.GGOT.     See  MUSCA. 

MAGI,  OI-MAGIANS,  an  ancient  reli- 
gious sect  in  Persia,  and  other  eastern 
countries,  who  maintained,  that  there 
were  two  principles,  the  one  the  cause 
of  all  good,  the  other  the  cause  of  all 
evil ;  and  abominating  the  adoration  of 
imagesjworsinpped  God  only  by  fi re,which 
they  looked  upon  as  the  brightest  and 
most  glorious  symbol  ot  Oromasdes,  or 
the  good  God ;  as  darkness  is  the  truest 
symbol  of  Arimamus,  or  the  evil  god. 
This  religion  was  reformed  by  Zoroaster, 
who  maintained  that  there  was  one  su- 
preme independent  being  ;  and  under 
him  two  principles  or  angels,  one  the 
angel  of  goodness  and  light,  and  the 
other  of  evil  and  darkness  :  that  there  is  a 
perpetual  struggle  between  them,  which 
shall  last  to  the  end  of  the  world  ; 
that  then  the  angel  of  darkness  and  his 
disciples  shall  go  into  a  world  of  their 
own,  where  they  shall  be  punished  in 
everlasting  darkness ;  and  the  angel  of 
light  and  his  di.sciples  shall  also  go  into 
a  world  of  their  own,  where  they  shall  be 
rewarded  in  everlasting  light.  The 
priests  of  the  magi  were  the  most  skil- 
ful mathematicians  and  philosophers  of 
the  ages  in  which  they  lived,  insomuch 
that  a  learned  man  and  a  magian  became 
equivalent  terms.  The  vulgar  looked  on 
their  knowledge  as  more  than  natural, 
and  imagined  them  inspired  by  some  su- 
pernatural power;  and  hence  those  who 
practised  wicked  and  mischievous  arts, 
taking  upon  themselves  the  name  of  ma- 
gians,  drew  on  it  that  ill  signification 
which  the  word  magician  now  bears 
among  us.  This  sect  still  subsists  in 
Persia,  under  the  denomination  of  gaurs, 
where  they  watch  the  sacred  fire  with 
the  greatest  cure,  and  never  suffer  it  to 
be  extinguished.  See  GAURS, 


MAGIC. 


MAGIC,  originally  signified  only  the 
knowledge  of  the  more  sublime  parts 
of  philosophy  ;  but  as  the  magi  like- 
wise professed  astrology,  divination,  and 
sorcery,  the  term  magi  became  odious, 
being  used  to  signify  an  unlawful  dia- 
bolical kind  of  science,  acquired  by 
the  assistance  of  the  devil  and  departed 
souls.  See  ASTROLOGY,  NECROMANCY, 
&c. 

Natural  magic  is  only  the  application 
of  natural  philosophy  to  the  production  of 
surprising  but  yet  natural  effects.  The 
common  natural  magic,  found  in  books, 
gives  us  merely  some  childish  and  super- 
stitious traditions  of  the  sympathies  and 
antipathies  of  things,  or  of  their  occult 
and  peculiar  properties  ;  which  are  usu- 
ally intermixed  with  many  trifling  experi- 
ments, admired  rather  for  their  disguise 
than  for  themselves. 

MAGIC  lantern.     See  LANTERN. 

MAGIC  square  t  in  arithmetic,  a  square 
figure  made  up  of  numbers  in  arithme- 
tical proportion,  so  disposed  in  parallel 
and  equal  ranks,  that  the  sums  of  each 
row,  taken  either  perpendicularly,  hori- 
zontally, or  diagonally,  are  equal :  thus, 


Natural  square. 


Magic  square. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

2 

7 

5 

6 
1 

9 

4 

3 

8 

Magic  squares  seem  to  have  been  so 
called,  from  their  being  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  talismans. 

Take  another  instance : 


Natural  square. 


Magic  square. 


2223 


9J10 

1415 


12 


171819120 


16 

14 

8 

2 

23 

3 

22 

20 

11 

9 

15 

6 

4 

23 

17 

24 

18 

12 

10 

1 

7 

5 

'21 

19 

13 

where  every    row  and  diagonal    in  the 
magic  square  makes  just  the  sum  65,  be- 
ing the  same  as  the  two  diagonals  of  the 
;i  square. 
IV. 


It  is  probable  that  these  magic  squares 
were  so  called,  both  because  of  this  pro- 
perty in  them,  viz-  that  the  ranks  in  every 
direction  make  the  same  sum,  appeared 
extremely  surprising,  especially  in  the 
more  ignorant  ages,  when  mathematics 
passed  for  magic,  and  because  also  of  the 
superstitious  operations  they  were  em- 
ployed in,  as  the  construction  of  talismans, 
&.C.;  for,  according  to  the  childish  philo- 
sophy of  those  clays,  which  ascribed  vir- 
tues to  numbers,  what  might  not  be  ex- 
pected from  numbers  so  seemingly  wonder- 
ful ?  The  magic  square  was  held  in  great 
veneration  among  the  Egyptians,  and 
the  Pythagoreans,  their  disciples,  who,  to 
add  more  efficacy  and  virtue  to  this  square, 
dedicated  it  to  the  then  known  seven 
planets  divers  ways,  and  engraved  it  upon 
a  plate  of  the  metal  that  was  esteemed  in 
sympathy  with  the  planet.  The  square, 
thus  dedicated,  was  inclosed  by  a  regular 
polygon,  inscribed  in  a  circle,  which  was 
divided  into  as  many  equal  parts  as  there 
were  units  in  the  side  of  the  square ;  with 
the  names  of  the  angles  of  the  planet,  and 
the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  written  upon  the 
void  spaces  between  the  polygon  and  the 
circumference  of  the  circumscribed  circle. 
Such  a  talisman  or  metal  they  vainly  ima- 
gined would,  upon  occasion,  befriend  the 
person  who  carried  it  about  him.  To  Sa- 
turn they  attributed  the  square  of  9  places 
or  cells,  the  side  being  3,  and  the  sum  of 
the  numbers  in  every  row  15  :  to  Jupiter 
the  square  of  16  places,  the  side  being  4, 
and  the  amount  of  each  row  34  :  to  Mars 
the  square  of  25  places,  the  side  being  5, 
and  the  amount  of  each  row  65:  to  the 
sun  the  square  with  36  places,  the  side 
being  6,  and  the  sum  of  each  row  111 : 
to  \renus  the  square  of  49  places,  the 
side  being  7,  and  the  amount  of  each  row 
175:  to  Mercury  the  square  with  64 
places,  the  side  being  8,  and  the  sum  of 
each  row  260  :  and  to  the  moon  the  square 
of  81  places,  the  side  being  9,  and  the 
amount  of  each  row  369.  Finally,  they 
attributed  to  imperfect  matter,  the  square 
with  4  divisions,  having  2  for  its  side; 
and  to  God,  the  square  of  only  one  cell, 
the  side  of  which  is  also  an  unit,  which 
multiplied  by  itself  undergoes  no  change. 
To  form  a  magic  square  of  an  odd  num- 
ber of  terms  in  the  arithmetic  progression 
1,  2,  3,  4,  Sec.  place  the  least  term  1  in 
the  ceil  immediately  under  the  middle  or 
central  one ;  and  the  rest  of  the  terms, 
in  their  natural  order,  in  a  descending 
diagonal  direction,  till  they  run  off  either 
at  the  bottom,  or  on  the  side :  when  the 

Bb 


MAGIC. 


number  runs  off' at  the  bottom,  carry  it  to 
the  uppermost  cell,  that  is  not  occupied, 
of  the  same  column  that  it  would  have  full- 
en  in  below,  and  then  proceed  descending 
diagonalwise  again  as  far  as  you  can, 
or  till  Uie  numbers  either  run  oft'at  bottom 
or  side,  or  are  interrupted  by  coming  at  a 
cell  already  filled :  now  when  any  number 
runs  off  at  the  right-hand  side,  then  bring 
it  to  the  furthest  ceil  on  the  left-hand  of 
the  same  row  or  line  it  would  have  fallen 
in  towards  the  right-hand:  and  when 
the  progress  diagonalwise  is  interrupted 
by  meeting  with  a  cell  already  occupied 
by  some  other  number,  then  descend  di- 
agonally to  the  left  from  this  cell  till  an 
empty  one  is  met  with,  where  enter  it ; 
and  thence  proceed  as  before.  Thus, 

To  make  a  magic  square  of  the  49  num. 
bers  1,  2,  3,  4,  &c. 


22 

47 

16 

41 

10 

35 

4 

5 

23 

48 

17 

42 

11 

29 

30 

6 

24 

49 

18 

36 

12 

13 

31 

7 

25 

43 

19 

37 

38 

14 

32 

1 

26 

44 

20 

21 

39 

8 

33 

2 

27 

45 

46 

15 

40 

9 

34 

3 

28 

First  place  the  1  next  below  the  cen- 
tre cell,  and  thence  descend  to  the  right 
till  the  4  runs  off  at  the  bottom,  which 
therefore  carry  to  the  top  corner  on  the 
same  column  as  it  would  have  fallen  in  ; 
but  as  that  runs  off  at  the  side,  bring  it  to 
the  beginning  of  the  second  line,  and 
thence  descend  to  the  right  till  they  ar- 
rive at  the  cell  occupied  by  1 ;  carry  the 
8  therefore  to  the  next  diagonal  cell  to 
the  left,  and  so  proceed  till  10  runs  off  at 
the  bottom,  which  carry  therefore  to  the 
top  of  its  column,  and  so  proceed  till  13 
runs  off  at  the  side,  which  therefore 
bring  to  the  beginning-  of  the  same  line, 
and  thence  proceed  till  15  arrives  at  the 
cell  occupied  by  8 ;  from  this  therefore 
descend  diagonally  to  the  left;  but  as  16 
runs  off  at  the  bottom,  carry  it  to  the  top 
of  its  proper  column,  and  thence  descend 
till  21  runs  off  at  the  side,  which  is  there- 
fore brought  to  the  beginning  of  its  pro- 
per line  ;  but  as  22  arrives  at  the  cell  oc- 


cupied by  15,  descend  diagonally  to  the 
left,  which  brings  it  into  the  first  column, 
but  off  at  the  bottom,  and  therefore  it  is 
carried  to  the  top  of  that  column ;  thence 
descending  till  29  runs  off  both  at  bottom 
and  side,  which  therefore  carry   to  the 
highest  unoccupied  cell  in  the  last  co- 
lumn ;  and  here,  as  30  runs  off  at  the 
side,  bring  it  to  the  beginning  of  its  pro- 
per column,  and  thence  descend  till  35 
runs  off  at  the  bottom,  which  therefore 
carry  to  the  beginning  or  top  of  its  own 
column  ;  and  here,  as  36  meets  with  the 
cell  occupied  by  29,  it  is  brought  from 
thence  diagonally  to  the  left ;  thence  de- 
scending, 38  runs  oft'  at  the  side,  and 
therefore  it  is  brought  to  the  beginning 
of  its  proper  line  ;  thence  descending,  41 
runs  oft' at  the  bottom,  which  therefore  is 
carried  to  the  beginning  or  top  of  its  co- 
lumn ;  from  whence  descending,  43  ar- 
rives at  the  cell   occupied  by  36,    and 
therefore  it  is  brought  down  from  thence 
to  the  left;  thence  descending,  46  runs 
off  at  the  side,  which  therefore  is  brought 
to  the  beginning  of  its  line  ;  but  here,  as 
47  runs  off  at  the  bottom,  it  is  carried  to 
the  beginning  or  top  of  its  column,  from 
whence  descending  with  48  and  49,  the 
square  is  completed,  the  sum  of  every 
row   and  column  and  diagonal   making 
just  175.     Dr.  Franklin  carried  this  cu- 
rious speculation  further  than  any  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  same  way.     He  con- 
structed both  a  magic  square  of  squares, 
and  a  magic  circle  of  circles,  the  descrip- 
tion of  which  is  as  follows.     The  magic 
square  of  squares  is  formed  by  dividing 
the  great  square  into  256  little  squares,  in 
which  all  the  numbers  from  1  to  256,  or 
the  square  of  16,  are  placed,  in  16  co- 
lumns, which  may  be  taken  either  hori- 
zontally or  vertically.     Their  chief  pro- 
perties are  as  follow.     1.  The  sum  of  the 
16  numbers  in  each  column  or  row,  ver- 
tical or  horizontal,    is  2056.    2.  Every 
half   column,    vertical    and    horizontal, 
makes  1028,  or  just  one  half  of  the  same 
sum  2056.     3.  Haifa  diagonal  ascending, 
added    to  half  a   diagonal    descending, 
makes  also  the  same  sum  2056 ;  taking 
these  half  diagonals  from  the  ends  of  any- 
side  of  the  square  to  the  middle  of  it ;  and 
so    reckoning    them   either  upward    or 
downward,  or  sideways  from  right  to  left, 
or  from  left  to  right.    4.  The  same  with 
all  the  parallels  to  the  half  diagonals,  as 
many    as    can    be    drawn    in  the  great 
square  :  for  any  two  of  them  being  di- 
rected upward  and  downward,  from  the 
place  where  they  begin,  to  that  where 
they  end,  their  sums  still  make  the  same 


MAG 


MAG 


2056.  Also  the  same  holds  true  down- 
ward and  upward ;  as  well  as  if  taken 
sideways  to  the  middle,  and  back  to  the 
same  side  again.  Only  one  set  of  these 
halfcliag-onals  and  their  parallels,  is  drawn 
in  the  same  square  upward  and  down- 
ward; but  another  set  may  be  drawn 
from  any  of  the  other  three  sides.  5.  The 
four  corner  numbers  in  the  great  square, 
added  to  the  four  central  numbers  in  it, 
make  1028,  the  half  sum  of  any  vertical 
or  horizontal  column,  which  contains  16 
numbers ;  and  also  equal  to  half  a  dia- 
gonal or  its  parallel.  6.  If  a  square  hole, 
equal  in  breadth  to  four  of  the  little 
squares  or  cells,  be  cut  in  a  paper,  through 
which  any  of  the  16  little  cells  in  the 
great  square  may  be  seen,  and  the  paper 
be  laid  upon  the  great  square  ;  the  sum 
of  all  the  16  numbers,  seen  through  the 
hole,  is  always  equal  to  2056,  the  sum  of 
the  16  numbers  in  any  horizontal  or  ver- 
tical column. 

MAGISTERY,  an  old  chemical  term, 
very  nearly  synonymous  with  precipitate, 
but  is  now  rarely  used,  except  in  the 
following  combinations  :  magistery  of 
bismuth,  which  is  the  white  oxide  of 
this  metal  precipitated  from  the  nitrous 
solution  by  the  addition  of  water;  ma- 
gistery of  sulphur,  which  is  sulphur  pre- 
cipitated from  its  alkaline  solution  by  an 
acid. 

MAGNA  charta.     See  LIBERTY. 

MAGNESIA,  in  chemistry,  an  earth, 
the  properties  of  which  were  not  fully 
known  till  Dr.  Black,  about  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  investigated  its  na- 
ture. In  the  pursuit,  the  Doctor  was  led 
to  the  important  discovery  of  the  carbo- 
nic acid  gas.  Magnesia  had,  before  his 
time,  been  frequently  confounded  with 
lime ;  he,  however,  by  the  most  accurate 
experiments  shewed  that  it  possessed 
properties  different  from  all  the  other 
earths.  Although  magnesia  exists  in 
great  abundance  in  combination  with 
other  substances,  it  has  never  been  found 
perfectly  pure  in  nature.  It  is  an  ingre- 
dient in  many  fossils  ;  and  several  of  the 
salts,  which  it  forms  by  combination  with 
the  acids,  are  found  in  mineral  springs, 
and  in  the  water  of  the  ocean.  Prom 
these  combinations  magnesia  is  obtained 
by  different  artificial  processes.  Mr. 
Murray  mentions  the  sulphate  of  magne- 
sia, or  Epsom  salt,  as  well  adapted  to  this 
purpose.  One  part  of  this  salt  is  to  be 
dissolved  in  twenty  of  water,  and  the  so- 
lution filtered ;  to  this  is  added,  while 
hot,  a  solution  of  pure  potash  or  soda,  as 
kmg  as  precipitation  is  produced.  The 


alkali  combines  with  the  sulphuric  acid,and 
the  magnesia  is  separated  :  being  insolu- 
ble in  water,  \i  falls  down  in  white  pow- 
der :  it  is  then  washed  in  water  till  the 
fluid  comes  off  taste  less.  This  earth  ex- 
ists under  the  form  of  a  white  spongy 
powder,  soft  to  the  touch,  without  smell, 
ami  having  a  slightly  bitter  taste.  Its  spe- 
cific gravity  is  2.3.  It  slight!)'  changes 
vegetable  colours  to  a  green.  Magnesia, 
when  quite  pure,  is  infusible,  though  ex- 
posed to  the  most  intense  heat :  even  in 
the  focus  of  the  very  powerful  burning 
mirror,  or  in  the  heat  excited  by  oxygen 
gas,  it  cannot  be  melted.  When  made 
into  a  paste  with  water  it  contracts  like 
alumina,  if  exposed  to  a  sudden  heat. 
It  is  almost  insoluble  in  water.  There  is 
no  action  between  magnesia  and  hydro- 
gen, or  carbon,  and  very  little  between 
it  and  phosphorus.  It  combines  readily 
with  the  acids,  and  with  them  forms  neu- 
tral salts.  Of  these  the  greater  number 
are  soluble  or  crystallizible,  and  have  a 
bitter  taste.  It*does  not  enter  into  com- 
bination with  the  fixed  alkalies,  but  in 
combination  with  some  of  the  other 
earths,  it  is  fusible  by  means  of  a  very 
strong  heat.  With  lime,  in  certain  pro- 
portions, it  forms  a  greenish  yellow  glass. 
It  is  much  used  in  medicine  as  a  gentle 
laxative,  and  as  an  absorbent  to  destroy 
acidity  in  the  stomach.  It  is  also  employ- 
ed to  aid  the  solution  of  resinous  and 
gummy  substances,  as  camphor  and  opium 
in  water.  We  shall  notice  only  a  few  of 
its  combinations. 

Magnesia  combines  with  sulphur  either 
in  the  dry  or  humid  way,  forming  there- 
by a  sulphuret  of  magnesia.  The  solid 
sulphuret  of  magnesia  decomposes  rapid- 
ly when  exposed  to  the  air. 

Sulphate  of  magnesia  is  a  compound  of 
sulphuric  acid  and  magnesia,  and  is  found 
in  sea  water,  and  in  many  mineral 
springs.  Those  at  Epsom  once  afforded 
a  large  part  of  what  was  used  in  com- 
merce ;  hence  the  name  of  Epsom  salt. 
Now  indeed  it  is  commonly  obtained 
from  sea-water.  The  bittern  water,  or, 
as  it  is  usually  called,  the  mother  water  of 
common  salt,  that  is,  the  water  which 
remains  after  the  crystallization,  con- 
sists chiefly  of  sulphate  of  magnesia. 
The  constituent  parts  are,  according  to 
Bergman, 

Sulphuric  acid 33 

Magnesia 19 

Water 48 

100 


MAG 


MAG 


But    Mr.    Kir  wan    gives    a  different 
result. 

In  crystals.  1>y. 

Sulphuric  acid  .  .  29.35  63.32 

Magnesia 17.00  36.68 

Water 53.65 

100        100 


Sulphate  of  magnesia  is  formed  by  pass- 
ing sulphurous  acid  through  water,  in 
which  magnesia  is  diffused.  At  first  it  is 
in  a  state  of  powder,  which  is  gradually 
dissolved,  and  by  exposure  to  the  air,  it 
deposits  crystals,  and  passes  into  sulphate 
of  magnesia.  It  consists  of 

Sulphurous  acid 39 

Magnesia 16 

Water 45 

100 


Carbonate  of  magnesia,  or  the  magnesia 
alba,  of  the  physicians,  is  a  very  import- 
ant  compound.  The  manufacture  of 
this  on  the  large  scale  is  thus  conducted. 
Instead  of  the  pure  sulphate  of  magnesia, 
the  bittern,  or  liquor  remaining  after  the 
crystallization  of  sea  salt  is  used,  and  the 
magnesia  is  precipitated  by  carbonate  of 
potash.  When  properly  prepared  it 
is  perfectly  white,  nearly  or  vvholh/ 
tasteless,  and  very  sparingly  soluble  in 
water.  The  magnesia  of  commerce  is 
composed  of 

Fourcroy.  Kirwan. 
Carbonic  acid  ....  48          34 

Magnesia 40  45 

Water 12          21 

100        100 


When  common  carbonate  of  magnesia 
is  exposed  to  a  moderate  heat,  it  is  de- 
composed :  its  carbonic  acid  disengaged. 
It  loses  about  half  its  weight,  and  the 
magnesia  remains  nearly  pure. 

Under  the  magnesian  genus  of  fossils 
are  comprehended,  not  only  those  in 
which  magnesia  is  the  ingredient  which  is 
present  in  largest  proportion,  but  those 
also  in  which,  though  in  a  smaller  propor- 
tion, there  exist  the  characters  in  some 
measure  peculiar  to  this  genus.  These 
are  softness,  unctuosity,  and  being  in  ge- 
neral destitute  of  hardness,  lustre,  and 


transparency,  which  are  conspicuous  in 
many  of  those  which  belong  to  the  sili- 
cious  and  argillaceous  genera.  Magne- 
sian fossils  have  usually  a  green  colour, 
more  or  less  deep. 

MAGNET.     See  MAGNETISM. 

MAGNETISM,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  first  rendered  useful  about  the  end 
of  the  twelfth,  <>r  at  least  very  early  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  by  John  de  Gioja,  a 
handicraft  of  Naples,  who  noticed  the  pe- 
culiar attraction  of  metals,  iron  in  parti- 
cular, towards  certain  masses  of  rude 
ore ;  the  touch  of  which  communicated 
to  other  substances  of  a  ferruginous  na- 
ture, especially  iron  or  steel  bars,  the 
same  property  of  attraction  :  these  touch- 
ed bars  he  observed  to  have  a  peculiar 
and  similar  tendency  towards  one  parti- 
cular point ;  that  when  suspended  in 
equilibrio,  by  means  of  threads  around 
their  centres,  they  invariably  indicated 
the  same  point ;  and  that,  when  placed  in 
a  row,  however  adversely  directed,  they 
soon  disposed  themselves  in  perfectly 
parallel  order.  In  this  instance,  he  im- 
proved upon  the  property  long  known  to, 
but  not  comprehended  or  applied  to  use 
by  the  ancients,  who  considered  the  load- 
stone simply  as  a  rude  species  of  iron  ore, 
and  curious  only  so  far  as  it  might  serve 
to  amuse.  Gioja  being  possessed  of  a 
quick  understanding,  and  of  a  strong 
mind,  was  not  long  in  further  ascertain- 
ing the  more  sensible  purposes  to  which 
the  magnet  might  be  appropriated.  He 
accordingly  fixed  various  magnets  upon 
pivots,  supporting  their  centres  in  such 
manner  as  allowed  the  bars  to  traverse 
freely.  Finding  that,  however  situated 
within  the  reach  of  observation  and  com- 
parison, they  all  had  the  same  tendency, 
he  naturally  concluded  them  to  be  go- 
verned by  some  attraction,  which  might 
be  ultimately  ascertained  and  acted  up- 
on. He  therefore  removed  into  various 
parts  of  Italy,  to  satisfy  himself  whether 
or  not  the  extraordinary  impulse  which 
agitated  these  bars  that  had  been  mag- 
netised by  friction,  existed  only  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Naples,  or  was  general.  The 
result  of  his  researches  appears  to  be, 
that  the  influence  was  general,  but  that 
the  magnets  were  rendered  extremely 
variable,  and  fluctuated  much,  when  near 
large  masses  of  iron.  The  experiments 
of  Gioja  gave  birth  to  many  others,  and 
at  length  to  a  trial  of  the  magnetic  in- 
fluence on  the  surface  of  the  water.  To 
establish  this,  a  vessel  was  moored  out  at 
sea,  in  a  direction  corresponding  with 
that  of  the  magnet ;  and  a  boat,  having  a 
magnet  equipoised  on  a  pivot  at  its  ceu- 


MAGNETISM. 


tre,  was  sent  out  at  night  in  the  exact 
line  indicated  thereby  ;  which,  being  du- 
ly followed,   carried  them  close  to  the 
vessel  that  was  at  anchor.     Thus  the  ac- 
tive power  of  attraction  appeared  to  be 
established  on  both  elements,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  the  magnet  was  fixed  to 
a  card,   marked  with  thirty-two  points, 
whereby  the  mariner's  compass  was  pre- 
sented to  us.     The  points  to  which  the 
magnet  always  turned  itself,  being  gene- 
rally in  correspondence  with  the  meri- 
dian of  the  place  where  it  acted,  occa- 
sioned the  extremities  of  the  bars  to  be 
called   poles.      Succeeding  experiments 
proved,  that  the  magnetic  bar  never  re- 
tained an  exactly  horizontal  position  ;  but 
that  one  of  its  poles  invariably  formed  an 
angle  with  any  perfect  level,  over  which 
it  was  placed :  this  was  not  so  very  mea- 
surable in  a  short  bar,  but  in  one  of  a 
yard  in  length  was  found  to  give  several 
degrees  of  inclination.     This,  which  is 
called  "  The  Dip  of  the  Needle,"   (or 
magnet)   seems  to  indicate  that  the  at- 
tracting power  is  placed  within  the  earth. 
What  that  attracting  power  is  we  cannot 
determine  ;  some  consider  it  to  be  a  fluid, 
while  others  conjecture  it  to  be  an  im- 
mense mass  of  load-stone  situated  some- 
where about  the  north  pole.     The  diffi- 
culty is,  however,  considerably  increased 
by  the  known  fact  of  the  needles  of  com- 
passes not  always   pointing  due  north ; 
but  in  many  places  varying  greatly  from 
the   meridional  lines  respectively ;    and 
from  each  other  at  different  times   and 
places.     The  facility  with  which  a  meri- 
dional line  may  be  drawn  by  solar  obser- 
vation, and  especially  by  taking  an  azi- 
muth, fortunately  enables  navigators  to 
establish  the  variation   between  the  true 
northern  direction,  and  that  indicated  by 
the  magnet  attached  to  the  card  of  the 
compass.     Nevertheless,  we   have  great 
reason  to  believe,  that,  for  want  either  of 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  prevalent  va- 
riations, or  from  inattention  thereto,  ma- 
ny vessels,  of  which  no  tidings  were  ever 
heard,  have  been  cast  away ;  it  being  ob- 
vious that  a  false  indication  of  the  north- 
ern  point,    in  many    places    amounting 
to  nearly  the  extent  of  twenty-five  de- 
grees, must  produce  so  important  an  er- 
ror in  a  vessel's  course,  as  to  subject  her 
to    destruction    on    those    very    shoals, 
rocks,  &c.  which  the  navigator  unhappily 
thinks  he   steers  wide  of.     To    obviate 
such  danger,  as  far  as  possible,  all  modern 
sea-charts  have  the  variations  of  the  com- 
pass in  their  several   parts   duly  noted 
down  ;  and  in  reckoning  upon  the  course 
steered  by   compass,    an    allowance    is 


usually  made  for  the  difference  between 
the  apparent  course,  by  the  compass,  and 
the  real  course,  as  ascertained  by  celes- 
tial observation.  Under  circumstances  so 
completely  contradictory,  the  principle 
of  magnetism  must  remain  unknown  :  we 
know  not  of  any  hypothesis  which  strikes 
conviction  on  our  minds,  or  which  seems 
to  convey  any  adequate  idea  of  the  ori- 
gin, or  modus  operaudi,  of  this  wondrous 
influence.  All  we  can  treat  of  is  the  ef- 
fect; also  of  the  appearances  which 
guide  our  practice,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  attractive  power  may  be  gene- 
rated and  increased. 

In  regard  to  the  latter  point,  namely, 
the  generation  and  increase  of  the  mag- 
netic attraction,  we  shall  endeavour  to 
give  a  brief  but  distinct  view  of  what  re- 
lates thereto  ;  observing,  that  where  vol- 
canic eruptions  are  frequent,  and  in  those 
latitudes  where  the  aurora  borealis  is  dis- 
tinctly seen,  the  needle  or  magnet  is  sen' 
sibly  affected.  Previously  to  earthquakes, 
as  well  as  during  their  action,  and  while 
the  northern  lights  are  in  full  display,  no 
reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  compass ; 
of  which  the  card  will  appear  much  agi- 
tated. This  has  given  rise  to  the  opinion 
held  by  some,  that  the  power  is  a  fluid  : 
to  this,  however,  there  appear  so  many 
objections,  that  we  are  more  disposed  to 
reject  than  to  favour  it,  although  under 
the  necessity  of  confessing  that  we  are 
not  able  to  offer  one  that  may  account  sa- 
tisfactorily for  the  various  phenomena  at- 
tendant upon  magnetism. 

We  have  already  stated,  that  every 
magnet  has  two  poles ;  that  is,  one  end 
is  called  the  north,  the  other  the  south, 
pole  :  the  former  being  considered  as  ca- 
pable of  attraction ;  the  other,  as  we 
shall  infer  from  the  subjoined  explana- 
tions, being  far  more  inert,  if  at  all  pos- 
sessed  of  an  attractive  power.  When 
two  magnets  are  brought  together  with 
their  north  poles  in  contact,  they  will,  in- 
stead of  cohering,  be  obviously  repelled 
to  a  distance  corresponding  with  their  re- 
spective powers  of  attraction,  when  ap- 
plied individually  to  unmagnetised  nee- 
dles. The  south  poles  will,  in  like  man- 
ner, repel  each  other ;  but  the  north  pole 
of  one,  and  the  south  pole  of  the  other, 
will,  when  approximated,  be  evidently  at- 
tracted, and  will  cohere  so  as  to  sustain 
considerable  weights.  Iron  is  the  only 
metal,  hitherto  known,  which  is  capable 
of  receiving  and  communicating  the  mag- 
netic power;  but  quiet,  and  the  absence 
of  contact,  in  some  respects,  are  indis- 
pensably necessary  towards  its  perfect  re- 
tention. Thus,  when  a  bar  has  been  Ira- 


MAGNETISM. 


pregnatcd,  however  abundantly,  with  the 
magnetic  principle,  if  it  be  heated  or 
hammered,  the  power  of  attraction  will 
be  dissipated ;  or  if  a  tube  filled  with 
iron  filings  have  their  surface  magnetised, 
by  shaking  the  tube  the  magnetic  influ- 
ence will  likewise  be  lost.  In  some  re- 
spects, the  magnetic  influence  resembles 
caloric ;  for  it  very  rapidly  communicates 
to  iron,  devoid  of  magnetism,  a  certain 
portion  of  its  own  powers  ;  which,  how- 
ever, appear  to  be  reproduced  instanta- 
neously. As  various  small  fires  under 
one  large  vessel  will  thereby  heat  it,  and 
cause  the  water  it  contains  to  boil,  though 
either  of  them  individually  would  not 
produce  that  effect ;  so  many  weak  mag- 
nets may,  by  causing  each  to  communi- 
cate a  power  equal  to  its  own,  be  made 
to  create  an  accumulated  power,  larger 
than  that  contained  by  either  of  them  in- 
dividually :  there  is,  however,  a  seeming 
contradiction  to  be  found  in  some  au- 
thors, who  recommend  that  the  weakest 
magnets  should  be  first  applied,  and  those 
more  forcible  in  succession,  according  to 
the  power  they  may  possess  ;  the  reason 
assigned  being,  that  the  weaker  magnets 
would  else,  in  all  probability,  draw  off 
some  of  the  accumulated  power  from  the 
new  magnet.  Of  this  there  appears  no 
danger,  since  experience  proves  that 
magnets  rather  gain  than  lose  efficiency 
by  contact,  not  only  with  each  other,  but 
even  with  common  iron.  In  fact,  the 
magnetic  power  mav  at  any  time  be  cre- 
ated by  various  means :  the  friction  of 
two  pieces  of  flat  and  polished  bars  of 
iron  will  cause  them  for  a  short  while  to 
attract,  and  to  suspend,  light  weights. 
Soft  iron  is  more  easily  influenced,  but 
steel  will  retain  the  influence  longer. 
Lightning,  electricity,  and  galvanism,  be- 
ing all  of  the  same  nature,  equally  render 
iron  magnetic.  It  is  also  peculiar,  that 
when  two  or  more  magnets  are  left  for 
any  time  with  their  several  north  poles  in 
contact,  the  whole  will  be  thereby  weak- 
ened ;  whereas,  by  leaving  a  piece  of 
common  iron  attached  to  a  magnet,  the 
latter  will  acquire  strength.  It  is  also 
well  known,  that  some  pieces  of  steel 
quickly  receive  the  magnetic  influence, 
while  others  require  considerable  labour, 
and  after  all  are  scarcely  impregnated. 
The  oxide  of  iron  cannot  be  impregnated, 
and  those  bars  that  have  been  so,  when 
they  become  partially  oxydized,  lose  their 
power.  Hence  we  see  "the  necessity  of 
preserving  the  needles  of  compasses 
from  rust. 

Magnets  have  the  power  to  act,  not- 
withstanding the  intervention  of  substan- 


ces in  any  degree  porous  between  them, 
and  the  body  to  be  acted  upon  :  thus,  if  a 
needle  be  put  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  a 
magnet  be  drawn  under  it,  the  needle 
will  follow  the  course  of  the  magnet. 
The  peculiar  affinity  of  the  load-stone  for 
iron  is  employed,  with  great  success,  by 
those  who  work  in  precious  metals,  for 
the  separation  of  filings,  &c.  of  iron  from 
the  smaller  particles  of  gold,  8cc.  A  mag- 
net being  dipped  into  the  vessel,  in  which 
the  whole  are  blended,  will  attract  all  fer- 
ruginous particles. 

To  communicate  the  magnetic  power 
to  a  needle,  let  it  be  placed  horizontally, 
and  with  a  magnet  in  each  hand,  let  the 
north  pole  of  one,  and  the  south  pole  of 
the  other  be  brought,  obliquely,  in  contact 
over  the  centre  of  the  needle  ;  draw  them 
asunder,  taking  care  to  press  firmly,  and 
preserving  the  same  angle  or  inclination 
to  the  very  ends  of  the  needles,  which 
should  be  supported  by  two  magnets, 
whose  ends  ought  to  correspond  in  pola- 
rity with  those  of  the  needle.  Observe  to 
carry  the  magnets  you  press  with  clear 
away  from  the  ends  of  the  needle,  at  least 
a  foot  therefrom  ;  repeat  the  friction  in  the 
same  manner  several  times,  perhaps  six, 
eight,  or  ten  times,  and  the  needle  will  be 
permanently  magnetized.  As  we  have 
already  stated,  by  using  other  magnets  in 
succession,  the  powers  of  the  needle  will 
be  proportionably  increased.  But  no  ef- 
fect will  result  from  the  friction  if  the 
bars  are  rusty,  or,  indeed,  not  highly 
polished;  their  angles  must  be  perfect, 
and  their  several  sides  and  ends  com- 
pletely flat. 

It  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  curious 
of  the  phenomena  attendant  upon  this 
occult  property,  that  the  centre  of  every 
magnet  is  devoid  of  attraction  ;  yet,  that 
when  a  needle  is  placed  in  a  line  with  a 
magnet,  and  within  the  influence  of  its 
pole,  that  needle  also  becomes  magnetic  ; 
or,  rather,  a  conductor,  possessing  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  attractive  power  :  and  it  is 
no  less  extraordinary,  that  the  magnet 
retains  its  power  even  in  the  exhausted 
receiver  of  an  air-pump:  this  seems  to  be 
a  formidable  objection  to  its  being  influ- 
enced by  any  fluid.  Perhaps  the  opinion 
entertained  by  many  of  our  most  popular 
lecturers  on  this  subject,  viz.  that  the 
earth  itself  is  the  great  attractor,  may  be 
nearest  the  truth.  We  are  the  more  sup- 
posed to  incline  towards  such  an  hvpo- 
thesis,  knowing  that,  at  the  true  magne- 
tic equator,  the  needle  does  not  dip ;  and 
from  the  well  ascertained  fact,  that  bars 
oi  iron,  placed  for  a  length  of  time  exactly 


MAG 


MAG 


perpendicular,  receive  a  strong  magnetic 
power,  their  lower  ends  repelling  the 
south,  but  attracting  the  north  poles  of 
magnets  applied  to  them  respectively. 
The  direction  of  the  dipping  net-die  was 
ascertained  hy  one  Robert  Norman,  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  He 
suspended  a  small  magnetic  needle,  by 
means  of  a  fine  thread  around  ks  centre, 
so  as  to  balance  perfectly,  over  a  large 
magnet :  the  south  pole  of  the  former 
was  instantly  attracted  by  the  north  pole 
of  the  latter.  He  found  that  so  long  as 
the  needle  was  held  exactly  centrical,  at 
about  two  inches  above  the  magnet,  it  re- 
mained horizontal  :  but  so  soon  as  with- 
drawn a  little  more  towards  one  end  than 
the  other  of  the  magnet,  the  equilibrium 
was  destroyed,  and  that  pole  of  the  nee- 
dle which  was  nearest  to  either  pole  of 
the  magnet  was  instantly  attracted,  and 
pointed  downwards  thereto.  By  the  mag- 
netic equator,  we  mean  a  circle  passing 
round  the  earth  at  right  angles  with  the 
magnetic  poles,  which  do  not  correspond 
with  the  geographical  poles,  as  may  be 
fully  understood  by  the  indications  of  all 
compasses  to  points  differing  from  the 
latter;,  and  as  the  indications  of  com- 
passes vary  so  much,  both  at  different 
times  and  places,  we  may  reasonably 
conclude,  that  the  magnetic  poles  are 
not  fixed.  The  variation  of  the  dipping 
needle  has  not,  in  our  latitude  at  least, 
varied  more  than  half  a  degree  since 
its  depressive  tendency  was  first  disco- 
vered by  Norman. 

The  suspension  of  Mahomet's  body,  in 
the  temple  where  it  was  deposited,  is 
supposed  to  have  resulted  entirely  from 
magnetism,  with  which  the  Arabians 
were  completely  unacquainted. 

MAGNETISM,  animal.  About  thirty 
years  ago,  Father  Hehl,  of  Vienna,  im- 
posed on  his  countrymen,  and  indeed  on 
the  greater  part  of  the  civilized  world, 
a  pretended  mode  of  curing  all  kinds 
of  disease,  by  means  of  a  sympathetic 
affection  between  the  sick  person  and 
the  operator.  The  remedy  was  supposed 
to  depend  upon  the  motions  of  the  fin- 
gers, and  the  features  of  the  latter,  he 
placing  himself  immediately  before  the 
invalid,  whose  eyes  were  to  be  fixed  on 
his,  and  performing  a  number  of  antic 
and  unmeaning  changes,  accompanied  by 
various  grimaces,  or  inflections  of  the 
principal  muscles  of  the  visage.  This 
rarely  failed  to  excite  a  certain  degree 
of  apprehension  in  the  mind  of  the  sick; 
which,  by  creating  a  new  action  of  the 
system,  often  frightened  them  into  con- 


valescence. That  such  effects  may  have 
been  produced  among  the  credulous  and 
timid,  we  shall  not  controvert ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  asserted,  that  num- 
bers have  been  so  far  overcome  with 
terror  and  fatigue,  (for,  like  Dr.  Sangra- 
do,  the  operator  was  never  satisfied 
while  any  strength  to  undergo  the  pro- 
cess remained)  that  consequences  highly 
dangerous,  and  in  some  instances  tatal, 
were  induced.  Notwithstanding  the  ob- 
vious folly  of  the  pursuit,  there  were  found 
many  gentlemen  of  great  respectability 
and  talents  among  its  followers ;  hence 
a  certain  degree  of  credit  was  establish- 
ed, and  there  were  not  wanting  persons 
foolish  enough  to  certify  many  cases, 
and  to  give  a  celebrity,  which  was  in  a 
very  short  time  found  to  be  misapplied. 
It  is  a  lamentable  case,  that,  through- 
out the  world,  impositions  of  this  nature 
are  always  tolerated  lung  enough  to  an- 
swer the  purposes  of  the  fabricator,  and 
to  encourage  others  in  similar  deceptions. 
Our  readers  may  recollect  many  instances 
of  notorious  character,  among  which  the 
metallic-tractors,  which  were  at  one  time 
asserted  to  be  allied  to  metallic-magne- 
tism, may,  perhaps,  serve  as  a  proper  illus- 
tration and  proof. 

MAGNIFYING,  in  philosophy,  the 
making  of  objects  appear  larger  than 
they  would  otherwise  do ;  whence  con- 
vex lenses,  which  have  the  power  of 
doing  this,  are  called  magnifying  glasses; 
and  of  such  glasses  are  microscopes  con- 
structed. 

MAGNITUDE,  whatever  is  made  up 
of  parts  locally  extended,  or  that  hath  se- 
veral dimensions  ;  as  a  line,  surface,  solid. 
The  apparent  magnitude  of  a  body  is  that 
measured  by  the  visual  angle,  formed  by 
rays  drawn  from  its  extremes  to  the  cen- 
tre of  the  eye  ;  so  that  whatever  things 
are  seen  under  the  same  or  equal  angles, 
appear  equal ;  and  vice  versa.  Mr.  Mac- 
laurin  observes,  that  geometrical  magni- 
tudes may  be  usefully  considered  as  ge- 
nerated or  produced  by  motion.  Thus, 
lines  may  be  conceived  as  generated  by 
the  motion  of  points  ;  surfaces,  by  the 
motion  of  lines ;  solids,  by  the  motion  of 
surfaces ;  angles  may  be  supposed  to  be 
generated  by  the  rotation  of  their  sides. 
Geometrical  magnitude  is  always  under- 
stood to  consist  of  parts  ;  and  to  have  no 
parts,  or  to  have  no  magnitude,  are  consi- 
dered as  equivalent  in  this  science.  There 
is,  however,  no  necessity  for  considering 
magnitude  as  made  up  of  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  small  parts  ;  it  is  sufficient  that  no 
quantity  can  be  supposed  to  be  so  small, 


MAH 


MAH 


but  it  may  be  conceived  to  be  farther  di- 
minished: and  it  is  obvious,  that  we  are 
not  to  estimate  the  number  of  parts  that 
may  be  conceived  in  a  given  magnitude, 
by  those  which,  in  particular  determinate 
circumstances,  may  be  actually  perceived 
in  it  by  sense,  since  a  greater  number  of 
parts  become  sensible,  by  varying  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  is  perceived. 

MAGNOLIA,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
honour  of  Pierre  Magnol,  professor  of 
medicine,  and  prefect  of  the  botanic 
garden  at  Montpelier,  a  genus  of  the 
Polyandria  Polygynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Coadunatx.  Magnolize, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character:  calyx  three- 
leaved  ;  petals  nine  :  capsule  one-celled, 
two-valved ;  seeds  berried,  pendulous, 
There  are  seven  species ;  of  which  M. 
grandiflora,  great  laurel-leaved  magno- 
lia, or  tulip  tree,  in  the  southern  provin- 
ces of  North  America,  grows  to  the 
height  of  eighty  feet :  the  trunk  is  more 
than  two  feet  in  diameter ;  the  leaves 
are  nine  or  ten  inches  long,  and  three 
broad  in  the  middle,  of  a  thick  consist- 
ence, resembling  those  of  the  common 
laurel,  but  much  larger  ;  of  a  lucid 
green,  sessile,  and  placed  without  order 
on  every  side  of  the  branches  ;  continuing 
green  all  the  year,  falling  off  only  as  the 
branches  extend,  and  the  new  leaves  are 
produced.  The  flowers  come  out  at  the 
ends  of  the  branches  :  they  are  large, 
and  composed  of  eight  or  ten  petals, 
which  are  narrow  at  the  base,  broad, 
rounded,  and  a  little  waved  at  their  ex- 
tremities ;  they  are  of  a  pure  white  co- 
lour, possessing  an  agreeable  scent.  The 
summers  in  England  are  not  warm  enough 
to  bring  the  fruit  to  perfection.  This  fine 
tree  is  a  native  of  Florida  and  Carolina, 
and,  in  common  with  many  of  the  trees 
and  plants  of  that  country,  is  impatient  of 
cold  here,  and  difficult  to  keep  in  perfec- 
tion, either  abroad  or  housed. 

MAHERNIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Pentandria  Pentagynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Columniferae.  Tiliacese, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  calyx  five- 
toothed  ;  petals  five ;  nectaries  five,  obcor- 
date,  placed  under  the  filaments ;  capsule 
five-celled.  There  are  three  species,  na- 
tives of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

MAHOGANY.  The  swietenia  maha- 
goni,  or  mahogany  tree,  is  a  native  of  the 
warmest  parts  of  America,  and  grows 
also  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  Jamaica,  His- 
paniola,  and  the  Bahama  islands.  It 
abounded  formerly  in  the  low  lands  of 
Jamaica ;  but  it  is  now  found  only  on  hills, 
and  places  difficult  of  access.  This  tree 


grows  tall  and  straight,  rising  often  sixty 
feet  from  the  spur  to  the  limbs ;  and  is 
about  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  foliage 
is  a  beautiful  deep  green,  and  the  appear- 
ance made  by  the  whole  tree  very  ele- 
gant. The  flowers  are  of  a  reddish  or 
saffron  colour,  and  the  fruit  of  an  oval 
form,  about  the  size  of  a  turkey's  egg. 
Some  ot'  them  have  reached  to  a  mon- 
strous size,  exceeding  one  hundred  feet  in 
height.  In  felling  these  trees,  the  most 
beautiful  part  is  commonly  left  behind. 
The  negro  workmen  raise  a  scaffolding  of 
four  or  five  feet  elevation  from  the 
ground,  and  hack  up  the  trunk,  which 
they  cut  into  balks.  The  part  below, 
extending  to  the  root,  is  not  only  of  larger 
diameter,  but  of  a  closer  texture  than  the 
other  parts,  most  elegantly  diversified 
with  shades  or  clouds,  or  dotted  like  er- 
mine with  spots :  it  takes  the  highest 
polish,  with  a  singular  lustre.  This  part 
is  only  to  be  come  at  by  digging  below 
the  spur,  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three 
feet,  and  cutting  it  through  ;  which  is  so 
laborious  an  operation,  that  few  attempt 
it,  except  they  are  curious  in  the  choice 
of  their  wood;  or  to  serve  a  particular. 
purpose.  The  mahogany  tree  thrives  in 
most  soils ;  but  varies  in  texture  and 
grain,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil. 
On  rocks  it  is  of  a  smaller  size ;  but  very 
hard  and  weighty,  and  of  a  close  grain, 
and  beautifully  shaded  ;  while  the  pro- 
duce of  the  low  and  richer  lands  is  ob- 
served to  be  more  light  and  porous,  of  a 
paler  colour,  and  open  grain  ;  and  that  of 
mixed  soils  to  hold  a  medium  between 
both.  This  constitutes  the  difference  be- 
tween the  Jamaica  wood  and  that  which 
is  collected  from  the  coast  of  Cuba  and 
the  Spanish  Main  ;  the  former  is  mostly 
found  on  rocky  eminences ;  the  latter  is 
cut  in  swampy  soils,  near  the  sea  coast. 
The  superior  value  of  the  Jamaica  wood, 
for  beauty  of  colouring,  firmness,  and 
durability,  may  therefore  be  easily  ac- 
counted for  ;  and  a  large  quantity  of  balks 
and  planks  is  brought  from  the  Spanish 
American  coasts  to  Jamaica,  to  be  ship- 
ped from  thence  to  Great  Britain.  This 
wood  is  generally  hard,  takes  a  fine  polish, 
and  is  found  to  answer  better  than  any 
other  sort  in  all  kinds  of  cabinet  ware.  It 
is  a  very  strong  timber,  and  was  fre- 
quently used  as  such  in  Jamaica  in  former 
times.  It  is  said  to  be  used  sometimes  in 
ship-building;  a  purpose  for  which  it 
would  be  remarkably  adapted,  if  not  too 
costly;  being  very  durable,  capable  of 
resisting  gun-shots,  and  burying  the  shots 
without  splintering. 


MAHOMETANS. 


MAHOMETANS,  believers  Jn  the  doc- 
trines and  divine  mission  of  Mahomet,  the 
celebrated  warrior  and  pseudo-prophet  of 
Arabia,  who  was  born  at  Mecca  in  the 
year  571.  The  father  of  Mahomet  was  Ab- 
tlollech,  descended  from  the  Korashites, 
tribes  who  had  long  enjoyed  the  regal 
dignity  in  Arabia.  Notwithstanding  the 
royal  descent  of  the  prophet,  it  appears 
that  a  variety  of  adverse  circumstances 
concurred  to  render  him,  in  the  early  part 
of  his  life,  indigent  and  obscure.  His 
father  died  before  he  was  two  years  of 
age,  and  his  mother  when  he  was  about 
eight;  so  that  he  was  left  in  a  manner 
destitute  of  subsistence,  and  his  educa- 
tion, in  a  great  measure,  if  not  altogether, 
neglected.  After  the  death  of  his  mother, 
he  was  committed  to  the  care  of  his 
grandfather,  who  dying  within  a  year  af- 
terwards, he  was  taken  under  the  pro- 
tection ot"  his  uncle  Taleb,  a  merchant  of 
some  respectability.  There  are  various 
accounts  relative  to  the  manner  in  which 
Mahomet  first  began  to  invent  and  pro- 
pagate his  new  system  of  faith  and  wor- 
ship. It  appears,  according  to  the  Ma- 
hometan historians,  that  his  pretended 
mission  was  revealed  to  him  in  a  dream, 
in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age.  From 
that  time,  say  his  biographers,  Mahomet, 
under  the  influence  of  a  holy  terror,  de- 
voted himself  to  a  solitary  life.  He  re- 
tired to  a  grotto  in  the  mountain  of  Hira, 
which  overlooks  Mecca.  He  there  pass- 
ed his  days  and  nights  in  fasting,  prayer, 
and  meditation.  In  the  midst  of  one  of 
these  profound  ecstasies,  the  angel  Ga- 
briel appeared  to  him,  with  the  first  chap- 
ter of  the  Koran,  and  commanded  him  to 
read.  Mahomet  replied,  he  was  unable ; 
upon  which  the  angel  repeatedly  em. 
braced  him,  and  commanded  him  to  read, 
in  the  name  of  his  Creator.  A  few  days 
after,  praying  upon  the  same  mountain  of 
Hira,  Mahomet  again  saw  the  angel  of  the 
Lord,  seated  in  the  midst  ot  the  clouds 
on  a  glittering  throne,  with  the  second 
chapter  of  the  Koran  ;  and  was  addressed 
by  him  in  the  following  words  :  «'  O  thou 
who  art  covered  with  a  celestial  mantle, 
arise  and  preach  1"  Thus  the  angel  Ga- 
briel communicated,  by  command  of  the 
Eternal,  to  his  prophet,  in  the  twenty- 
three  last  years  of  his  life,  the  whole  book 
of  the  Koran,  leaf  by  leaf,  chapter  by 
chapter.  There  are,  however,  different 
accounts  respecting  the  portions  or  par- 
cels in  which  the  Koran  was  given  to 
Mahomet.  See  ATXORA.N. 

During  the  first  thirteen  years  of  the 
nrophet's  mission,  he  appears  to  have 

VOL.  IV 


made  very  slow  progress;  but  the  last 
ten  were  employed  with  greater  success. 
Finding  that  visions,  ecstasies,  revela- 
tions, and  arguments,  did  not  succeed  so 
rapidly  as  be  could  have  wished  in  mak- 
ing proselytes,  he  determined  to  try  the 
more  powerful  and  adventurous  induce- 
ments of  coercion.  After  his  flight  from 
Mecca  to  Medina,  which  took  place  A.  D. 
622,  and  from  which  his  followers  com- 
pute their  time,  the  prophet  made  rapid 
progress.  Thousands  flocked  to  his  stand- 
ard, and  he  soon  convinced  his  enemies, 
that  if  they  refused  to  admit  the  divinity 
of  his  mission,  they  should  feel  the  weight 
of  his  arm.  He  declared,  that  God  sent 
him  into  the  world,  not  only  to  teach  his 
will,  but  to  compel  mankind  to  embrace 
it.  "  The  word,"  said  he,  "  is  the  key  of 
heaven  and  hell ;  a  drop  of  blood  shed 
in  the  cause  of  God,  or  a  night  spent  in 
arms,  is  of  more  avail  than  two  months 
of  fasting  and  prayer.  Whosoever  falls 
in  battle,  his  sins  are  forgiven  at  the  day 
of  judgment ;  his  wounds  shall  be  re- 
splendent as  vermilion,  and  odoriferous 
as  musk,  the  loss  of  his  limbs  shall  be 
supplied  by  the  wings  of  angels  and 
cherubim."  Who  would  not  die  to  be 
acquitted  at  the  bar  of  heaven  ?  Who 
would  not  prefer  a  night  in  arms  to  a  fast 
of  two  months  ?  And  what  mortal  but 
would  prefer  the  odours  of  musk  to 
the  stench  of  plasters  or  foetid  ointments ; 
the  wings  of  angels  to  the  cumbrous  ap- 
pendages of  human  limbs  ?  These  repre- 
sentations were  attended  with  the  desired 
effect  on  the  minds  and  conduct  of  the 
prophet's  admirers.  They  assembled  in 
numbers  to  fight  for  God  and  his  prophet. 
Headed  by  a  chieftain  of  invincible 
courage,  attractive  eloquence,  and  as- 
tonishing genius,  guarded  by  angels  (as 
they  supposed),  and  enflamed  by  the 
holy  fire  of  fanaticism,  success  attended 
almost  all  their  engagements.  Mahomet, 
thus  elevated,  formed  the  stupendous 
design  of  creating  a  new  empire.  Here 
again  success  crowned  his  efforts.  His 
plan  was  executed  with  such  intrepidity, 
that  he  died,  A.  D.  632,  master  of  a'll 
Arabia,  besides  several  adjacent  pro- 
vinces. It  is  not  our  business,  nor  will 
our  limits  admit  of  it,  to  account  for  the 
rapid  progress  of  the  Mahometan  faith. 
We  may,  however,  summarily  state,  as 
causes  of  the  eastern  prophet's  success : 
the  terror  of  his  arms  ;  the  artful  nature 
of  his  law,  which  offered  such  rewards 
to  the  faithful,  and  such  punishments  to 
the  infidels,  as  were  best  suited  to  the 
luxuriant  fancies  of  the  Arabians;  the 
C  r 


MAH 


MAI 


plainness  and  simplicity  of  some  of  his 
doctrines  ;  the  adaptation  of  the  duties 
which  his  law  enjoined  to  the  passions 
and  appetites  of  mankind ;  the  profound 
ignorance  under  which  the  Arabians, 
Syrians,  Persians,  and  the  greatest  part 
of  the  eastern  nations,  then  laboured ; 
and,  lastly,  the  dissensions  and  animosi- 
ties that  then  ravage d  the  peace,  and  de- 
stroyed the  union  of  the  Christian  sects, 
particularly  the  Greeks,  Nestorians,  Euty- 
chians,  and  Monophysites,  and  which 
rendered  the  very  name  of  Christianity 
odious  to  many.  These  are  some  of  the 
causes  which  gave  life  and  strength  to 
the  Mahometan  religion  in  the  east. 

The  religion  of  Mahomet  is  divided 
into  two  general  parts  :  faith  and  practice. 
The  fundamental  article  of  the  Mahome- 
tan creed  is  contained  in  this  confession  : 

THERE  IS  BUT  ONE  GOD,  AND  MA- 
HOMET IS  H I S  PRO  PHET.  Under  these 
two  propositions  are  comprehended  six 
distinct  branches  :  viz.  belief  in  God ;  in 
his  angels  ;  in  his  scriptures;  in  his  pro- 
phets ;  in  the  resurrection  and  judgment ; 
and  in  God's  absolute  decrees,  or  pre- 
destination. They  reckon  five  points  re- 
lating to  practice  :  viz.  prayer  with  wash- 
ings, &c. ;  alms  ;  fasting  ;  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca ;  and  circumcision.  Mahomet  ad» 
mitted  the  divine  mission  of  both  Moses 
and  of  Jesus  Christ.  Dr.  Jortin  says,  that 
Mahometism  is  a  borrowed  system,  made 
up  for  the  most  part  of  Judaism  and 
Christianity;  and  if  it  be  considered,  the 
the  same  writer  observes,  in  the  most 
favourable  point  of  view,  might  possibly 
be  accounted  a  sort  of  Christian  heresy. 
Achmet  Benabdalla,  in  his  letter  to  Mau- 
rice, Prince  of  Orange,  says,  "  The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  held  by  us  (Mahometans) 
to  be  a  prophet,  and  the  messenger  of 
God,  and  our  lady,  the  virgin  Mary,  his 
mother,  to  be  blessed  of  God,  holy,  who 
brought  him  forth,  and  conceived  him 
miraculously  by  the  almighty  power  of 
God." 

The  Mahometans  are  a  superstitious 
people,  and  hence  in  their  religion  we 
find  a  prodigious  number  of  rites,  ceremo- 
nies, and  observances;  the  principal  of 
which  are  :  circumcision,  ablutions,  fast- 
ings,  pilgrimage,  polygamy,  marriage 
rites,  mourning  for  the  dead,  funeral  rites, 
and  the  observance  of  Friday  as  a  Sabbath. 
In  all  these  observances,  &c.  there  is  a 
mixture  of  Heathenism,  Judaism,  and 
Christianity.  After  the  death  of  their 
prophet,  the  Mahometans  were  divided, 
like  the  Christians,  into  an  incredible 
number  of  sects  and  parties,  all  of  them, 


however,  professing  to  adhere  to  the 
Koran  as  the  rule  and  guide  of  their  faith 
and  practice,  yet  differing  widely  from 
each  other  in  particular  points  of  belief, 
relative  to  doctrine,  practice,  and  eccle- 
siastical discipline.  Those  who  wish  to 
see  the  history  and  character  of  this  ex- 
tensive sect  more  particularly  detailed, 
will  do  well  to  consult  the  following  au- 
thors :  Fabricius's  "Delectus  et  Syllabus 
argument,  pro  veritate  relig.  Christian*;" 
Boulainvillier's,  Gagnier's  and  Prideaux's 
Lives  of  Mahomet ;  Sale's  English  Trans- 
lation of  the  Koran;  to  which  may  be  added, 
Professor  White's  Sermons  at  the  Bamp- 
ton  Lectures,  and  Millar's  account  of 
Mahomet  in  his  *'  Propagation  of  Chris- 
tianity," vol.  i.  c.  1. 

MAIDEN,  in  ancient  English  customs, 
an  instrument  for  beheading  criminals. 
Of  the  use  and  form  of  this  instrument 
Mr.  Pennant  gives  the  following  account: 
"  It  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  the 
limits  of  the  forest  of  Hardwick,  or  the 
eighteen  towns  and  hamlets  within  its 
precincts.  The  time  when  this  custom 
took  place  is  unknown  ;  whether  Earl 
Warren,  lord  of  this  forest,  might  have 
established  it  among  the  sanguinary  laws 
then  in  use  against  the  invaders  of  the 
hunting  rights,  or  whether  it  might  not 
take  place  after  the  woollen  manufactu- 
rers at  Halifax  began  to  gain  strength,  is 
uncertain.  The  lust  is  very  probable  ; 
for  the  wild  country  around  the  town 
was  inhabited  by  a  lawless  set,  whose  de- 
preciations on  the  cloth-tenters  might 
soon  stifle  the  efforts  of  infant  industry. 
For  the  protection  of  trade,  and  for  the 
greater  terror  of  offenders  by  speedy  ex- 
ecution, this  custom  seems  to  have  been 
established,  so  as  at  last  to  receive  the 
force  of  law,  which  was,  «  That  if  a  felon 
be  taken  within  the  liberty  of  the  forest 
of  Hardwick,  with  goods*  stolen  out,  or 
within  the  said  precincts,  either  hand- 
habend,  back-berand,  or  confession'd,  to 
the  value  of  thirteen  pence  half-penny, 
he  shall,  after  three  market  days,  or 
meeting  clays,  within  the  town  of  Halifax, 
next  after  such  his  apprehension,  and 
being  condemned,  be  taken  to  the  gib- 
bet, and  there  have  his  head  cut  from  his 
body.'  The  offender  had  always  a  fair 
trial :  for  as  soon  as  he  was  taken,  he  was' 
brought  to  the  lord's  bailiff  at  Halifax: 
he  was  then  exposed  on  the  three  mar- 
kets (which  here  were  held  thrice  in  a 
week),  placed  in  the  stocks,  with  the 
goods  stolen  on  his  back,  or,  if  the  theft 
was  of  the  cattle  kind,  they  were  placed 
by  him  ;  and  this  was  done  both  to  strike 


MAI 


MAJ 


terror  into  others,  and  to  produce  new 
informations  against  him.  The  bailiff 
then  summoned  four  freeholders  of  each 
town  within  the  forest  to  form  a  jury. 
The  felon  and  prosecutors  were  brought 
face  to  face ;  and  the  goods,  the  cow  or 
horse,  or  whatsoever  was  stolen,  produced. 
If  he  was  found  guilty  he  was  remanded 
to  prison,  had  a  week's  time  allowed  for 
preparation,  and  then  was  conveyed  to 
this  spot,  where  his  head  was  struck  off 
by  this  machine.  I  should  have  premised, 
tliat  if  the  criminal,  either  after  apprehen- 
sion, or  in  the  way  to  execution,  should 
escape  out  of  the  limits  of  the  forest  (part 
being  close  to  the  town,),  the  bailiff  had 
no  further  power  over  him  ;  but  if  he 
should  be  caught  within  the  precincts  at 
any  time  after,  he  was  immediately  exe- 
cuted on  his  former  sentence. 

"  This  privilege  was  very  freely  used 
during  the  reigu  of  Elizabeth :  the  re- 
cords before  that  time  were  lost.  Twen- 
ty-five suffered  in  her  reign,  and  at  least 
twelve  from  1623  to  1650 ;  after  which, 
I  believe,  the  privilege  was  no  more  ex- 
erted. 

"  This  machine  of  death  is  now  destroy- 
ed; but  I  saw  one  of  the  same  kind  in  a 
room  under  the  parliament  house  at 
Edinburgh,  where  it  was  introduced  by 
the  regent  Morton,  who  took  a  model  o*f 
it  as  he  passed  through  Halifax,  and  at 
length  suffered  by  it  himself.  It  is  in 
form  of  a  painter's  easel,  .and  about  ten 
feet  high  :  at  four  feet  from  the  bottom  is 
a  cross  bar,  on  which  the  felon  lays  his 
head,  which  is  kept  down  by  another 
placed  above.  In  the  inner  edges  of  the 
frame  are  grooves  ;  in  these  is  placed  a 
sharp  axe,  with  a  vast  weight  of  lead,  sup- 
ported at  the  very  summit  with  a  peg : 
to  that  peg  is  fastened  a  cord,  which  the 
executioner  cutting,  the  axe  falls,  and 
does  the  affair  effectually,  without  suffer- 
ing the  unhappy  criminal  to  undergo  a 
repetition  of  strokes,  as  has  been  the  case 
in  the  common  method.  I  must  add,  that 
if  the  sufferer  is  condemned  for  stealing 
a  horse  or  a  cow,  the  string  is  tied  to  the 
beast,  which,  on  being  whipped,  pulls  out 
the  peg,  and  becomes  the  executioner." 
This  apparatus  is  now  in  possession  of  the 
Scottish  Antiquarian  Society^ 

MAJESTY,  a  title  given  to  kings, 
which  frequently  serves  as  a  term  of  dis- 
tinction. 

MAI11EM,  or  MAIM,  signifies  a  corpo- 
ral wound  or  hurt  by  which  u  man  loseth 
the  use  of  any  member. 

By  the  old  common  law,  castration  was 
punished  with  death,  and  other  members 
with  the  loss  of  member  for  member : 


but  of  latter  days,  maihem  was  punisha* 
ble  only  by  fine"  and  imprisonment.  If  a 
man  attack  another  with  an  intent  to  mur- 
der him,  and  he  does  not  murder  the 
man,  but  only  maim  him,  the  offence  is 
nevertheless  a  capital  felony  within  the 
statute  22  and  23  Charles  II.  c.  1,  usually 
culled  the  Coventry  Act. 

And  by  a  late  statute,  44  Geo.  III.  c.  58, 
if  any  person  shall,  either  in  England  or 
Ireland,  wilfully,  maliciously,  and  unlaw- 
fully, shoot  at  any  of  his  Majesty's  sub- 
jects, or  wilfully,  maliciously,  and'  unlaw- 
fully present  any  kind  of  loaded  fire-arms 
at  any  one,  and  attempt  to  discharge  the 
same  at  him,  or  wilfully,  maliciously,  and 
unlawfully  stab  or  cut  any  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects,  with  intent  in  so  doin^1,  or  by 
means  thereof  to  murder  or  rob,  or  to 
maim,  disfigure,  or  disable  him,  or  with 
intent  to  do  some  other  grievous  bodily 
harm  to  liiin^  or  to  obstruct,  resist,  o'r 
prevent  the  lawful  apprehension  and  de- 
tainer of  the  person  so  stabbing  or  cutting, 
or  of  any  of  his  accomplices,  for  any  of- 
fence for  which  the}-  may  be  liable  to  be 
detained,  or  shall  wilfully,  &c.  administer 
poison  with  intent  to  murder,  or  to  pro- 
cure the  miscarriage  of  any  woman  quick 
with  child,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  felony, 
and  suffer  death.  But  in  case  of  level- 
ling fire-arms,  or  cutting  and  maiming  as 
aforesaid,  if  it  shall  appear  that  if  death 
had  ensued,  the  party  would  not  have 
been  guilty  of  murder,  then  the  defen- 
dant shall  be  acquitted. 

A  person  who  maims  himself  that  he 
may  have  the  more  colour  to  beg,  or  that 
he  may  not  be  impressed,  may  be  indicted 
and  fined. 

MA1NPRIZE,  a  delivering  a  person  to 
his  friends,  to  be  answerable  for  his  ap- 
pearance. It  differs  from  bail,  as  the 
rnainpernors  cannot  keep  the  party  in 
custody,  but  must  let  him  be  at  liberty 
till  the  day  of  his  appearance. 

MAINTENANCE,  the  unlawful  taking 
in  hand  or  upholding  a  cause  of  any  per- 
son. It  was  formerly  unlawful  to  assist 
any  person  in  litigation,  except  as  an  at- 
torney, advocate,  kinsman,  servant,  or 
near  relation,  out  of  charity.  The  late 
Judge  Buller  expressed  serious  doubts 
whether  the  law  against  maintenance  was 
not  obsolete. 

MAJOR,  in  the  art  of  war,  the  name  of 
several  officers  of  very  different  ranks  and 
functions ;  as,  1.  Major-general,  the  next 
officer  to  the  lieutenant-general  :  his 
chief  business  is  to  receive  the  orders 
from  the  general,  or  in  his  absence  from 
the  lieutenant-general  of  the  day;  which 
he  is  to  distribute  to  the  brigade-majors. 


MAL 


MAL 


with  whom  he  is  to  regulate  the  guards, 
convoys,  and  detachments.  When  there 
are  two  attacks  at  a  siege,  he  commands 
that  on  the  left.  He  ought  to  be  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  strength  ofeach  brigade, 
of  each  regiment  in  particular,  and  to 
have  a  list  of  all  the  field  officers.  In 
short,  he  is  in  the  army,  what  a  major  is 
in  a  regiment.  He  is  allowed  an  aid-de- 
camp, and  has  a  serjeant  and  fifteen  men 
for  his  guard.  2.  Major  of  a  brigade,  the 
officer  who  receives  the  orders  from  the 
major-general,  and  afterwards  delivers 
them  to  the  adjutants  of  the  regiments  at 
the  head  of  the  brigade  ;  where  he  takes 
and  marches  the  detachments,  &c.  to  the 
general  rendezvous.  He  ought  to  be  an 
expert  captain,  to  know  the  state  and 
condition  of  the  brigade,  and  keep  a  roll 
of  the  colonels,  lieutenant-colonels,  ma- 
jors, and  adjutants.  3.  Major  of  a  regi- 
ment, the  next  officer  to  the  lieutenant- 
colonel,  generally  promoted  from  the  old- 
est captain.  He  is  to  take  care  that  the 
regiment  be  well  exercised,  to  see  it 
march  in  good  order,  and  to  rally  it  in 
case  of  its  being  broke.  He  is  the  only 
officer  among  the  foot  that  is  allowed  to 
be  on  horseback  in  time  of  action,  that  he 
may  the  more  readily  execute  the  colo- 
nel's orders,  either  in  advancing  or  draw- 
ing off' the  regiment.  4.  Major  of  a  regi- 
ment of  horse,  is  the  first  captain,  who 
commands  in  the  absence  of  the  colonel. 
5.  Town-major,  the  third  officer  in  a  gar- 
rison, being  next  to  the  deputy-governor. 
He  ought  to  understand  fortification,  and 
hath  charge  of  the  guards,  rounds,  patroles, 
&c.  His  business  is  also  to  take  care  that 
the  soldiers'  arms  are  in  good  order  :  he 
likewise  orders  the  gates  to  be  opened 
and  shut,  and  gives  the  governor  an  ac- 
count of  all  that  passes  within  the  place. 

There  are  also  drum-majors,  &.c.  so 
called  from  their  pre-eminence  above 
others  of  the  same  denomination. 

MAKING  up,  among  distillers,  the  re- 
ducing spirits  to  a  certain  standard  of 
strength,  usually  called  proof,  by  the  ad- 
mixture of  water ;  which  should  be  either 
soft  and  clear  river  water,  or  spring  wa- 
ter rendered  soft  by  distillation. 

MALACHITE,  a  mineral,  the  green 
carbonate  of  copper,  found  frequently 
crystallized  in  long  slender  needles ; 
colour  green,  and  the  specific  gravity 
about  3.6.  It  effervesces  with  nitric  acid, 
and  gives  a  blue  colour  to  ammonia.  It 
decrepitates  and  blackens  before  the 
blow-pipe.  There  are  two  varieties,  the 
fibrous  and  the  compact :  the  constituent 
parts  are, 


Copper  ...........  58.0 

Carbonic  acid     ......  .  18.0 

Oxygen  ...........  12.5 

11.5 


100.0 


MALACHRA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Monadelphia  Polyandria  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Coiumniferx. 
Malvacese,  Jussieu.  Essential  charac- 
ter :  calyx  common  three-leaved,  many- 
flowered,  larger ;  arils  five,  one-seed- 
ed. There  are  five  species,  natives  of 
America. 

MALACHODENDRUM,  in  botany,  a 
genus  of  the  Monadelphia  Polyandria 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Colum- 
niferae.  Malvaceae,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character:  calyx  simple;  germ  pear- 
shaped,  pentagonal;  styles  five;  cap- 
sule five,  one-seeded.  There  are  two 
species,  viz.  M.  ovatum,  and  M.  corcho- 
roides. 

M  ALACOLITE,  a  mineral  found  in  the 
silver  mines  in  Sweden,  and  also  in  Nor- 
way. It  is  obtained  massive  and  crystalliz- 
ed in  six-sided  prisms.  Specific  gravity 
about  3.25.  It  consists  of 

Silica 53 

Lime     20 

Magnesia 19 

Alumina     3 

Oxide  of  iron,  &.c 4 

99 
Loss  ....     1 

100 


MALATES,  in  chemistry,  salts  formed 
by  the  union  of  the  malic  acid  with  differ- 
ent bases.  These  salts  have  not  been 
fully  investigated ;  but  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  the  malates  of  lime,  barytes, 
and  magnesia,  are  very  insoluble.  The  ma- 
lates of  potash,  soda,  and  ammonia,  are 
deliquescent.  The  malates  of  potash, 
soda,  ammonia,  lime,  and  barytes,  may 
be  formed  by  dissolving  these  alkalies 
in  malic  acid,  and  evaporating  the  solu- 
tions. 

MAL  AXIS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Gynandria  Diandria  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Orchidex.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  nectary  one-leafed,  concave,  cor- 
date, acuminate  backwards,  bifid  in  front, 
cherishing  the  gentials  in  the  middle. 
There  are  two  species,  viz.  M.  spicata, 


MAL 


MAL 


and  M.  umbelliflora,  both  natives  of  Ja- 
maica. 

MALE,  among  zoologists,  that  sex  of 
aniimls  which  has  the  parts  of  generation 
without  the  body. 

The  term  male  has  also,  from  some 
similitude  to  that  sex  in  animals,  been 
applied  to  several  inanimate  things : 
thus  we  say,  a  male-flower,  a  male-screw, 
&c. 

MALIC  add,  in  chemistry,  was  disco- 
vered by  Scheele  about  the  year  1785. 
It  is  found  in  the  juices  of  a  great  many 
fruits,  and  it  derives  its  name  from  the 
circumstance  of  its  being  obtained  in 
great  abundance  from  the  juice  of  apples, 
in  which  it  exists  ready  formed.  It  is  thus 
obtained :  saturate  the  juice  of  apples 
with  potash,  and  add  to  the  solution  ace- 
tate of  lead  till  no  more  precipitation  en- 
sues. Wash  the  precipitate  carefully 
with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water;  then 
pour  upon  it  diluted  sulphuric  acid  till 
the  mixture  has  a  perfectly  acid  taste, 
without  any  of  that  sweetness  which  is 
perceptible  as  long  as  any  lead  remains 
dissolved  in  it ;  then  separate  the  sulphate 
of  lead,  which  has  precipitated,  by  filtra- 
tion, and  there  remains  behind  pure  malic 
acid.  The  French  chemists  have  ascer- 
tained that  it  may  be  obtained  in  the 
largest  quantities  from  the  juice  of  the 
sempervivum  tectorum,  where  it  exists 
abundantly  combined  with  lime.  Malic 
acid  is  very  soluble,  in  water,  and  decom- 
poses spontaneously,  by  undergoing  a 
kind  of  fermentation.  It  is  composed  of 
oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  carbon.  It  com- 
bines with  alkalies,  earths,  and  metallic 
oxides,  and  forms  MALATES,  which  see 
above. 

Dr.  Thomson  has  shewn  in  what  the 
citric  and  malic  acids  agree,  and  in  what 
they  differ.  The  citric  acid  shoots  into 
crystals;  but  the  malic  will  not  crystal- 
lize. The  citrate  of  lime  is  almost  inso- 
luble in  boiling  water,  but  the  malate  of 
lime  is  easily  soluble  in  that  liquid.  Malic 
acid  precipitates  mercury,  lead,  and  sil- 
ver, from  the  nitrous  acid,  and  likewise 
the  solution  of  gold  when  diluted  with 
water ;  whereas  the  citric  acid  does  not 
alter  any  of  these  solutions. 

MALICE,  a  formed  design  of  doing 
mischief  to  another.  Malice  is  of  two 
kinds  ;  express  or  implied.  Malice  ex- 
press, in  cases  of  homicide,  is,  where  one 
with  a  deliberate  intention,  evidenced  by 
external  circumstances,  kills  another. 
This  intention  may  appear  by  lying  in 
wait,  antecedent  menaces,  former  grudg- 
es, and  concerted  schemes  to  do  one 


some  bodily  harm.  Malice  implied  is  va- 
rious ;  as  where  one  voluntarily  kills  ano- 
ther without  any  provocation,  or  where 
one  wilfully  poisons  another ;  in  such 
cases,  the  law  implies  malice,  though  no 
particular  enmity  can  be  proved.  See 

HOMICTDX. 

In  this  latter  case,  the  act,  if  it  is  in  it- 
self necessarily  injurious  to  another,  im- 
plies malice.  As  to  stab  one  is  the  best 
evidence  of  a  design  to  injure  him,  be- 
cause the  ai*  necessarily  must  injure  him, 
and  malice  is  but  a  design  to  injure  ;  and 
if  it  really  were  an  accidental  injury,  that 
must  be  shown  from  other  circumstances 
which  are  generally  to  be  proved  on  the 
part  of  the  defendant.  Malice  being  a  de- 
sign to  injure,  any  injurious  act  implies 
malice,  but  in  common  speech  it  is  more 
frequently  applied  to  the  continued  work- 
ings of  a  long  preconceived  hatred  and 
ill-will. 

MALLEABLE,  a  property  of  metals, 
whereby  they  are  capable  of  being  ex- 
tended under  the  hammer.  See  DUCTILI- 
TY and  METAL. 

MALLET,  a  kind  of  large  wooden 
hammer,  used  by  artificers  who  work 
with  a  chissel,  as  sculptors,  masons, 
and  stone-cutters,  whose  mallets  are 
commonly  round;  and  by  joiners,  car- 
penters, &c.  who  work  with  square-head- 
ed mallets. 

MALLEUS,  in  anatomy,  a  bone  of 
the  ear,  so  called  from  its  resemblance 
to  a  mallet,  and  in  which  is  observed 
the  head,  the  neck  and  handle,  which 
is  joined  to  the  membrane  of  the  tym- 
panum. 

MALOPE,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Monadelphia  Polyandria  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Columniferae.  Malva- 
ceae, Jussieu.  Essential  character:  calyx 
double,  outer  three-leaved ;  arils  glome- 
rate, one  seeded.  There  are  two  species, 
viz.  M.  malacoides,  and  M.  parviflora,  the 
former  has  greatly  the  appearance  of 
mallow,  but  differs  from  it  in  having  the 
cells  collected  into  a  button,  somewhat 
like  a  blackberry  ?  the  bunches  spread, 
and  lie  almost  flat  upon  the  ground,  ex- 
tending a  foot  or  more  each  way.  The 
flowers  are  produced  singly  upon  long 
axillary  peduncles,  they  are  in  shape  and 
colour  like  those  of  mallow.  It  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  meadows  of  Tuscany  and  of 
Barbary. 

MALPIGHIA,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
honour  of  Marcello  Malpighi,  professor 
of  medicine  at  Bologna,  a  genus  of  the 
Decandria  Trigynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Trihilatse.  Malpighiae,  Jus- 


MAL 


MAM 


sieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  five- 
\.d,  with  melliferous  pores  on  the 
outside  At  the  base;  petals  five,  round- 
ish, with  claws ;  berry  one-celled,  three- 
seeded.  There  are  eighteen  species,  of 
which  M.  glabra,  smooth-leaved  Barba- 
does  cherry,  usually  grows  to  the  height 
of  sixteen  or  eighteen  feet;  leaves  oppo- 
site, subsessile,  acute,  continuing  all  the 
year ;  flowers  in  axillary  and  terminating 
bunches ;  the  pedicles  have  a  single 
joint :  calyx  incurved  witii  glands ;  pe- 
tals subcordate;  stigmas  simple,  with  a 
little  drop  ;  fruit  red,  round,  the  size  of 
a  cherry.  This  tree  grows  plentifully  in 
most  of  the  islands  in  the  West  Indies ; 
whether  it  is  natural  there  or  not  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine,  for  birds  being  fond  of 
the  fruit,  they  disperse  the  seeds  every 
where  in  great  abundance. 

MALT,  a  term  applied  to  grain  which 
has  been  made  to  germinate  artificially  to 
a  certain  extent,  after  which  the  process 
is  stopped  by  the  application  of  heat. 
The  barley  is  steeped  in  cold  water  for  a 
period  not  less  than  forty  hours,  by  which 
it  increases  in  bulk  and  imbibes  moisture, 
while  at  the  same  time  a  quantity  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas  is  emitted,  and  a  part  of 
the  substance  of  the  husk  is  dissolved. 
The  weight  of  the  barley  is  increased  in 
the  proportion  of  147  to  100,  and  the 
bulk  is  increased  about  one-fifth.  When 
it  is  sufficiently  steeped,  the  water  is 
drained  off,  and  the  barley  thrown  out  of 
the  cistern  upon  the  malt  floor,  where  it 
is  formed  into  a  rectangular  heap,  called 
the  couch,  sixteen  inches  deep.  In  this 
state  it  remains  about  twenty-six  hours. 
It  is  then  turned  by  means  of  wooden 
shovels,  and  diminished  a  little  in  depth : 
this  operation  is  repeated  twice  or  thrice 
a  day,  and  the  grain  is  spread  thinner  and 
thinner,  till  at  last  its  depth  does  "not  ex- 
ceed a  few  inches.  On  the  couch  it  ab- 
sorbs oxygen  from  the  atmosphere,  which 
it  converts  into  carbonic  acid ;  the  tempe- 
rature gradually  increases,  and  in  about 
four  days  the  grain  is  ten  degrees  hotter 
than  the  surrounding  atmosphere.  The 
grain  now  becomes  moist,  and  exhales  an 
agreeable  odour ;  this  is  called  the  sweat- 
ing. A  small  portion  of  ah-ohol  appears 
to'  be  volatilized  at  this  period  of  the 
process.  The  chief  business  of  the  malt- 
ster is  to  keep  the  temperature  from  be- 
coming excessive,  which  is  done  by  turn- 
ing. The  temperature  may  vary  from 
fifty-five'  to  sixty-two  degrees.  At  the 
period  of  sweating,  the  roots  of  the  grains 
begin  to  appear,  which  increase  in  length 
till  checked  by  turning  the  malt.  In  one 
day  after  the  sprouting  of  the  roots,  the 


rudiments  of  the  future  stem,  called  aero/- 
spire  by  the  maltster,  may  be  seen  to 
lengthen,  and  it  is  now  time  to  stop  the 
process.  As  the  acrospire  shoots  along  the 
grain,  the  appearance  of  tne  kernel,  or 
mealy  pan  of  the  corn,  undergoes  a  con- 
siderable change.  The  glutinous  and 
mucilaginous  matter  is  taken  up  and  re- 
moved, the  colour  becomes  white,  and 
the  texture  is  so  loose  that  it  crumbles  to 
powder  between  the  fingers.  The  ob- 
ject of  malting  is  to  produce  this  change: 
when  it  is  accomplished,  which  takes 
place  as  soon  as  the  acrospire  has  come 
nearly  to  the  end  of  the  seed,  the  pro- 
cess is  stopped  by  drying  the  malt  upon 
the  kiln.  The  malt  is  then  cleaned  to 
separate  the  small  roots,  which  are  con- 
sidered as  injurious.  Barley  by  malting 
generally  increases  two  or  three  per 
cent,  in  bulk,  and  loses  about  one-fifth  of 
its  weight. 

MALTA,  knights  of.     See  KNIGHT. 

MALTHA,  in  chemistry,  called  also 
sea-wax,  is  a  solid  substance  found  on  the 
Lake  Baikal  in  Siberia.  It  is  white,  melts 
when  heated,  and  on  cooling  assumes  the 
consistence  of  white  cerate.  It  readily 
dissolves  in  alcohol,  and  in  other  respects 
it  possesses  the  characters  of  a  solid  vo- 
latile oil. 

MALVA,  in  botany,  mallo-w,  a  genus  of 
the  Monadelphia  Polyandria  class  and  or- 
der. Natural  order  of  Columniferae.  Mal- 
vacex,  Jussieu.  Essential  character :  ca- 
lyx double,  outer  three-leaved  ;  capsules 
many,  united  in  a  depressed  whorl,  one- 
celled,  one-seeded.  There  are  thirty- 
four  species,  chiefly  perennial  herbace- 
ous plants. 

MAMALUKES,  the  name  of  a  dynasty 
that  reigned  in  Egypt.  The  Mamalukes 
were  originally  Turkish  and  Circassian 
slaves,  bought  of  the  Tartars  by  Melicsa- 
leh,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand,  whom 
he  bred  up  to  arms,  and  raised  some  to 
the  principal  offices  of  the  empire.  They 
killed  Sultan  Moadam,  whom  they  suc- 
ceeded. 

Others  say,  that  the  Mamalukes  were 
ordinarily  chosen  from  among  the  Chris, 
tian  slaves,  and  that  they  were  the  same 
thing  in  a  great  measure  with  the  Janissa- 
ries among  the  Turks.  They  never  mar- 
ried; they  first  are  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  Circassia,  and  some  have 
supposed  that  they  began  to  reign  about 
the  year  869. 

MAMMAE,  the  breasts,  in  anatomy. 
See  MAMMARY  gland. 

MAMMALIA,  in  natural  history,  the 
first  class  of  animals  in  the  Linnsean  sys- 
tem :  the  animals  in  this  class  have  lungs 


MAM 


MAN 


that  respire  alternately ;  jaws  incumbent, 
covered ;  teetli  visually  within ;  teats  lac- 
tiferous ;  organs  of  sense,  tongue,  nos- 
trils, eyes,  ears,  and  papillre  of  the  skin ; 
covering,  hair,  which  is  scanty  in  warm 
climates,  and  scarcely  any  on  aquatics ; 
supporters,  four  feet,  except  in  aquatics  ; 
and  in  most  a  tail ;  walk  on  the  earth  and 
speak.  Such  is  the  Linnxan  account. 
They  suckle  their  young  by  means  of  lac- 
tiferous teats,  and  hence  the  name  mam- 
malia. In  structure  they  resemble  man  ; 
most  of  them  are  quadrupeds,  and  with 
man  inhabit  the  surface  of  the .  earth  :  a 
few  of  them  exist  in  the  ocean.  There 
are  seven  orders,  the  characters  of  which 
are  taken  from  the  number,  situation, 
and  structure  of  the  teeth.  The  names 
of  the  orders  are, 


Glircs, 

Pecora, 

Primates, 


Brut  a, 
Cete, 

Ferse, 


which  see. 

MAMMARY  gland,  in  anatomy,  is  a 
glandular  substance  situated  in  the  breast, 
and  secreting  the  milk. 

This  gland,  surrounded  by  cellular  and 
adipous  substance,  and  covered  by  the 
common  integuments,  constitutes  the 
breast.  It  lies  on  the  anterior  surface  of 
the  pectoralis  major  muscle. 

In  men,  and  in  young  girls,  these  bo- 
dies are  small ;  they  en-large  in  the  female 
subject  very  considerably  at  the  time  of 
puberty,  assuming  an  hemispherical  shape, 
and  pretty  firm  consistence,  which,  how- 
ever, is  lost  as  the  subject  advances  in 
years,  particularly  in  women  who  have 
suckled  many  children. 

The  skin  of  the  breasts  is  white,  and 
soft  to  the  touch,  except  in  the  middle, 
where  there  is  a  portion  of  a  reddish 
brown  colour,  called  the  areola.  From 
the  centre  of  this  the  nipple  projects,  in 
the  form  of  a  cylindrical  prominence, 
with  a  rounded  end,  similar  in  colour  to 
the  ai-eola,  and  covered,  like  that  part, 
by  a  more  delicate  continuation  of  the 
skin,  which  is  somewhat  wrinkled  and  ir- 
regular on  its  surface.  Both  the  areola 
arid  nipple  are  furnished  with  numerous 
sebaceous  glands,  which  may  be  clearly 
seen  through  the  integuments.  The  mat- 
ter which  these  secrete,  preserves  the 
parts  from  the  excoriation  which  they 
would  otherwise  suffer  from  suckling. 
The  mammary  gland  is  composed  of  a 
vast  congeries  of"  small  tubes,  convoluted 
and  accumulated  on  each  other,  and 
known  by  the  technical  iiuine*  of  tubttli 


lactiferi.  These  unite  together,  gradually 
forming  larger  and  larger  trunks,  which 
approach  from  all  sides  towards  the  nip* 
pie.  The  trunks  become  very  much  con- 
tracted at  the  areola,  and  in  this  state  pass 
through  the  nipple,  to  terminate  on  its 
surface  by  open  orifices,  about  fifteen  in 
number,  whose  size  is  about  sufficient  to 
admit  a  hog's  bristle.  This  structure  can 
only  be  shewn  during  the  period  of  suck- 
ling. 

The  use  of  thf  milk  secreted  in  these 
glands,  as  a  nutriment  for  the  young  ani- 
mal, is  known  to  every  body.  It  is  singu- 
lar that  they  should  exist  in  the  male, 
where  they  never  perform  any  office 
whatever ;  at  least,  except  in  very  rare 
instances,  where  a  fluid  of  a  milky  na- 
ture has  been  poured  out  from  them. 

MAMMEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polygamia  Monoecia,  or  Dioecia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Guttiferse,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character :  calyx  one- 
leafed,  two-parted  ;  corolla  four-petalled  ; 
berry  very  large,  four-seeded.  There  is 
but  one  species,  viz.  M.  Americana,  Ame- 
rican mammee,  which  is  a  lofty,  upright, 
handsome  tree,  with  a  thick  spreading 
elegant  head ;  it  has  a  long  tap  root, 
which  renders  it  difficult  to  transplant ; 
the  leaves  are  oval,  quite  entire,  extreme- 
ly shining,  leathery,  firm,  with  parallel 
transverse  streaks,  on  short  petioles  from 
five  to  eight  inches  in  length  ;  peduncles 
one-flowered,  scattered  over  the  stouter 
branches ;  flowers  sweet,  white,  an  inch 
and  half  in  diameter ;  the  calyx  is  often 
trifid,  with  a  five-petalled  corolla.  It  is  a 
native  of  the  Caribbee  islands,  and  the 
neighbouring  continent. 

MAN.  The  natural  history  of  man  is 
yet  in  its  infancy  ;  insomuch  that  we  can- 
not pretend  to  give  any  thing  like  a  com- 
plete view  of  the  subject.  The  descrip- 
tion and  arrangement  of  the  various  pro- 
ductions of  the  globe,  have  occupied  nu- 
merous observers  in  all  ages  of  the  world; 
and  every  insect  and  plant  of  common 
occurrence  has  been  described  with  mi- 
nute accuracy,  while  the  human  subject 
alone  has  been  almost  entirely  neglected. 
It  is  only  of  late  that  the  natural  history 
of  man  has  begun  to  receive  its  due 
share  of  attention ;  and  we  shall  venture 
to  assert,  that,  whether  we  regard  the  in- 
trinsic importance  of  the  questions  that 
arise,  or  merely  advert  to  the  pleasure  of 
the  research,  no  subject  will  be  found 
more  deserving  of  minute  investigation. 
Much  of  the  following  sketch  is  derived 
from  Blumenbach,  "  De  Generis  Humani 
Varietate  Nativa."  Ed.  3d,  Getting.  1795-, 
to  which  we  refer  the  reader  for  more 


MAN. 


detailed  information.  He  may  also  con- 
sult the  "  Decades  Craniorum  "  of  the 
same  author ;  Camper,  "  Trail e  des  Dif- 
ferences Keeles,"  &.c.  4to. ;  Buffon,  in 
his  large  work  on  "  Natural  History ;" 
Hunter,  "  Disp.  Inaug.  de  Hominum  Va- 
rietatibus,  earumque  Causis ;"  Zimmer- 
man, "  Geographische  Geschichte  der 
Menschen,  £.c."  and  Ludwig,  "  Grun- 
driss  der  Naturgeschichte  der  Menschen 
— species." 

The  differences  which  exist  between 
inhabitants  of  different  regions  of  the 
globe,  both  in  bodily  conformation  and  in 
the  faculties  of  the  mind,  are  so  striking, 
that  they  must  have  attracted  the  notice 
even  of  superficial  observers.  There  are 
two  ways  of  explaining  these :  first,  by 
referring  the  different  races  of  men  to 
different  original  families,  according  to 
which  supposition  they  will  form,  in  the 
language  of  naturalists,  different  species; 
or  we  may  suppose  them  all  to  have  de- 
scended from  one  family,  and  account  for 
the  diversity  which  is  observable  in  them, 
by  the  influence  of  physical  and  moral 
causes ;  in  which  case  they  will  only 
form  different  varieties  of  the  same  spe- 
cies. 

Before,  however,  we  enter  upon  this 
discussion,  it  will  be  necessary  to  dispose 
of  a  previous  question,  viz.  what  are  the 
characters  which  distinguish  man  from  all 
other  animals ;  those  which  constitute 
him  a  distinct  genus  ?  Several  writers, 
who  have  pleased  themselves  with  de- 
scribing what  they  call  a  regular  grada- 
tion or  chain  of  beings,  represent  man 
only  as  a  superior  kind  of  monkey  ;  and 
place  the  unfortunate  African  as  the  con- 
necting  link  between  the  superior  races 
of  mankind  and  the  orang-outang ;  they 
deny,  in  short,  that  he  is  generically  dis- 
tinguished from  monkeys.  Such  an  opi- 
nion might  reasonably  be  expected  from 
the  slave-merchant  who  traffics  in  human 
blood,  and  from  a  West  Indian  Negro 
driver,  who  uses  his  fellow-creatures 
worse  than  brutes ;  but  we  should  not 
think  of  finding  it  defended  by  the  natu- 
ral historian  ;  and  we  shall  not  hesitate  to 
assert,  that  it  is  as  false  philosophically,  as 
the  moral  and  political  consequences,  to 
which  it  would  lead,  are  shocking  and 
detestable.  We  set  out  with  this  posi- 
tion ;  that  man  has  numerous  distinctive 
marks,  by  which,  under  every  circum- 
stance of  roughness  and  uncivilization, 
and  every  variety  of  country  and  race, 
he  is  separated,  at  a  broad  and  most  clear- 
ly defined  interval,  from  every  other  ani- 
mal, even  of  those  classes  which,  from 
their  general  resemblance  to  the  human 


subject,  have  been  called  anthropo-mor 
phous.  We  cannot,  indeed,  by  any  means 
coincide  with  those  moderns,  who  have 
indulged  their  imagination  in  painting  a 
certain  continuity  or  gradation  of  created 
beings ;  and  who  fancy  they  have  disco- 
vered great  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  and 
great  perfection  of  the  creation,  in  this 
respect ;  that  nature  makes  no  leaps,  but 
has  connected  the  various  objects  of  the 
three  kingdoms  with  each  other,  like  the 
steps  of  a  staircase,  or  the  links  of  a  chain. 
The  candid  and  unprejudiced  observer 
must  allow,  that  in  the  animal  kingdom 
there  are  whole  classes,  as  birds,  and  par- 
ticular genera,  as  the  cuttle-fish,  which  can- 
not find  a  place  in  such  a  scheme  of  ar- 
rangement, without  a  very  forced  and  un- 
natural introduction :  and,  again,  that  the  re 
are  certain  genera,  as  the  coccus,wherethe 
two  sexes  are  so  different  from  each  other, 
that  the  male  and  female  must  be  sepa- 
rated, and  occupy  different  parts  of  the 
scale,  in  this  artificial  plan  of  gradation. 

It  is  frequently  easier  to  perceive,  as  it 
were  intuitively,  the  distinctive  charac- 
ters of  two  neighbouring  species  of  ani- 
mals, than  to  express  them  by  words. 
Hence  Linnaeus,  whose  sagacity  in  per- 
ceiving the  characteristic  marks  of  the 
various  objects  of  natural  history,  and  in 
expressing  them  in  appropriate  language, 
has  never  been  exceeded,  declares,  in  his 
"  Systema  Naturae,"  that  the  distinctions 
between  man  and  the  monkey  still  remain 
to  be  discovered :  "  Mi  rum,  adeo  parum 
differre  stultissimam  simiam  a  sapientissi- 
mo  nomine,  ut  istegeodxtes  naturae  etiam- 
num  quserendus,  qui  hos  limitet."  Accord- 
ingly, he  gives  neither  the  generic  nor  spe- 
cific character  of  man  in  that  work. 

The  cirumstances  which  distinguish 
man  from  other  animals  may  be  consider- 
ed under  three  divisions  :  1.  Differences 
in  the  structure  of  the  body ;  2.  in  the 
animal  economy ;  3.  in  the  faculties  of  the 
mind. 

Under  the  first  head  we  remark,  as  the 
most  distinguishing  peculiarity  of.  man, 
his  erect  stature :  that  majestic  attitude, 
which  announces  his  superiority  over  all  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  globe-  He  is  the 
only  being  adapted  by  his  natural  formation 
to  the  upright  position.  Enslaved  to  their 
senses,  and  partaking  merely  of  physical 
enjoyments,  other  animals  have  the  head 
directed  towards  the  earth  :  "  qux  natu- 
ra  prona  atque  ventri  obedientia  finxit." 
Man,  whose  more  elevated  nature  is  con- 
nected to  surrounding  objects  by  moral 
relations,  who  can  embrace  in  his  mind 
the  system  of  the  universe,  and  follow  thr 


MAN. 


connections  of  effects  and  causes,  boldly 
regards  the  heavens,  and  can  direct  his 
sight  even  into  the  starry  regions.  The 
physical  cause  of  this  noble  prerogative 
will  be  found  in  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  feet;  in  the  length  and  strength 
of  the  lower  extremities;  and  in  the  num- 
ber and  size  of  the  muscles,  which  extend 
the  trunk  upon  the  lower  limbs.  (For  a 
more  detailed  account  of  this  part  of  the 
subject,  see  COMPARATIVE  ANATOMY, 
muscles.) 

The  situation  of  the  great  occipital  fora- 
men is  another  circumstance  depending 
on  the  erect  stature  of  man  :  and  for  an 
account  of  this  subject,  we  refer  to  the 
same  part  of  the  article  on  comparative 
anatomy,  and  also  to  that  portion  of  it 
which  treats  of  comparative  osteology. 

The  structure  of  the  thorax  shews,  that 
man  was  not  designed  to  go  on  ail-fours. 
Quadrupeds,  if  they  have  long  legs,  have 
the  chest  flattened  at  the  sides,  and  keel- 
shaped  in  front ;  and  they  have  no  clavi- 
cles, so  that  the  front  legs  converge,  and 
fall  under  the  chest,  to  'support  the  front 
of  the  body.  Quadrupeds  have  also  a 
longer  sternum,  or  a  greater  number  of 
ribs  continued  towards  thecrista  ilia,  and 
serving  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  ab- 
dominal viscera  in  the  horizontal  position 
of  the  trunk.  These  things  are  all  differ- 
ently arranged  in  the  biped  man.  His 
thorax  is  flattened  before  and  behind ; 
his  shoulders  widely  separated  from  each 
other  by  the  clavicles  ;  his  sternum  short, 
and  his  abdomen  unfurnished  with  bony 
parietes  in  a  very  large  extent.  These  cir- 
cumstances, with  many  others,  which  could 
not  fail  to  strike  any  body  who  attentive- 
ly compared  the  human  skeleton  with 
that  of  the  long-legged  quadrupeds, 
shew  how  ill  the  human  structure  is 
adapted  to  progression  on  four  feet,  which 
eould  not  be  otherwise  than  unsteady, 
troublesome,  and  fatiguing,  in  the  highest 
degree. 

The  manner  in  which  the  human  pelvis 
differs  from  that  of  all  other  animals,  is  a 
further  proof  of  what  has  been  already 
stated.-  The  broad  expansion  of  the  up- 
per part  of  the  ilia  forms  a  firm  basis  for 
the  trunk ;  the  curvature  of  the  sacrum, 
and  the  inclination  of  the  os  coccygis  for- 
wards, which  is  a  circumstance  altogether 
peculiar  to  the  human  pelvis,  give  to  it  a 
capacity  exceeding  that  of  any  other  ani- 
mal. In  the  orang-outang  the  upper  part 
of  the  ilium  is  narrow  and  elongated, 
stretching  upwards  in  the  direction  of  the 
spine  ;  the  sacrum,  flat  and  contracted, 

VOL,  IV. 


continues  in  a  straight  line  with  the  ver- 
tebral column. 

The  relation  of  the  neighbouring  soft 
parts  to  the  pelvis,  deserves  also  to  be 
considered.  The  posterior  surface  of  the 
pelvis  gives  origin  to  the  glut<ei  muscles, 
the  external  of  which,  exceeding  in  size 
all  others  in  the  body,  and  covered  by  a 
large  proportion  of  fat,  form  the  buttocks. 
These  fleshy  and  rounded  prominences, 
between  which  the  anus  is  deeply  hidden, 
have  always  been  considered,  both  by  the 
natural  historian  and  the  physiologist,  as  a 
peculiar  characteristic  of  man,  particularly 
distinguishing  him  from  the  simiae,  which 
have  no  buttocks  at  all. 

The  curvature  of  the  sacrum  and  os 
coccygis  gives  rise  to  the  particular  di- 
rection of  the  organs  of  generation,  and 
especially  of  the  vagina  ;  that  canal, 
which,  in  the  other  female  mammalia, 
nearly  follows  the  axis  of  the  pelvis,  be- 
ing placed  almost  at  right  angles  to  that 
axis  in  the  woman ;  and  hence  the  pro- 
cess of  parturition  becomes  more  difficult. 
In  consequence  of  this  direction  of  the 
vagina,  the  human  female  is  not  like  that 
of  brutes,  retromingent :  and  the  same 
circumstance  will  determine  a  point  that 
has  been  often  agitated,  concerning  the 
most  natural  position  for  the  act  of  copu- 
lation :  "  quibus  ipsa  modis  tractetur 
blanda  voluptas."  For  although  there 
are  many  ways  in  which  this  rite  may  be 
performed,  the  relation  of  the  penis  to 
the  vagina  points  out  the  ordinary  method 
as  the  most  natural. 

From  the  erect  stature  of  man  arises 
another  very  distinguishing  prerogative ; 
the  most  unconstrained  use  of  his  very 
perfect  hands  So  greatly  does  the  con- 
formation of  these  parts  excel  that  of 
other  animals,  that  Anaxagoras  was  hence 
induced  to  make  an  observation,  which 
Helvetius  has  again  brought  forwards  in 
our  times,  "  that  man  is  the  wisest  of 
animals,  because  he  possesses  hands." 
This  indeed  is  too  much  ;  yet  Aristotle  is 
well  justified  in  observing,  that  man  alone 
possesses  hands  really  deserving  that 
name.  The  chief  and  most  distinguishing 
part  of  the  hand,  viz.  the  thumb,  is  short, 
slender,  and  weak,even  in  the  most  anthro- 
po-inorphous  simiae;  so  that  no  other  hand 
but  that  of  the  human  subject  deserves 
the  name  given  to  it  by  the  Stagy  rite,  of  the 
organ  of  all  organs.  (See  the  remarks  on. 
this  subject  in  the  article  COMPARATIVE, 
ANATOMY.) 

The  monkeys,  apes,  and  other  anthropo- 
morphous animals,  can,  v\  fact,  be  called 

Del 


MAN. 


neither  bipeds  nor  quadrupeds ;  but  they 
are  quadr  umanous,  or  four-handed.  Their 
posterior  limbs  are  furnished  with  a 
thumb,  instead  of  a  great  toe ;  which 
latter  part  belongs  only  to  man,  and  arises 
from  the  manner  in  which  his  body  is 
supported  in  the  erect  position.  Hence 
the  dispute  concerning  the  mode  of  pro- 
gression of  the  orang-outang  and  other 
simix  ;  viz.  whether  they  go  on  all  foufs, 
or  are  supported  by  the  posterior  limbs 
only,  will  be  easily  settled.  Neither  of 
these  representations  is  correct.  Since 
the  hands  of  these  animals  are  not  formed 
for  walking,  but  for  seizing  and  holding 
objects,  it  'is  clear  that  nature  has  design- 
ed them  to  live  chiefly  in  trees.  They 
climb  these,  and  seek  their  food  in  them  ; 
and  one  pair  of  hands  is  employed  in  fix- 
ing  and  supporting  the  body ,while  the  other 
gathers  their  food,  or  serves  for  other  of- 
fices. Hence  some,  who  have  less  per- 
fect hands,  are  furnished  with  a  prehen- 
sile tail,  by  which  they  can  be  more  se- 
curely supported  in  trees. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  when 
we  see  monkeys  walking  erect,  it  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  instruction  and  discipline. 
The  delineations  of  the  orang-outang,  tak- 
en accurately  from  the  life,  shew  how  in- 
convenient and  unnatural  the  erect  pos- 
ture is  to  these  animals  :  they  are  drawn 
with  the  front  hands  leaning  on  a  stick, 
while  the  posterior  ones  are  gathered  up 
in  the  appearance  of  a  fist.  No  instance 
has  ever  been  produced  of  a  monkey,  nor 
of  any  other  animal,  except  man,  which 
could  preserve  his  body  in  a  state  of 
equilibrium,  when  standing  on  one  foot 
only.  All  these  considerations  render  it 
very  clear,  that  the  erect  stature  not  only 
arises  out  of  the  structure  and  conforma- 
tion of  the  human  body,  but  also  that  it  is 
peculiar  to  man  :  and  that  the  differences 
in  the  form  and  arrangement  of  parts,  de- 
rived from  this  source  only,  are  abundant- 
ly sufficient  to  distinguish  man  by  a  wide 
interval  from  other  animals. 

The  hymen,  a  part  for  which  no  ration- 
al use  has  been  hitherto  assigned,  is  pe- 
culiar to  man;  but  the  nymphze  and  cli- 
toris, of  which  the  same  assertion  has 
been  made,  are  found  also  in  other  ani- 
mals. 

The  want  of  the  os  intermaxillare  has 
generally  been  considered  as  characteris- 
tic of  the  human  species.  (See  COMPA- 
RATIVE ANATOMY  ;  osteology.) 

The  teeth  of  man  are  distinguished  by 
the  circumstance  of  their  being  arranged 
in  an  uniform,  unbroken  series.  The 


lower  incisors  are  placed  perpendicular- 
iy  ;  and  the  cuspidati  neither  project  be- 
yond the  others,  nor  are  separated  from 
them  by  any  interval.  The  molares  are 
clearly  distinguished  by  their  obtuse  pro- 
minence from  those  of  all  the  simise.  The 
lower  jaw  is  remarkable  for  three  rea- 
sons ;  its  shortness,  the  projection  of  the 
chin,  and  the  form  and  direction  of  the 
condyles,  as  well  as  the  mode  of  their  ar- 
ticulation with  the  basis  cranii ;  which 
manifestly  point  out  man  as  formed  by  na- 
ture to  be  an  omnivorous  animal. 

In  the  brain  we  meet  with  a  very  strik- 
ing difference  between  man  and  other 
animals.  The  human  subject  has  the 
largest  brain,  not  in  proportion  to  the  rest 
of  the  body,  but  to  the  size  of  the  nerves, 
which  proceed  from  it.  Hence,  if  we  di- 
vide the  nervous  system  into  two  parts, 
one  consisting  of  the  nerves,  and  that  part 
of  the  brain  from  which  they  arise,  which 
is  to  be  considered  as  appropriated  to  the 
functions  of  a  mere  animal  life ;  the  other, 
comprehending  the  remainder  of  the  brain, 
and  connecting  the  functions  of  the  nerves 
with  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  man  will 
possess  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  lat- 
ter more  important  part.  (See  COMPA- 
RATIVE ANATOMY.) 

Soemmerring  has  also  shewn,  that  the 
calcareous  matter  of  the  pineal  gland 
does  not  exist  in  any  animal  but  man. 

The  smoothness  of  the  human  integu- 
ments, and  the  want  of  the  hairy  cover- 
ing which  other  mammalia  possess,  must 
be  considered  as  a  peculiarity  of  man. 
The  unanimous  reports  of  all  travellers 
prove  beyond  a  doubt  that  every  species 
of  simia  is  hairy,  and  vastly  more  so  than 
any  man  :  although  we  read  of  instances 
of  particularly  hairy  people,  as  in  some  of 
the  South  Sea  islands ;  but  the  descrip- 
tions hitherto  given  are  not  completely 
satisfactory.  While  man  is  remarkable  on 
the  whole  for  the  smoothness  of  his  skin, 
some  parts  of  his  body  are  even  more 
hairy  than  those  of  brutes  ;  as  the  pubes 
and  axilla. 

The  orang-outang,  which  resembles 
man  more  than  any  other  simia,  has  a  rib 
more  on  each  side  than  the  human  sub- 
ject; its  sacrum  consists  of  three  pieces  of 
bone,  instead  of  five ;  and  it  has  a  pecu- 
liar membranous  pouch,  connected  with 
the  larynx. 

Under  the  head  of  the  animal  economy, 
we  may  observe,  as  characteristic  of  man, 
the  long  period  of  infancy,  and  conse- 
quently late  arrival  at  the  age  of  puber- 
ty ;  the  menstrual  discharge  in  the  female ; 


MAN. 


and  the  celebration  of  the  rites  of  Venus 
at  all  times  of  the  year.  No  other  of  the 
class  mammalia  has  the  cranium  consoli- 
dated, nor  the  teeth  appearing  at  so  late 
an  age ;  none  is  so  late  in  gaining  the 
power  of  supporting  the  body  on  its 
limbs,  in  acquiring  the  full  growth  ;  nor  in 
arriving  at  the  exercise  of  the  sexual 
functions.  To  none  is  there  allotted  such 
a  length  of  lite,  compared  with  the  bulk 
of  the  body ;  and  this  extension  of  exist- 
ence, at  its  latter  part,  must  be  regarded 
as  an  ample  compensation  for  the  greater 
length  of  infancy.  But  it  is  in  the  mind, 
that  nobler  part  of  man,  that  we  find  him 
most  remarkably  differing  from  the  brute 
creation.  And  here  all  philosophers  re- 
fer, with  one  accord,  to  the  enjoyment  of 
reason,  as  the  chief  and  most  important 
prerogative  of  the  human  subject.  If  we 
enquire,  however,  more  particularly  into 
the  meaning  of  this  word,  we  shall  be 
surprized  to  find  what  various  senses 
different  individuals  affix  to  the  same  ex- 
pression. According  to  some,  reason  is  a 
peculiar  faculty  of  the  mind,  belonging 
exclusively  to  man  :  others  consider  it  as 
a  more  enlarged  and  exquisite  develope- 
ment  of  a  power,  which  exists  in  a  less 
degree  in  other  animals.  Some  describe 
it  as  the  combination  of  all  the  higher  fa- 
culties of  the  mind ;  while  others  assert, 
that  it  is  only  a  peculiar  direction  of  the 
powers  of  the  human  mind,  &c. 

The  subject  may  perhaps  be  more 
shortly  and  safely  dispatched  by  consi- 
dering it  a  posteriori;  and  placing  the 
prerogative  of  man  in  the  circumstance  of 
his  having  brought  all  other  animals  un- 
der subjection  to  himself.  That  he  has 
effected  this  is  obvious ;  and  it  is  equally 
clear,  that  his  dominion  has  not  been  ac- 
quired by  superior  bodily  strength :  it  can 
therefore  only  be  referred  to  the  powers 
of  his  mind ;  and  to  these,  whatever  be 
their  nature,  we  give  the  name  of  reason. 
Man  is  designed  to  use  all  kinds  of  food  ; 
and  to  inhabit  every  climate  of  the  globe. 
The  unlimited  power  which  he  possesses 
in  these  respects,  gives  rise  to  various 
wants,  from  the  infinite  variety  of  climate, 
soil,  and  other  circumstances.  Man  re- 
ceives therefore  from  his  Creator  the 
power  of  invention  and  reason,  which 
supply  his  wants.  Hence,  in  the  most 
ancient  times,  and  by  the  wisest  nations, 
the  genius  of  invention  has  been  honour- 
ed with  divine  worship  :  it  forms  the 
Thoth  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Hermes  of 
the  Greeks.  Thus,  to  give  a  few  instan- 
ces :  man  has  made  tools  for  assisting  his 


labour ;  and  hence  Franklin  sagaciously 
defined  man  as  a  "  tool-making  animal :" 
he  has  formed  arms  and  weapons  ;  he 
has  devised  various  means  of  procuring 
fire ;  and,  lastly,  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
municating with  his  fellows,  he  has  in- 
vented speech.  This  is  to  be  accounted 
a  most  important  characteristic  of  man ; 
since  it  is  not  born  with  him,  like  the 
voices  of  animals,  but  has  been  framed 
and  brought  into  use  by  himself,  as  the 
arbitrary  variety  of  different  languages 
incontestibly  proves. 

There  is  some  doubt  with  respect  to 
laughing  and  weeping;  which  belong  ra- 
ther to  the  passions  than  to  reason.  It  is 
well  known,  that  many  animals  besides 
man  secrete  tears.  But  the  question  is, 
do  they  weep  from  grief?  The  fact  has 
been  asserted  by  some  great  men ;  as  by 
Steller,  of  the  seal ;  and  Pallas,  of  the 
camel.  But  it  is  very  doubtful,  whether 
they  ever  manifest  cheerfulness  by  laugh- 
ing. 

There  are  numerous  diseases  peculiar 
to  the  human  subject,  which  it  might  be 
considered  wrong  to  speak  of  in  remarks 
on  the  natural  history  of  man  ;  yet  these 
unnatural  phenomena  undoubtedly  de- 
serve a  place  in  the  discussion,  since  they 
arise  out  of  the  natural  habits  of  the  body. 
The  subject  is  obscure ;  since  the  nosology 
of  brutes  is  exposed,  by  its  very  nature, 
to  the  most  serious  and  almost  insupera- 
ble difficulties.  The  following  may  how- 
ever be  considered,  with  all  probability, 
as  diseases  peculiar  to  man :  small-pox, 
measles,  scarlatina,  petechiae,  plague,  he- 
morrhoids, menorrhagia,  hypochondria- 
sis,  hysteria,  the  various  affections  of  the 
mind,  scrofula?  lues  venerea,  pellagra, 
lepra,  amenorrhsa,  cancer?  hernia  con- 
genita  ?  tinea  capitis.  These,  though  by 
no  means  all,  are  the  chief  points  of  dif- 
ference between  man  and  other  animals  : 
they  have  been  enumerated,  we  can  hardly 
say  considered,  in  a  very  cursory  manner ; 
otherwise  they  would  have  afforded  mat- 
ter for  a  lengthened  disquisition.  The 
peculiarities  appear  abundantly  sufficient 
to  characterise  man  as  a  distinct  genus  ; 
and  consequently  to  overturn  the  wild 
chimeras  of  those  visionary  speculators, 
who  regard  him,  in  some  of  his  races  and 
modifications,  only  as  an  improved  orang- 
outang. 

Our  next  point  is  the  consideration  of 
the  varieties  of  the  human  species  and 
their  causes.  This  disquisition  will  per- 
haps appear  superfluous  to  the  devout 
believer,  whose  philosophy  on  this  point 


MAN. 


will  be  derived  from  the  writings  com- 
posed with  the  assistance  of  divine  inspi- 
ration,  and  therefore  commanding  our 
implicit  assent.  The  account  of  the  cre- 
ation of  the  human  race,  and  of  its  dis- 
persion over  the  face  of  the  globe,  con- 
tained  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  will  super- 
sede in  his  mind  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing recourse  to  any  argument  on  the 
subject.  We  shall  venture  to  submit, 
that  the  Mosaic  account  does  not  make 
It  quite  clear  that  the  inhabitants  of  all 
the  world  descended  from  Adam  and 
Eve :  we  are  told,  indeed,  that  "  Adam 
called  his  wife's  name  Eve,  because  she 
was  the  mother  of  all  living."  But  in 
the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  we  learn, 
that  God  created  man,  male  and  female ; 
and  this  seems  to  have  been  previously 
to  the  formation  of  Eve,  which  did  not 
take  place  until  after  the  garden  of 
Eden  had  been  made.  Again,  we  are 
informed  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Gene- 
sis, that  "in  the  day  that  God  created 
man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made  he 
him  ;  male  and  female  created  he  them  ; 
and  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name 
Adam,  in  the  day  when  they  were  cre- 
ated." We  find  also  that  Cain,  after 
slaying  his  brother,  was  married,  al- 
though it  does  not  appear  that  Eve  had 
produced  any  daughters  before  this  time. 
It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  field  is 
open  for  discussion  on  this  subject ;  and 
at  all  events,  if  the  descent  of  mankind 
from  one  stock  can  be  proved  inde- 
pendently of  the  holy  writings,  the  con- 
clusion will  establish  the  authority  of 
these  inspired  annals. 

If  we  fail  in  tracing  the  succession  of 
the  human  race  from  above  downwards, 
much  less  are  we  able  to  trace  back  any 
particular  tribe  to  their  first  origin  from 
the  present  stock.  To  use  the  words 
of  an  elegant  modern  historian  ;  "  neither 
the  annals  nor  traditions  of  nations  reach 
back  to  those  remote  ages,  in  which  the 
different  descendants  of  the  first  pair 
took  possession  of  the  different  countries 
where  they  are  now  settled.  We  can- 
not trace  the  branches  of  this  first  fa- 
mily, nor  point  out  with  certainty  the 
time  and  manner  in  which  they  divided 
and  spread  over  the  face  of  the  globe. 
Even  among  the  most  enlightened  peo- 
ple the  period  of  authentic  history  is  ex- 
tremely short,  and  every  thing  prior  to 
that  is  fabulous  and  obscure."  We  must, 
therefore,  in  tracing  the  variations  from 
the  original  stock,  assign  those  causes, 
which  are  well  known  to  have  great  influ- 


ence on  mankind,  as  climate,  manner  of 
life,  state  of  society,  &c. ;  occasionally 
deriving  assistance  from  the  analogies 
which  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  natural 
history  of  other  animals. 

Before  we  proceed  to  describe  the  va- 
rieties of  the  human  race,  it  is  necessary 
to  consider,  what  constitutes  a  species  in 
zoology;  and  how  varieties  arise  out  of 
species. 

We  should  answer,  in  the  abstract,  to 
the  first  question  ;  that  all  animals  belong 
to  the  same  species,  which  differ  in  such 
points  only,  as  might  arise  in  the  natural 
course  of  degeneration,  while  those  dif- 
ferences, which  could  not  be  explain- 
ed on  this  supposition,  would  lead  us 
to  class  the  animals  which  exhibit  them 
in  different  species.  But  the  great  dif- 
ficulty arises,  in  distinguishing  in  actual 
practice  mere  varieties  from  specific  dif- 
ferences. 

Ray,  and  after  him  BufFon,  referred 
those  animals  to  the  same  species  which 
copulate  together,  and  produce  a  fertile 
offspring.  But  this  criterion  has  pro- 
duced very  little  benefit ;  and  we  proba- 
bly must  be  contented  to  derive  our  no  - 
tions  of  species  in  zoology  from  analogy 
and  probability.  The  molar  teeth  of  the 
Asiatic  and  African  elephants  differ 
very  widely  in  their  conformation ;  and, 
as  we  know  no  instance  of  such  a  dif- 
ference produced  by  mere  degeneration, 
we  ascribe  those  animals  to  species  ori- 
ginally different.  The  white  ferret  on 
the  contrary  we  regard  as  a  variety,  be- 
cause we  know  that  the  colour  of  the 
hair  and  pupil  experiences  a  similar  va- 
riation in  other  instances  where  it  is  a 
mere  variety. 

In  considering  the  causes  by  the  ope- 
ration of  which  species  degenerate  into 
varieties,  we  shall  be  contented  with 
stating  the  facts  which  prove  the  influ- 
ence of  such  causes;  without  attempting 
to  explain  how  they  produce  their  ef- 
fects. As  there  is  very  little  of  a  satis- 
factory nature  ascertained  respecting 
this  matter,  we  should  be  afraid  of  dis- 
gusting the  sensible  reader  by  substitut- 
ing speculation  in  the  place  of  more  solid 
information. 

A  very  slight  consideration  will  shew- 
that  there  is  no  point  of  difference  be- 
tween the  several  races  of  mankind, 
which  has  not  been  found  to  arise,  in  at 
least  an  equal  degree,  among  other  ani- 
mals, as  a  mere  variety,  from  the  usual 
causes  of  degeneration.  The  instances 
of  this  kind  are  derived  chiefly  from  do- 
mesticated animals,  as  they  are  exposed 


MAN. 


to  all  those  causes  which  can  produce 
such  effects;  by  living-  with  man  they 
lend  an  artificial  and  unnatural  kind  of 
life,  and  are  taken  with  him  into  climates 
and  situations,  and  exposed  to  various 
other  circumstances  altogether  different 
from  their  original  destination ;  hence 
they  run  into  numerous  varieties  of  co- 
lour, form,  size,  &c.  which,  when  they 
are  established  as  permanent  breeds, 
would  be  considered  by  a  person  unin- 
formed on  these  subjects,  to  be  origi- 
nally different  species.  Wild  animals  on 
the  contrary  remaining  constantly  in  the 
state  for  which  they  were  originally 
framed,  retain  permanently  their  first 
character.  Man,  the  inhabitant  of  every 
climate  and  soil,  partaking  of  every 
kind  of  food,  and  of  every  variety  in 
mode  of  life,  must  be  exposed  still  more 
than  any  animal  to  the  causes  of  degene- 
ration. 

Climate  is  one  of  the  causes  which 
seems  to  exercise  a  powerful  influence 
on  the  animal  economy,  and  the  forma- 
tion of  the  body.  To  this  we  must  ascribe 
the  white  colour  of  several  animals  in  the 
northern  regions,  which  possess  other 
colours  in  more  temperate  countries,  viz. 
the  fox,  hare,  falcon,  crow,  blackbird, 
£c.  That  this  whiteness  must  be  ascrib- 
ed to  the  cold  of  the  climate  is  rendered 
probable  by  the  analogy  of  those  animals 
which  change  their  colour  in  the  same 
country  at  the  winter  season  to  white  or 
grey :  as  the  ermine  and  weasel,  hare, 
squirrel,  reindeer,  &.c.  &c.  The  com- 
mon bear  is  veiy  differently  coloured  in 
different  countries.  The  remarkable 
silky  and  white  covering  of  various  ani- 
mals in  that  district  of  Asia  Minor  called 
Angora  must  be  explained  in  the  same 
way,  rather  than  from  any  difference  of 
food ;  because  it  occurs  in  instances 
where  very  different  kinds  of  food  are 
used,  as  in  the  cat  and  goat.  Hence  also 
we  account  for  the  peculiar  blackness  of 
the  fowls  and  dogs  on  the  coast  of  Gui- 
nea, and  for  the  change  of  the  woolly  co- 
vering of  the  sheep  into  hair  in  the  same 
.situation. 

The  effect  of  climate  on  the  stature  of 
the  body  is  shewn  by  the  smallnessof  the 
horses  in  Scotland  and  North  Wales ; 
and  by  the  remarkable  differences  in 
this  respect  in  the  different  provinces  of 
Sweden.  Must  we  not  also  explain  on 
the  same  principle  the  constant  and  re- 
markable degeneracy  of  the  horse  in 
France  ?  According  to  Buffon,  the  Spa- 
nish or  Barbary  horses,  where  the  breed 
is  not  crossed,  degenerate  into  French 


horses  in  the  second,  or  at  latest 
third  generation. 

The  effect  of  food  on  the  body  is  very 
•  obvious  in  the  well  known  fact  of  several 
singing  birds,  chiefly  of  the  lark  and 
finch  kinds,  becoming  gradually  black, 
if  they  are  fed  on  hemp-seed  only.  The 
texture  of  the  hair  has  been  changed, 
in  an  African  sheep  brought  into  Eng- 
land, from  the  coarse  nature  of  that  of 
the  camel,  to  considerable  softness  and 
fineness,  by  one  year's  feeding  in  the 
pastures  of  this  country.  The  influence 
of  the  same  cause  on  the  stature  and  pro- 
portions of  the  body  is  shewn  in  the 
horse,  which  grows  to  a  large  size  in  the 
marshy  grounds  of  Friesland,  while  on 
stony  soils  or  dry  heaths  they  remain 
dwarfish.  Oxen  become  very  large  and 
fat  in  rich  soils,  but  are  distinguished  by 
shortness  of  the  leg ;  while  in  drier  situa- 
tions their  whole  bulk  is  much  less,  and 
the  limbs  are  stronger  and  more  fleshy. 
I  do  not  advert  to  the  well-known  differ- 
ences of  flavour  and  weight  produced  by 
different  food. 

Manner  of  life.  Under  this  head  we 
include  all  those  causes  which  can  act  on 
the  animal  economy  besides  climate  and 
food;  and  which,  by  their  long -continued 
influence  on  the  body,  effect  considera- 
ble changes  in  it.  Culture  and  the  pow- 
er of  habit  are  the  most  efficacious  of 
these,  and  exert  a  very  powerful  and  in- 
disputable action  on  our  domestic  ani- 
mals. Observe  the  striking  difference 
of  form  and  proportion  between  the 
horse  trained  in  the  manege,  and  the. 
wild,  untaught,  and  unbroken  animal. 
The  latter  bites  rather  than  kicks ;  while 
the  former,  reined,  and  armed  with  iron 
shoes,  uses  these  as  his  means  of  offence. 
The  ass  in  its  wild  state  is  remarkably 
swift  and  lively,  and  still  remains  so  in  his 
native  countries  in  the  east.  The  argali, 
or  wild  original  of  the  sheep,  is  covered 
with  hair  instead  of  wool;  and  the  bison, 
or  wild  ox,  has  a  long  flowing  mane, 
hanging  almost  to  the  ground.  Most  of 
the  mammalia,  which  have  been  tamed  by 
man,  betray  their  subjugated  state,  by 
having  the  ears  and  tail  pendulous.  In 
many,  the  very  functions  of  the  body,  as 
the  secretions,  generation,  &c.  are  great- 
ly changed.  The  domestic  sow  produces 
young  twice  a  year,  and  the  wild  animal 
only  once. 

The  domestic  pig  acquires  a  vast  accu- 
mulation of  fat  under  the  skin,  which  is 
never  seen  in  the  wild  animal,  which  on 
the  contrary  possesses  a  soft  downy  hair 
among  its  bristles,  speedily  lost  in  the 


MAN. 


tamed  individuals.  The  domesticated 
animals  become  liable  to  produce  mon- 
strous fetuses,  and  are  exposed  to  new 
and  numerous  diseases  :  their  bodies  are 
even  invaded  by  new  kinds  of  worms,  of 
which  the  hydatids  in  swine,  forming" 
what  is  commonly  called  the  measles,  are 
an  indubitable  instance. 

The  three  causes  now  mentioned  pro- 
duce their  effect  in  changing  the  original 
character  of  the  animal,  and  giving  origin 
to  a  variety,  only  after  a  great  length  of 
time,  and  a  continued  action  through  se- 
veral generations.  But  these  changes 
are  communicated  much  more  quickly  by 
the  process  of  generation.  When  two 
varieties  copulate  together,  the  offspring 
resembles  neither  parent  wholly,  but  par- 
takes of  the  form  and  other  peculiarities 
of  both.  This  cannot  with  propriety  be 
termed  hybrid  generation;  as  authors 
apply  that  expression  to  thex  produce  of 
the  copulation  of  different  species,  as  of 
the  horse  and  ass,  &c.  In  this  sense  hy- 
brids are  never  produced  in  the  human 
species  :  for  although  we  read  various  in- 
stances of  men  and  women  having  com- 
merce with  animals,  there  is  not  a  shadow 
of  reason  for  supposing  that  such  copu- 
lations ever  produced  an  offspring.  Breed- 
ing from  different  varieties  has  a  great 
effect  in  changing  the  colour  and  form  of 
the  animal  produced;  and  hence  this 
method  of  improving  and  ennobling  the 
race  is  practised  with  great  effect  in  the 
domestic  animals,  particularly  the  horse 
and  sheep. 

It  seems  even  possible  that  a  disposi- 
tion originally  morbid  may  be  transmitted 
by  generation,  and  acquire  a  permanent 
character.  The  peculiar  whiteness  of 
the  skin,  with  red  colour  of  the  eye,  oc- 
curring in  the  rabbit  and  ferret,  and  va- 
rious other  animals,  as  well  as  in  the  Al- 
bino of  the  human  race,  appears  in  v  the 
first  instance  to  be  P>  morbid  affection  of 
the  body ;  and  when  it  occurs  in  one  or 
two  instances  only,  in  the  human  subject, 
has  the  appearance  of  a  leprous  cachexy. 
But,  in  the  animals  just  mentioned,  all 
the  unnatural  characters  have  been  lost, 
and  it  is  established  as  a  permanent  va- 
riety. We  have,  moreover,  many  facts, 
shewing  that,  in  some  cases,  cr.su al  muti- 
lations are  transmitted  to  the  offspring  : 
as  want  of  tail  in  a  cat  or  dog.  (Philoso- 
phical Magazine,  vol.  iv.  p.  2.  Ander- 
son's Recreations,  vol.  i.  p.  69.)  The 
Jews  are  frequently  born  with  so  little 
foreskin,  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  cir- 
cumcise them  :  this  they  call  being  born 
circumcised.  (Philosophical  Magazine, 
vol.  iv.  p.  5.) 


In  applying  the  reasonings  derived  from 
the  causes  just  mentioned,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  advert  to  the  following  rules  : — 
1.  The  greater  the  number  of  causes  of 
degeneration,  and  the  longer  they  con- 
tinue to  act  on  the  same  species,  the 
more  obviously  will  that  species  deviate 
from  its  original  formation.  Man,  there- 
fore, must  be  expected  to  vary  more  than 
any  animal,  since  he  has  been  subjected 
from  his  very  origin  to  the  united  agen- 
cies of  climate,  food,  and  way  of  life.  2. 
A  cause,  possessing  in  itself  sufficient  effi- 
cacy, may  be  weakened  by  the  concur- 
rence of  other  conditions,  tending  to 
diminish  its  operations.  Thus,  countries 
placed  under  the  same  parallel  of  latitude 
have  very  different  temperatures;  and 
the  effects  of  situation  on  the  human 
subject  are  varied,  according  as  it  is  more 
or  less  elevated,  or  as  it  may  be  influenced 
by  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea,  marshes, 
mountains,  or  woods,  &c.  3.  The  source 
of  degeneration  is  often  to  be  sought  for, 
not  in  any  immediate  cause,  but  in  the 
mediate  influence  of  some  more  latent 
agency.  Thus,  the  dark  colour  of  the 
skin  may  not  arise  from  the  direct  action 
of  the  sun,  but  from  its  more  remote,  but 
very  signal,  influence  on  the  hepatic  sys- 
tem. 4.  These  indirect  and  mediate 
causes  may  be  so  very  obscure,  that  we 
cannot  form  even  any  probable  conjecture 
as  to  their  nature ;  yet  we  seem  to  be 
warranted  in  referring  those  phenomena 
of  degeneration,  which  hitherto  appear 
enigmatical,  to  the  operation  of  such  un- 
known powers.  Thus  we  must  explain 
the  constant  national  forms  of  crania, 
colours  of  the  eye,  &c. 

YAIUETIES    OF    THE  HtJMAX    RACE. 

The  colour  of  the  skin  forms  a  very  con- 
stant hereditary  character,  most  clearly 
influenced  by  that  of  both  parents  in  the 
hybrid  offspring  of  different  varieties, 
having  a  close  and  nearly  uniform  relation 
to  that  of  the  hair  and  iris,  and  indeed  to 
the  whole  temperament  of  the  individual ; 
and  for  all  these  reasons  attracting  most 
immediately  the  attention  of  the  cursory 
observer. 

The  seat  of  this  colour  is  in  a  thin  mu- 
cous stratum,  interposed  between  the 
cuticle,  or  dead  surface  of  the  body,  and 
the  true  skin,  and  called  rete  mucosum, 
or  rete  Malpighii.  The  native  reddish 
white  of  the  real  skin  appears  through 
this,  which  is  very  thin  and  almost  colour- 
less, in  the  white  races  of  mankind.  But 
in  the  darker  varieties  the  rete  mucosum 
is  much  thicker,  and  contains  throughout 


MAN. 


its  substance  a  black  pigment;  while  the 
cuticle  and  cutis  deviate  but  little  from 
the  colour  which  they  have  in  fair  per- 
sons. 

The  different  varieties  of  mankind  ex- 
hibit ever)'  possible  shade,  between  the 
snowy  whiteness  of  the  European  female 
and  the  jet  black  of  the  Negro.  Although 
none  of  these  gradations  obtain  so  univer- 
sally, as  to  be  found  in  all  the  individuals 
of  any  particular  nation,  nor  are  so  pecu- 
liar to  one  race,  as  not  to  occur  occa- 
sionally in  other  widely  different  ones, 
the  national  varieties  of  colour  may  be 
referred  on  the  whole,  with  sufficient  ac- 
curacy, to  the  five  following  principal 
classes. 

1.  White,  to  which  redness  of  the 
cheeks  is  almost  wholly  confined,  being 
observed  at  least  very  rarely,  if  at  all,  in 
the  other  varieties.  This  obtains  in  most 
of  the  European  nations,  in  the  western 
Asiatics,  as  the  Turks,  Georgians,  Circas- 
sians, Mingrelians,  Armenians,  Persians, 
&c.  and  in  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern 
parts  of  Africa. 

3.  Yellow,  or  olive  (a  middle  tint  be- 
tween that  of  wheat  and  boiled  quince, 
or  dried  lemon  peel),  which  characterises 
the  Mongolian  tribes,  usually  called,  to- 
gether with  the  inhabitants  of  great  part 
of  Asia,  Tartars. 

3.  Red,  or  copper  colour  (bronze,  Fr. 
an  obscure  orange,  or  rusty  iron  colour, 
not  unlike  the  bark  of  the  cinnamon  tree) 
almost  confined  to  the  Americans. 

4.  Tawny,  or  brown  (basane,  Fr.  a  mid- 
dle tint  between  that  of  fresh  mahogany 
and  cloves  or  chesnuts)  which  belongs  to 
the  Malays,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
South  Sea  islands. 

5.  Black,  in  various  shades  from  the 
sooty  colour,   or  tawny -black,  to  that  of 
pitch,  or  jet-black.    This  is  well  known 
to  prevail  very  extensively  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Africa  :  it  is  found  also  in  other 
very  different  and  distant  varieties  of  the 
human  race,  mingled  with  the  national 
colour,  as  in  the  natives  of  Brazil,  Cali- 
fornia, India,  and  some  South  Sea  islands, 
as  New  Holland  and  New  Guinea.     In 
describing  these  five  varieties,  we  fix  on 
the  most  strongly  marked  tints,  between 
which  there  is  every  conceivable  inter- 
mediate shade  of  colour.    The  opposite 
extremes  run  into    each  other  by  the 
nicest  and  most  delicate  gradations,  in 
every  other  particular  in  which  the  hu- 
man species  differs.    This  forms  no  slight 
objection  to  the  hypothesis  of  different 
species.    For,  on  that  supposition,   we 
cannot  define  the  number  of  species,  nor 
can  we  point  out  the  boundaries  which 


divide  them ;  whereas  in  animals,  which, 
most  resemble  each  other,  the  different 
species  are  preserved  pure  and  unmixed. 
Neither  does  the  colour,  which  we  de- 
scribe in  general  terms  as  belonging  to 
any  particular  race,  prevail  so  universally 
in  all  the  individuals  of  that  race  as  to 
constitute  an  invariable  character,  as  we 
should  expect,  if  it  arose  from  such  an 
uniform  cause  as  an  original  specific  dif- 
ference :  its  varieties,  on  the  contrary, 
point  out  the  action  of  accidental  circum 
stances.  Thus,  although  the  red  colour 
is  very  general  on  the  American  conti- 
nent, travellers  have  observed  fair  tribes 
in  several  parts;  as  Bouguer  in  Peru, 
Cook  at  Nootka  Sound,  and  Weld  near 
the  United  States.  The  natives  of  New 
Zealand  vary  from  a  deepish  black  to  an 
olive,  or  yellowish  tinge  ;  in  the  Friendly 
Islands  they  are  of  a  complexion  deeper 
than  the  copper  brown ;  but  several  of 
both  sexes  are  of  the  olive  colour,  and 
some  of  the  women  are  much  fairer. 

Climate  has  generally  been  regarded  as 
the  cause  of  national  colour,  and  much 
has  been  ascribed  to  the  light  and  heat  of 
the  sun.  According  to  the  supporters  of 
this  opinion,  every  parallel  of  latitude  is 
marked  with  a  characteristic  complexion. 
Under  the  equator  we  observe  the  black 
colour;  under  the  tropics,  the  dark  brown 
and  copper  colours  ;  and/ from  the  tropic 
of  Cancer  northwards,  we  discern  the 
alive  changing  through  every  interme- 
diate shade  to  the  fair  and  sanguine  com- 
plexion. It  is  further  observed,  that  an 
European,  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air, 
will  become  brown  in  summer,  and  lose 
this  colour  again  during  the  winter's  cold; 
that  the  Asiatic  and  African  women,  con- 
fined to  the  walls  of  their  seraglios,  are 
as  white  as  Europeans,  while  the  colour 
of  those  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  is 
dark,  like  that  of  the  men ;  that  the  skin 
of  the  Moorish  children,  which  is  origi- 
nally fair  and  delicate,  changes  in  the 
boys,  who  are  exposed  to  the  sun,  to  a 
swarthy  colour,  while  its  fairness  is  pre- 
served in  girls,  who  keep  more  within 
doors :  that  the  South  of  Spain  is  distin- 
guished by  complexion  from  the  north  j 
and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  extensive 
empire  of  China  exhibit  every  variety  of 
complexion  from  the  fair  to  the  black, 
according  to  the  latitude  of  the  country 
which  they  inhabit.  It  appears  also,  that 
although  fair  persons  have  their  colour 
considerably  deepened  by  changing  into 
a  hotter  climate,  yet  that  the  black  races 
are  very  little  affected  by  coming  into 
cold  countries.  We  must  remember  too, 
if  Europeans  seem  to  be  less  affected  than 


MAN. 


we  should  have  supposed  by  changing-  to 
a  hot  climate,  that  by  avoiding  the  heat 
of  the  sun,  by  different  clothing-,  diet,  8cc. 
they  may  avoid  many  of  the  causes  which 
act  with  full  energy  on  the  natives  of  such 
climates.  The  proximate  cause  of  the 
dark  colour  of  the  skin  consists,  accord- 
ing to  Blumenbach,  (de  Gen.  Human. 
Var.  Nat.)  in  the  secretion  of  a  greater 
quantity  of  carbon,  and  its  fixation,  by  an 
union  with  oxygen,  in  the  rete  mucosum. 
He  states,  that  Negroes  are  not  born 
black,  but  acquire  that  colour  by  the  ac- 
cess of  the  atmosphere.  He  also  insists 
much  on  the  influence  which  heat  exerts 
on  the  hepatic  functions ;  and  the  sympa- 
thy existing  between  the  liver  and  skin, 
manifested  by  the  dark  tinge  of  the  latter 
in  persons  of  an  atrabilarious  temperament. 
There  is  no  climate  so  favourable  for  the 
operation  of  these  causes  as  that  of  Africa, 
which  surpasses  allothersin  the  continued 
intensity  of  its  heat,  in  peculiar  proper- 
ties of  the  atmosphere,  arising  from  very 
singular  winds,  &c.  Accordingly,  its  in- 
habitants having,  by  exposure  to  these 
agencies  for  a  long  series  of  ages,  ac- 
quired a  strongly-marked  and  deeply- 
rooted  character,  transmit  it  unimpaired, 
even  in  foreign  climates,  to  their  descen- 
dants. 

There  are  varieties  of  col  our  in  animals, 
which,  whether  they  owe  their  origin  to 
climate  or  other  causes,  are  as  remark- 
able as  those  of  the  different  races  of 
mankind,  although  they  occur  in  the  same 
species.  The  swine  are  all  white  in  the 
northern  provinces  of  France ;  in  Dau- 

Ehiny,  and  some  other  parts,  they  are 
lack,  as  also  in  Spain,  Italy,  India,  China, 
and  America;  and  in  Bavaria,  reddish 
brown.  The  breeds  of  cattle  manifest 
similar  variations.  We  have  already 
noticed  the  changes  of  colour  in  animals 
in  cold  climates,  in  speaking  of  the  in- 
fluence of  climate. 

Some  objections  have  been  made  to  the 
explanation  of  colour  derived  from  cli- 
mate, which  seem  to  admit  of  solution. 
The  temperature  of  any  country  cannot 
be  determined  by  considering  merely  its 
geographical  climate,  or  its  distance  from 
the  equator :  we  must  advert  at  the  same 
time  to  the  physical  climate,  or  that 
•which  is  produced  in  any  given  latitude 
by  such  adventitious  circumstances  as  low 
or  elevated  position,  neighbourhood  of 
water,  &.c.  &c.  The  Abyssinians,  al- 
though nearly  under  the  equator,  by  no 
means  approach  in  colour  to  Negroes ; 
for  their  country  is  very  elevated,  the 
barometer  standing,  according  to  Bruce, 
at  twenty-two  inches.  The  inhabitants  of 


the  South  Sea  islands  under  the  line,  and 
indeed  of  the  South  Sea  ishnds  in  gene- 
ral, are  much  lighter  coloured  than  we 
should  have  expected ;  and  this  arises 
from  the  coolness  natural  to  insular  situa- 
tions. We  find  no  Negroes  under  the 
line  in  America,  as  in  Africa;  a  circum- 
stance which  admits  of  an  easy  solution. 
On  the  western  side  of  America  there  is 
one  of  the  most  elevated  regions  of  the 
globe.  The  plain  of  Quito,  which  is  the 
base  of  the  Andes,  is  higher  than  the  top 
of  the  Pyrenees,  and  the  summits  of  these 
mountains,  although  in  the  centre  of  the 
torrid  zone,  are  covered  with  everlasting 
snow.  The  country  abounds  with  large 
rivers,  traversing  it  from  west  to  east. 
It  is  covered  by  a  vast  quantity  of  stag- 
nant water,  and  the  largest  forests  in  the 
globe ;  it  contains  no  sandy  wastes,  like 
those  of  Africa.  Hence  the  temperature 
of  any  place  in  America  is  very  different 
from  that  of  corresponding  parts  of  the 
old  continent.  At  Quito,  which  is  nearly 
under  the  line,  Reaumur's  thermometer 
never  ascends  beyond  28°  ;  while  at  Se- 
negal, in  16°  of  north  latitude,  it  mounts 
to  38°.  The  latitude  of  Paris  corresponds 
to  that  of  Quebec,  and  that  of  London  to 
the  almost  uninhabitable  regions  of  La- 
brador. 

The  brown  and  tawny  colours  are  not 
wholly  confined  to  warm  climates ;  they 
are  found  in  the  northern  regions  of  Eu-, 
rope  and  Asia,  countries  which,  from 
their  excessive  cold,  and  consequent  ste-. 
rility,  are  scarcely  habitable.  The  inha- 
bitants of  these  regions  live  on  the  flesh 
of  the  rein-deer  and  dried  fish ;  their 
bread  is  made  of  pounded  fish-bones 
with  the  bark  of  the  pine  or  birch-tree. 
They  drink  much  whale  oil.  They  live 
under  ground,  or  in  huts  sunk  below  the 
surface  of  the  earth ;  and  during  their 
long  nights  keep  up  lamplight,  and  are 
enveloped  in  smoke.  At  other  times 
they  are  exposed  to  the  action  of  a  most 
inhospitable  climate,  in  following  their 
occupations  of  hunting  and  fishing.  This 
mode  of  life  will  naturally  render  the 
skin  coarse  and  dark ;  and  the  discolora- 
tion thus  produced  is  increased  in  many 
instances  by  the  habit  of  painting  the 
body,  and  smearing  it  with  grease  and 
other  substances,  which  very  commonly, 
prevails  among  savage  nations.  Such  an 
effect  is  produced  sometimes  by  these 
practices,  that  the  colour  of  the  skin  can- 
not be  ascertained.  (Hawkesworth's  Col- 
lection of  Voyages,  &c.  vol.  iv.  p.  24, 
120,  138.) 

We  have  to  observe  further,  that  the 
effect  of  climate  is  much  modified  by 


MAN. 


clothing1,  by  the  state  of  society,  and  the 
manner  of  life  in  general.  Dr.  Smith  (Es- 
say on  Complexion  and  Figure,)  informs 
us,  that  in  America,  the  field  slaves,  who 
are  badly  fed,  clothed,  and  lodged,  are 
remote  from  the  society  and  example  of 
their  superiors,  and  retain  many  of  the 
customs  and  manners  of  their  African  an- 
cestors, are  slow  in  changing  the  aspect 
and  figure  of  Africa ;  while  the  domestic 
servants,  who  are  employed  in  the  fami- 
lies of  their  masters,  see  their  manners, 
and  adopt  their  habits,  have  advanced  far 
before  them  in  acquiring  the  agreeable 
and  regular  features,  and  the  expressive 
countenance,  of  civilized  society.  He 
also  mention?,  that  persons  who  have 
been  captured  from  the  States,  and  have 
grown  up  in  the  habits  of  savage  life,  con- 
tract such  a  strong  resemblance  of  the  na- 
tives in  their  countenance,  and  even  their 
complexion,  as  to  afford  a  striking  proof, 
that  the  differences  which  exist  in  the 
same  latitude,  between  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
can and  the  Indian,  depend  principally  on 
the  state  of  society. 

Perhaps  the  strongest  circumstance,  in 
illustration  of  the  effect  of  climate  on  the 
human  complexion,  may  be  derived  from 
the  Creoles,  which  word,  sometimes 
strangely  confounded  with  that  of  Mulat- 
to, is  applied  properly  to  the  offspring  of 
European  parents  born  in  the  East  or 
West  Indies.  These  have  such  a  pecu- 
liar character  of  complexion  and  counte- 
nance, ("  austrum  quasi  spirans  vultus  et 
color,  maxime  quoque  com?e  etardentium 
quasi  oculorum,")  that  they  are  easily 
distinguished  by  those  points  alone,  from 
their  relations  born  in  Europe.  (Hawkes- 
worth's  Collection,  vol.  iii.  p.  374.)  The 
same  observation  holds  good  also  of  the 
offspring  of  Persian  or  Mongolian  pa- 
rents born  in  the  East  Indies.  (Hodge's 
Travels  in  India,  p.  3.) 

COLOUR   ASTD    DENOMINATIONS    OF    THE 
MIXED    BREEDS. 

We  have  already  noticed  how  constant- 
ly the  children,  produced  from  the  copu- 
lation "of  individuals  of  different  races, 
exhibit  what  we  may  call  the  middle 
tinge,  formed  as  it  were  by  the  mixture 
of  those  of  the  two  parents. 

In  the  first  generation,  the  offspring  of 
Europeans  and  Negroes  are  called  Mu- 
lattoes  ;  of  Europeans  and  Indians,  Mes- 
tizes ;  of  Europeans  and  Americans, 
Mostizes,  also  Mestindi,  Metifi,  and  Ma- 
rnelucks;  of  Negroes  and  Americans, 
Zambi,  or  Mulattoes,  or  Lobos,  Curibo- 
cas,  and  Kabuglos.  All  these,  have  the 

VOL.  IV, 


middle  countenance  and  colour,  formed 
by  the  union  of  those  of  both  parents  ; 
the  latter  is  more  or  less  brown  or  tawny, 
with  hardly  any  visible  redness  of  the 
cheek.  The  hair  of  the  Mulatto  is  curled, 
in  the  other  instances  straigh;,  and  almost, 
invariably  black  ;  the  iris  is  brown. 

In  the  second  generation,  two  Mulat- 
toes produce  Casquos  ;  an  European  and 
Mulatto,  a  Terceron,  who  is  called  by 
some  a  Morisco,  or  Mestize.  The  hail' 
and  countenance  of  these  resemble  those 
of  the  European ;  the  skin  has  a  slight 
brown  tint,  and  the  cheeks  a  degree  of 
redness ;  the  scrotum  is  blackish  in  the 
male,  and  the  labia  pudendi  rather  pur- 
ple in  the  female.  A  Negro  and  Mulatto 
produce  Griffos,  Zambos  de  Mulata,  or 
Cabros ;  an  European  and  Indian  Mes- 
tize, Castissos ;  an  European  and  Ameri- 
can Mestize,  Quarterons ;  an  American 
and  a  Mestize,  Tresalvos ;  an  American 
and  Mulatto,  Mestizes ;  an  European 
and  Zambo,  Mulattoes ;  two  Zambos, 
Cholos. 

In  the  third  generation,  Europeans  and 
Tercerons  produce  Quarterons,  Ocha- 
vons,  Octavons,  or  Alvinos;  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  most  acute  observers,  re- 
tain no  traces  of  their  African  original. 
A  Mulatto  and  Terceron  produce  a  Sal- 
tatra  ;  an  European  and  Castisso,  a  Postis- 
so  ;  an  European  and  American  Qu aile- 
ron, an  Octavon.  Some  carry  the  genea- 
logy of  these  hybrid  races  into  the 
fourth  generation,  calling  the  children  of 
Europeans  and  Quarterons,  Quinterons  ; 
but  it  is  not  credible  that  any  trace  of 
mixed  origin  can  remain  in  this  case,  ac- 
cording to  the  observation  of  the  most 
respectable  eye-witnesses  concerning  the 
third  generation.  Besides  the  varieties  of 
colour  already  noticed,  there  is  a  devia- 
tion sometimes  occurring  in  the  Negro, 
consisting  of  white  portions  of  skin  of 
various  sizes  and  numbei's,  scattered  over 
the  body ;  these  are  called  piebald  Ne- 
groes, and  are  produced  from  two  black 
parents.  The  appearance  is  probably 
owing  to  some  altered  action  of  the  skin, 
and  seems  analogous  to  the  blackening  of 
portions  of  the  surface,  which  has  been 
observed  in  Europeans,  particularly  in 
pregnant  females. 

The  skin  differs  also  in  some  other 
properties  besides  its  colour.  Travellers 
have  described  it  as  remarkably  soft  and 
smooth,  and  as  it  were  silky,  in  the  Ca- 
rib,  Negro,  Otaheitean,  and  Turk.  It  se- 
cretes a  matter  of  peculiar  odour  in  some 
races,  as  the  Carib,  Negro,  &c. 

The  hair,  as  it  grows  and  is  nourished 
from  the  common  integuments,  is  con- 

E  e 


MAN. 


jjcctcd  with  them  in  many  points  by  a 
close  kind  of  sympathy.  Hence,  the  spot- 
ted Africans  have  different  coloured  hairs. 
Every  gradation  of  colour,  from  the  fair 
to  the  black,  is  accompanied  by  its  cor- 
respondent alterations  in  the  hair.  This 
is  true,  not  only  of  nations,  but  also  of  in- 
dividuals. A  light  complexion  is  accom- 
panied with  reel  or  fair  hair,  a  dark  one 
with  black  hair,  almost  invariably,  even 
iii  individuals  of  the  same  family  ;  a  dif- 
ference, which,  according1  to  the  philoso- 
phy of  some  writers,  would  be  a  sufficient 
ground  for  classing  them  in  different  spe- 
cies. The  other  properties  of  the  hair 
vary,  as  well  as  its  colour ;  and  these 
changes  may  be  brought  under  the  four 
following  varieties : 

1.  Brownish,    or   red,   deviating  into 
yellow  and  black;  this  is  copious,  soft, 
and  long,   and  slightly  undulated :  it  ob- 
tains in  most  of  the  temperate  climates  of 
Europe ;  and  was  formerly  particularly 
noticed  in  the  Germans. 

2.  Black,   strong,   straight,  and  thin; 
occurring  in  the  Mongolian  and  Ameri- 
can races. 

3.  Black,  softer,  dense,  and  copious, 
and  curled ;  observable  in  most  of  the 
South  Sea  islanders. 

4.  Black  and  crisp,  so  as  generally  to 
be  called  woolly  ;  common  to  all  the  Ethi- 
opians. 

The  above  division,  although  sufficient 
for  general  purposes,  is  not  uniformly 
true.  For  the  woolly  hair  is  not  confined 
entirely  to  the  Ethiopian,  nor  is  a  black 
colour  invariably  found  in  all  the  three 
last  varieties.  Some  tribes  of  Africans 
have  long  hair,  and  other  red  coloured 
people,  as  those  of  the  Duke  of  York's 
Island,  have  it  woolly.  The  New  Hol- 
landers form  so  complete  a  medium  be- 
tween the  woolly  haired  African,  and  the 
copious  curling  hair  of  the  other  South 
Sea  islanders,  that  we  are  completely 
puzzled  how  to  class  them. 

Many  instances  are  recorded  of  red 
hair  in  individuals,  of  such  varieties  as 
commonly  have  it  black,  as  in  some  South 
Sea  islands. 

Some  facts  seem  to  indicate,  that  cli- 
mate  and  mode  of  life  have  considerable 
influence  on  the  hair.  Dr.  Smith  ob- 
serves, that  the  hair  of  Europeans,  set- 
tled in  America,  changes  visibly  towards 
that  of  the  American  Abori.--.ines  ;  so  that 
in  the  second  and  third  race,  straight  lank 
hair  is  almost  universal.  In  Angora,  a 
small  district  of  Asia  Minor,  the  sheep, 
goats,  cats,  and  rabbits,  have  always  been 
celebrated  for  the  uncommon  length  and 
firmness  of  their  hair.  The  common 


sheep  in  warm  clbnates  is  covered  wit], 
hair,  instead  of  wool.  That  the  mode  of 
life  will  influence  the  hair,  is  very  cer- 
tain ;  the  wild  pig1  has  a  soft  curling  hair 
interposed  between  its  bristles,  which  in 
the  domesticated  animal  is  entirely  lost. 
The  influence  of  various  causes,  which 
may  be  comprehended  under  the  general 
term  of  cultivation,  is  very  striking  in  the 
sheep  and  goat ;  the  great  difference  in 
the  wool  produced  from  the  former, 
under  various  circumstances,  is  \\  el! 
known;  and  a  person,  who  was  acquainted 
with  the  covering  of  the  goat  in  Euro- 
pean climtites,  would  hardly  believe  it 
possible,  that  the  material  from  which  the 
precious  shawls  of  Cashmere  are  manu- 
factured, could  be  produced  from  the 
same  animal. 

Colour  of  the  iris.  It  has  long  been  ob- 
served that  the  colour  of  the  eyes  de- 
pends on  that  of  the  skin ;  and  that  these 
organs  are  blue  or  light  in  fair,  and  dark 
in  black  persons.  Hence,  newly  born 
children,  in  these  climates,  have  general- 
ly bluish  eves  and  light  hair ;  and  the 
Colour  of  both  changes  together  at  a  sub- 
sequent period,  in  ihe  individuals  who  arc 
of  a  dark  complexion.  And  in  the  same 
way,  when  the  hair  loses  its  colour  in  old 
age,  the  pigment  of  the  eye  becomes 
lighter.  This  connection  is  still  more 
strongly  evinced  in  spotted  animals;  and 
is  particularly  clear  in  the  rabbit  The 
native  and  wild  gray  kind  has  a  brown 
iris :  the  black  and  white  variety  has  it 
spotted  :  and  the  perfectly  white  has  it 
red,  from  the  entire  absence  of  colouring 
matter. 

There  are  three  principal  varieties  oi 
colour  in  the  iris  :  first,  blue  ;  secondly, 
gray;  thirdly,  brown,  tending  to  black. 
These  may  all  occur  in  different  indivi- 
duals of  the  same  race;  and  again,  they 
are  sometimes  confined  to  the  different 
tribes  of  the  same  country,  within  the 
boundaries  of  a  few  degrees.  Thus  Lin- 
naeus describes,  in  Sweden,  the  Goth- 
lander  with  white  hair  and  grayish  blue 
eyes;  the  Finlander,  with  red  hair,  and 
brown  iris ;  and  the  Laplander,  with 
black  hair  and  iris.  The  ancient  Ger- 
mans were  distinguished  by  their  blue 
eyes,  as  well  as  red  or  rather  yellow  hair 
(caerulei  oculi,  rutihc  comx,  Tacitus). 
The  iris  of  the  Negro  is  the  most  intense- 
ly black,  so  that  in  living  individuals  it 
can  be  distinguished  from  the  pupil  onlv 
by  very  close  inspection. 

The  Mbino.  We  shall  introduce  in  this 
place  our  observations  on  that  singular 
variety  of  the  human  race ;  termed  the 


MAN. 


Albino.  \Ve  have  already  slated  that  the 
white  rabbit  and  ferret,  characterised  by 
the  snowy  colour  of  their  hair  and  red- 
ness of  the  eye,  seem  to  have  originated 
from  a  morbid  disposition  transmitted  by 
the  way  of  generation,  divested  in  course 
of  time  of  all  character  of  disease,  and 
established  into  a  permanent  variety. 
The  same  affection  occurs  in  the  humuii 
race,  but  in  few  and  scattered  instances, 
and  the  persons  thus  distinguished  are 
named  albinos.  There  are  two  peculiar 
circumstances  in  these  individuals.  The 
skin  has  an  unnatural  whiteness,  often 
seeming-  to  approach  to  a  slight  degree  of 
lepra  ;  and  the  hair  of  all  parts  of  the 
body  has  the  same  character.  The  latter 
lias  not  the  snowy  whi'.eness  of  old  age, 
nor  the  elegant  light  yellow  or  flaxen  ap- 
pearance of  the  fair-haired  in  our  cli- 
mates, but  is  rather  to  be  compared  to 
the  appearance  of  cream  :  neither  is  the 
colour  of  the  skin  like  that  of  the  Euro- 
pean, but  approaching  to  that  of  milk,  or 
of  a  white  horse.  The  eye  is  deprived  of 
its  colouring  mutter;  and  hence  the  ins 
is  of  a  pale  rose  colour,  and  the  pupil  in- 
tensely red,  in  consequence  of  the  blood 
contained  in  the  numerous  vessels,  which, 
almost  entirely  make  up  the  substance  of 
those  parts.  Thus  there  is  a  general 
deficiency  of  colouring  matter ;  as  well 
of  that  of  the  skin  and  hair,  as  of  the  eye. 
These  affections  of  the  skin  and  eye  are 
always  concomitant.  There  is  generally 
also  a  weakness  of  the  latter  organ,  in 
consequence  of  which  a  strong  light  can- 
not be  borne.  Hence  they  are  describ- 
ed in  Java  and  the  isthmus  of  Darien  as 
going  about  chiefly  by  night,  when  they 
see  best.  This  peculiarity  always  exists 
from  the  time  of  birth  ;  it  never  changes 
afterwards,  and  it  is  sometimes  heredi- 
tary 

It  was  observed  first  in  the  African,  as 
the  great  difference  of  colour  would  ren- 
der the  variation  more  striking ;  and  hence 
the  individuals  were  termed  Leucaethiopes, 
or  White  Negroes.  From  their  avoiding 
the  light  the  Dutch  gave  them  the  con- 
temptuous name  of  Kackerlacken  (insects 
shunning  the  light)  :  the  Spaniards  called 
them  Albinos,  and  the  French  Blafards. 
So  far,  however,  is  this  variety  from  be- 
ing peculiar  to  the  Negro,  or  even  to  the 
torrid  zone,  that  there  is  no  race  of  men, 
nor  any  part  of  the  globe,  in  which  it  may 
not  occur.  Blumenbach  has  observed 
sixteen  instances  in  Germany ;  and  refers 
to  various  authors  who  have  seen  it  in 
most  parts  of  the  world.  (De  Gen.  Hum. 


Variet.  sect.  3,  §.  78).     It  happens  hi 
many  of  the  class  mammalia  and  birds. 

National  features.  Although  it  is  a 
common  and  very  just  observation,  that 
two  individuals  are  hardly  to  be  met  with 
possessing  exactly  the  same  features,  yet 
there  is  generally  a  certain  cast  of  counte- 
nance common  to  the  particular  races  of 
men,  and  often  to  the  inhabitants  of  par- 
ticular countries.  The  national  varieties 
of  countenance  may  be  reduced  to  the  five 
following  : 

1.  An  oval  and  straight  face,  with  the 
different  parts  moderately  distinguished 
from  each  other;  forehead  rather  flatten- 
ed ;   nose  narrow,  and  slightly  aquiline ; 
no  prominence  of  the  cheek-bones  ;  small 
mouth,  with  lips  slightly  turned  out,  par- 
ticularly the  lower  one  ;  a  full  and  round- 
ed chin.     This  is  the  kind  of  countenance 
which  accords    most   with  our  ideas  of 
beauty.     It  may  be  considered  as  a  mid- 
dle, departing  into  two  extremes,  exactly 
opposed  to  each  other ;  of  which  one  con- 
sists in  a  lateral  expansion  of  the  face; 
and  the  other  in  its  being  extended  down- 
wards.  Each  of  these  includes  two  varie- 
ties, which  are  most  readily  distinguished 
by  a  profile  view  :  one,  in  which  the  nose 
and  other  parts  run   together,  and  the 
other,  in  which  they  are  more  prominent 
and  separate. 

2.  Broad  and  flattened  face,  with  little 
distinction  of  parts  ;  broad  space  between 
the  eyes  ;  flat  nose ;  rounded  cheeks,  pro. 
jecting  externally;    narrow    and   linear 
aperture  of  the  eye-lids ;  slight  projection 
of  the  chin.     This  is  the  face  of  the  Mon- 
golian tribes,  commonly,  but  erroneously, 
called  the  Tartar  face. 

3.  Broad  face  and  prominent  cheek- 
bones, with  the  parts  projecting  more  in 
a  profile  view ;  short  forehead ;  the  eyes 
more  deeply  seated  ;  the  nose  rather  flat- 
tened, but  prominent.     Such  is  the  coun- 
tenance of  most  of  the  Americans. 

4.  Narrow  face,  projecting  towards  its 
lower  part ;  arched  forehead ;  projecting 
eyes ;  a  thick  nose,  confused  on  either 
side  with  the  cheeks ;  the  lips,  particular- 
ly the  upper  one,  very  thick  ;   the  jaws 
prominent ;  and  the  chin  retracted.   This 
is  the  Negro  countenance. 

5.  The  face  not  so  narrow   as  in  the 
preceding;  rather  projecting  downwards, 
with  the  different  parts  more  distinct; 
the  nose  rather  full  and  broad,  particu- 
larly towards  its  end ;  the  mouth  large. 
This  belongs  to  the  Malay  race,  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  inhabitants  of  the  South 
Sea  islands. 


MAIS. 


Here,  as  on  the  subject  of  colour,  the 
different  characters  run  into  each  other 
by  the  mo.st  gentle  gradations ;  so  that 
although  any  two  extremes,  when  con- 
trasted, appear  strikingly  different,  they 
are  connected  by  numerous  intermediate, 
and  very  slightly  differing  shades.  And 
no  formation  is  exhibited  so  constantly  in 
all  the  individuals  of  one  race,  as  not  to 
admit  of  numerous  exceptions.  Blumen- 
bach  states,  that  of  the  numerous  African 
individuals  whom  he  has  attentively  ob- 
served, of  the  portraits  and  profiles  of 
others,  and  of  the  various  Negro  crania 
which  have  come  under  his  inspection, 
no  two  were  exactly  alike;  but  several 
differences  appeared,  constituting  an  in- 
sensible gradation  towards  the  other  va- 
rieties, even  in  their  most  agreeable  mo- 
difications. Vaillant  says  of  the  Caffre 
women,  that  setting  aside  the  prejudice 
which  operates  against  their  colour,  many 
might  be  accounted  handsome  even  in  an 
European  country ;  Le  Maire  makes  the 
same  observation  concerning  the  Ne- 
gresses of  Senegal  and  Gambia  ;  and  the 
accurate  Adanson  confirms  it  of  the  Sene- 
gambians,  which  possess,  according  to 
him,  beautiful  eyes,  small  mouth  and^lips, 
and  well  proportioned  features  ;  many, 
he  says,  are  perfect  beauties.  The  testi- 
mony of  Mungo  Park  is  to  the  same 
effect  concerning  the  JaloflTs,  which  have 
not  the  protuberant  lip,  nor  flat  nose,  of 
the  African  countenance.  The  features  of 
the  Friendly  Islanders  vary  much,  accord- 
ing to  Cook  ;  he  saw  many  genuine  Ro- 
man noses,  and  hundreds  of  European 
faces  among  them, 

It  is  obvious  that  the  causes  of  national 
variety  in  the  features  must  be  much  the 
same  with  those  that  influence  the  form  of 
the  head,  as  much  must  depend  on  the 
bones  both  of  the  cranium  and  face.  It 
is  difficult,  and  perhaps  impossible,  to 
assign  any  very  satisfactory  ones.  Cli- 
jnate  has  been  considered  a  leading  cir- 
cumstance ;  but  we  cannot  readily  under- 
stand how  that  can  operate;  and  some 
facts  militate  particularly  against  its  effi- 
cacy, as  the  peculiar  characters  of  the 
Jew  and  Gipsy  countenance  preserved, 
after  such  long  residence  in  very  different 
climates  from  that  of  their  original  abode; 
on  the  contrary,  the  common  origin  of 
the  Laplander  and  Hungarian,  who  differ 
widely  in  features,  seems  to  countenance 
the  opinion. 

Form  of  the  cranium.  It  is  sufficiently 
obvious  that  there  must  be  a  close  con- 
nexion  between  the  external  parts  of  the 


face,  or  the  features,  and  the  bony  cora- 
pages  which  lies  unJer  and  supports 
these  ;  so  that  we  might  venture  to  affirm 
that  a  blind  man,  if  he  knew  the  vast 
difference  which  exists  between  the  face 
of  a  Calmurk  and  that  of  a  Negro,  would 
be  able  to  distinguish  the  crania  of  these 
two  races  of  mankind  by  the  mere  touch. 
Nor  could  you  persuade  any  person, 
however  Ignorant  of  the  subject,  that 
either  of  these  skulls  belonged  to  ahead, 
similar  to  those  from  which  the  divine 
examples  of  ancient  Grecian  sculpture 
were  copied.  Thus  much  is  clear  and 
undeniable,  as  to  the  general  habit  and 
appearance  of  the  skull!  A  more  careful 
anatomical  investigation  of  genuine  spe- 
cimens of  the  crania  of  different  nations, 
will  throw  still  further  light  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  varieties  of  the  human  race. 
Such  a  comparison  will  shew  us  that  the 
form  of  the  cranium  differs  no  less  than 
the  colour  of  the  skin,  or  other  charac- 
ters, in  different  individuals ;  and  that  one 
kind  of  structure  runs  by  gentle  and  al- 
most inobservable  gradations  into  ano- 
ther ;  yet  that  there  is  on  the  whole  an 
undeniable,  nay,  a  very  remarkable  con- 
stancy of  character,  in  the  crania  of  differ- 
ent nations,  contributing  very  essentially 
to  national  peculiarities  of  form,  and  cor- 
responding exactly  to  the  features,  which 
characterise  such  nations.  Hence,  anato- 
mists have  attempted  to  lay  down  some 
scale  of  dimensions,  to  which  the  various 
forms  of  the  skull  might  be  referred ;  and 
by  means  of  which  they  might  be  reduc- 
ed into  certain  classes/  Of  these,  the  fa- 
cial line  of  Camper  claims  the  most  atten- 
tion ;  its  application  is  explained  in  the 
article  on  COMPARATIVE  AXATOMT.  Con- 
sidered in  a  general  view,  this  is  objec- 
tionable, as  it  only  indicates  the  differen- 
ces in  the  projection  of  the  jaws.  Blu- 
menbach  states  that  the  most  important 
points,  those  especially  which  contribute 
to  the  comparison  of  national  characteris- 
tics, can  be  most  completely  observed  by 
placing  the  different  crania,  with  the  zy- 
gomas  in  the  same  perpendicular  line,  on 
a  table  in  a  row,  and  contemplating  them 
from  behind.  This  method  he  calls  the 
norma  verticals  :  and  illustrates  by 
means  of  three  heads.  The  middle  of 
the  three,  distinguished  by  the  beauty 
and  symmetry  of  all  its  parts,  is  that  of  a 
Georgian  female  ;  the  two  outer  ones  are 
examples  of  heads  differing  from  this  in 
the  opposite  extremes.  That  which  is 
elongated  in  front  is  the  head  of  a  Ne- 
gress, from  the  coast  of  Guinea:  the 
other,  which  is  expanded  laterally,  an$ 


MAN. 


flattened  in  front,  is  the  cranium  of  a 
Tung-cose,  from  the  north-east  of  Asia. 
The  margin  of  the  orbits  and  the  zygoma 
are  elegantly  contracted  in  the  Georgian ; 
and  the  jaws  are  hidden  by  the  symme- 
trical expansion  of  the  forehead.  In  the 
Ethiopian  the  maxillary  bones,  and  indeed 
the  whole  face,  are  compressed  laterally, 
and  project  in  front.  In  the  Tungoose, 
on  the  contrary,  the  ossa  malse,  ossa  nasi, 
and  glubella,  are  situated  on  the  same 
horizontal  level,  and  are  enormously  ex- 
panded on  either  side.  (Two  plates  illus- 
trating the  national  formations  of  the 
skull  are  given  in  llees's  New  Cyclope- 
dia, in  which  the  subject  itself  has  been 
considered  at  greater  length,  under  the 
article  CRANIUM,  by  Mr.  Lawrence). 

The  national  forms  of  the  cranium  may 
be  referred  to  five  chief  divisions.  The 
first  presents  a  somewhat  globular  form ; 
with  the  forehead  moderately  expanded; 
the  cheek-bones  narrow,  and  not  promi- 
nent, but  descending  in  a  straight  line 
from  the  external  angular  process  of  the 
os  frontis.  The  alveolar  margin  of  the 
jaws  is  rounded ;  and  the  front  teeth  of 
both  jaws  are  placed  perpendicularly. 
This  form  is  observable  in  most  Euro- 
peans. The  cranium  of  the  Turk  is  par- 
ticularly globular  in  its  form.  This  shape, 
which  they  consider  as  elegant,  and 
adapted  to" their  turbans,  is  said,  on  very 
good  authority,  to  be  produced  by  artifi- 
cial pressure  after  birth. 

In  the  second  variety,  including  the 
Mongolian  tribes,  the  head  is  of  a  square 
form,  and  the  cheek-bones  stand  out  wide- 
ly on  either  side.  The  glabella,  and  ossa 
nasi,  which  are  flat  and  very  small,  are 
placed  nearly  in  the  same  horizontal  line 
with  the  ossa  malar um.  There  are  scarce- 
ly any  superciliary  ridges;  the  entrance 
of  the  nostrils  is  narrow;  and  the  malar 
fossa  forms  but  a  slight  excavation.  The 
alveolar  edge  of  the  jaws  is  obtusely 
arched  in  front ;  the  chin  rather  promi- 
nent. 

The  third  variety  contains  the  Africans. 
The  cranium  is  narrow,  being  compress- 
ed at  the  sides,  where  the  temporal  fossa 
is  of  immense  extent.  The  forehead  is 
narrow,  and  strongly  arched  ;  the  cheek- 
bones project  anteriorly  ;  the  nostrils  are 
large ;  the  mala  fossa  considerable  and 
deep ;  the  alveolar  edges  of  both  jaws 
stand  very  much  forwards  ;  they  are  nar- 
row, elongated,  and  of  an  elliptical  fi- 
gure ;  the  front  teeth  of  the  upper  jaw 
are  oblique  in  t'.cir  position;  the  lower 
jaw  is  large  and  strong ;  but  the  chin,  in- 
stead of  projecting  as  far  as  the  teeth,  as 
it  does  in  the  European,  re<;e4es  consider- 


ably, as  in  the  monkey.  The  substance 
of  the  cranium  is  generally  thick,  and  the 
skull  is  consequently  heavy.  A  slight 
comparison  of  the  Negro  with  the  Euro- 
pean skull,  will  suffice  to  shew  that  the 
cranium  is  more  capacious  in  the  latter 
than  in  the  former  case.  The  lateral 
compression  of  the  Ethiopian  head,  to- 
gether with  its  narrow  arched  forehead, 
compared  to  the  almost,  globular  Euro- 
pean cranium,  with  its  broad  expanded 
frontal  portion,  sufficiently  account  for 
this  difference.  At  the  same  time,  the 
bones  of  the  face  are  proportionably  larg- 
er in  the  African ;  the  foramina  for  the 
transmission  of  nerves  are  more  ample  ; 
and,  according  to  Soemmerring,  the 
nerves  arising  from  the  basis  of  the  brain 
are  more  considerable.  The  result  of 
these  observations,  together  with  the  un- 
equivocal similarity  in  external  form  be- 
tween the  African  cranium  and  that  of 
the  monkey,  leads  us  inevitably  to  the  in- 
ference that  the  Negro  approximates  in 
structure  to  those  animals.  The  facts 
which  we  possess  on  this  subject  confirm 
the  conclusion,  which  would  naturally  be 
drawn  from  these  premises,  that  the  men- 
tal faculties  of  the  Negro  are  inferior  to 
those  of  the  white  nations.  Let  it  not, 
however,  be  conceived  that  these  re- 
marks are  intended  to  degrade  the  Afri- 
can to  a  level  with  brutes,  or  to  justify 
those  who  consider  him  merely  as  a  spe- 
cies of  monkey.  He  is  distinguished  from 
all  animals  by  the  same  grand  and  con- 
stant characters,  which  belong  to  every 
variety  of  the  human  race.  We  merely 
state  the  obvious  inferences  deducible 
from  acknowledged  facts ;  and  consider 
that  a  difference  in  mental  powers  can- 
not afford  any  stronger  argument  in- 
proof  of  a  diversity  of  species,  than  the 
numerous  distinctions  in  bodily  structure. 
Indeed,  when  we  find  the  different  races 
of  mankind  characterized  by  such  nume- 
rous differences  of  organization,  it  would 
be  a  matter  of  surprise,  if  no  diversity 
could  be  discovered  in  their  mental  en- 
dowments. The  description  which  we 
have  given  above  of  the  Negro  cranium 
must  be  understood  in  a  general  sense, 
and  not  as  universally  and  unexceptiona- 
bly  applicable.  Travellers  inform  us  that 
several  Africans  differ  from  the  European 
features  and  physiognomy  only  in  colour  ; 
so  that  the  peculiar  formation  of  the 
cranium  on  the  faith  of  which  some  phi- 
losphers  would  class  these  people  as  a 
distinct  species,  is  by  no  means  a  constant 
character. 

The   two    next   varieties  are   not  so 
strongly    characterized    as    the   three 


MAIS. 


which  we  have  already  considered.  They 
form  indeed  two  intermediate  grada- 
tions, between  the  European  and  the 
Mongolian  on  one  side,  and  the  African 
on  the  other. 

In  the  fourth,  or  American  variety,  the 
cheeks  are  broad,  but  the  malar  bones 
are  more  rounded  and  arched  than  in  the 
Mongolian  ;  and  not  expanded  to  such  an 
extent  on  either  side,  nor  possessing- such 
an  angular  form.  The  orbits  are  gene- 
rally deep.  The  form  of  the  forehead 
and  vertex  is  influenced  in  many  instan- 
ces by  the  efforts  of  art.  This  is  most 
strikingly  evinced  in  the  head  of  the 
Carib,  in  which  the  upper  part  is  some- 
times literally  flattened  to  a  level  with 
the  eye-brows,  in  a  manner  which  could 
not  be  credited,  unless  upon  the  most  un- 
exceptionable testimony,  Tt  appears, 
from  the  relation  of  travellers,  that  they 
employ  different  methods  of  accomplish- 
ing1 their  object;  as  bv  tying  a  plate  of 
wood  on  the  forehead ;  or  by  compress- 
ing the  head  between  two  plates ;  or  by 
pressure  with  the  hand.  The  instru- 
ments and  bandages,  by  which  the  pres- 
sure is  made,  are  delineated  and  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Amic,  of  Guadeloupe,  in 
the  xxxirxtli.  vol.  of  the  Journal  de  Phy- 
sique. 

In  the  fifth,  or  Malay  variety,  the 
cranium  is  moderately  narrowed  at  its 
upper  part  ;  the  forehead  rather  ex- 
panded ;  and  the  upper  jaw  slightly  pro- 
minent. 

We  cannot  at  present  deliver  any  very 
satisfactory  account  of  the  causes  of  those 
differences,  whichxmquestionably  prevail 
in  the  form  of  the  cranium  in  the  dif- 
ferent varieties  of  the  human  species  ; 
much  less  are  we  able  to  understand  the 
manner  in  which  any  assigned  cause  may 
be  supposed  to  operate  in  producing  its 
effect. 

It  certainly  happens  in  many  instan- 
ces, that  the  bones  of  the  skull  receive  a 
peculiar  form  from  various  artificial 
causes.  Not  to  mention  the  flattened 
occiput  of  the  Germans  in  the  time  of 
Ycsalius,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
form  of  the  forehead  in  the  Carib  cranium 
is  owing  to  artificial  pressure.  A  similar 
rage  for  improving  the  shape  of  the  head 
has  been  very  prevalent  on  the  continent 
of  America.  "  The  Indians,"  says  Adair, 
"  flatten  their  heads  in  divers  forms ;  but 
it  is  chiefly  the  crown  of  the  head  they 
depress,  in  order  to  beautify  themselves, 
as  their  wild  fancy  terms  it ;  for  they  call 
us  long-heads,  by  way  of  contempt,"  (His- 
tory of  the  American  Indians,  p.  8.)  The 
method  by  which  they  accomplish  their 


purpose  is  thus  described  by  the  same 
author.  "They  fix  the  tender  infant  on 
a  kind  of  cradle,  where  his  feet  are  tilted 
above  a  foot  higher  than  the  horizontal 
position ;  his  head  bends  back  into  a  hole 
made  on  purpose  to  receive  it,  where  he 
bears  the  chief  part  of  his  weight  on  the 
crown  of  the  head,  'upon  a  small  bag  of 
sand,  without  being  in  the  least  able  to 
move  himself.  By  this  pressure,  and 
their  thus  flattening  the  crown  of  the 
head,  they  consequently  make  their 
heads  thick,  and  their  faces  broad.  It  is 
a  matter  of  surprise,  that  any  person 
should  have  ventured  to  call  in  question 
the  truth  of  a  fact,  supported  by  the  con- 
current testimony  of  so  many  eye-wit- 
nesses. Many  tribes,  both  of  North  and 
South  America,  are  distinguished  by 
names  derived  from  these  very  practices. 
The  word  Omaguas,  as  applied  to  a  na- 
tion of  Peru,  as  well  as  that  of  Camberas, 
in  the  language  of  Brazil,  signifies  flat- 
head  :  for  these  people  have  the  strange 
custom  of  pressing  the  forehead  of  their 
newly-born  children  between  two  plates 
in  order  to  make  them,  as  they  say,  re- 
semble the  full  moon."  (Condamine  in 
the  Memoirs  de  1'Acad.  des  Sciences, 
1745,  p.  427.)  Hence  also  the  "tetes 
de  boule,"  and  the  "tetes  plates,"  of 
Charlevoix. 

We  have  one  remark  only  to  add  on 
this  part  of  the  subject ;  viz.  that  the  dif- 
ferences in  the  form  of  the  cranium  are 
by  no  means  sufficient  to  authorize  us  in 
assigning  the  different  races  of  mankind 
in  which  they  occur  to  species  originally 
different :  for  they  are  not  more  conside- 
rable, nor  even  so  remarkable,  as  some 
variations  which  occur  in  animals  con- 
fessedly  of  the  same  species.  Thus 
the  head  of  the  wild  boar  is  widely 
different  from  that  of  the  domestic  pig. 
The  different  breeds  of  horses  and  dogs 
are  distinguished  by  the  most  striking 
dissimilarities  in  the  head :  in  which  view 
the  Neapolitan  and  Hungarian  horses  may 
be  contrasted-  The  wild  original  of  the 
cow  possesses  large  lacrymal  fossae, 
which  are  completely  lost  in  the  domesti- 
cated animal.  The  very  singular  form  of 
the  head  in  the  Paduan  fowl  is  a  more  re- 
markable deviation  from  the  natural  struc- 
ture, than  any  variation  which  occurs  in 
the  human  cranium. 

VARIATIONS  IN    THE  FORM    AND  SIZE 
OF   CERTAIN   PARTS  OF  THE  BODY. 

The  ears  are  movable,  and  stand  at 
some  distance  from  the  head  in  many  sa- 


MAN. 


vages,  where  they  have  not  been  confin- 
ed by  dress. 

The  lobulus  is  increased  and  elongated 
considerably  by  artificial  means  in  some 
of  the  South  Sea  islanders,  and  in  other 
instances. 

Many  travellers  have  remarked,  that 
the  breasts  are  long  and  pendulous  in 
several  savage  tribes,  particularly  in  Af- 
rica and  the  South  Sea  islands  ;  but  some 
of  the  accounts  are  undoubtedly  exagge- 
rated, and  the  circumstance  does  not  in 
any  case  seem  common  to  a  whole  tribe 
or  nation.  The  cause  seems  to  consist  in 
long  continued  suckling,  and  in  the  ha- 
bit of  suckling  the  children  at  the  back 
of  the  mother.  In  some  cases  artifi- 
cial means  of  elongating  these  parts 
are  employed,  from  peculiar  notions  of 
beauty.  A  large  and  swoln  state  of  the 
breast  altogether  was  observed  formerly 
in  the  Eg)ptians;  and  the  Portuguese 
women  of  modern  days  are  said  to  be  re- 
markable in  the  same  way. 

Negroes  are  particularly  famous  for 
their  organs  of  generation  :  and  specimens 
preserved  in  anatomical  cabinets  seem  to 
justify  their  celebrity  for  the  size  of  these 
parts ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  be 
a  general  character.  The  Hottentot  wo- 
men possess  large  nymph ae,  which  cover 
the  opening  of  the  vagina,  and  have  given 
rise  to  some  absurd  reports  of  travellers. 

The  legs  of  the  Hindoos  are  said  to  be 
particularly  long,  and  those  of  the  Mon- 
guls  short :  it  has  also  been  stated,  that 
the  constant  practice  of  riding  renders 
them  crooked  in  the  Calmucks.  In  the 
Negro  they  are  curved,  so  as  to  render 
the  individual  knock-kneed  ;  and  the  calf 
is  remarkably  high  :  they  are  also  dis- 
tinguished by  the  broad  and  flat  form  of 
the  foot. 

Although  we  cannot  assign  any  satis- 
factory reasons  for  all  these  varieties, 
there  is  none  which  does  not  exist  in  a  still 
greater  degree  in  animals  of  the  same 
species.  What  differences  in  the  figure 
and  proportion  of  parts  do  we  observe  in 
the  various  breed  of  horses ;  in  the  Ara- 
bian, the  Barb,  and  the  German  !  How 
striking  the  contrast  between  the  long- 
legged  cattle  of  the  Cape,  and  the  short- 
legged  of  England  1  The  same  differ- 
ences in  the  legs  are  seen  in  swine.  The 
cows  have  no  horns  in  some  parts  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland ;  in  Sicily,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  are  very  large.  We  should 
also  mention  here  a  breed  of  sheep  with 
an  extraordinary  number  of  horns,  as 
three,  four,  or  five,  occurring  in  northern 
countries,  and  accounted  a  rn^re  variety, 


COTIS  polycerataj ;  the  Cretan  breed  of 
the  same  animal,  with  long,  large,  and 
twisted  horns  ;  the  Solidungular  swine, 
with  undivided  hoof,  as  well  as  others 
with  three  divisions  of  that  part;  the  five- 
toed  fowl  [Gftliut  pentadactylusj ;  the 
broad-tailed  sheep  of  T;ivtary,  Thibet, 
&.C.  in  which  the  tail  grows  so  large,  that 
it  is  placed  on  a  board,  supported  by 
wheels,  for  the  convenience  of  the  ani- 
mal; and  the  rumpiess  fowl  of  America, 
and  particularly  Virginia  ( Gallus  Ecauda- 
titsj),  which  has  undoubtedly  descended 
from  the  English  breed. 

Stature.  No  part  of  our  subject  has 
been  more  disgraced  by  fables  and  hy- 
perbolical exaggeration,  than  the  present 
division.  Not  to  mention  the  pigmies 
and  giants  of  antiquity  ;  the  bones  of  dif- 
ferent large  animals,  ascribed  to  human 
subjects  of  immoderate  stature,  even  by 
such  men  as  Buffon,  sufficiently  prove 
our  assertion.  The  accuracy  of  modern 
investigation  has,  however,  so  completely 
exposed  the  extravagance  of  such  sup- 
positions, that  we  are  relieved  from  the 
necessity  of  a  detailed  consideration.  All 
the  remains  of  antiquity,  which  afford  us 
any  inferences  on  the  subject  of  stature, 
such  as  mummies,  human  bones,  and  par- 
ticularly teeth  taken  from  the  oldest  bu- 
rial places  and  urns,  armour,  &c.  concur 
in  proving,  that  the  ancients  did  not  ex- 
ceed the  moderns  in  this  respect.  Yet 
amongst  the  latter  there  are  obvious  na- 
tional differences.  Of  European  nations 
some  parts  of  Sweden  and  Switzerland 
are  distinguished  for  tallness,  as  Lapland 
is  in  the  contrary  respect.  The  Abipons 
in  the  new  world  are  of  large  size,  and 
the  Esquimaux  small;  but  neither  are 
very  remarkable:  and  there  is  no  such 
difference  between  any  two  modern  na- 
tions, but  what  admits  of  easy  explana- 
tion from  the  common  causes  of  degene- 
ration, and  the  analogous  phenomena  fur- 
nished by  the  natural  history  of  other  ani- 
mals. 

The  Patagonians,  or  Tehuels,  which 
occupy  the  south-east  part  of  the  extre- 
mity of  South  America,  seem  to  be  the 
tallest  of  the  human  race  ;  but  their 
height  has  been  much  exaggerated.  Piga- 
fetta,  who  accompanied  Magalhaens  on 
his  voyage  round  the  world,  asserted  that 
they  were  twice  as  tail  as  Europeans,  and 
the  accounts  of  subsequent  navigators 
have  been  very  contradictory.  They  seem, 
in  truth,  to  be  a  tall,  though  not  gigantic 
race,  and  to  possess  a  muscular  frame. 
According  to  Wallis,  Bougainville,  and 
Carteret,  the  ordinary  height  may  be  six 


MAN. 


feet ;  and  none  seem  to  exceed  six  feet 
and  seven  inches  :  a  stature  not  so  very 
remarkable,  since  other  native  tribes  of 
the  same  continent  have  been  remarked 
ibr  their  height.  As  they  are  a  wander- 
ing race,  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  find- 
ing that  Europeans  visiting  the  coast 
have  not  always  been  able  to  see  them. 
The  accounts  of  travellers  prove,  that 
the  height  of  the  Patagonians  is  not  a 
peculiar  circumstance.  Bartram  repre- 
sents the  Muscogulges  and  Cherokees 
of  North  America,  inhabiting  between 
31°  and  35°  of  North  latitude,  as 
taller  than  Europeans  ;  many  being  above 
sixfeet,  and  few  under  five  feet  eight  or  ten 
inches.  (Travels,  p.  482).  The  Caffrees, 
according  to  Barrow,  are  "  tall,  robust, 
and  muscular,  and  distinguished  by  a  pe- 
culiar firmness  of  carriage  ;  some  of  them 
were  six  feet  ten  inches,  and  so  elegantly 
proportioned,  that  they  would  not  have 
disgraced  the  pedestal  of  the  Farnese 
Hercules.  The  accounts  of  a  pigmy  race, 
called  Quimos  or  Kimos,  in  the  interior  of 
Madagascar,  do  not  seem  to  be  at  all  au- 
thentic. The  Laplanders  and  Nova  Zem- 
blians,  in  Europe,  the  Samoieds,  Ostiacs, 
Yakuts,  and  Tungooses  in  Asia,  and  the 
Greenlanders  and  Esquimaux  of  America, 
all,  in  short,  who  inhabit  high  northern 
latitudes,  are  short  in  stature,  measuring 
from  four  to  five  feet ;  and  they  agree  re- 
markably in  other  characters,  although 
occupying  such  distant  countries.  This 
accordance  must  be  explained  by  expo- 
sure to  the  same  causes ;  living  in  a  bar- 
ren and  inhospitable  climate,  and  exposed 
equally  to  its  rigour,  feeling  the  same 
wants,  and  having  the  same  means  of  gra- 
tifying them,  should  we  not  expect  a  simi- 
larity of  stature,  colour,  countenance, 
Sec.  ?  It  seems  rather  doubtful,  whether 
the  miserable  Pescherais,  who  wander 
naked  over  the  rocks  of  Terra  del  Fuego, 
are  also  diminutive  ;  but  Barrow  informs 
us,  that  the  Boshmen,  who  adjoin  the 
Cape,  scarcely  ever  exceed  four  leet  nine 
inches. 

Every  one  will  immediately  perceive, 
that  the  differences  of  stature  in  the  hu- 
man race  are  not  equal  to  those  occurring 
in  different  breeds  of  animals.  The  pigs 
taken  from  Europe  into  the  island  of  Cu- 
ba have  grown  to  twice  their  original 
size;  and  the  cattle  in  Paraguay  have 
experienced  a  great  increase  in  this  re- 
spect. 

That  climate  possesses  an  influence, 
seems  to  be  proved  from  the  circumstance 
ot  the  Laplanders  and  Hungarians,  which 


differ  so  widely  in  stature  and  formation., 
having  descended  from  a  common  source. 

Physiological  considerations  render  it 
probable,  that  food  will  be  efficacious  in 
increasing  or  diminishing  stature.  The 
Arees  or  nobles  of  Otaheite  and  the  Socie- 
ty Islands  exceed  the  other  natives  in 
stature  and  personal  beauty  ;  and  this  is 
ascribed  by  Forster  to  their  enjoying  a 
more  copious  and  luxurious  food.  The 
use  of  ardent  spirits  is  said  to  have  dimi- 
nished the  size  of  the  native  Americans  in 
some  instances. 

That  the  state  of  society  and  nfanner 
of  life  have  great  influence  on  the  stauire, 
may  be  proved,  by  comparing  the  pre- 
sent Germans  with  their  ancestors,  as  de- 
scribed by  the  Roman  authors.  The  an- 
cient Germans  lived  chiefly  on  animal 
food,  as  milk  and  flesh :  they  were  stran- 
gers to  the  use  of  wine  and  spirituous  li- 
quors ;  in  time  of  peace,  they  were  em- 
ployed in  the  chase,  free  from  those  cares 
which  so  often  agitate  and  oppress  more 
civilized  people.  They  refrained  from 
the  enjoyment  of  women  till  a  late  pe- 
riod ;  "  Sera  juvenuin  Venus  eoque  in 
exhausta  pubertas."  Hence  they  appear 
to  have  been  of  immense  size  and 
strength,  and  undaunted  courage  ;  "  im- 
manes  animis  et  corporibus,"  is  the  for- 
cible language  of  Pomponius  Mela.  Con- 
ring,  after  comparing  all  the  accounts  of 
the  writers  of  those  times,  states  their 
stature  at  six  feet  three  inches;  which 
equals  that  of  the  Patagonians,  and  cer- 
tainly exceeds  that  of  the  modern  Ger- 
mans. 

As  the  ancient  Germans  seem  to  have 
exceeded  the  stature  of  the  moderns,  so, 
if  we  may  credit  their  philosophic  de- 
scriber,  the  cattle  were  distinguished  in 
the  contrary  way,  which  is  not,  we  be- 
lieve, the  case  at  present.  "  Pecorum 
fecunda,  sed  plerumque  improcera.  Ne 
armentis  quidem  suus  honor,  aut  gloria 
frontis."  TACITUS. 

The  observations  of  Barrow  concerning 
the  CafFres,  whose  superior 'stature  we 
have  just  noticed,  confirm  our  reasonings 
as  to  the  effect  of  climate  and  manner  of 
life.  "  The  natives  of  Caffraria,"  says 
he,  "  if  taken  collectively,  are  perhaps 
superior  in  point  of  figure  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  any  other  country  on  earth  :  they 
are  indeed  exempt  from  many  of  those 
causes,  which  in  civilized  society  tend  to 
debilitate  and  impede  the  growth  of  the 
human  body.  Their  diet  is  perfectly  sim- 
ple, their  exercise  conducive  to  health, 
and  the  air  which  they  breathe  is  salubri- 


MAN. 


ous.  Strangers  to  the  licentious  appe- 
tites which  frequently  proceed  from  a  de- 
praved imagination,  they  cheerfully  re- 
ceive the  bounteous  gifts  of  nature  ;  and 
when  midnight  sways  her  ebon  sceptre 
over  the  country, 

"  Sweetly  composed  the  weary  peasant 

lies, 
Tlio*   through  the  woods  terrific  winds 

resound ; 
Tho'  rattling  thunder  shakes  the  vaulted 

skies, 
Or  vivid  lightning  runs  along  the  ground." 

We  must  remember,  that  the  stature  of 
any  tribe  or  nation  will  be  gradually 
changed  by  inter-marriages  with  others, 
and  that  it  can  be  preserved  pure  only  by 
avoiding  such  intercourse.  That  heredi- 
tary disposition  has  great  influence  on 
the  size  of  the  body,  is  undeniably  prov- 
ed by  numerous  examples  of  families  re- 
markable for  their  tallness  or  lowness  of 
stature. 

Faculties  of  the  Mind.  The  different 
progress  of  various  nations  in  general  ci- 
vilization, and  in  the  culture  of  the  arts 
and  sciences,  the  different  characters  and 
degrees  of  excellence  in  their  literary 
productions,  their  varied  forms  of  go- 
vernment, and  many  other  considerations, 
must  convince  us,  beyond  the  possibility 
of  doubt,  that  the  races  of  mankind  are 
no  less  characterized  by  diversity  of  men- 
tal endowments,  than  by  those  differ- 
ences of  organization  which  we  have  al- 
ready enumerated  and  considered.  Such, 
however,  has  been  the  effect  of  educa- 
tion, of  laws,  of  peculiar  habits  and  cus- 
toms, and  of  the  different  forms  of  go- 
vernment, in  modifying  the  mind  and  cha- 
racter of  men,  that  we  cannot  now  dis- 
cern what  should  be  ascribed  to  original 
difference,  and  what  should  be  referred 
to  the  operation  of  these  external  causes. 
That  climate  will  exert  a  powerful  influ- 
ence on  the  mind,  may  be  very  reasona- 
bly expected ;  and  it  lias  an  analogous  in- 
fluence on  the  animal  creation.  W  e  are 
informed,  that  the  dog  in  Kamtschatka, 
instead  of  being  faithful  and  attached  to 
his  master,  is  malignant,  treacherous,  and 
full  of  deceit.  He  does  not  bark  in  the 
hot  purls  of  Africa,  nor  in  Greenland; 
and  in  the  latter  country  loses  his  docility, 
so  as  not  to  be  fit  for  hunting. 

Yet  we  are  decidedly  of  opinion,  that 
the  differences  of  intellect  are  not  suffi- 
cient, in  any  instance,  to  warrant  us  in  re- 
ferring a  particular  race  to  an  originally 
different  species ;  and  we  particularly 
protest  against  the  sentiments  of  those, 

VOL.  IV. 


who  would  either  entirely  deny  to  the 
Africans  the  enjoyment  of  reason ;  or 
who  ascribe  to  them  such  vicious,  malig- 
nant, and  treacherous  propensities,  as 
would  degrade  them  even  below  the  le- 
vel of  the  brute.  It  can  be  proved  most 
clearly,  and  the  preceding  observations 
will  suffice  for  this  purpose,  that  there  is 
no  circumstance  of  bodily  structure  so  pe- 
culiar to  the  Negro,  as  not  to  be  found 
also  in  other  far  distant  nations  ;  no  cha- 
racter, which  does  not  run  into  those  of 
other  races,  by  the  same  insensible  gra- 
dations, as  those  which  connect  together 
all  the  varieties  of  mankind.  We  cannot 
but  admire  the  reasoning  and  humanity  of 
those,  who,  after  tearing  the  African  from 
his  native  soil,  carrying  him  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  dooming  him  there  to  perpe- 
tual labour,  complain  that  his  understand- 
ing shews  no  signs  of  improvement,  and 
that  his  temper  and  disposition  are  incor- 
rigibly perverse,  faithless,  and  treacher- 
ous. Let  us,  however,  observe  him  in  a 
somewhat  more  favourable  state,  than  in 
those  dreadful  receptacles  of  human  mi- 
sery, the  crowded  decks  of  the  slave- 
ship,  or  in  the  less  openly  shocking',  but 
constrained  and  extorted,  and  therefore 
painful,  labours  of  the  sugar  plantation. 
The  acute  and  accurate  Barbot,  in  his. 
large  work  on  Africa,  says,  "  The  blacks 
have  sufficient  sense  and  understanding, 
their  conceptions  are  quick  and  accurate, 
and  their  memory  possesses  extraordinary 
strength.  For,  although  they  can  neither 
read  nor  write,  they  never  fall  into  con- 
fusion or  error  in  the  greatest  hurry  of 
business  and  traffic.  Their  experience  of: 
the  knavery  of  Europeans  has  put  them 
completely  on  their  guard,  in  transactions 
of  exchange  :  they  carefully  examined 
all  our  goods,  piece  by  piece,  to  ascertain, 
if  their  quality  and  measure  are  correctly 
stated ;  and  shew  as  much  sagacity  and 
clearness  in  all  these  transactions,  as  any 
European  tradesman  could  do."  Of  those 
imitative  arts,  in  which  perfection  can  be 
attained  only  in  an  improved  state  of  so- 
ciety, it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  Ne- 
groes can  have  but  little  knowledge  ;  but 
the  fabric  and  colours  of  the  Guinea 
cloths  are  proofs  of  their  native  ingenui- 
ty ;  and,  that  they  are  capable  of  learn- 
ing all  kinds  of  the  more  delicate  manual 
labours,  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  nine- 
tenths  of  the  artificers  in  the  West  In- 
dies are  Negroes :  many  are  expert  car- 
penters, and  some  watch-makers.  The 
travels  of  Barrow,  Le  Vaillant,  and  Mun- 
go  Park,  abound  with  anecdotes  honoura- 
ble to  the  moral  character  of  the  Afri- 
cans, and  proving-  that  they  betray  no  de- 
F  f 


MAN. 


ficiency  in  the  amiable  qualities  of  the 
heart.  The  former  gives  us  a  most  in- 
teresting portrait  of  the  chief  of  a  tribe : 
"  His  countenance  was  strongly  marked 
with  the  habit  of  reflection ;  vigorous  in 
his  mental,  and  amiable  in  his  personal 
qualities,  Gaika  was  at  once  the  friend 
and  ruler  of  a  happy  people,  who  univer- 
sally pronounced  his  name  with  transport, 
and  blessed  his  abode  as  the  seat  of  feli- 
city." Alas !  many  European  kings 
\vould  appear  to  very  little  advantage  by 
the  side  of  this  savage.  The  drawings 
and  busts  executed  by  the  wild  Boshmen, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Cape,  are 
praised  by  the  same  traveller,  for  their 
accuracy  of  outline,  and  correctness  of 
proportion. 

Instances  are  by  no  means  wanting,  of 
Negroes  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves in  literature  and  the  arts,  when  fa- 
voured by  fortune  with  opportunities  of 
education  and  improvement.  Freidig  in 
Vienna  \vas  a  capital  performer  on  the 
violin,  and  an  excellent  draftsman.  Han- 
nibal, a  colonel  of  artillery  in  the  Russian 
service,  was  very  well  informed  in  the 
mathematical  and  physical  sciences ;  as 
also  was  Lislet,  of  the  isle  of  France,  who 
was  made  on  that  account  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  French  academy.  Fuller, 
of  Maryland,  was  an  extraordinary  exam- 
ple of  arithmetical  knowledge :  being 
asked  in  company  how  many  seconds  a 
man  had  lived,  who  was  seventy  years 
and  some  odd  months  old,  he  gave  the 
number  in  a  minute  and  a  half:  on  rec- 
koning it,  a  different  result  was  obtained ; 
"  you  have  forgotten  the  leap  years," 
says  the  Negro :  the  necessary  addition 
brought  it  right.  A.  W.  Amo  took  the 
degree  of  doctor  in  philosophy  at  Wit- 
tenberg, in  1734,  and  produced  two  inge- 
nious and  well-written  dissertations :  and 
Vasa  and  Ignatius  Sancho  have  distin- 
guished themselves  as  literary  characters 
in  this  country.  Blumenbach,  after  men- 
tioning these  instances  in  his  Beytrage 
zur  Naturgeschichte,  sarcastically  ob- 
serves, that  entire  and  large  provinces  of 
Europe  might  be  named,  which  had  not 
furnished  such  good  writers,  poets,  philo- 
sophers, and  correspondents  of  the  French 
academy ;  and  he  adds,  that  no  savage 
people  have  given  such  strong  indications 
of  a  capability  of  improvement,  and  even 
of  scientific  cultivation,  as  the  Negroes ; 
and  consequently,  that  none  can  approach 
more  nearly  to  the  polished  nations  of  the 
globe.  Let  us  conclude,  then,  with  the 
quaint,  but  humane  observations  of  the 
preacher,  who  called  the  Negro  "  God's 


image,  like  ourselves,  although  carved  in 
ebony." 

We  shall  conclude  the  present  article 
with  giving  the  generic  character  of 
man ;  and  a  general  description  of  the 
five  varieties,  into  which  the  human  race 
has  been  divided  by  Blumenbach. 

Generic  character :  erect,  two-handed; 
prominent  chin.  Teeth  of  uniform  height 
in  an  unbroken  series  ;  the  lower  incisors 
perpendicular.  « 

As  we  have  shewn,  on  the  one  hand, 
that  there  is  no  circumstance  of  differ- 
ence between  the  varieties  of  the  human 
race,  which  does  not  appear  in  a  still 
greater  degree  among  animals,  chiefly  of 
the  domesticated  kinds,  arising  from  the 
ordinary  sources  of  degeneration;  so 
there  is  no  point,  whether  of  colour, 
countenance,  or  stature,  which  does  not 
pass  by  imperceivable  gradations  into  the 
opposite  character,  rendering  all  these 
distinctions  merely  relative,  and  reducing 
them  to  differences  in  degree.  Hence  it 
is  obvious,  that  any  division  of  the  varie- 
ties of  tiie  human  race  must  be  in  a  great 
measure  arbitrary.  For  the  same  reason, 
one  or  two  characters  are  not  sufficient 
for  determining  the  race,  but  an  union  of 
several  is  required  ;  and  even  this  is  ex- 
posed to  many  exceptions  in  each  va- 
riety. 

1.  Caucasian,  variety.  White  skin,  red 
cheeks,  brownish  hair,  head  of  a  some- 
what globular  form;  oval  and  straight 
face,  with  features  moderately  separate 
from  each  other,  expanded  forehead,  nar- 
row and  rather  aqueline  nose,  and  small 
mouth :  front  teeth  of  both  jaws  perpen- 
dicular ;  lips  gently  turned  out,  and  chin 
full  and  rounded. 

It  includes  the  Europeans  (excepting 
the  Laplanders,  and  rest  of  the  Finnish 
race)  ;  the  Western  Asiatics,  as  far  as  the 
river  Ob,  the  Caspian  sea,  and  the  Gan- 
ges; and  the  northern  Africans. 

The  name  of  this  variety  is  derived 
from  Mount  Caucasus,  because  in  its 
neighbourhood  we  meet  with  the  most 
beautiful  race  of  men  in  the  world,  viz. 
the  Georgians.  From  the  accounts  of 
numerous  travellers,  who  all  agree  on 
this  subject,  we  select  the  remark  of 
Chardin:  "The  blood  of  Georgia  is  the 
finest  in  the  East,  and  I  may  say  in  the 
world.  I  have  not  observed  a  single 
ugly  countenance  in  that  country  in  either 
sex ;  but  have  seen  numerous  angelic 
ones.  Nature  has  bestowed  on  the 
women  graces  and  charms,  which  we  see 
in  no  other  place.  It  is  impossible  to 
look  at  them  without  loving  them.  More 


MAN. 


beautiful  countenances,  and  finer  figures, 
than  those  of  the  Georgian  women,  can- 
not even  be  imagined." 

Various  reasons  conspire  ih  inducing 
us  to  place  the  first  families  of  men  in 
this  quarter ;  and  this  race  forms  a  me- 
dium between  the  two  following  varieties. 
An  argument  on  this  subject  arises  from 
the  white  colour  of  the  Caucasian  race, 
which  we  should  be  disposed  to  consider 
as  the  primitive  colour  of  men  :  since  the 
white  easily  degenerates  into  the  darker 
shades,  while  those,  when  once  fixed, 
hardly  change  at  all. 

2.  Mongolian  variety.  Olive  colour  ; 
black,  straight,  strong,and  spare  hair;  head 
of  a  square  form  ;  broad  and  flattened 
face,  with  the  features  running  together  ; 
the  glabella  (interval  between  the  eye- 
brows) flat  and  very  broad  ;  nose  small 
and  flat;  rounded  cheeks  projecting  ex- 
ternally ;  narrow  and  linear  aperture  of 
the  eyelids ;  slight  projection  of  the  chin. 

This  includes  the  rest  of  the  Asiatics, 
(excepting  the  Malays) ;  the  Finnish 
races  of  the  colder  parts  of  Europe,  as 
the  Laplanders,  See. ;  and  the  tribes  of 
Esquimaux,  extending  over  the  northern 
parts  of  America,  from  Bhering's  Strait  to 
the  extremity  of  Greenland. 

The  Mongolians,  widely  scattered  over 
the  continent  of  Asia,  have  generally,  but 
erroneously,  been  included  with  some  of 
very  different  origin  and  formation,  un- 
der the  name  of  Tartars ;  whereas  the 
last-mentioned  tribes,  properly  so  called, 
belong  to  the  first  division  of  the  human 
race.  The  Cal mucks,  and  other  Mongo- 
lian nations,  which  overran  the  Saracen 
empire,  under  Zenghis  Khan,  about  the 
middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  had 
entered  Europe,  are  described  in  the 
"  Historia  Major"  of  Matthew  Paris  un- 
der the  name  of  Tartars,  whereas  that 
name  (or,  as  it  should  be  spelled,  Tatars) 
properly  belongs  to  the  western  Asiatics, 
who  had  been  vanquished  by  the  Mon- 
guls.  The  error,  however,  arising  from 
this  source,  has  been  propagated  down 
to  the  present  day,  so  that  in  the  works 
of  the  most  approved  naturalists,  as  Buf- 
fon  and  Erxleben,  we  find  the  characters 
of  the  Mongolian  race  ascribed  to  what 
they  call  the  Tartars. 

The  Tartars  indeed  are  connected  by 
the  Kirgises,  and  neighbouring  tribes,  to 
the  Monguls,  in  the  same  way  as  the  lat- 
ter are  joined  by  the  inhabitants  of  Thi- 
bet to  the  Indians ;  by  the  Esquimaux, 
to  the  Americans ;  and  by  the  Philippine 
islanders,  with  the  Malays. 

3.  Ethiopian  variety.  Black  skin;  black 
and  woolly  hair ;  head  narrow,  and  com- 


pressed laterally;  arched  forehead;  cheek- 
bones standing  forwards;  prominent  eyes; 
thick  nose,  confused  with  the  extended 
jaw ;  alveolar  arch  narrow,  and  elongated 
anteriorly ;  the  upper  front  teeth  project- 
ing obliquely ;  the  lips,  and  particularly 
the  upper  one,  thick ;  the  chin  receding; 
knees  turned  in  in  many  instances.  The 
remaining  Africans,  besides  those  classed 
in  the  first  variety,  belong  to  this. 

Several  of  the  observations  in  the  pre- 
ceding parts  of  this  article  she\v  how  ill- 
founded  is  the  opinion  of  those  who  con- 
sider the  Africans  as  a  distinct  species, 
merely  because  his  colour,  a  very  striking 
character,  is  so  unlike  our  own.  The  ob- 
servation, thai  Negroes  resemble  mon- 
keys more  than  those  of  the  other  varie- 
ties, is  true  in  the  same  sense  as  it  might 
be  said,  that  the  variety  of  the  pig,  which 
has  a  solid  hoof,  resembles  the  horse 
more  nearly  than  other  pigs ;  but  the 
comparison  itself  is  not  a  very  important 
one,  since  it  has  been  made,  even  by  ac- 
curate observers,  of  several  nations  in  the 
other  varieties ;  as  the  Laplanders,  Esqui- 
maux, Caaiguas  of  South  America,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  island  Mallicollo,  &c. 

4.  American  variety.  Red  colour ;  black, 
straight,  strong,  and  thin  hair ;  short  fore- 
head ;  deep  eyes ;  nose  somewhat  flat- 
tened, but  prominent;  a  broad,  but  not 
flattened  face,  with  the  cheeks  standing 
out,  and  the  different  features  projecting 
distinctly  and  separately ;  the  forehead 
and  vertex  often  deformed  by  art.  This 
variety  includes  all  the  Americans,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Esquimaux. 

Several  idle  tales  have  been  propagated 
concerning  the  distinguishing  characters 
of  this  race.  Some  have  denied  the  ex- 
istence of  a  beard  in  the  male,  and  that 
of  the  menstrual  discharge  in  the  female  ; 
and  others  have  ascribed  an  uniform 
colour  and  countenance  to  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  vast  continent.  The  con- 
curring testimonies  of  all  accurate  modern 
travellers  prove  clearly  that  the  Ameri- 
cans have  naturally  beards ;  that  it  is  a 
very  general  custom  with  them,  as  it  has 
been  with  several  Mongolian  and  Malay 
tribes,  carefully  to  eradicate  this  excres- 
cence ;  but  that  various  hordes  in  diffe- 
rent parts  of  the  continent  preserve  it  as 
other  men  do.  From  a  cloud  of  unani- 
mous reports  on  this  subject  \ve  select 
the  following  statement  of  the  immortal 
Cook,  respecting  the  natives  of  Xootka 
Sound.  "Some  have  no  beards  ut  :di, 
and  others  only  a  thin  one  on  the  point 
of  the  chin.  This  does  not  arise  from  an 
original  deficiency  of  hair  in  those  parts, 
but  from  their  plucking  it  out  by  the 


MAN. 


roots :  for  those  who  do  not  destroy  it 
have  not  oniy  considerable  beards  on 
every  part  of  the  chin,  but  also  whiskers, 
or  musiachios,  running  from  the  upper 
lip  to  the  lower  jaw  obliquely  down- 
wards." (Last  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  240.) 
The  observation  concerning  the  menses 
has  arisen  from  the  women  being  seclud- 
ed during  their  appearance.  The  red- 
ness of  the  skin  is  not  so  constant,  but 
that  it  varies  in  many  instances  towards  a 
brown,  and  approaches  likewise  in  some 
temperate  situations  to  the  white  colour. 
Cook  states,  that  the  natives  about  Nootka 
Sound  are  little  inferior  in  fairness  to 
Europeans ;  and  Bouguer  makes  the 
same  observation  of  the  Peruvians  on  the 
Andes.  It  is  also  fully  ascertained  at  pre- 
sent, that  the  Americans  possess  the  same 
varieties  of  feature  which  are  observed 
In  the  other  races. 

5.  MaUiy  -variety.  Brown  colour  ;  hair 
black,  soft,  curled,  and  abundant ;  head 
moderately  narrow,  and  forehead  slightly 
arched ;  nose  full  and  broad  towards  the 
apex ;  large  mouth  ;  upper  jaw  rather 
prominent;  the  features,  when  viewed 
in  profile,  projecting  and  distinct.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca, 
of  the  South  Sea,  Ladrone,  Philippine, 
Molucca,  and  Sunda  islands,  are  arranged 
under  this  division. 

As  the  Americans  in  their  national  cha- 
racters hold  the  middle  place  between 
that  middle  variety  of  the  human  race, 
which  we  have  called  the  Caucasians, 
and  one  of  the  extremes,  viz.  the  Mongo- 
lians ;  so  the  Malay  forms  the  connecting 
link  between  the  Caucasian  and  the 
Ethiopian.  The  name  of  Malay  is  given 
to  it,  because  most  of  the  tribes  which  it 
includes,  as  those  which  inhabit  the  In- 
dian islands  near  Malacca,  the  Sandwich, 
Society,  and  Friendly  islands,  also  those 
of  Madagascar,  and  thence  to  Easter 
island,  use  the  Malay  language. 

The  inhabitants  of  such  various  and 
distant  countries  may  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected to  differ  considerably  in  elegance 
of  form,  and  in  other  circumstances  of 
bodih  organization.  Hence  some  have 
even  described  two  races  in  the  island  of 
Otaheite ;  one  of  light  colour,  tall  stature, 
and  countenance  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  European  :  the'  other  of  mode- 
rate stature,  with  the  colour  and  counte- 
nance of  the  Mulatto,  crisp  hair,  &c. 
The  latter,  therefore,  constitutes  an  inter- 
mediate gradation,  passing  towards  the 
inhabitants  of  the  western  islands  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  And  of  these  the  men  of 
the  New  Hebrides  form  a  link  of  connec- 
tion with  those  of  New  Guinea  and  New 


Holland,  which  are  so  very  similar  to 
the  Ethiopian  variety,  that  they  might  be 
arranged  without  impropriety  under  tluvt 
division. 

The  varieties  which  we  have  just  stated 
are  so  many  proofs  of  that  pliancy  so 
wisely  bestowed  by  nature  on  the  human 
constitution,  to  enable  it  to  adapt  itself 
to  every  clime.  Thus  the  goodness  of 
the  Creator  appears,  in  forming  the 
whole  world  for  man,  and  in  opening  to 
him  every  opportunity  of  enlarging  his 
habitation,  and  multiplying  his  scientific 
acquirements  ;  instead  of  confining  him, 
like  the  inferior  animals,  to  a  bounded 
range.  He  is  completely  unrestrained 
in  the  choice  of  his  dwelling,  by  conside- 
rations of  air,  temperature,  &c. ;  and 
consequently  far  exceeds  all  other  parts 
of  animated  creation  in  extension  over 
the  surface  of  the  globe.  Gmelin  expe- 
rienced cold  of  126°  below  0  of  Fahren- 
heit's scale,  at  Jeniseik,  in  Siberia.  The 
Greenlander  lives,  and  follows  his  occu- 
pations, where  the  vegetable  creation  can 
no  longer  subsist,  and  where  the  snow- 
bunting,  with  the  polar  fox  and  bear, 
half  frozen,  and  perishing  with  hunger, 
hide  themselves  in  holes  of  the  ground. 
On  the  contrary,  in  Senegal,  the  ther- 
mometer mounts  sometimes  to  117°  above 
0  ;  and  a  natural  warmth  of  125°  has  been 
experienced.  In  short,  man  lives  in 
every  part  of  the  known  world  (except- 
ing some  unexplored  northern  countries, 
and  a  few  remote  southern  islands),  from 
Greenland  to  Terra  del  Fuego,  from 
Spitzbergen  to  the  Cape,  from  the  80th 
degree  of  north  to  the  58th  of  south  lati- 
tude. 

MANDAMUS,  is  a  writ  issuing  in  the 
King's  name,  out  of  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench,  and  directed  to  any  person,  cor- 
poration, or  inferior  court  of  judicature, 
commanding  them  to  do  some  particular 
thing,  as  appertaining  to  their  office  and 
duty. 

A  writ  of  mandamus  is  a  high  preroga- 
tive writ,  of  a  most  extensive  remedial 
nature,  and  may  be  issued,  in  some  cases, 
where  the  injured  party  has  also  another 
more  tedious  method  of  redress,  as  in 
the  case  of  admission  or  restitution  to 
an  office;  but  it  issues  in  all  cases  where 
the  party  has  a  right  to  have  any  thing 
done,  and  hath  no  other  specific  means  ot 
compelling  its  performance.  And  this  ge  - 
neral  jurisdiction  and  superintendancy  of 
the  King's  Bench  over  all  inferior  courts, 
to  restrain  them  within  their  bounds, 
and  to  compel  them  to  execute  their  ju- 
risdiction, whether  such  jurisdiction 
arises  from  a  modern  charter,  subsists  by 


MAN 


MAN 


custom,  or  is  created  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment; yet  being  in  subsidiumjudicice,  has 
of  late  been  exercised  in  a  variety  of  in- 
stances. 

It  is  grounded  on  a  suggestion  by  affi- 
davit of  the  party's  own  right,  and  the 
de»ial  of  justice  below.  It  is  sometimes 
granted  upon  a  rule  to  shew  cause  only, 
but  sometimes  it  is  peremptory  in  the 
first  instance.  When  it  issues  to  do  the 
thing,  or  shew  cause,  an  action  lies  for  a 
false  return,  if  there  be  in  fact  such  false 
return  ;  but  the  Court  will  not  itself  try 
the  truth  of  the  return  in  the  first  in- 
stance. It  is  usually  applied  to  the  re- 
storing of  officers  in  corporations,  or  to 
electing  new  ones,  where  others  have 
been  wrongfully  elected.  See  statutes  9 
Anne,  c.  20,  and  12  George  HI.  c.  21.  It 
is  a  writ  of  very  general  application,  and 
great  utility,and  may  be  said  generally  to  lie 
where  any  person  by  his  office  has  a  clear 
duty  to  perform,  and  neglects  to  perform 
it,  and  the  Court  can  order  him  to  do  the 
act  required. 

MANDRAKE,  a  species  of  the  Atropa, 
from  which  a  reference  has  been  made, 
possesses  a  long  taper  root,  resembling 
the  parsnep  :  running  three  or  four  feet 
into  the  ground ;  immediately  from  the 
crown  of  the  root  arises  a  circle  of  leaves, 
at  first  standing  erect,  but  when  grown 
to  their  full  size,  they  spread  open  and 
lie  upon  the  ground ;  these  leaves  are 
more  than  afoot  in  length,  and  about  five 
inches  broad  in  the  middle,  of  a  dark- 
green  colour,  and  a  fa'tid  scent :  among 
these  come  out  the  flowers,  each  on  a 
scape,  three  inches  in  length  ;  they  are 
five-cornered,  of  an  herbaceous  white 
colour,  spreading  open  at  top  like  a 
primrose,  having  five  haiiy  stamens,  and 
a  globular  germ  supporting  an  awl-shap- 
ed style,  which  becomes  a  globular  soft 
berry,  when  full-grown  as  large  as  a  nut- 
meg, of  a  yellowish  green  colour,  and 
when  ripe  full  of  pulp. 

Many  singular  facts  are  related  of  this 
plant,  among  which  we  select  the  follow- 
ing :  the  roots  have  been  supposed  to 
bear  a  resemblance  to  the  human  form, 
and  are  figured  as  such  in  the  old  herbals, 
being  distinguished  into  the  male  with  a 
long  beard,  and  the  female  with  a  prolix 
head  of  hair.  Mountebanks  carry  about 
fictitious  images,  shaped  from  roots  of 
bryony  and  other  plants,  cut  into  form,  or 
forced  to  grow  through  moulds  of  earth- 
en ware,  as  mandrake  roots.  It  was  fabled 
to  grow  under  a  gallows,  where  the  mat- 
ter falling  from  the  dead  body  gave  it  the 
shape  of  a  man ;  to  utter  a  great  shriek, 
nr  terrible  groans,  at  the  digging-  up  ;  and 


it  was  asserted,  that  he  who  would  take 
up  a  plant  of  mandrake,  should  in  com- 
mon prudence  tie  a  dog  to  it,  for  that 
purpose  ;  for  if  a  man  should  do  it  him- 
self, he  would  surely  die  soon  after.  See 
Martyn's  botany. 

MANDREL,  a  kind  of  wooden  pulley, 
making  a  member  of  the  turner's  lathe,  of 
which  there  are  several  kinds,  as  the  flat 
mandrels,  which  have  three  or  more  lit- 
tle pegs  or  points  near  the  verge,  and 
are  used  for  turning  fiat  boards  on  ;  the 
pin  mandrels  are  those  which  have  a  long- 
wooden  shank  to  fit  into  a  large  hole 
made  in  the  work  to  be  turned ;  hollow 
mandrels  are  those  hollow  of  themselves, 
and  used  for  turning  hollow  work;  screw 
mandrels  for  turning  screws,  &c. 

MANETTIA,  in  botany,  so  named 
from  Xavier  Manetti,  Prefect  of  the  Bo- 
tanic Garden  at  Florence  ;  a  genus  of  the 
Tetrandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Contorts.  Rubiacese, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character:  calyx  eight- 
leaved;  corolla  four-cleft;  capsule  infe- 
rior, two-valved,  one-celled;  seeds  imbri- 
cate, orbicular,  with  a  central  seedlet. 
There  are  three  species. 

MANGANESE,  in  chemistry,  a  sub- 
stance that  has  long  been  employed  in 
the  manufacture  of  glass,  on  account  of 
its  property  of  depriving-  that  substance 
of  its  colour.  From  its  appearance  it  was 
called  black  magnesia,  or  manganese.  It 
was  considered  as  an  ore  of  iron,  because 
it  was  found  combined  with  the  oxide  of 
that  metal.  Bergman  and  Scheele  gave 
an  accurate  description  of  its  nature  and 
properties.  It  is  generally  found  in  the 
state  of  an  oxide,  either  white,  or  black, 
or  red.  The  white  contains  the  smallest, 
proportion  of  iron  and  of  oxygen.  This  ore 
soon  tarnishes  in  the  air  by  absorbing  oxy- 
gen. The  red  contains  more  iron  than 
the  white,  and  is  crystallized.  The  black 
or  the  brown  ore  is  frequently  crystalliz- 
ed like  the  red.  Manganese  is  procured 
in  the  metallic  state,  by  reducing  the  ox- 
ide to  powder,  and  forming  it  into  a  paste 
with  water.  It  is  then  exposed  to  a  strong 
heat,  not  less  than  160°  of  Wedgwood, 
with  charcoal,  arid  the  metal,  after  a  time, 
is  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  crucible,  or 
in  the  midst  of  the  scoriae  in  small  glo- 
bules, which  amount  to  nearly  one-third 
of  the  manganese  employed.  Manga- 
nese, in  the  metallic  state,  is  of  a  greyish 
white  colour,  with  considerable  brillian- 
cy, and  of  a  granular  texture.  The  speci- 
fic gravity  is  6.85.  It  is  hard  as  iron ;  is 
one  of  the  most  brittle  and  most  infusible 
of  the  metals.  When  exposed  to  the  air 
it  is  quickly  tarnished,  and  at  length  falls 


MAN 


MAN 


into  powder,  which  is  found  to  have  ac- 
quired considerable  addition  to  its  weight. 
But  when  heated  in  the  open  air,  it  passes 
more  rapidly  through  the  different  chang- 
es of  colour  in  proportion  as  it  combines 
with  oxygen,  to  the  absorption  of  which 
these  changes  are  owing  :  hence  manga- 
nese, like  some  other  metals,  combines 
with  different  portions  of  oxygen,  forming 
with  it  different  oxides.  The  different 
coloured  oxides  are  combined  of  man- 
ganese and  oxygen  in  the  following  pro- 
portions : 


Manganese 
Oxygen  .  . 


White 
Oxide. 

.   .80 

.  .20 

100 


Brown  or 
Red  Oxide. 

74 
26 

100 


Black 
Oxide. 

60 
40 

100 


From  the  black,  which  is  most  abun- 
dant in  oxygen,  the  chemists  usually  ob- 
tain what  they  use  in  their  experiments. 
The  black  is  evidently  the  metal  at  the 
maximum  of  oxydizement,  the  white  is 
the  one  at  the  minimum.  Manganese 
does  not  enter  into  combination  with 
azote,  hydrogen,  or  carbon.  By  means 
of  charcoal  the  oxide  is  reduced,  by  being 
deprived  of  its  oxygen.  Phosphorus  com- 
bines very  readily  with  manganese,  form- 
ing' a  phosphoret.  It  may  likewise  be 
made  to  combine  with  sulphur,  forming 
a  suiphurct.  It  enters  into  combination 
with  the  acids,  and  forms  salts  with  them. 
These  salts  may  be  decomposed  by  the 
alkalies,  which  throw  down  precipitates 
of  a  yellow  or  reddish  colour.  None  of 
them  are  decomposed  by  a>»y  of  the 
other  metals,  which  shews  the  strong 
affinity  of  manganese  to  oxygen.  The 
pure  alkalies  favour  the  oxydation  of 
7nanganese,  and  the  decomposition  of 
water,  because  they  combine  readily  with 
this  oxide.  When  the  black  oxide  is  ex- 
posed to  heat,  witit  twice  its  weight  of  dry 
soda  or  potash,  a  compound  is  formed  of 
a  dark  green  colour,  which  is  soluble  in 
water.  During  the  solution,  this  sub- 
stance exhibits  rapid  changes  of  colour, 
and  on  that  account  has  been  denominat- 
ed the  "  mineral  camelion."  There  is  no 
action  between  manganese  and  any  of 
the  earths ;  but  its  oxide  combines  with 
them,  and  forms  vitreous  matters,  which 
are  of  different  colours,  according  to  the 
degree  of  oxydation  of  the  manganese, 
and  its  mixture  with  iron.  The  native 
black  oxide  of  manganese  is  applied  to 
several  purposes.  It  is  the  substance 
from  which  oxygen  can  be  most  econo- 


mically obtained,  large  quantities  of 
wliich  are  consumed  in  the  formation  of 
the  oxy -muriatic  acid  employed  in  the 
art  of  bleaching.  It  is  used  in  glass-mak- 
ing, to  remove  from  the  substance  the 
green  colour  wliich  is  derived  from  the 
oxide  of  iron.  The  theory  of  its  action  is 
thus  explained:  iron,  in  a  low  state  of 
oxydizement,  gives  to  glass  a  green  tinge, 
while,  if  it  be  at  a  high  degree  of  oxy- 
dizement, it  either  does  not  enter  into 
fusion  with  the  ingredients  of  the  glass, 
or  at  least  does  not  communicate  any  co- 
lour. Manganese,  in  the  state  of  black 
oxide,  gives  a  violet  colour,  but  reduced 
to  the  white  oxide  the  glass  is  colourless. 
In  adding,  therefore,  the  black  oxide  to 
glass,  while  it  yields  its  oxygen  to  the 
iron,  which  it  thus  brings  to  "a  high  state 
of  oxydizement,  it  passes  itself  to  the  state 
of  wliite  oxide,  and  thus  each  metal  is  in 
that  state  in  which  it  does  not  communi- 
cate colour.  The  black  oxide  is  also  use- 
ful, probably  by  consuming  the  carbona- 
ceous matter  and  other  substances  pre- 
sent in  the  materials  which  are  suscepti- 
ble of  oxydizement.  In  large  quantities 
it  is  used  in  the  composition  of  ornament- 
al glass,  to  give  a  purple  colour.  It  is  like- 
wise employed  to  give  a  black  colour  to 
earthen  ware,  a  quantity  of  it  being  mix- 
ed with  the  composition  before  it  is 
baked. 

MANGIFERA,  in  botany,  mango-tree, 
a  genus  of  the  Pentandria  Monogynia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Tere- 
bintacex,  Jussieu.  Essential  character  : 
corolla  five-petalled ;  drupe  kidney-form. 
There  are  three  species,  of  which  M.  in- 
dica,  mango-tree,  is  the  most  remarkable; 
it  is  a  large  spreading  tree  ;  the  wood  is 
brittle,  and  used  only  for  indifferent 
works ;  the  bark  becomes  rugged  by 
age ;  the  leaves  are  seven  or  eight  inches 
long,  and  about  two  broad,  terminating  in 
points,  having  several  transverse  parallel 
opposite  ribs ;  the  flowers  are  produced 
in  loose  bunches  at  the  ends  of  the  branch- 
es ;  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  when  fully  ripe, 
is  yellow  and  reddish,  possessing  a  fine 
agreeable  juice;  some  are  full  of  fibres, 
the  juice  runs  out  of  these  on  cutting; 
but  those  without  fibres  are  much  the 
finest,  they  cut  like  an  apple,  and  are  es- 
teemed a  very  wholesome  fruit ;  except- 
ing pine  apples,  they  are  preferable  to 
any  other  in  India  :  in  Europe  we  have 
only  the  unripe  fruit  brought  over  in 
pickle. 

MANIS,  in  natural  history,  a  genus  of 
Mammalia,  of  the  order  Bruta.  Generic 
character :  no  teeth ;  tongue  round  and 


MAN 


MAN 


extensile  ;  mouth  narrowed  into  a  snout; 
body  covered  above  with  rnoveable  bony 
scales.  These  animals  greatly  resemble 
the  ant-eater,  and  feed  like  that  creature 
by  protruding-  their  tongues  into  the  nests 
of  various  species  of  insects,  and  retract- 
ing them  with  inconceivable  suddenness, 
with  their  prey  attached  to  the  tip.  There 
are  three  species.  M.  tetradactyla,  the 
long-tailed  manis,  has  a  tail  more  than 
twice  the  length  of  its  body,  and  is  of- 
ten, in  the  whole,  seen  five  feet  long.  Its 
colour  is  a  dark-brown,  with  a  tinge  of 
yellow,  and  it  displays  a  verv  brilliant 
gloss.  It  is  perfectly  covered,  except  on 
the  belly,  wiih  large  scales  resembling 
the  substance  of  horn,  and  which  consti- 
tute a  complete  defence  for  it  against  its 
enemies,  on  whose  attack  it  rolls  itself  up 
into  a  form  very  nearly  globular,  present- 
ing on  every  side  impenetrable  armour.  It 
is  a  native  of  India. 

Manis  pentadactyla,  the  short-tailed 
manis.  This  is  much  thicker  and  shorter 
than  the  former,  and  is  covered  with 
scales  still  thicker  and  strong-er.  It  is 
found  in  many  parts  of  India,  and,  accord- 
ing to  some  writers,  in  Africa,  particu- 
larly in  Guinea.  It  moves  with  great 
slowness,  but  on  imminent  danger  of  at- 
tack, rolls  itself  up  with  the  compactness 
of  a  ball,  and  defies,  in  this  state,  the  at- 
tempts even  of  some  of  the  larger  beasts 
of  prey.  It  is  called  in  some  parts  of  In- 
dia the  thunderbolt,  from  the  extreme 
hardness  of  its  scales,  which  are  said  to 
elicit  fire  from  iron,  like  a  flint ;  and  in 
other  parts  it  is  named  the  stone-vermin, 
a  quantity  of  stones  being  generally  found 
in  its  stomach,  supposed  to  be  swallowed 
by  it  for  the  purpose  of  digesting  its  food. 
It  frequents  marshy  and  woody  places, 
and  lives  almost  entirely  on  insects,  parti- 
cularly on  ants.  It  has  been  seen  of  the 
length  of  even  six  feet-  See  Mammalia, 
Plate  XV.  fig.  5. 

MANISURIS,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Polygamia  Monoecia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Gramina,  or  Grasses. 
Essential  character :  hermaphrodite  ca- 
lyx ;  glume  two-valved,  one-flowered, 
outer  valve  emarginate  at  the  top  and 
sides ;  corolla  less  than  the  calyx ;  sta- 
mens three  ;  style  bifid.  Male  as  in  the 
hermaphrodites  ;  but  with  the  flowers  in 
the  lower  side  of  the  same  spike,  stand- 
ing  oat  more.  There  are  two  species, 
viz.  M.  myurus,  and  M.  granularis  natives 
of  the  East  and  West  Indies. 

MANNA,  the  food  given  by  the  Al- 
mighty to  the  children  of  Israel  in  the 
wilderness,  is  the  concrete  juice  of  the 


fraxinus  ormis,  or  flowering  ash.  The 
tree  is  a  native  of  the  southern  parts  of 
Europe,  particularly  Sicily  and  Calabria. 
Many  other  trees  and  shrubs  likewise 
emit  a  sweet  juice,  which  concretes  upon 
exposure  to  the  air,  and  may  be  consi- 
dered of  the  manna  kind.  In  Sicily  there 
are  three  species  of  fraxinus  cultivated 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  manna,  and 
are  planted  on  the  declivity  of  a  hill 
with  an  eastern  aspect.  It  is  full  ten 
years  before  these  trees  bear  any  quantity 
of  manna  ;  it  then  exudes  spontaneous- 
ly ;  but  to  obtain  it  more  copiously,  in- 
cisions are  made  through  the  bark  by 
means  of  a  sharp  crooked  instrument ; 
and  the  season  for  performing  this  is  in  the 
middle  of  the  summer. 

MANOMETER,  or  MANOSCOPE,  an 
instrument  to  show  or  measure  the  alter- 
ations in  the  rarity  or  density  of  the 
air.  The  manometer  differs  from  the 
barometer  in  this,  that  the  latter  only 
serves  to  measure  the  weight  of  the  at- 
mosphere, or  of  the  column  of  air  over 
it :  but  the  former,  the  density  of  the 
air  on  which  it  is  found  ;  which  density 
depends  not  only  on  the  weight  of  the 
atmosphere,  but  also  on  the  action  of 
heat  and  cold,  &c.  Authors,  however, 
generally  confound  the  two  together;  and 
Mr.  Boyle  himself  gives  us  a  very  good 
manometer  of  his  contrivance,  under  the 
name  of  a  statical  barometer,  consisting 
of  a  bubble  of  thin  glass,  about  the  size 
of  an  orange,  which,  being  counterpoised 
when  the  air  was  in  a  mean  state  of 
density,  by  means  of  a  nice  pair  of  scales, 
sunk  when  the  atmosphere  became  lighter, 
and  rose  as  it  grew  heavier.  Other  kinds 
of  manometers  were  made  use  of  by  Colo- 
nel Roy,  in  his  attempts  to  correct  the  er- 
rors of  the  barometer.  "  They  were," 
says  he,  "  of  various  lengths,  from  four 
to  upwards  of  eight  feet :  they  consist- 
ed of  straight  tubes,  whose  bores  were 
commonly  from  one-fifteenth  to  one-twen- 
ty-filth of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  ca- 
pacity of  the  tube  was  carefully  mea- 
sured, by  making  a  column  of  quicksil- 
ver, about  three  or  four  inches  in  length, 
move  along  it  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
These  spaces  were  severally  marked, 
with  a  fine-edged  file,  on  the  tubes ; 
and  transferred  from  them  to  long  slips 
of  pasteboard,  for  the  subsequent  con- 
struction of  the  scales  respectively  be- 
longing to  each.  The  bulb,  attached  to 
one  end  of  the  manometer  at  the  glass- 
house, was  of  the  form  of  a  pear,  whose 
point  being  occasionally  opened,  dry  or 
moist  air  could  be  readily  admitted,  and 


I 


MAN 


MAN 


the  bulb  sealed  again,  without  any  sen- 
sible alteration  in  its  capacity.  The  air 
was  confined  by  means  of  a  column*  of 
quicksilver,  long  or  short,  and  with  the 
buib  downwards  or  upwards,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  proposed  experi- 
ment. Here  it  must  be  observed,  (hat, 
from  the  adhesion  of  the  quicksilver  to 
the  tube,  the  instrument  will  not  act  truly, 
except  it  be  in  a  vertical  position ;  and 
even  then  it  is  necessary  to  give  it  a  small 
degree  of  motion,  to  bring  the  quicksilver 
into  its  true  place,  where  it  will  remain  in 
equilibrio,  between  the  exterior  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere  on  one  side,  and  the 
interior  elastic  force  of  the  confined  air  on 
the  other.  Pounded  ice  and  water  were 
used  to  fix  a  freezing  point  ori  the  tube  ; 
and  by  means  of  salt  and  ice,  the  air 
was  further  condensed,  generally  four, 
and  sometimes  five  or  six  degrees  below 
zero.  The  thermometer  and  manometer 
were  then  placed  in  a  tin  vessel  among 
water,  which  was  brought  into  violent 
ebullition  ;  where,  having  remained  a 
sufficient  time,  and  motion  being  given 
to  the  manometer,  a  boiling  point  was 
marked  thereon.  After  this  the  fire  was 
removed,  and  the  gradual  descents  of 
the  piece  of  quicksilver,  corresponding 
to  every  twenty  degrees  of  temperature 
in  the  thermometer,  were  successively 
marked  on  a  deal  rod  applied  to  the 
manometer.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that 
both  instruments,  while  in  the  water,  were 
in  circumstances  perfectly  similar;  that 
is  to  say,  the  ball  and  bulb  were  at  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel.  In  order  to  be 
certain  that  no  air  had  escaped  by  the 
side  of  the  quicksilver  during  the  ope- 
ration, the  manometer  was  frequently 
placed  a  second  time  in  melting  ice.  If 
\hd  barometer  had  not  altered  between 
the  beginning  and  end  of  the  experiment, 
the  quicksilver  always  became  stationary 
at  or  near  the  first  mark.  If  any  sudden 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  weight  of 
the  atmosphere  during  that  interval,  the 
same  was  noted,  and  allowance  made  for 
it  in  afterwards  proportioning  the  spaces. 
Long  tubes,  with  bores  truly  cylindrical, 
or  of  any  uniform  figure,  are  scarcely 
ever  met  with.  Such,  however,  lis  were 
used  in  these  experiments,  generally 
tapered  in  a  pretty  regular  manner  from 
one  end  to  the  other.  When  the  bulb 
was  downwards,  and  the  tube  narrowed 
that  way,  the  column  of  quicksilver  con- 
fining the  air,  lengthened  in  the  lower 
half  "of  the  scale,  and  augmented  the 
pressure  above  the  mean.  In  the  upper 


half,  the  column  being  shortened,  the 
pressure  was  diminished  below  the  mean. 
In  this  case,  the  observed  spaces  both 
ways  from  the  centre  were  diminished  in 
the  inverse  ratio  of  the  heights  of  the  ba- 
rometer at  each  space,  compared  with  its 
mean  height.  If  the  bore  widened  to- 
wards  the  bulb  when  downwards,  the 
observed  spaces,  each  way  from  the  cen- 
tre, were  augmented  in  the  same  in- 
verse ratio  ;  but  in  the  experiments  on  air 
less  dense  than  the  atmosphere,  the  bulb 
being  upwards,  the  same  equation  was  ap- 
plied with  contrary  signs;  and  if  any  ex- 
traordinary irregularity  took  place  in  the 
tube,  the  corresponding  spaces  were  pro- 
portioned both  ways  from  that  point,  whe- 
ther high  or  low,  that  answered  to  the 
mean.  The  observed  and  equated  ma- 
nomctrical  spaces  being  thus  laid  down 
on  the  pasteboard  containing  the  mea- 
sures of  the  tube;  the  212°  of  the  ther- 
mometer, in  exact  proportion  to  the  sec- 
tions of  the  bore,  were  constructed  along- 
side of  them :  hence  the  coincidences  with 
each  other  were  easily  seen ;  and  the  num- 
ber of  thermometrical  degrees  answering 
to  each  manometrical  space,  readily 
transferred  into  a  table  prepared  for  the 
purpose." 

MANOR,  was  a  district  of  ground  held 
by  lords  or  great  personages,  who  kt pt  in 
their  own  hands  so  much  land  as  was  ne- 
cessary for  the  use  of  their  families,  which, 
were  called  demesne  lands,  being  occu- 
pied by  the  lord,  or  dwiinus  maneriif 
and  his  servants.  The  other  lands  they 
distributed  among  their  tenants,  which, 
the  tenants  held  under  various  services. 
The  residue  of  the  manor  being  unculti- 
vated, was  termed  the  lord's  waste,  and 
served  for  common  of  all  pasture  to  the 
lord  and  his  tenants.  All  manors  exist- 
ing at  this  day  must  have  existed  as  early 
as  King  Edward  I.,  and  must  have  a  Court 
Baron. 

MANTELETS,  in  the  art  of  war,  a 
kind  of  moveable  parapets,  made  of  planks 
about  three  inches  thick,  nailed  one  over 
another,  to  the  height  of  almost  six  feet, 
generally  cased  with  tin,  and  set  upon 
little  wheels,  so  that  in  a  siege  they  may 
be  driven  before  the  pioneers,  and  serve 
as  blinds  to  shelter  them  from  the  ene- 
my's small  shot. 

MANTICORA,  in  natural  history,  a 
genus  of  insects  of  the  order  Coleoptera : 
antennae  filiform,  the  joints  cylindrical ; 
four  feelers,  filiform  ;  thorax  rounded  be- 
fore, emarginate  behind  ;  head  project- 
ing ;  mandibles  exserted ;  shells  united 


MAN 


MAN 


without  wings.  There  is  but  a  single  spe- 
cies, viz.  M.  maxiilosa,  that  inhabits  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

MANTIS,  in  natural  history,  a  genus 
of  insects  of  the  order  Hemiptera.  Head 
unsteady  ;  mouth  armed  with  jaws  ;  feel- 
ers filiform  ;  four  wings,  membranaceous, 
convolute,  the  under  ones  plaited ;  fore 
legs  compressed,  serrate  or  toothed  be- 
neath ;  armed  with  a  single  claw  and  la- 
teral-jointed process  ;  the  four  hind  ones 
smooth,  and  formed  for  walking ;  thorax 
(usually  linear)  elongated,  and  narrow. 
There  are  upwards  of  sixty  species  :  the 
chief  is  M.  oratoria,  or  camel-cricket, 
which  is  found  in  the  southern  parts  of 
Europe,  and  is  entirely  of  a  beautiful 
green  colour.  It  is  nearly  three  inches 
in  length,  of  a  slender  shape,  and  in  its 
general  sitting  posture,  is  observed  to 
hold  up  the  two  fore  legs,  as  if  in  the  act 
of  devotion  :  hence  it  has  been  regarded 
as  sacred,  and  a  notion  has  prevailed,  that 
a  traveller,  having  lost  his  way,  would  be 
safely  directed,  by  observing  the  quarter 
to  which  the  animal  pointed  when  taken 
in  the  hand.  This  insect  is  of  a  preda- 
cious disposition,  living  on  smaller  in- 
sects, which  it  watches  for  with  great 
anxiety ;  it  is  also  quarrelsome,  and  when 
kept  with  others  of  its  own  species  in  a 
state  of  captivity,  they  will  attack  each 
other  with  the  utmost  violence,  till  one  is 
destroyed.  The  conqueror  devours  his 
antagonist.  M.  precaria  is  said  to  be  the 
idol  of  the  Hottentots. 

MANUFACTURE  of  cotton.  To  this 
article  we  referred  from  the  word  COT- 
TON, having  been  deprived,  by  accident, 
of  the  information  which  we  are  now  en- 
abled to  lay  before  the  public  on  this  in- 
teresting part  of  English  manufactures. 

We  shall  begin  with  the  description  of 
the  fabrication  of  cotton  yarn  by  the  spin- 
ning jenny,  both  because  of  its  more  an- 
cient use,  and  as  it  leads  best  to  the  ge- 
neral knowledge  of  the  manufacture. 

Preparation  of  the  Cotton-ivooL  The 
raw  cotton  is  imported  in  large  bales, 
compressed  very  closely  together  by  en- 
gines, and  contains  the  seeds  of  the  plant 
mixed  through  it  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties, together  with  more  or  less  foreign 
matter,  from  which  it  must  be  freed ;  for 
this  purpose,  it  is  in  general  sufficient  to 
beat  it  well  with  sticks,  by  which  it  under- 
goes a  process  similar  to  the  threshing  of 
corn.  This  is  usually  performed  on  a 
frame,  similar  to  a  table,  the  upper  sur- 
face of  which  is  formed  by  bmall  cords 
stretched  tightly  across,  nearly  in  con- 
tact, the  elasticity  of  which  assists  the 

VOL,  IV, 


operation,  while  their  intervals  afford  a 
free  passage  for  the  separation  of  the 
seeds  and  other  substances  in  the  cotton. 
In  this  process  the  cotton  recovers  its  ori- 
ginal volume,  and  loses  the  hard  consist- 
ence into  which  it  had  been  pressed  in 
the  bales. 

Pickmg  Engine.  An  engine  has  been 
contrived  to  render  this  operation  more 
perfect,  which  is  used  in  some  manufac. 
tories :  this  consists  of  two  revolving 
fluted  rollers  of  metal,  about  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  sixteen  inches  long,  placed 
horizontally  one  over  the  other  ;  a  kind  of 
comb  of  steel  in  the  same  direction  moves 
before  these  rollers,  with  a  quicker  mo- 
tion up  and  down,  very  close  to  the  rol- 
lers, so  as  to  catch  and  draw  out  the  cot- 
ton as  it  passes  forwards  between  them : 
underneath  an  oblong  sieve  of  wire  moves 
back  and  forwards  horizontally,  which 
catches  the  cotton  as  it  falls  from  the 
comb,  and  frees  it  from  the  loose  seeds 
and  other  matters  :  above,  a  sort  of  frame, 
like  a  table,  lies  behind  the  rollers,  over 
which  an  endless  cloth  is  contrived  to 
pass  continually,  so  as  to  come  in  one 
part  very  close  to  the  rollers ;  on  the 
upper  surface  of  this  cloth  the  cotton 
is  spread  by  hand  evenly,  and  thus  is 
brought  forward  by  degrees  to  the  rollers, 
which  deliver  it  to  the  comb,  as  already 
described. 

Another  engine  of  coarser  operation  is 
sometimes  used  previous  to  the  above. 
This  is  formed  by  an  oblong  roller,  three 
or  four  feet  long,  and  about  fourteen 
inches  diameter,  having  longitudinal  rows 
of  spikes,  of  three  inches  long,  at  inter- 
vals of  four  or  five  inches,  projecting  from 
its  surface.  This  roller  revolves  within 
a  hollow  cylinder,  furnished  in  like  man- 
ner with  rows  of  spikes  projecting  in- 
wards, so  that  the  spikes  of  the  internal 
roller  may  pass  between  them  :  both  rol- 
ler and  case  are  formed  usually  of  bars  of 
wood,  so  as  to  leave  free  space  for  the 
cotton  to  pass,  and  the  dirt  to  fly  out. 

Where  these  engines  are  not  used,  or 
when  they  are  not  sufficiently  perfect  to 
completely  free  the  cotton  from  its  seeds 
and  foreign  matters,  the  cotton  wool  is 
afterwards  carefully  picked  by  women 
and  children,  who  remove  whatever  mat- 
ters might  remain  in  it  after  the  former 
operations. 

When  the  picking  is  completed,  the 
cotton  next  undergoes  the  process  of 
washing  with  soap,  which  not  only 
cleanses  it  from  dirt  adhering  to  its  fibres, 
but  it  is  thought  has  also  a  sort  of  chemi- 
cal action  on  it,  in  making  the  fibres 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


more  tortuous  and  spiral,  by  which  in  a 
great  measure  the  yarn  formed  from  it 
acquires  that  elastic  softness,  which  pe- 
culiarly distinguishes  it  from  that  spun  in 
mills,  which  latter  does  not  usually  un- 
dergo this  operation,  and  which  fits  it  so 
well  to  form  the  weft  of  cotton  cloth, 
while  the  superior  firmness  and  hardness 
of  the  mill-twist  qualifies  it  better  for  the 
part  of  the  warp  for  which  it  is  generally 
employed. 

After  being  thus  washed,  the  cotton  is 
next  carried  to  the  press,  where  most  of 
the  water  which  it  has  imbibed  is  forced 
out  of  it :  in  this  operation  it  is  generally 
put  into  a  strong  wooden  box,  perforated 
vrith  holes  at  every  side,  and  open  at  top ; 
a  wooden  cover  is  then  put  over  it,  suffi- 
ciently small  to  enter  the  box ;  the  whole 
being  then  put  into  the  press,  the  cover  is 
forced  down  by  a  wooden  screw.  No- 
thing made  of  iron  should  be  used  about 
the  cotton  while  it  is  wet,  as  it  might  im- 
part a  stain  hard  to  be  removed. 

When  the  cotton  is  sufficiently  pressed, 
it  is  spread  on  canvass,  or  railed  wooden 
frames,  and  brought  to  the  stove  to  be 
dried. 

The  stove  consists  of  a  chamber,  of  size 
proportionate  to  the  work  to  be  done  in 
it,  which  is  usually  arched  over  with 
brick,  and  separate  from  the  other  build- 
ings of  the  cotton  factory,  to  prevent  ac- 
cidents by  fire ;  a  flue  of  cast-iron  runs 
through  the  middle  of  this  chamber,  a 
little  above  the  floor,  from  a  fire  place, 
which  opens  outside.  In  some  stoves,  in- 
verted pots,  or  metallic  cylinders,  are 
fixed  at  intervals  along  the  flue,  with 
which  they  communicate  beneath  ;  wood- 
en supports  are  placed  round  the  sides  of 
the  stove,  to  sustain  the  frames  on  which 
the  damp  cotton  is  spread,  which  is  left 
to  remain  here  till  it  is  thoroughly  dry. 
As  the  stove  may  be  constructed  in  vari- 
ous manners,  without  any  material  dif- 
ference in  its  performance  taking  place, 
it  is  probable  that  many  other  construc- 
tions are  used  in  different  places  ;  but  the 
one  described  is  of  a  kind  in  very  general 
use,  and  has  no  very  obvious  defect.  It 
is  probable  a  stream  of  heated  air  con- 
veyed through  the  stove  might  be  an  im- 
provement, tending  to  accelerate  the  dry- 
ing process ;  as  it  is  very  obvious,  that 
when  the  air  contained  in  the  stove  be- 
comes loaded  with  moisture,  it  cannot 
absorb  that  of  the  cotton  very  readily. 
Double  doors  should  also  be  added  to 
stoves,  with  a  small  space  between  them  ; 
and  one  door  should  always  be  shut  again 


before  the  other  was  opened,  to  prevent 
the  cooling  of  the  stove,  by  the  whole 
mass  of  heated  air  passing  out  at  once, 
which  must  frequently  take  place  in  stoves 
with  single  doors. 

Carding  Engine  for  Jenny-spinning. 
When  the  cotton  is  sufficiently  dry,  the 
next  operation  which  it  undergoes  is  that 
of  carding.  This  is  performed  on  an  en- 
gine which  has  now  been  brought  to 
great  perfection,  of  which,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  used,  the  following 
is  a  description.  The  cotton  is  first 
spread  on  a  feeding  cloth,  disposed  in  the 
same  manner  as  that  already  described 
for  the  same  purpose  in  the  picking  en- 
gine ;  two  small  rollers,  about  an  inch  in 
diameter,  take  up  the  cotton  between 
them,  as  it  successively  approaches  them 
on  the  revolving  cloth,  and  deliver  it  to  a 
roller  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches 
diameter,  according  to  the  size  of  the  en- 
gine, covered  with  cards  of  the  fineness 
proper  for  cotton  :  (cards  for  the  opera- 
tion of  carding  cotton  or  wool  by  hand, 
being  used  in  most  towns  and  villages, 
need  not  be  described  here,  and  will  also 
be  found  under  their  proper  head)  :  from 
this  roller  the  cotton  passes  to  another  of 
about  the  same  size,  from  whence  it  is 
delivered  to  the  great  carding  roller, 
which  is  from  two  to  three  feet  in  diame- 
ter :  about  the  upper  half  of  this  roller 
several  small  rollers  are  placed,  of  three 
or  four  inches  diameter,  between  which 
and  the  great  roller  the  cotton  is  carded, 
as  well  as  between  those  of  a  larger  size  : 
another  roller,  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen 
inches  diameter,  takes  the  cotton  from 
the  large  roller,  and  is  again  stripped  of 
it  by  a  kind  of  comb,  with  very  short 
teeth  of  iron,  which,  moving  up  and  down 
before  the  roller,  strikes  the  cards  in  its 
descent  in  the  direction  of  their  teeth,  by 
which  the  cotton  is  separated  in  a  fine 
thin  sheet,  like  a  fleece,  in  which  it  passes 
between  a  smooth  roller  (which  is  mostly 
covered  with  fine  paper),  and  a  hollow 
semi-cylinder,  that  form  it  into  oblong 
rolls,  similar  to  those  made  by  hand-card- 
ing, but  much  longer  :  on  the  surface  of 
the  smooth  roller  are  small  projections, 
parallel  to  the  axis,  at  the  distance  of 
four  or  five  inches  from  each  other ; 
which,  rolling  the  cotton  between  them 
and  the  semi-cylinder  beneath,  produce 
the  effect  described.  These  projections 
are  formed  in  many  engines  by  whipcord 
stretched  tightly  across  in  .the  proper 
places,  before  the  paper  is  pasted  on, 
which  covers  both  them  and  the  roller. 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


When  the  cotton  is  thus  formed  into 
rolls,  it  falls  into  a  receptacle,  whence  it 
is  taken  to  be  slubbed. 

It  is  to  be  understood,  that  the  opera- 
tion of  carding1  performed  by  the  several 
rollers  described,  is  effected  by  each  suc- 
cessively moving1  faster  than  the  one  be- 
hind it,  and  of  course  slower  than  the  one 
before  it,  with  the  exception  of  the  small 
rollers  placed  above  me  great  roller, 
which  move  with  an  uniform  velocity,  and 
all  much  slower  than  the  large  roller.  In 
some  carding  engines,  formerly,  a  good 
deal  of  the  motions  were  performed  by 
toothed  wheels  and  pinions,  but  of  late 
years  they  are  effected  by  bands,  or  straps, 
which  produce  a  much  more  equable  and 
steady  movement.  The  large  rollers  are 
generally  made  by  placing  two  or  more 
wheels  of  cast  iron  on  one  axle,  the  cir- 
cumferences of  which  wheels  are  cased 
with  wood,  which  is  attached  to  them  by 
screws  or  rivets  :  the  smaller  rollers  are 
formed  in  a  similar  manner  on  wooden 
disks ;  but  all  are  made  hollow,  to  pre- 
vent warping. 

Slubbing.  When  the  cotton  is  carded, 
the  long  rolls  into  which  it  is  formed  are 
next  drawn  out  into  a  thick  coarse  thread, 
of  loose  texture,  and  but  little  twisted, 
called  the  stubbing.  This  operation  is 
generally  performed  by  hand,  on  the 
common  hand  wheel,  which  is  similar  to 
that  used  for  spinning  wool,  but  of  a 
smaller  size.  Engines  have  been  con- 
trived, by  which  a  number  of  slubbings 
could  be  drawn  out  together ;  but  the 
hands  required  for  joining  the  rolls  of 
cotton  in  succession,  and  for  other  pur- 

res  about  those  engines,  were  found  to 
so  many,  that  very  little,  if  any,  sav- 
ing1 was  made  by  those  machines. 

Robing.  The  stubbing  coiled  into  co- 
noidal  rolls,  called  cops,  are  next  brought 
to  the  engine  called  the  robing  billy,  by 
which  it  is  drawn  out  into  a  finer  thread, 
flf  the  same  loose  texture  as  before, 
receiving1  at  the  same  time  a  little  more 
twist. 

The  Robing  Billy.  This  machine  is 
contrived  to  give  circular  motion  to  a 
number  of  spindles,  and  at  the  same  time 
draw  out  the  slubbing  which  is  attached 
to  them  by  a  finer  thread.  The  spindles 
are  placed  in  a  frame,  so  as  to  stand  near- 
ly perpendicularly  at  about  four  inches 
from  each  other ;  their  lower  extremities 
turn  in  sockets,  and  small  collars  of  brass 
sustain  them  about  halfway  up  :  their  up- 
per halves  project  above  the  frame :  to 
their  lower  parts  are  attached  small  pul- 
lies,  or  whirls,  from  whence  bands  pass  to 
a  horizontal  cylinder  of  about  six  inches 


diameter,  a  little  longer  than  the  row  of 
spindles,  which  is  placed  before  them  at 
a  lower  position,  and  which  gives  motion 
to  all  the  spindles  tog-ether,  when  it  is 
turned  round.  This  cylinder  is  now  al- 
most universally  made  of  tin  plate  ;  wood- 
en ones  of  the  same  dimensions,  however 
carefully  made,  have  been  found  liable  to 
warp  and  lose  their  proper  shape.  To 
prevent  the  bands  from  slipping1,  coarse 
paper  is  pasted  over  the  tin,  which  an- 
swers the  purpose  very  effectually.  The 
cylinder  receives  its  motion  from  a  wheel, 
(like  the  large  wheel  used  in  spinning- 
wool  by  hand,  and  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions), with  which  it  communicates  by  a 
band  :  this,  wheel  is  turned  by  the  hand 
directly,  by  means  of  a  winch.  In  front 
of  the  spindles,  about  a  foot  higher  than 
their  tops,  a  long  spar  of  deal  is  support- 
ed at  each  extremity  by  a  pair  of  small 
wheels,  or  sheeves,  which  run  on  the 
sides  of  the  frame  in  a  kind  of  grooves, 
so  as  to  admit  of  the  spar  being  moved 
back  and  forwards  about  six  or  seven 
feet,  in  a  horizontal  position,  without  va- 
rying from  its  parallelism  to  the  row  of 
spindles :  the  bottom  of  this  spar  is  form- 
ed into  oblong  ^narrow  grooves,  into 
which  projecting"  parts  from  a  lower  spar 
suspended  beneath  it  fit  accurately.  This 
lower  spar  is  confined  by  a  sort  of  sta- 
ples, so  as  to  admit  only  of  a  motion  up 
and  down  of  a  few  inches  below  the  upper 
spar,  along  with  which  it  is  drawn  back 
and  forwards  :  the  up  and  down  motion  is 
given  by  a  number  of  small  cords  at  about 
three  feet  asunder,  which  pass  from  it, 
over  small  pulleys  in  the  substance  of  the 
upper  spar,  to  a  thick  wire  that  lies  above 
it ;  which  wire  is  moved  by  a  cord  going- 
round  a  pulley  of  about  six  inches  diame- 
ter, supported  at  the  middle  of  the  upper 
spar :  to  this  pulley  an  handle  is  fixed, 
which,  on  being  pressed  down  over  a 
spring  clasp,  raises  up  the  lower  spar 
close  to  the  upper  one,  and  retains  it  in 
that  position  :  when  the  spring  clasp  is 
pressed  back  from  the  handle,  the  weight 
of  the  lower  spar  causes  it  to  fall  down 
clear  of  the  upper  one.  The  use  of  this 
arrangement  of  the  two  spars,  is  to  hold 
fast  the  slubbings,  which  are  passed  be- 
tween them  on  to  the  spindles.  The  cops 
of  slubbings  are  supported  on  a  frame, 
which  lies  below  the  moveable  spars ; 
small  rods  pass  through  them,  and  through 
holes  in  the  frame,  which  sustain  them  in 
an  upright  position,  at  about  the  same  dis- 
tance from  each  other  as  the  spindles. 

When  the  robing  billy  is  worked,  the 
slubbings  are  first  drawn  between  the 
moveable  spars,  and  each  fastened  to  its 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


corresponding  spindle:  a  sufficiency  of 
length  of  the  slubbings  is  left  between 
the  spars  and  the  spindles,  to  allow  for 
five  or  six  feet  of  robing  to  be  drawn  out 
of  each,  which  is  regulated  by  a  mark  on 
the  frame,  that  shews  when  the  moveable 
spars  going  from  the  spindles  have  come 
to  the  proper  position :  the  spars  are 
then  closed  by  pressing  down  the  handle 
under  the  clasp,  the  spindles  are  put  in 
motion  by  turning  round  the  large  wheel, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  moveable  spars 
are  drawn  back  gently :  by  this  means,  as 
the  slubbings  are  drawn  out,  they  get 
proportionally  more  twist,  so  as  to  keep 
them  from  breaking ;  and  when  they  are 
drawn  to  the  intended  extent,  by  the 
spars  being  moved  back  to  the  extremity 
of  their  supports,  a  few  turns  of  the  wheel 
gives  them  all  the  twist  that  portion  of 
them  is  intended  to  have.  The  robings 
now  formed  between  the  spars  and  the 
spindles,  are  guided  to  that  part  of  their 
respective  spindles  where  they  are  to  re- 
main ;  and  the  spindles  being  again  put 
in  motion,  while  the  spars  are  pushed  for- 
wards towards  them ;  the  part  formed  of 
the  robings  are  by  this  means  rolled  up- 
on the  spindles.  The  handle  is  then  re- 
leased, the  lower  spar  falls  down,  the 
spars  are  drawn  back  to  the  mark,  which 
shews  that  the  proper  length  of  slubbing 
has  passed  between  them  ;  the  spars  are 
again  closed,  and  the  operation  repeated 
as  before  described.  The  robings  are 
guided  to  the  parts  of  the  spindles  where 
they  are  to  be  coiled  up,  by  a  long  hori- 
zontal slip  of  deal,  w^hich  is  supported 
over  them  close  to  the  front  of  the  spin- 
dles by  a  light  frame,  hung  on  two  pivots, 
that  admit  of  its  moving  the  length  of 
the  spindles  up  and  down  :  a  cord  is 
stretched  from  this  frame,  near  the  pivot, 
along  one  of  the  supports  of  the  move- 
able  spars,  and  passes  between  three 
small  pulleys  at  the  extremity  of  the  spar: 
two  ot  the  pulleys  being  at  the  side  of  it 
next  the  spar,  and  the  middle  pulley  be- 
ing outside  :  this  last  pulley  is  fastened  to 
a  slide,  which  is  drawn  back  by  a  string 
that  runs  along  the  spar  to  its  centre, 
where  it  passes  over  a  grooved  segment 
of  a  small  wheel,  with  a  small  projection  ; 
which,  being  pressed  down  by 'the  fin- 
ger, draws  the  cord  in,  which  causing  the 
stretched*  cord  to  contract  in  length  be- 
tween the  pulleys,  forces  the  deal  slip 
down  on  the  robings,  and  guides  them  to 
the  parts  of  the  spindles  where  they  are 
to  remain  :  a  small  counterpoise  draws  off 
the  slip,  when  the  finger  is  removed,  and 
restores  this  part  of  the  apparatus  to  its 
first  position. 


Of  Spinning,  and  the  Spinning  Jenwj 
When  the  robings  are  finished,  they  arc. 
brought  to  the  spinning  jenny,  to  com- 
plete the  spinning.  The  spinning  jenny 
is  an  engine  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
robing  billy,  and  only  differs  from  it  in 
having  smaller  spindles,  more  in  number, 
and  closer  together ;  the  cops  of  robings 
are  placed  in  it,  as  those  of  slubbings  are 
in  the  billy,  and  by  a  similar  management 
and  operation  are  drawn  out  into  the  re- 
quired fineness,  and  receive  the  degree  of 
twist  which  forms  them  into  cotton  yarn. 

Reeling.  The  cotton  yarn,  when  taken 
from  thejenny,'is  reeled,  to  ascertain  its 
degree  of  fineness,  and  then  laid  by  with 
others  of  the  same  sort :  the  reel  used  is 
a  small  wheel  reel,  which  denotes  the 
completion  of  the  hank,  or  given  num- 
ber of  yards,  by  a  spring  that  slaps 
against  its  frame  at  that  instant :  its  ma- 
chinery is  the  simplest  used,  and  not  dif- 
ferent materially  from  the  wheel  reels 
common  in  other  manufactures. 

The  cotton  yarn  spun  on  jennies  is  al- 
most solely  used  for  weft,  which  from  its 
superior  softness  it  is  peculiarly  fitted 
for,  which  softness  is  indispensably  requi- 
site for  some  fabrics.  As  yet  no  way  has 
been  found  of  forming  yarn  by  mill  spin- 
ning of  the  same  quality  in  this  respect, 
and  therefore  the  mill-yarn  is  almost  en- 
tirely appropriated  for  warp.  This  ma- 
terial difference  originates  in  the  carding, 
which  in  that  for  the  jennies  lays  the  fibre 
of  the  cotton  across  the  roll,  while  the 
carding  engine  for  the  mill-spinning  lays 
the  fibre  longitudinally,  in  the  direction 
in  which  it  is  afterwards  spun,  as  will  be 
more  plain  from  the  following  description 
of  this  operation. 

Of  Mill  Spinning.  The  cotton  for  mill 
spinning  is  cleared  and  beaten  in  a  simi- 
lar manner  to  that  for  jenny  spinning,  but 
is  not  washed  or  stoved ;  after  it  is  judged 
to  be  sufficiently  clean,  it  is  brought  to 
the  carding  engine. 

Mill  Carding  Engine.  The  principles 
on  which  this  engine  is  constructed,  are 
the  same  as  those  on  which  the  carding 
engine  for  jenny  spinning  is  formed:  the 
great  point  in  which  they  differ  is,  in  the 
manner  in  which  the  carded  cotton  is 
taken  from  them,  which,  in  the  mill  en- 
gine, is  so  as  to  form  an  entire  flake,  or 
continued  sheet,  of  the  breadth  of  the  last 
cylinder;  the  cards  on  this  cylinder  are 
generally  formed  of  long  narrow  stripes, 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  broad,  and  are 
put  on  round  it  spirally,  by  which  means 
there  are  no  joinings  in  the  longitudinal 
direction  of  the  cylinder,  of  any  consider- 
able length.  The  carded  cotton  is  struck 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


feff  this  cylinder  in  the  same  way  as  from 
the  other  engine  ;  hut  instead  of  being 
passed  under  the  roller  with  longitudinal 
projections,  to  form  it  into  rolls,  it  is 
drawn  forward  through  a  conical  guide  of 
tin,  hy  two  narrow  wooden  rollers,  about 
six  inches  in  diameter,  that  deliver  it  into 
deep  and  narrow  tin  vessels,  in  the  form 
of  a  long  ribband,  about  two  inches  in 
breadth.  The  mill  engine,  instead  of  the 
small  carding  rollers  above  the  main  cy- 
linder, used  in  the  jenny  carding  engine, 
has  commonly  narrow  flat  spars  of  deal, 
with  cards  attached  to  them,  fixed  at  a 
proper  distance  from  the  principal  cylin- 
der. Toothed  wheels  and  pinions  are 
more  used  in  the  mill  carding  engine  than 
bands  ;  but  that  this  is  any  improvement 
is  doubtful,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  mills,  bands  have  been  substi- 
tuted for  wheel  work  to  advantage,  and 
probably  will  be  more  so  than  -they  are 
now,  as  they  work  without  causing  that 
shaking  motion  which  toothed  wheels  oc- 
casion in  general,  and  which  is  both  inju- 
rious to  the  evenness  of  the  yarn,  and 
the  duration  of  the  machinery.  For  tooth- 
ed wheels,  when  in  quick  motion,  act  by 
a  succession  of  percussions  on  each  other, 
unless  constructed  with  an  accuracy  as  to 
the  form  of  the  teeth,  that  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  give  to  very  small  wheels,  or  un- 
less the  teeth  are  so  numerous  that  se- 
veral may  come  in  contact  at  once,  which 
in  small  wheels  would  cause  them  to  be 
of  too  reduced  a  size,  and  too  weak  for 
mill  work. 

From  the  carding  engine  the  long 
stripes  of  carded  cotton  are  brought  to 
engines  consisting  merely  of  two  pair  of 
small  rollers,  one  pair  of  which  moves 
faster  than  the  other,  and  each  pair  of 
which  are  caused  to  press  against  each 
other  with  some  force,  either  by  weights 
or  springs.  Here  two,  three,  or  more  of 
the  stripes  of  carded  cotton  are  drawn  out 
together  into  another  stripe,  smaller  than 
the  first  stripes,  and  this  operation  is  re- 
peated till  the  stripes  attain  that  evenness 
which  is  so  essential  to  the  formation  of 
good  twist. 

OfJMill  Shibbing.  The  prepared  stripes 
of  carded  cotton  are  then  brought  to  the 
stubbing  engine,  where  they  are  formed 
into  a  thread  of  very  loose  texture  and 
little  twist. 

The  slubbing  engine  consists  of  two 
pair  of  drawing  rollers,  between  which 
the  prepared  stripes  of  carded  cotton  are 
drawn  out  to  the  required  fineness,  they 
then  pass  downwards  into  tin  cylinders, 
which  revolve  with  a  velocity  proportion- 
ate to  the  twist  to  be  given ;  at  the  top 


of  each  cylinder  two  very  small  roller?* 
are  placed,  which  are  made  to  turn  round 
by  bands  passing  down  the  sides  of  the 
tin  cylinder,  over  small  pullies,  to  a  fixed 
wheel  at  bottom;  these  small  rollers  draw 
down  the  narrow  stripes  of  cotton  into 
the  cylinders,  and  the  centrifugal  mo- 
tion distributes  them  equally  round  the 
sides  of  each  cylinder  in  a  long  hollow 
roll,  which  is  taken  out  a  door  at  the  side 
of  the  cylinder,  that  is  fastened  with  a 
hook  and  loop. 

The  slubbing  is  then  rolled  on  bobbins. 
by  hand,  by  children  or  women,  by  a  very 
simple  method,  which  both  prevents  its 
breaking,  and  causes  it  to  be  rolled  on 
the  bobbins  with  equal  tightness  in  every 
part.  The  bobbin  lies  on  the  top  of  a 
narrow  cylinder  of  wood,  that  just  fits  in 
between  its  two  extremities,  and  which  is 
about  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diameter:  a 
wire  is  passed  through  the  bobbin  into 
the  frame,  each  extremity  of  which  has  a 
vertical  groove,  that  sustains  it  in  its 
place  ;  the  cylinder  is  turned  round  by  a 
winch,  and  as  the  slubt>ling  rolls  on  the 
bobbin,  still  turns  it  round  with  equal 
velocity,  as  it  is  against  the  surface  of  the 
rolled  cotton  alone  that  it  acts. 

Tlie  Spinning  Frames.  When  the  slub- 
bing is  rolled  on  the  bobbins,  it  is  then 
prepared  for  spinning,  and  brought  to  the 
spinning  frames  for  that  purpose  ;  where 
the  bobbins  are  placed  in  rows  above  the 
frames  in  a  sort  of  vertical  rack  prepared 
for  them,  and  are  kept  in  their  places 
there,  by  thick  wires  which  pass  through 
them,  on  the  points  of  which  they  revolve 
as  the  slubbing  is  drawn  off  them  by  the 
spinning  apparatus,  which  consists  prin- 
cipally of  three  pair  of  small  rollers, 
which  draw  out  the  slubbing  to  the  pro- 
per fineness,  and  of  the  fly  and  bobbin 
which  gives  it  the  due  degree  of  twist, 
and  rolls  it  up  when  spun.  The  three 
lower  rollers  are  of  steel,  fluted  or 
grooved  longitudinally  at  small  intervals, 
and  are  about  an  inch  diameter.  The 
upper  rollers  are  of  wood,  with  iron 
axles,  and  are  covered  first  with  cloth 
and  then  with  glove  leather,  and  rubbed 
well  with  chalk.  Every  steel  roller  is  di- 
vided into  as  many  intervals,  of  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  long,  as  the  number  of 
threads  to  be  drawn  by  it  amount  to, 
which  is  seldom  more  than  six.  The  co- 
vered rollers  are  in  lengths  of  two  of 
those  intervals,  and  each  press  on  two  of 
the  slubbings ;  the  extremities  of  their 
axis  move  in  pieces  of  iron  with  vertical 
grooves,  that  admit  them  to  press  down  - 
ward  freely,  but  prevent  all  lateral  mo- 
tion ;  the  middle  of  the  axis,  as  well  as 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


the  ends,  are  turned  in  a  lathe,  and  from 
it,  by  a  hook,  depends  a  weight  that  press- 
es it"  against  the  steel  roller  that  lies  be- 
neath. Springs  are  used  also  to  give  the 
same  pressure,  and  where  they  can  be 
regulated  so  as  to  give  exactly  the  same 
pressure  to  each  roller  used,  are  prefera- 
ble to  weights,  which,  from  the  number 
wanted,  are  a  considerable  load  to  the 
floors  oi  the  spinning  mill,  and  by  all  get- 
ting inio  a  vibratory  motion  when  at  work, 
very  much  shake  the  building.  The  steel 
rollers  have,  at  their  extremities,  small 
toothed  wheels  of  brass,  which  are  con- 
nected with  other  wheels,  and  pinions  at 
the  side  of  the  frames,  so  regulated  by 
the  number  of  their  teeth,  that  the  se- 
cond roller  goes  round  faster  than  the 
first,  and  the  third  faster  than  the  se- 
cond. Tiie  covered  rollers  are  each 
moved  by  the  steel  rollers  on  which  they 
press,  and  by  this  means  the  slubbing  is 
drawn  out  twice  successively  before  it 
passes  to  the  fly.  The  spinning  part  for 
each  thread  consists  of  a  spindl^  placed 
vertically,  which  sustains  the  fly  and  the 
bobbin.  The  fly  is  a  steel  wire,  bent 
round  from  the  top  of  the  spindle,  so  that 
a  small  ring  at  its  extremity  may  be  about 
an  inch  and  a  quarter  from  the  spindle 
outwards,  and  the  length  of  the  bobbin 
below  its  top,  to  which  it  screws  on  by  a 
small  ferule :  through  the  ring  the  twist- 
ing slubbing  passes  to  the  bobbin,  whose 
office  is  merely  to  roll  up  the  twist  as  it 
is  spun  by  the  swift  revolutions  of  the 
spindle  •  the  bobbin  is  about  three  inches 
long,  and  is  perforated  longitudinally,  so 
as  to  permit  the  spindle  to  turn  round 
freely  within  it.  That  the  twist  may  be 
rolled  up  equally  on  every  part  of  the 
bobbin,  it  is  necessary  that  the  bobbin 
should  be  moved  up  and  down  on  the 
spindle  with  a  slow  motion ;  for  this  pur- 
pose all  the  bobbins  in  the  large  frame 
rest  on  a  horizontal  bar  of  wood,  moved 
up  and  down  by  two  arms  suspended  on 
centres  that  receive  this  motion  from  the 
revolutions  of  an  heart  wheel,  or  wheel 
of  an  oval  firm.  The  weight  of  each  of 
the  bobbins  pn-ssing  it  on  this  bar  pre- 
vents its  being  turned  round  by  the  spin- 
dle, and  this  resistance  causes  the  fly  to 
wind  the  twist  on  it  by  degrees,  ge'ntly 
pulling  it  round  in  proportion  as  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  bobbin  exceeds  the 
length  of  twist  spun  in  each  revolution  of 
the  fly.  The  six  spindles,  which  answer 
to  the  six  divisions  of  the  steel  rollers, 
are  turned  round  by  bands,  which  pass 
round  an  horizontal  drum,  the  axis  of 
which  ascends  upwards,  and  gives  motion 
to  the  fluted  rollers  by  a  pinion  on  its 


top ;  this  axis  receives  its  motion  from 
other  bands,  which  .pass  to  large  drums 
turned  by  horizontal  shafts,  running  the 
whole  length  of  the  spinning  rooms,  which 
ultimately  receive  their  motion  from  the 
water  wheel,  or  other  primary  moving 
power. 

Several  sets  of  the  rollers,  with  their 
spindles,  are  fixed  in  one  wooden  frame  ; 
the  spindles  are  all  outside,  and  the  wood- 
en frames'are  generally  double,  to  contain 
two  rows  of  the  frames  of  rollers,  by 
which  they  take  up  less  space.  The 
spindles  are  divided,  as  described,  to  cor- 
respond with  the  rollers,  that  when  any 
thread  breaks,  not  more  of  them  may  be 
stopped  than  this  small  number.  Each 
set  of  rollers,  and  their  attendant  spindles, 
are  stopped  instantly  by  raising  a  little 
socket  turning  on  the  upright  axis,  which 
elevates  a  small  vertical  bolt  that  passes 
through  the  small  drum  to  a  projecting 
arm  on  the  lower  part  of  the  axis ;  above 
which  arm,  when  this  bolt  is  raised,  the 
communication  between  the  drum  and 
the  axis  ceases,  and  the  drum  remains  at 
rest,  while  the  axis  revolves  within  it  un- 
interrupted. 

By  similar  contrivances  the  drum  which 
gives  motion  to  all  the  small  drums  in 
one  wooden  frame,  can  be  stopped  at 
pleasure.  Each  horizontal  shaft,  which 
sets  the  large  drums  of  a  whole  room  in 
motion,  may  also  be  stopped  at  pleasure, 
and  this  system  pervades  the  whole  mill, 
by  which  means,  when  any  one  part  be- 
comes damaged,  it  may  be  stopped  with- 
out interrupting  the  motion  of  the  rest. 

In  some  mills,  instead  of  the  large 
drums,  toothed  wheels  are  placed,  which 
impel  round  small  shafts,  that  pass  be- 
neath the  frames,  where,  by  correspond- 
ing wheels,  they  turn  small-toothed 
wheels  on  every  upright  axis  beneath 
each  small  drum ;  but  the  motion  given 
by  the  large  drums  and  bands,  is  account- 
ed to  be  more  steady  and  uniform  than 
that  thus  produced. 

The  general  machinery  of  the  cotton 
mill,  by  which  the  various  engines  de- 
scribed are  set  in  motion,  is  as  follows : 
The  moving  power,  whether  a  fall  of 
water,  or  a  steam  engine,  is,  by  interven- 
ing wheels,  adapted  to  its  nature,  made  to 
turn  round  a  vertical  shaft,  which  passes 
through  all  the  stories  or  floors  of  which 
the  mill  consists ;  in  each  of  which  it  is 
furnished  with  a  horizontal  toothed  wheel, 
which  gives  motion  to  a  vertical  wheel,  to 
which  is  attached  a  horizontal  shaft  going 
across  one  end  of  the  floor,  which  gives 
motion  to  two  or  more  other  horizontal 
shafts,  according  to  the  breadth  of  the 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


building,  which  run  the  whole  length  of 
the  story  ;  these  give  motion  again  to 
small  vertical  shafts,  which  sustain  the 
large  drums  that  set  the  spinning  frames 
in  motion.  The  horizontal  shafts  have 
also  drums  on  them,  from  whence  bands 
proceed,  by  which  the  carding  engines  and 
slabbing  machines  are  turned.  What  is 
said  of  the  general  arrangement  of  the 
mill  work  can  only  be  understood  in  a 
general  sense,  for  the  number  and  posi- 
tion of  the  horizontal  shafts,  set  in  motion 
by  the  vertical  shaft,  must  vary  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  buildings,  and  the 
disposition  of  the  frames  in  each  floor  of 
them.  Where  it  can  be  done,  it  is  best 
to  have  the  vertical  shaft  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  building,  with  the  horizon- 
tal shafts  proceeding  from  both  sides  of 
it  at  every  floor,  for  thus  the  horizontal 
shafts  sustain  less  of  that  twisting  motion, 
which  is  very  injurious  to  them,  and  to 
which  they  would  be  more  liable,  if  of  the 
whole  length  of  the  building. 

The  spinning  frames  are  attended  by 
children,  to  piece  the  threads  when  they 
break,  and  the  whole  attendance  of  the 
various  engines  is  for  the  most  part  per- 
formed by  children  also.  The  numbers 
employed  of  persons  of  this  tender  age 
in  some  large  mills  amount  to  some  hun- 
dreds. 

Some  of  the  great  cotton  mills  were 
worked  incessantly  night  and  day,  and 
different  sets  of  children  relieved  each 
other  ;in  succession  in  attending  them. 
This  system  was  found  to  be  very  inju- 
rious to  the  children.  An  act  of  parlia- 
ment was  passed  enforcing  salutary  regu- 
lations on  these  points,  which  has  been 
warmly  seconded  by  the  humane  proprie- 
tors of  some  of  the  most  eminent  mills ; 
who  have  their  buildings  now  well  venti- 
lated and  warmed,  (by  means  contrived 
by  gentlemen  best  skilled  in  such  matters) 
have  them  kept  constantly  clean  and 
sweet  by  obvious  methods,  and  have  not 
only  the  health  of  the  children  further 
preserved  by  proper  attention  to  their 
food,  clothing,  and  personal  cleanliness ; 
but  also  have  them  taught  to  read  and 
write,  and  take  care  that  they  receive  in- 
structions as  to  their  morals  and  religion, 
both  of  which  were  shamefully  neglected 
in  former  times.  All  that  remains  to  be 
wished  now  on  this  head  is,  that  in  those 
situations,  where  avaricious  masters  wish 
to  evade  the  act,  or  do  not  choose  to  pay 
proper  attention  to  the  children  in  other 
respects,  that  humane  people  may  be 
found,  who  will  interpose,  and  compel 
them  to  do  their  duty,  and  either  by  Sun- 
day schools,  or  other  proper  means,  ef- 


fect that  the  children  may  receive  those 
instructions,  without  which  they  can 
never  be  worthy  members  of  society. 

After  the  cotton  is  spun,  it  is  usually 
made  up  into  warps  fit  for  the  weavers 
before  it  leaves  the  mills  ;  this  operation 
is  performed  on  the  following  engine  : 

The  Warping  Mill.  The  warping  mill 
consists  of  a  light  frame- work,  which  forms 
the  outline  of  an  octagonal  prism,  or  one 
of  more  numerous  sides,  about  six  feet 
diameter,  and  seven  feet  high,  that  is 
turned  round  on  a  vertical  axis  by  a  band, 
that  passes  from  a  grooved  wheel  on  the 
axis  to  another  grooved  wheel  that  is 
turned  by  a  winch,  and  is  placed  under 
the  seat  on  which  the  warper  sits ;  the 
bobbins  which  sustain  the  twist  are  placed 
on  a  vertical  rack  suspended  from  the 
ceiling,  and  the  threads  from  them  pass 
between  two  small  upright  rollers,  on  a 
piece  of  wood  which  slides  perpendicu- 
larly along  an  upright  bar,  fixed  at  one 
side  of  the  revolving  frame ;  a  small  cord 
passes,  from  a  part  of  the  axis  that  rises 
above  the  frame,  over  a  pulley  at  the  top 
of  the  fixed  bar,  down  to  the  sliding 
guide,  which  it  slowly  draws  up,  by  coil- 
ing round  the  axis  as  the  frame  turns 
round;  by  which  means  the  yarn  is  wound 
spirally  about  the  frame,  to  the  length 
which  the  warp  is  required  ;  to  which  ex- 
tent, when  the  yarn  arrives,  it  is  crossed 
on  pins  projecting  from  the  frame,  and 
the  mill  is  turned  the  reverse  way ;  by 
which  the  slide  descends,  and  the  yarn  is 
laid  along  the  same  spiral  downwards, 
along  which  it  before  ascended. 

When  the  warp  is  completed  to  the 
number  of  threads  required  for  the  web 
for  which  it  is  intended,  it  is  taken  off  the 
mills,  and  wound  up  into  a  ball,  the  cros- 
sings being  first  properly  secured  for  the 
use  of  the  weaver :  and  in  this  state  it  is 
sold  to  the  weaving  manufacturer,  when 
the  mill  owner  is  not  concerned  in  this 
branch  of  business  himself. 

Of  Weaving.  A  vast  variety  of  fabrics 
are  formed  of  cotton ;  every  species  made 
of  linen  or  silk  has  been  successfully  imi- 
tated with  it ;  and  the  velverets  and  thick 
cords  made  of  it,  have  been  found  to 
answer  for  many  purposes  in  place  of 
woollen  cloth.  The  finest  muslins  of  In- 
dia do  not  exceed  those  which  are  made 
in  this  country;  and  the  richness  of  colour, 
and  variety  of  figure,  of  the  chintzes  of 
the  East,  are  now  surpassed  by  those  of 
0111  printed  cottons  :  from  the  excellence 
of  these  goods,  and  the  low  prices  at 
which  the  extensive  use  of  machinery  al- 
lows them  to  be  sold,  the  exportation  has 
become  prodigious ;  and  the  comforts  of 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


the  lower  classes  at  home  are  considera- 
bly encreased,  from  the  cheap  rate  at 
which  they  can  procure  most  articles  of 
clothing1  oF  this  kind. 

There  is  no  mode  of  weaving  peculiar 
to  cotton,  so  that  on  this  head  we  must 
refer  to  the  article  WEAVING  for  informa- 
tion, as  every  cotton  stuff  is  woven  in  a 
Wi'.y  resembling  that  of  some  other  fabric, 
unless  we  may  except  that  called  Mar- 
seilles; though  stuffs  may  be  made  of 
linen  or  silk,  or  a  mixture  of  linen  and 
woollen,  in  a  similar  manner  to  that  in 
which  this  is  formed. 

The  loom  for  weaving  Marseilles  is 
somewhat  similar  to  the  diaper  loom.  A 
good  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
prepared  may  be  had,  by  conceiving 
two  webs  woven  one  under  the  other  in 
the  same  loom,  which  are  made  to  inter- 
mingle at  all  the  depressed  lines,  which 
form  the  reticulations  on  the  surface,  in 
imitation  of  the  quilting  performed  by 
hand. 

When  the  species  of  Marseilles,  called 
Marseilles  quilting,  is  made,  a  third  warp, 
of  softer  materials  than  the  two  others 
described,  lies  between  them,  and  merely 
serves  as  a  sort  of  stuffing  to  the  hollow 
squares  formed  by  them. 

Another  sort  of  cotton  stuff,  solely  ap- 
propriated to  quilts,  should,  in  strictness, 
be  set  down  exclusively  to  the  cotton 
manufacture  ;  though  there  is  nothing  to 
prevent  its  being  made  of  other  materials. 
The  weft  of  those  quilts  is  of  \ery  coarse 
and  thick  yarn,  which  is  drawn  out  by  a 
small  hook  into  little  loops,  as  it  is  woven, 
that  are  so  arranged,  as  altogether  to 
form  a  regular  pattern ;  every  third  or 
fourth  shoot  of  the  shuttle,  the  weaver 
has  to  stop  to  form  those  loops  from  a 
draft,  which  causes  the  wreaving  of  those 
quilts  to  take  up  more  time  than  that  of 
any  other  stuff,  except  tapestry  ;  which 
accounts  for  the  greatness  of  the  price  at 
which  they  are  sold,  in  proportion  to  the 
value  of  the  materials  of  which  they  are 
principally  composed. 

Before  concluding  the  head  of  weaving, 
it  will  be  proper  to  notice  a  considerable 
improvement  added  to  one  of  the  princi- 
pal implements  for  this  operation,  which 
first  originated  in  the  cotton  manufac- 
ture ;  which  is  a  very  simple  apparatus 
attached  to  the  batton,  by  which  the 
shuttle  is  thrown  through  the  warp  with- 
out requiring  to  be  touched  by  the  hand; 
as  it  may  be  set  in  motion  both  ways  by 
the  same  hand,  the  weaver  saves  the  time 
that  is  lost  in  shifting  hands  in  the  com- 
mon way  of  weaving;  and  from  this 
cause,  added  to  other  circumstances,  is 


enabled  to  weave  a  considerable  quantity 
more  in  a  day  by  the  use  of  this  contri- 
vance ;  and,  which  is  in  reality  still  more 
material  to  him,  by  enabling  him  to  sit 
at  his  work  in  an  erect  posture,  prevents 
that  frequent  stooping  forwards,  and  con- 
sequent pressure  on  the  chest,  \vhich  was 
found  to  be  so  extremely  unwholesome 
in  this  business,  that  a  very  great  propor- 
tion of  weavers  died  annually  of  com- 
plaints on  the  lungs,  originating  from  this 
circumstance  alone. 

The  Fly  Shuttle.  The  apparatus  by 
which  this  is  effected  is  known  by  the  ap- 
pellation of  the  fly-shuttle,  or  flying 
shuttle,  (probably  from  the  swiftness  of 
the  motion  of  tJie  shuttle,  when  it  is 
used).  It  consists  of  a  little  oblong 
trough,  attached  to  each  side  of  the  bat- 
ton  in  front,  so  that  the  end  of  each  shall 
lie  exactly  opposite  to  the  aperture  form- 
ed in  the  warp  for  passing  the  shuttle, 
when  the  treadles  are  pressed  down ;  a 
small  cubic  piece  of  wood,  usually  cover- 
ed with  hard  leather,  slides  back  and  for- 
wards in  each  trough,  and  is  retained 
within  it  by  a  thick  wire,  which  runs 
through  its  upper  part,  and  proceeds 
from  the  further  end  of  the  trough,  which 
has  a  button,  or  knob,  on  the  end  next 
the  web,  that  prevents  the  little  wooden 
cube  from  slipping  off;  from  the  move- 
able  cube  in  one  trough,  a  cord  proceeds 
loosely  over  the  web  to  that  in  the  oppo- 
site trough,  and  a  turned  handle  is  at- 
tached to  the  middle  of  this  cord,  by 
which  the  weaver  puts  the  little  cubes  in 
motion  ;  the  shuttle  is  straight-sided,  and 
is  sloped  off  to  a  point  at  both  ends, 
which  are  tipped  with  iron ;  very  light 
and  well-turned  little  wheels  are  let  into 
the  substance  of  the  shuttle  at  each  end, 
and  project  little  more  than  the  eighth  of 
an  inch  beyond  its  surface  ;  and  on  these 
it  runs  along  the  lower  rail  of  the  batton, 
over  the  lower  threads  of  the  warp  when 
it  is  thrown.  When  the  weaver  works 
with  this  apparatus,  he  first  presses  back 
one  of  the  sliding  cubes  to  the  further 
end  of  the  trough  in  which  it  lies,  and 
lays  the  shuttle  in  the  trough  directly  be- 
tween it  and  the  web,  first  fastening  the 
end  of  the  yarn  contained  by  the  shuttle 
properly  to  the  web  ;  then  pressing  down 
the  treadle,  he  takes  up  the  handle  which 
puts  the  sliding  cubes  in  motion,  and  by 
a  gentle  jerk  of  his  hand  pulls  the  cube, 
which  is  behind  the  shuttle,  towards  the 
web  ;  the  quick  motion  of  the  sliding 
cube  is  directly  communicated  to  the 
shuttle,  and  it  flies  rapidly  through  the 
warp  into  the  trough  at  the  other  side, 
pressing  back  the  contrained  sliding  cube 


MANUFACTURE  OF  COTTON. 


as  it  passes  to  its  end ;  from  whence  a 
slight  motion  of  the  hand  in  the  opposite 
direction  impels  it  back  again  to  its  first 
position,  after  the  thread  shot  in  has  been 
beaten  up  close  to  the  web,  and  the  warp 
been  opened  again,  ready  to  receive  an- 
other course. 

The  apparatus  described  is  now  in  ge- 
neral use,  in  most  other  manufactures, 
and  is  found  to  be  particularly  advanta- 
geous in  weaving  broad  cloths,  carpets, 
and  other  goods  of  great  breadth,  which 
formerly  required  two  men  to  each  loom, 
merely  to  throw  the  shuttle. 

In  places  where  it  is  not  yet  introduced, 
it  evidently  would  be  an  object  of  huma- 
nity to  induce  the  weavers  to  use  it,  on 
account  of  the  beneficial  effects  it  has  on 
their  health. 

Bunting.  When  the  webs  are  taken 
from  the  looms,  they  are  covered  with  an 
irregular  down  or  knap,  from  the  projec- 
tion of  the  short  fibres  of  the  cotton 
wool,  which  is  removed  by  passing  the 
webs  over  a  red-hot  iron  plate,  that  burns 
it  off. 

The  apparatus  for  this  operation  con- 
sists of  an  iron  semi-cylinder,  set  hori- 
zontally in  brick-work,  having  a  fire-place 
under  it,  with  an  iron  door,  through 
which  fuel  may  be  introduced ;  at  each 
side  of  this  is  placed  a  light  wooden  roll- 
er of  rail-work,  turning  freely  on  an  iron 
axis  by  a  winch  ;  from  the  same  uprights 
which  support  these  rollers,  are  suspend- 
ed light  frames  at  each  side,  which  turn 
on  pivots  in  their  centres,  by  depressing 
the  further  ends  of  which,  the  cords 
next  the  stove  raise  up  a  rail,  which  runs 
across  near  the  iron  semi-cylinder,  and 
which  mostly  consists  of  a  slight  iron 
tod. 

After  the  fire  placed  beneath  the  iron 
burner  has  made  it  red  hot,  the  web, 
whose  surface  is  to  be  burned,  is  rolled 
up  on  one  of  these  cylinders,  and  the  end 
of  it  is  passed  over  the  lifters  and  hot 
iron,  to  the  other  cylinder ;  a  man  stands 
at  each  cylinder,  and  the  instant  the  one 
at  the  empty  cylinder  begins  to  turn,  the 
lifters  are  lowered,  so  as  to  let  the  web 
come  in  contact  with  the  red-hot  iron ; 
by  which  means  its  whole  surface  is 
drawn  over  the  iron,  with  that  degree  of 
velocity  which  is  just  sufficient  to  burn 
off  the  loose  filaments,  without  injuring 
its  fabric.  The  very  finest  muslins  un- 
dergo this  operation,  and  though  they  are 
so  thin,  that  the  least  deviation  from  the 
pi'oper  velocity,  in  passing  them  over  the 
iron,  causes  them  to  be  burned  through, 
yet  there  very  seldom  happens  any  acci- 
dent to  them,  which  shews  that  this  pro- 
YOL.  IV. 


cess  is  more  hazardous  in  appearance  than 
reality. 

After  burning,  the  webs  are  all  bleach- 
ed, to  remove  the  dark  colour  given  them 
by  the  fire  ;  and  when  of  a  proper  white- 
ness, those  which  are  designed  for  dye- 
ing or  printing  are  sent  to  the  respective 
artists  in  those  lines,  and  the  rest  are 
made  up  for  sale  as  they  are. 

The  operation  of  printing  has  arrived 
to  great  perfection,  and  the  process  of 
bleaching  is  well  worthy  of  attention; 
but  for  these  we  must  refer  to  their  pro- 
per heads. 

In  concluding  the  account  of  the  cotton 
manufacture,  it  may  not  be  unacceptable 
to  give  some  short  relation  of  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  carried  on  in  India,  where 
it  existed,  and  produced  an  extensive 
commerce,  for  ages  before  it  was  thought 
of  in  Europe. 

The  manner  of  manufacturing  cotton 
in  India  forms  a  remarkable  contrast  to 
the  European  method.  In  Europe,  a  vast 
apparatus  of  machinery  is  used  in  every 
part  of  the  process,  while  in  India  the 
simplest  instruments  are  made  to  pro- 
duce fabrics  of  that  exquisite  fineness, 
which  it  is  the  boast  of  our  manufactur- 
ers to  imitate,  and  which  fts  yet  they  can 
scarcely  equal.  The  cotton  wool  in  India 
is  prepared  for  the  spinner  without  cards, 
is  spun  for  the  weaver  without  wheels, 
and  is  woven  in  looms  without  any  frame- 
work, which  the  weaver  can  move  from 
one  pkce  to  another,  with  as  much  faci- 
lity as  the  web  itself. 

The  operation  which  our  manufacturers 
perform  by  carding  engines,  is  executed  by 
the  Indian  with  nothing  more  than  a  bow; 
the  percussions  of  whose  string  snapped 
over  the  cotton  wool  in  repeated  vibra- 
tions, raise's  it  to  a  fine  dowrny  fleece  ;  in 
this  same  way  our  hatters  prepare  then- 
furs  for  felting,  an  operation  which  may 
be  seen  in  most  towns. 

The  fine  thread,  or  yarn,  from  which 
the  choicest  muslins  are  made,  are  spur, 
from  cotton  thus  prepared,  by  the  distaff 
and  spindle,  a  mode  which  it  is  evident 
was  practised  by  the  Romans,  Greeks, 
and  Egyptians,  from  their  history,  their 
fables,  and  their  sculptures,  and  than 
which  nothing  can  be  more  simple  ;  this 
yarn  is  then  wove  on  the  following  loom, 
the  account  of  which  is  abridged  from 
that  of  an  eminent  writer  on  Indian  af- 
fairs. 

India?i.  Loom.  The  Indian  loom  consists 
merely  of  two  bamboo-rollers,  one  for  the 
warp,"and  the  other  for  the  web,  and  a 
pair  of  geer ;  the  shuttle  perforn^s  the 
double  office  of  shuttle  and  batton,  and 
Hh 


MANUFACTURES. 


for  this  purpose  is  made  like  a  large  net- 
ting needle,  and  of  a  length  somewhat 
exceeding  the  breadth  of  the  piece. 

This  apparatus  the  weaver  carries  to 
whatever  tree  affords  a  shade  most  grate- 
ful to  him,  under  which  he  digs  a  hole 
large  enough  to  contain  his  legs,  and  the 
lower  part  of  the  geer;  he  then  stretches 
his  warp  by  fastening  his  bamboo  rollers 
at  a  due  distance  from  each  other  on  the 
turf  by  wooden  pins;  the  balances  of  the 
geer  he  fastens  to  some  convenient  branch 
of  the  tree  over  his  head  j  two  loops  un- 
derneath the  geer,  in  which  he  inserts  his 
great  toes,  serve  instead  of  treadles ;  and 
his  long  shuttle,  which  performs  also  the 
office  of  a  batton,  draws  the  weft,  throws 
the  warp,  and  afterwards  strikes  it  up 
close  to  the  web  :  in  such  looms  as  this 
are  made  those  admirable  muslins,  whose 
delicate  texture  the  European  could  ne- 
ver equal  with  all  his  complicated  ma- 
chinery. 

MANUFACTURES,  may  be  denned, 
the  arts  by  which  natural  productions  are 
brought  into  the  state  or  form  in  which 
they  are  consumed  or  used.  The  princi- 
ple manufactures  are  those  which  fabri- 
cate the  various  articles  of  clothing;  as 
the  woollen-manufacture,  the  leather-ma- 
nufacture in  part,  the  cotton-manufacture, 
the  linen-manufacture,  and  the  silk-ma- 
nufacture; others  supply  articles  of  house- 
hold furniture,  as  the  manufactures  of 
glass,  porcelain,  earthenware,  and  of  most 
of  the  metals  in  part ;  the  iron-manufac- 
ture furnishes  implements  of  agriculture, 
and  weapons  of  war;  and  the  paper-ma- 
nufacture supplies  a  material  for  commu- 
nicating ideas  and  perpetuating  know- 
ledge. Manufactures  had  begun  to  flou- 
rish in  different  parts  of  Europe,  long 
before  they  were  attempted  in  Britain  ; 
the  few  articles  of  this  description  which 
were  in  request,  being  obtained  in  ex- 
change for  wool,  hides,  tin,  and  such 
other  produce  as  the  country  in  a  very 
uncultivated  state  could  supply.  In  1337, 
it  was  enacted,  that  no  more  wool  should 
be  exported ;  that  no  one  should  wear 
any  but  English  cloth ;  that  no  cloths 
made  beyond  seas  should  be  imported ; 
that  foreign  clothworkers  might  come  in- 
to the  King's  dominions,  and  should  have 
such  franchises  as  might  suffice  them. 
Before  this  time,  the  English  were  little 
more  than  shepherds,  and  wool-sellers. 
The  progress  of  improvement,  since  the 
establishment  of  manufactures  in  tins 
country,  luis  in  most  instances  been  re- 
markably great,  particularly  of  late  years, 
tii  consequence  of  an  increased  know- 
2  of  the  properties  of  various  mate- 


rials, vast  improvements  in  all  kinds  of 
machinery,  and  the  great  capitals  invest- 
ed in   most  of  the    different   branches 
The  value  of  British  manufactures  ex- 
ported to  all  countries,  on  an  average  of 
six     years,     ending     with     1774,    was 
1 0,342,0 191. ;  the  American  war  suspend- 
ed for  a  time  an  important  market  for 
several   of  our  manufactures,   in   conse- 
quence of  which  the  total  amount  ex- 
ported had  fallen  in  1781  to  7,633,332/. 
and  on  an  average  of  six  years,  ending 
with  1783,  it  was  8,616,660/.    During  the 
peace  which  followed,  the  export  trade  ra- 
pidly revived,  and,  in  the  year  preceding 
the  war  with  France,  had  attained  to  a 
magnitude  beyond  all  former  example  ;  it 
was  checked  a  little  by  the  mercantile 
embarrassments  in  1793,  but  a  few  years 
after,  the  unsettled  state  of  several  of  the 
principal  European  powers  threw  many 
additional  branches  of  foreign  trade  into 
the  hands  of  our  merchants,  and  carried 
the  export  of  our  manufactures  to  its  pre- 
sent important  extent.    The  real  value  of 
British   produce   and  manufactures   ex- 
ported, as  far  as  it  can  be  ascertained, 
under  the  ad  valorem  duties,  or  computed 
at  the   average   current  prices   of  the 
goods,  amounts  to  more  than  forty  mil- 
lions sterling.    The  woollen-manufacture, 
which  is  the  most  ancient  and  important, 
has  increased   during    the    last    twenty- 
years,  and  appears  to  be  still  increasing-, 
notwithstanding  the  high  price  of  the  ma- 
terial, and  the  precarious  state  of  the  fo- 
reign markets.     On  an  examination  of  the 
principal  woollen-manufactures,  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  it  was 
estimated  the  quantity  of  wool  grown  in 
this  country   at   600,000  packs,    of  240 
pounds  each,  which,  at   111.   per  pack, 
makes  the  value  of  the  whole  6,600,OOG/. 
But  it  was  justly  observed,  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  ascertain  how  much  the  wool  is  in- 
creased in  value  bv  being  manufactured  ; 
some  sorts  are  increased  rather  more  than 
double,  some  nine  times,  or  even  more  ; 
but  if  the  average  is  taken  at  only  three 
times,  \\luch  will  be  under  the  truth,  th-j 
total  value  of  the  wool  manufactured   in 
the  country  will  amount  to  19,800,OOU/. 
It  must  be  remarked,  that  this  calculation 
is  founded  on  a  supposition  that,  in  1791, 
the  number  of  sheep  in  the  kingdom  wa* 
^8,800,000,  which,  as  far  as  any  idea  can 
be  formed  from    the  proportion   of  tlu* 
consumption  of  the  metropolis,  to  that  of 
the  whole  island,  and  the  stock  requisite 
for   the    supply,    greatly    exceeded   the 
truth  at  that  time  ;"  and  "it  is  the  general 
opinion,    particularly    of   persons  in  the 
wool-trade,   that  of  hite  th«  number  of 


MANUFACTURES. 


sheep  kept  has  been  considerably  re- 
duced. 

The  calculation  is  likewise  made  at  an 
unusually  high  price  of  wool ;  for  though 
during-  the  year  1800,  the  average  price 
was  about  eleven  guineas,  the  average  of 
the  four  preceding  years  was  certainly 
not  more  than  from  ten  pounds  to  ten 
guineas;  upon  the  whole,  the  estimate, 
therefore,  will  be  much  less  objectiona- 
ble, if  formed  on  500,000  packs  at  101. 
10s.  per  pack,  which  will  make  the  value 
of  the  wool  5,250,OOOJ.;  to  this  must  be 
added  at  least  500,000/.  for  the  value  of 
Spanish  wool  imported,  and  the  manu- 
factured value  of  the  whole  will  be 
17,250,000/.  That  the  total  value  of  the 
manufacture  cannot  exceed  this  sum  will 
appear  highly  probable  from  the  exports. 
The  average  value  of  woollen  goods  ex- 
ported from  Great  Britain  at  the  close  of 
the  last  century  was  5,647,928/. 

Most  of  the  Custom  House  values  of 
goods  exported  are  greatly  below  their 
present  value,  but  not  so  much  so  in  this 
article  as  in  some  others  ;  they  are  found, 
however,  to  be  about  thirty- eight  per 
cent,  below  the  actual  value,  and  this  ad- 
dition being  made  to  the  average  amount, 
the  value  of  woollen  goods  exported  will 
appear  to  be  7,794,140£ 

The  value  retained  foHiome  consump- 
tion may  be  nearly  equal  to  the  value  ex- 
ported, although  in  quantity  the  former 
may  greatly  exceed  the  latter,  a  very 
considerable  proportion  of  which  consists 
of  superfine  and  second  cloths;  whereas 
the  consumption  of  fine  woollens  in  Great 
Britain  has  much  diminished  of  late  years, 
from  the  general  use  of  Manchester  ma- 
nufactures of  cotton  in  clothing,  particu- 
larly for  waistcoats  and  breeches.  The 
\vhole  value  of  the  manufacture  thus  ap- 
pears to  be  about  15,5S8,000/.  and,  as  a 
medium  between  this  sum  and  the  amount 
before  stated,  it  may  be  taken  at 
16,400,000^.  Deducting  from  this  amount 
at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of 
the  goods  for  the  profits  of  the  manufac- 
turer, including  the  interest  of  his  capital, 
there  remains  14,909,090/.  consisting  of 
the  cost  of  the  material,  and  the  wages 
of  labour;  the  value  of  all  the  wool  em- 
ployed, we  have  seen,  is  about  5,750,000/. 
and  including  the  cost  of  some  other  ne- 
cessary articles,  the  materials  cannot  be 
valued  at  less  than  this  sum  ;  the  remain- 
der, therefore,  or9,159,090/.  is  the  amount 
of  workmanship,  or  the  wages  of  all  the 
persons  employed  in  the  manufacture. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  assume  with 
precision  an  average  rate  of  wages,  with 


respect  to  any  manufacture,  as  they  vary 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  the 
proportion  of  the  different  classes  of 'per- 
sons employed  is  in  no  instance  known 
with  certainty.  In  the  West,  where  the 
woollen-manufacture  has  been  for  some 
time  past  in  a  very  depressed  state,  few 
workmen  get  above  14s.  per  week,  and 
many  much  less,  from  not  being  fully  cm- 
ployed  ;  in  Yorkshire,  good  workmen 
earn  from  16s.  to  l&s.  per  week,  children 
3s.  older  children  and  women  from  5s.  to 
6s.  and  old  men  from  9s.  to  12s.  If,  on 
taking-  all  classes  together,  8s.  per  week 
is  not  thought  too  high,  it  will  appear  that 
the  whole  number  of  persons  employed 
does  not  exceed  440,340.  The  value  of 
the  leather-manufacture  was  some  years 
ago  stated  at  10,50Q,000/.  and  from  the 
state  of  the  trade  of  late,  particularly 
those  branches  of  it  which  supply  military 
accoutrements,  harness,  sadlery,  carri- 
ages, &c.  combined  with  the  high  price 
of  skins  of  most  kinds,  it  cannot  be  sup- 
posed less  than  that  sum  at  present.  De- 
ducting 954,545/.  for  the  profits  of  capital 
employed,  and  3,500,000^.  for  the  cost  of 
the  raw  article,  there  remains  6,045,455/. 
for  the  wages  of  persons  employed  there- 
in, which  at  25/.  per  an num  for  each  per- 
son, makes  the  number  employed  241, 818. 
The  cotton-manufacture  was  formerly  of 
little  importance  in  this  country,  in  com- 
parison with  its  present  state.  The  total 
quantity  of  cotton-wool  imported  into 
England,  on  an  average  of  five  years,  end- 
ing with  1705,  was  1,170,881  pounds,  and 
even  so  late  as  the  year  1781,  it  amounted 
to  only  5,101,920*  pounds.  About  that 
time,  however,  the  British  calicoes, which 
had  been  introduced  a  few  years  before, 
had  arrived  at  some  degree  of  perfection, 
and  the  branch  of  muslins  being  added,  in 
which  great  improvements  were  soon  af- 
ter made,  the  whole  manufacture  experi- 
enced such  a  rapid  and  great  increase, 
that  previously  to  the  commencement  of 
the  war  with  France,  the  consumption  of 
cotton-wool  amounted,  to  upwards  of 
30,000,000  pounds,  per  annum.  The 
average  value  at  the  time  referred  to  was 
35,54-9,200  pounds,  the  value  of  which, 
when  manufactured,  cannot  be  less  than 
11,000,OOG/.  allowing  for  a  considerable 
quantity  exported  in  a.  partially  manufac- 
tured state.  The  total  quantity  of  British 
calicoes  and  muslins  printed  in  England 
und  Wales  in  the  year  1800  was  28,692,790 
yards,  and  in  Scotland  4,176,939  yards, 
the  duty  on  the  whole  amounting  to 
479,350/.  4s.  3ld.  Upon  the  supposition 
that  the  duty  is  one-tenth  of  the  value. 


MANUFACTURES. 


the  value  of  this  description  of  goods 
printed  in  1800,  will  be  4,793,502?.  The 
quantity  of  white  calicoes  and  muslins 
made  iu  Great  Britain  is  probably  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  printed ;  and 
though  they  do  not  incur  the  expense  of 
printing-  and  duty,  yet  as  a  greater  pro- 

ijortion.  of  them  are  fine  goods,  the  va- 
ue  of  them  is  probably  rather  above 
3,500,000?. 

There  are  many  other  branches  of  ma- 
nufacture which  consume  large  quantities 
of  cotton,  though  it  is  difficult  to  form 
an  idea  of  the  precise  amount;  thus  the  ho- 
siery branch  was  stated  some  years  ago  to 
employ  1,500,000  pomvis,  and  it  has  cer- 
tainly since  increased  considerably;  the 
same  quantity  was  said  to  be  required  for 
candle-wicks ;  and  it  will  probably  be  a 
very  moderate  estimate  to  value  all  the 
cotton  that  is  manufactured  in  any  other 
\vay  than  in  muslins  and  calicoes  at 
2,800,000*.  The  total  value  of  the  ma- 
nufacture will  thus  appear  to  be,  as  be- 
fore stated,  about  11,000,000?.  Deduct- 
ing from  this  sum,  1,000,000?.  for  profits 
of  a  capital  at  ten  per  cent,  and  4,443,650?. 
for  cost  of  the  raw  material,  at  2s.  6d. 
per  pound,  there  remains  5,556,3501.  for 
wages,  which,  if  divided  at  the  rate  of 
only  16?.  per  annum  for  each  person,  on 
account  of  the  large  proportion  of  women 
and  children  employed,  makes  the  whole 
"number  347,271  persons.  The  silk-ma- 
nufacture was  formerly  of  greater  ex- 
tent than  at  present,  but  has  not  experi- 
enced any  very  considerable  fluctuation 
for  some  time ;  the  average  quantity  of 
raw  and  thrown  silk  imported  in  three 
years,  preceding  the  5th  January  1797, 
was  883,438?.;  the  value  of  which  when 
manufactured  is  about  2,700,000/.  The 
cost  of  silk  to  the  manufacturer,  if  raw 
and  thrown  are  taken  together  at  only 
28s.  per  pound,  amounts  to  1,260,0007.  and 
the  profits  of  the  manufacture  245,4541.  at 
the  rate  of  ten  per  cent,  on  the  cost  when 
manufactured. 

It  may  be  said,  that  though  this  is  the 
usual  profit  charged  by  the  manufac- 
turer in  this  and  some  other  branches,  in 
casting  up  the  selling  price  of  his  goods, 
they  are  frequently  sold  much  under  this 
price  ;  which  must  be  admitted  :  but,  as 
an  advantage  is  taken  on  most  of  the  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  price  before  the  ten 
per  cent,  is  laid  on,  it  is  probably  not  less 
than  this  rate  on  the  whole,  in  this  and  in 
most  other  manufactures.  The  number 
of  persons  employed  in  the  silk-manu- 
factory has  been  stated  at  200,000  and  up- 
\vards,  but  there  appears  no  reason  to  be- 


lieve that  it  exceeds  65,000  of  all  descrip- 
tions. 

The  linen  manufacture  of  Great  Britain 
is  chiefly  confined  to  Scotland,  though 
some  brandies  of  it  are  carried  on  in  Man- 
chester and  other  parts  of  England.  The 
value  estimated  at  the  current  prices,  of 
linens  exported,  on  an  average  of  three 
years  preceding  5th  of  January,  1799, 
was  I,2r8,734/.  therefore,  if  the  quantity 
retained  for  home  consumption  is  not 
greater  than  the  export,  the  value  of  the 
whole  must  be  upwards  of  2,500,000?.; 
and  it  probably  will  not  exceed  the  truth 
if  the  yearly  value  of  the  whole  of  this 
manufacture  in  Great  Britain,  with  the 
thread,  and  other  branches  of  the  flax 
trade,  is  stated  at  3,000,000/,  The  linens' 
which  most  of  the  families  in  Scotland 
make  for  their  own  use  are  not  stamped, 
and  consequently  are  not  included  iu 
these  returns,  which  must  therefore  be 
less  than  the  quantity  actually  manufac- 
tured by  several  millions  of  yards  ;  and 
the  value  stated  is  certainly  much  below 
the  actual  selling  prices.  There  is  no 
account  kept  of  the  linen  manufacture  in 
England ;  and  as  it  is  considered  as  an  ob- 
ject of  subordinate  importance,  its  annual 
value  is  probably  under  1,000,000?.  but 
even  if  it  is  somewhat  less  than  this 
amount,  it  will  appear  that  the  total  value 
of  the  manufacture,  rated  at  the  current 
prices,  cannot  be  less  than  the  sum  be- 
fore stated,  or  3,000,000?.  The  number 
of  persons  employed  in  it  is  probably  not 
less  than  95,000. 

The  hemp-manufacture  at  present  ex- 
ceeds 1,600,000/.  per  annum,  but  is  less 
in  time  of  peace ;  the  persons  employed 
in  it  are  probably  about  35,000. 

The  paper-manufacture  lias  been  great- 
ly advanced  of  late.  A  hundred  years 
ago  scarcely  any  paper  was  made  in  this 
country  but  the  coarse  wrapping  pa- 
pers ;  and  for  a  long  time  most  of  the 
superior  kinds  continued  to  be  import- 
ed ;  the  export  is,  however,  at  present 
considerable.  The  annual  value  of  the 
manufacture,  at  the  present  high  prices 
of  the  article,  cannot  be  less  than 
900,000?.  and  the  number  of  persons  em- 
ployed in  it  30,000. 

The  glass-manufacture  was  much  im- 
proved in  the  course  of  the  last  century, 
particularly  in  the  article  of  plate-glass, 
and  it  has  greatly  increased  of  late  years ; 
it  may  now  amount  to  1,500,000/.  per  an- 
num, and  the  persons  employed  in  it  to 
about  36,000. 

The  potteries,  and  manufactures  of 
earthenware  and  porcelain,  advanced 


MAN- 


Vapidly  during  the  last  century,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  great  improvements  made 
in  them,  and  the  introduction  of  many 
new  and  beautiful  wares,  both  for  our 
own  vise  and  foreign  markets.  The  arti- 
cle of  queen's- ware  was  invented  in 
1763,  by  Mr.  J.  Wedgewood,  to  whom 
the  public  are  also  indebted  for  most  of 
those  elegant  species  of  ear th en  ware  and 
porcelain  which,  moulded  into  a  thousand 
different  forms  for  ornament  or  use,  now 
constitute  the  most  valuable  part  of  this 
manufacture.  The  annual  value  will  pro- 
bably not  be  over-rated  at  2,000,000/.  and 
the  number  of  persons  employed  at 
45,000.t 

The  iron-manufacture  is  supplied  part- 
ly by  the  produce  of  our  own  mines,  and 
partly  by  those  of  other  countries ;  with 
respect  to  the  first,  it  appears  that  the 
total  produce  of  pig-iron  in  Britain  is  at 
least  100,000  tons  ;  and  reckoning  on  an 
average,  that  33  cwt.  of  crude  iron  pro- 
duce one  ton  of  bars,  and  that  the  manu- 
facture of  malleable  iron  amounts  to 
35,000  tons  per  annum,  this  branch  will 
require  57,750  tons  of  crude  iron ;  and 
the  value  in  bars,  at  20/.  a  ton,  which  is 
considerably  under  the  present  price,  is 
700,000/.  the  remaining  42,250  tons,  cast 
into  cannon,  cylinders,  and  machinery, 
&c.  at  141.  a  ton,  are  worth  591,500/.  The 
supply  of  foreign  bar-iron  is  chiefly  ob- 
tained from  Russia  and  Sweden  ;  and  the 
quantity  imported  on  an  average  of  six 
years,  ending  with  1805,  after  deducting 
what  was  re-exported,  has  been  33,628 
tons,  value  865,182^.  which,  with  the  sums 
before  mentioned,  amount  to  2,156,682/. 
This  value  is  greatly  increased  by  subse- 
quent labour:  but  the  proportion  of  the 
increase  cannot  be  easily  determined,  the 
quantity  of  labour  being  so  very  different 
in  different  articles.  Some  years  ago  the 
value  of  the  iron  manufacture  was  esti- 
mated at  8,700,000/.  which  sum  appears 
rather  too  high  at  present;  but  including 
tin  and  lead,  the  value  of  the  whole 
will  probably  not  be  taken  too  high  at 
10,000,000/.  and,  the  number  of  persons 
employed  at  200,000. 

The  copper  and  brass  manufactures 
are  now  established  in  this  country  in  all 
their  branches.  Till  about  the  years 
1720  or  1730,  most  of  the  copper  and 
brass  utensils  for  culinary  and  other  pur- 
poses, used  in  this  country,  were  import- 
ed from  Hamburgh  and  Holland,  being 
procured  from  the  manufactories  of  Ger- 
many ;  even  so  late  as  the  years  1745  and 
1750,  copper  tea-kettles,  saucepans,  and 
pots  of  all  sizes,  were  imported  here  in 


large  quantities ;  but  through  the  per- 
severing industry,  capitals,  and  enterpris- 
ing spirit  of  our  miners  and  manufactur- 
ers, these  imports  have  become  totally- 
unnecessary,  the  ai-ticles  being  now  all 
made  here,  and  far  better  than  any  other 
country  can  produce.  The  discovery  of 
new  copper-mines  in  Cornwall,  Derby- 
shire, and  Wales,  about  the  year  1773, 
contributed  to  the  extension  of  the  manu- 
facture in  this  country ;  and  it  appears  to 
be  still  increasing,  notwithstanding  the 
very  great  advance  in  the  price  of  copper, 
which  must  certainly  be  attended  with 
some  disadvantage  with  respect  to  foreign 
markets.  The  value  of  wrought  copper 
and  brass  exported  during  the  year  1799, 
was  1,222,187/.  and  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve, that  the  whole  value  of  these  manu- 
factures at  present  is  at  least  3,600,OOOZ. 
and  the  number  of  persons  employed 
about  60,000.  The  steel,  plating,  and 
hardware  manufactures,  including  the 
toy  trade,  have  been  carried  to  a  great 
extent  of  late  years,  and  may  amount  in 
value  to  4,000,000/.  and  the  persons  em- 
ployed to  at  least  70,000. 

MANULEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Didynamia  Angiospermia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Personatae.  Pediculares, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character:  calyx  five- 
parted  ;  corolla  with  a  five-parted,  awl- 
shaped  border,  the  four  upper  segments 
more  connected  ;  capsule  two-celled, 
many-seeded.  There  are  eighteen  spe- 
cies, mostly  natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

MANURE.     See  AGHICUI/TUIIK. 

MAP,  a  plane  figure  representing  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  or  some  part  of  it : 
being  a  projection  of  the  globular  surface 
of  the  earth,  exhibiting  countries,  seas, 
rivers,  mountains,  cities,  &.c.  in  their  due 
positions,  or  nearly  so. 

Maps  are  either  universal,  or  particu- 
lar. Universal  maps  are  such  as  exhibit 
the  whole  surface  of  the  earth,  or  the  two- 
hemispheres.  Particular,  or  partial  maps, 
are  those  that  exhibit  some  particular 
region,  or  part  of  the  earth.  Both  kinds 
are  usually  called  geographical,  or  land 
maps,  as  distinguished  from  hydrographi- 
cal,  or  sea  maps,  which  represent  only 
the  seas  and  sea-coasts,  and  are  properly 
called  charts. 

Anaximander,  it  is  said,  about  400  years 
before  Christ,  first  invented  geographical 
tables,  or  maps.  The  Pentingerian  tables, 
published  by  Cornelius  Pentinger  of 
Auesburgh,  contain  an  itinerary  of  the 
whole  Roman  Empire  ;  all  places,  except 
seas,  woods,  and  deserts.,  being  laid  clown 


MAP. 


according  to  their  measured  distances, 
but  without  any  mention  of  latitude, 
longitude,  or  bearing. 

The  maps  published  by  Ptolemy  of 
Alexandria,  A.  D.  144,  have  meridians 
and  parallels,  the  better  to  define  and 
determine  the  situation  of  places,  and  are 
great  improvements  on  the  construction 
of  maps  :  though  Ptolemy  himself  owns 
that  his  maps  were  copied  from  some 
that  were  made  by  Marinas,  Tirus,  &c. 
\vith  the  addition  of  improvements  of  his 
own.  But  from  his  time  till  about  the 
14th  century,  during1  which  geography 
and  most  sciences  were  neglected,  no 
new  maps  were  published.  Mercator 
was  the  first  of  note  among  the  moderns, 
and  next  to  him  Ortelius,  who  undertook 
to  make  a  new  set  of  maps,  with  the  mo- 
dern divisions  of  countries  and  names  of 
places ;  for  want  of  which,  those  of  Ptole- 
my were  become  almost  useless.  After 
Mercator,  many  others  published  maps, 
but  for  the  most  part  they  were  mere 
copies  of  his.  Towards  the  middle  of  the 
17th  century,  Bleau  in  Holland,  and  San- 
son  in  France,  published  new  sets  of 
maps,  with  many  improvements  from  the 
travellers  of  those  times,  which  were  af- 
terwards copied,  with  little  variation,  by 
the  English,  French,  and  Dutch;  the  best 
of  these  being  those  of  Vischer  and  De- 
Witt.  And  later  observations  have  fur- 
nished us  with  still  more  accurate  and  co- 
pious sets  of  maps. 

Maps  are  constructed  by  making  a  pro- 
jection of  the  globe,  either  on  the  plane 
"of  some  particular  circle,  or  by  the  eye 
placed  in  some  particular  point,  according 
to  the  rules  of  perspective. 

In  maps  three  things  are  required : 
first,  to  shew  the  latitude  and  longitude 
of  places,  which  is  done  by  drawing  a 
certain  number  of  meridians  and  parallels 
of  latitude.  Secondly,  the  shape  of  the 
countries  must  be  exhibited  as  accurately 
as  possible,  for  real  accuracy  cannot  be 
obtained  by  any  projection,  because  the 
map  is  on  a  plane  surface,  whereas  the 
earth  is  globular.  Thirdly,  the  bearings 
of  places,  and  their  distances  from  each 
othgi',  must  be  shown.  The  projection 
of  maps  is  made,  as  we  have  observed,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  perspective.  If  the 
fye  be  supposed  to  view  the  earth  from 
an  infinite  distance,  the  appearance  re- 
presented on  a  plane,  is  called  the  ortho- 
graphic projection.  In  this  case,  the 
parts  about  the  middle  are  very  well  re- 
presented, but  the  extreme  parts  are 
contracted.  Geographers  usually  employ 
the  stereographic  projection,  where  the 


eye  is  supposed  to  be  on  the  surface  ot 
the  Dearth,  and  looking  at  the  opposite 
hemisphere.  There  is  likewise  the  globu- 
lar projection,  in  which  meridians,  equi- 
distant upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  are 
represented  by  equidistant  circles  in  the 
map.  Mercator's  projection  is  that  in 
which  both  the  meridians  and  parallels  of 
latitude  are  represented  by  straight  lines. 
See  GHAUT. 

In  all  maps  the  upper  part  is  the  north, 
the  lower  the  south,  the  right  hand  is 
eastern,  and  the  left  hand  western.  On 
the  right  and  left  the  degrees  of  latitude 
are  marked  ;  and  on  the  top  and  bottom 
the  degrees  of  longitude  are  marked. 
When  the  meridians  and  parallels  of  lati- 
tude are  straight  and  parallel  lines,  the 
latitude  of  a  place  is  found  by  stretching 
a  thread  over  the  place,  so  that  it  may 
.cut  the  same  degree  of  latitude  on  both 
sides  the  map,  and  that  degree  is  the  la- 
titude of  the  place.  To  find  the  longi- 
tude, stretch  a  thread  over  the  place,  so 
that  it  may  cut  the  same  degree  of  longi- 
tude on  the  top  and  bottom,  and  that  de- 
gree is  the  longitude  of  the  place.  When 
the  meridians  and  parallels  of  latitude  are 
curve  lines,  then  to  find  the  latitude  of  a 
place,  a  parallel  line  of  latitude  must  be 
drawn  through  it,  by  the  same  rules  as 
the  other  parallels  are  drawn,  and  it  cuts 
the  sides  at  the  degree  of  latitude  of  the 
place :  and  to  find  the  longitude  of  the 
place,  draw  a  circle  of  longitude  through 
it,  by  the  same  rules  as  the  other  circles 
are  drawn,  and  it  cuts  the  top  and  bot- 
tom at  the  degree  of  longitude  of  the 
place.  We  shall  now  proceed  to  show 
some  of  the  most  familiar  constructions  of 
maps,  beginning  with  a  general  map,  or 
map  of  the  world,  of  which  there  are 
three  methods  : 

First.  A  map  of  the  world  must  repre- 
sent two  hemispheres ;  and  they  must 
both  be  drawn  upon  the  plane  of  that  cir- 
cle which  divides  the  two  hemispheres. 
The  first  way  is  to  project  each  hemi- 
sphere  upon  the  plane  of  some  particular 
circle,  by  the  rules  of  orthographic  pro- 
jection, forming  two  hemispheres,  upon 
one  common  base  or  circle.  When  the 
plane  of  projection  is  that  of  a  meridian, 
the  maps  will  be  the  east  and  west  hemi- 
spheres,  the  other  meridians  will  be  el- 
lipses, and  the  parallel  circles  will  be 
right  lines.  Upon  the  plane  of  the  equi- 
noctial, the  meridians  will  be  right  lines 
crossing  in  the  centre,  which  will  repre- 
present  the  pole,  and  the  parallels  of  lati- 
tude  will  be  circles  having  that  common 
centre,  and  the  maps  will  be  the  northern 


MAP. 


-and  southern  hemispheres.  The  fault  of 
this  way  of  drawing  maps  is,  that  near 
the  outside  the  circles  are  too  near  one 
another ;  and,  therefore,  equal  spaces  on 
the  earth  are  represented  by  very  unequal 
spaces  upon  the  map. 

Secondly.  Another  way  is  to  project 
the  same  hemispheres  bj  the  rules  of 
stereograph ic  projectiqn ;  in  which  way, 
all  the  parallels  will  be  represented  by 
circles,  and  the  meridians  by  circles  or 
right  lines.  And  here  the  contrary  fault 
happens,  viz.  the  circles  towards  the  out- 
sides  are  too  far  asunder,  and  about  the 
middle  they  are  too  near  together. 

Thirdly.  To  remedy  the  faults  of  the 
two  former  methods,  proceed  as  follows : 
1st.  For  the  eastern  and  western  hemi- 
spheres, describe  the  circle  P  E  N  Q  for 
the  meridian  (Plate  Maps,  fig.  1.)  or  plane 
of  projection ;  through  the  centre  of 
which  draw  the  equinoctial,  E  Q,  and 
axis,  PN,  perpendicular  to  it,  making  P 
and  N  the  north  and  south  pole.  Divide 
the  quadrants  PE,  EN,  N  Q,  and  Q  P, 
into  9  equal  parts,  each  representing  10 
degrees,  begianing  at  the  equinoctial 
E  Q :  divide  also  C  P  and  C  N  into  9  equal 
parts,  beginning  at  E  Q ;  and  through  the 
corresponding  points  draw  the  parallels 
of  latitude.  Again,  divide  C  E  and  C  Q 
into  9  equal  parts;  and  through  the  points 
of  division,  and  the  two  poles  P  and  N, 
draw  circles,  or  rather  ellips£s,  for  the 
meridians.  So  shall  the  map  be  prepared 
to  receive  the  several  places  and  countries 
of  the  earth.  2dly.  For  the  north  or 
south  hemisphere,  draw  A  Q  B  E,  for  the 
equinoctial  (fig.  2).  dividing  it  into  the 
four  quadrants  E  A,  A  Q,  Q  B,  and  15  E ; 
and  each  quadrant  into  9  equal  parts, 
representing  each  10  degrees  of  longi- 
tude ;  and  then,  from  the  points  of  divi- 
sion, draw  lines  to  the  centre,  C,  for  the 
circles  of  longitude.  Divide  any  circle  of 
Pbngitude,  as  the  first  meridian,  E  C,  into 
9  equal  parts,  and  through  these  points 
describe  circles  from  the  centre,  C,  for 
the  parallels  of  latitude  ;  numbering  them 
as  in  the  figure. 

In  this  third  method  equal  spaces  on 
the  earth  are  represented  by  equal  spaces 
on  the  map,  as  near  as  any  projection  will 
bear;  fur  a  spherical  surface  can  no  way 
be  represented  exactly  upon  a  plane. 
Then  the  several  countries  of  the  world, 
seas,  islands,  sea-coasts,  towns,  Sec.  are  to 
be  entered  in  the  map,  according  to  their 
latitudes  and  longitudes. 

In  filling  up  the  map,  all  places  repre- 
senting land  are  tilled  with  such  things  as 
the  countries  contain;  but  the  seas  are 


left  white ;  the  shores  adjoining  to  the  sea 
being  shaded.  Rivers  are  marked  by 
strong  lines,  or  by  double  lines,  drawn 
winding  in  form  of  the  rivers  they  repre- 
sent ;  and  small  rivers  are  expressed  by 
small  lines.  Different  countries  are  best 
distinguished  by  different  colours,  or  at 
least  the  borders  of  them.  Forests  are 
represented  by  trees ;  and  mountains 
shaded  to  make  them  appear.  Sands  are 
denoted  by  small  points  or  specks ;  and 
rocks  under  water  by  a  small  cross.  In 
any  void  space,  draw  the  manner's  com- 
pass, with  the  32  points  or  winds. 

To  draw  a  J\'Iap  of  any  particular  Coun- 
try.    First.  For  this  purpose  its  extent 
must  be  known,  as  to  latitude  and  longi- 
tude ;  a* suppose  Spain,  lying  between  the 
north  latitudes  36  and  44,  and  extending 
from  10  to  23  degrees  of  longitude ;  so 
that  its  extent  from  north  to  south  is  8 
degrees,  and  from  east  to  west  13  <ie 
grees.     Draw  the  line  A  B  for  a  meridian 
passing  through  the  middle  of  the  coun- 
try (fig.  3.),  on  which  set  off  8  degrees 
from  B  to  A,  taken  from  any  convenient 
scale ;    A   being  the   north,   and  B  the 
south  point.     Through    A  and  B  drasv 
the  perpendiculars  CD,  EF,  for  the  ex- 
treme parallels  of  latitude.     Divide  A  1> 
into  8  parts,  or  degrees,  through  which 
draw  the  other  parallels  of  latitude,  paral- 
lel to  the   former.     For  the  meridians, 
divide  any  degree  in  A  B  into  60  equa'i 
parts,    or    geographical    miles.      Then, 
since  the  length  of  a  degree  in  each  para! 
lei  decreases  towards  the  pole,  from  the 
laMe,  Art.  LONGITUDE,   showing   t)iL< 
decrease,  take  the  number  of  miles  as. 
swering  to  the  latitude  of  B,  which  is  48 -i 
nearly,  and  set  it  from  B,  7  times  to  F,, 
and  6  times  to  F;  so  is  E  F  divided  into 
degrees.    Again,   from    the   same  table 
take  the  number  of  miies  of  a  degree  i;: 
the  latitude  A,  viz.  431  nearly ;  which  set 
oft',  from  A,  7  times  to  C,  and  6  times  to 
1).     Then  from   the  points  of  division  ir: 
the  line  CD,  to  the  corresponding  points 
in  the  line  E  F,  draw  so  many  right  lines 
for  the  meridians.     Number  the  degrees, 
of  latitude  up  both  sides  of  the  map,  aud 
the  degrees  ot  longitude  on  the  top  and 
bottom.     Also,    in    some   vacant  place, 
make  a  scale  of  miles,  or  of  degrees,  5*" 
the  map  represent  u  large  part  of  the 
earth,  to  serve  for  finding  the  distances 
of  places  upon  the  map. 

Then  make  the  proper  divisions  and 
subdivisions  of  the  country:  and  having- 
the  latitudes  and  longitudes  of  the  prin- 
cipal places,  it  will  be  easy  to  set  them 
d'own  in  tiie  map  :  for  any  town,  &c.  MM  is*. 


MAP 


MAP 


be  placed  where  the  circles  of  its  latitude 
and  longitude  intersect.  For  instance, 
Gibraltar,  whose  latitude  is  36°  11",  and 
longitude  12°  27',  will  be  at  G  :  and  Ma- 
drid, whose  latitude  is  40°  10',  and  longi- 
tude 14°  44',  will  be  at  M.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  mouth  of  a  river  must  be  set 
down ;  but  lo  describe  the  whole  river, 
the  latitude  and  longitude  of  every  turn- 
ing must  be  marked  down,  and  the  towns 
and  bridges  by  which  it  passes.  And  so 
for  woods,  forests,  mountains,  lakes,  cas- 
tles, &c.  The  boundaries  will  be  de- 
scribed by  setting  down  the  remarkable 
places  on  the  sea-coast,  and  drawing  a 
continued  line  through  them  all.  And 
this  way  is  very  proper  for  small  coun- 
tries. 

Secondly.  Maps  of  particular  places 
are  but  portions  of  the  globe,  and  there- 
fore may  be  drawn  after  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  whole  is  drawn.  That  is,  such 
a  map  may  be  drawn  either  by  the  ortho- 
graphic or  stereographic  projection  of 
the  sphere,  as  in  the  last  problem.  But 
in  partial  maps,  an  easier  way  is  as  fol- 
lows :  having  drawn  the  meridian  AB 
(fig.  3  ),  and  divided  it  into  equal  parts 
as'in  the  last  method,  through  all  the 

Eoints  of  division  draw  lines  perpendicu- 
ir  to  A  B,  for  the  parallels  of  latitude; 
CD,  EF,  being  the  extreme  parallel. 
Then  to  divide  these,  set  oft*  the  degrees 
in  each  parallel,  diminished  after  the 
manner  directed  for  the  two  extreme 
parallels  C  D,  E  F,  in  the  last  method  : 
and  through  all  the  corresponding  points 
draw  the  meridians,  which  will  be  curve 
lines  ;  which  were  right  lines  in  the  last 
method ;  because  only  the  extreme  paral- 
lels were  divided  by  the  table.  This 
method  is  proper  for  a  large  tract,  as 
Europe,  &,c. ;  in  which  case  the  parallels 
and  meridians  need  only  be  drawn  to 
every  5  or  10  degrees.  This  method  is 
much  used  in  drawing  maps,  as  all  the 
parts  are  nearly  of  their  due  magnitude, 
but  a  little  distorted  towards  the  outside, 
from  the  oblique  intersections  of  the  meri- 
dians and  parallels. 

Thirdly.  Draw  P  B  of  a  convenient 
length,  for  a  meridian  ;  divide  it  into  9 
equal  parts,  and  through  the  points  of 
division  describe  as  many  circles  for  the 
parallels  of  latitude,  from  the  centre  P, 
which  represents  the  pole.  Suppose  AB 
(fig.  4.)  the  height  of  the  map,  then  CD 
will  be  the  parallel  passing  through  the 
greatest  latitude,  and  E  F  will  represent 
the  equator.  Divide  the  equator  E  F  into 
equal  parts,  of  the  same  size  as  those  in 
A  B,  both  ways,  beginning1  at  B.  Divide 


also  all  the  parallels  into  the  same  num- 
ber of  equal  parts,  but  lesser  in  propor- 
tion to  the  numbers  for  the  several  lati- 
tudes, as  directed  in  the  last  method  for 
the  rectilineal  parallels.  Then  through 
ail  the  corresponding  divisions  draw  curve 
lines,  which  will  represent  the  meridians, 
the  extreme  ones  being  EC  and  FD. 
Lastly,  number  the  degrees  of  latitude 
and  longitude,  and  place  a  scale  of  equal 
parts,  either  of  miles  or  degrees,  for  mea- 
suring distances.  This  is  a  very  good 
way  of  drawing  large,  maps,  and  is  called 
the  globular  projection  ;  all  the  parts  of 
the  earth  being  represented  nearly  of 
their  due  magnitude,  excepting  that  they 
are  a  little  distorted  on  the  outsides. 

Finally.  To  draw  a  map  of  Europe, 
which  extends  from  36°  to  72°  north  lati- 
tude :  draw  a  base  line  (fig1.  5.)  G  II,  ir 
the  middle  of  which  erect  a  perpendicu- 
lar, I  P,  and  assume  any  distance  for  10° 
of  latitude.  Let  the  po'int  I  be  30°,  from 
which  set  off 'six  of  the  assumed  distances 
to  P,  which  will  be  the  north  pole. 
Number  the  distances  40,  50,  60,  &c. 
and  on  the  centre,  P,  describe  arcs  pass- 
ing through  the  points  of  divisions  on 
the  line  I  P,  which  will  be  parallels  of 
latitude.  Divide  the  space  assumed  for 
10°  of  latitude  into  60  parts,  by  some 
dhigonal  scale.  Look  into  the  table,  Art 
LOXG-ITCHK,  for  the  number  of  miles  an- 
swering to  30°,  which  is  51.96;  take  this 
from  the  scale,  and  set  it  off  on  the  arc 
30°  from  the  centre  line  both  ways.  Do 
the  same  for  40°,  50°,  60°,  &c.  and 
through  the  corresponding  divisions  on 
all  the  arcs  draw  curve  lines ;  which  will 
represent  the  meridian.  When  the  de- 
grees of  latitude  andlongitude  are  marked 
the  thing  is  done. 

When  the  place  is  but  small  that  a  map 
is  to  be  made  of,  as  if  a  country  were  to 
be  exhibited  ;  the  meridians,  as  to  sense, 
will  be  parallel  to  one  another,  and  the 
whole  will  differ  very  little  from  a  plane. 
Such  a  map  will  be  made  more  easily 
than  by  the  preceding  rules.  It  will  here 
be  sufficient  to  measure  the  distances  of 
places  in  miles,  and  so  lay  them  down  in 
a  plane  rectangular  map. 

MAPLE,  in  botany,  is  of  the  genus 
CKH,  which  see.  Of  the  several  species 
the  most  important  is  the  A.  saccharinuin, 
or  American  sugar  maple,  from  which 
the  Americans  derive  sugar  in  large 
quantities,  by  tapping  the  trees  early  in 
the  spring,  and  boiling  the  juice.  For 
this  purpose  large  tracts  of  land  in  North 
America  are  devoted  to  the  cult. ire  of 
this  tree,  which  yields  a  sugar  equal  to 


MAR 


MAR 


'the  best  cane,  and  which  requires  no 
ether  labour  than  what  women  and  girls 
can  bestow,  in  drawing1  off  and  boiling 
the  liquor ;  and  when  skilfully  tapped, 
the  tree  will  last  many  years.  A  tree  of 
an  ordinary  size  yields  in  a  good  season 
from  twenty  to  thirty  gallons  of  sap,  from 
which  may  be  made  from  five  to  six 
pounds  of  sugar.  The  tree  is  tapped  with 
an  auger,  first  on  the  south  side  and  then 
on  the  north,  and  the  sap  will  flow  five 
or  six  weeks,  according  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  weather.  The  sugar  is  manu- 
factured much  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  cane  sugar  of  the  West  Indies.  In 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania  many  hun- 
dred private  families  have  long  supplied 
themselves  plentifully  with  this  sugar  at 
little  expense.  One  instance  is  mentioned 
of  a  family,  consisting  of  a  father  and  his 
two  sons,  who  made  nearly  eighteen  hun- 
dred weight  in  a  single  season.  Dr.  Rush, 
who  attended  very  closely  to  this  subject, 
supposes  that  four  men,  provided  with 
proper  conveniences,  may  make  in  a 
common  season,  of  from  four  to  six  weeks, 
40  cwt.  of  excellent  sugar.  The  Indians 
of  Canada  are  said  to  have  practised  the 
making  of  sugar  for  centuries ;  and  Eu- 
ropeans, both  French  and  English,  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  refining  it  for  140 
;  years.  See  SCGAR. 

MAPPIA,  in  botany,  so  called  from 
Marcus  Mappus,  professor  of  medicine  at 
Strasburg,  a  genus  of  the  Polyandria  Mo- 
nogynia  class  and  order.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  calyx  five-parted ;  corolla  five- 
petalled ;  germ  superior ;  berry  one- 
seeded,  seeds  arilled.  There  is  but  one 
species,  viz.  M .  guianensis,  a  shrub,  found 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Sinemari  in 
Guiana. 

MARALDI  (JAMES  PHILIP),  in  biogra- 
phy, a  learned  mathematician,  astrono- 
mer, and  natural  philosopher,  was  born 
in  the  year  1665,  at  Perinaldo,  in  the 
county  of  Nice,  which  had  been  already 
honoured  by  the  birth  of  his  matern^  un- 
•  ele,  the  celebrated  Cassini.  We  are  not 
informed  where  he  received  his  educa- 
tion ;  but  we  are  told  that  after  he  had 
for  some  time  successfully  cultivated  lite- 
rature, the  bent  of  his  genius  led  him  to 
study  the  sublimer  sciences,  and  particu- 
larly the  mathematics.  Having  made  a 
.considerable  progress,  when  he  was  twen- 
ty-two years  of  age,  his  uncle  sent  for 
him  to  Paris,  where  he  hud  been  settled 
a  longtime,  that  he  might  himself  super- 
intend his  studies,  and  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  witnessing  the  efforts  of  his  ge- 
nius in  a  country  where  useful  and  ex- 
traordinary talents,  both  in  natives  and 
VOL.  IV. 


foreigners,  were  at  that  time  much  chq* 
rished  and  encouraged.      Under  such  a 
tutor  Maraldi  made  a  wonderful  profi- 
ciency, and  soon  answered  the  most  flat- 
tering expectations  which  he  had  formed 
of  him.     To  his  uncle  he  implicitly  re- 
signed the  direction  of  his  studies  and  his 
manners,  and  conceived  for  him  the  affec- 
tion of  a  son,  which  met  with  an  equal  re- 
turn.    When  Cassini  found  that  his  ne- 
phew's advancement  in  science,  his  ex- 
traordinary diligence,  and  his  accuracy, 
had  qualified  him  to  become  an  useful  a*s- 
sistant  in  his  astronomical  labours,  by  the 
direction  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Scien- 
ces, he  associated  him  with  himself  in 
making    observations    on    the    celestial 
bodies.    A  wide  field  was  now  opened  for 
the  industry  and  ingenuity  of  our  young 
astronomer.     la  making  his  observations 
on  the  planets,  he  found  that  Kepler  and 
Bouillaud  had  incorrectly  determined  the 
place  of  the  aphelion  of  Jupiter.     Com- 
paring afterwards  his  observations  with 
those  of  the  Chaldean  astronomers,  made 
in  the  third  century  before  the  Christian 
era,    he  found  that   the  nodes   of  that 
planet  had  retrograded  more  than  four- 
teen degrees,  and  that  owing  to  their 
natural  motion  ;  and  he  observed  and  ac- 
counted for  other  phenomena  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  that  planet  and  its  satellites. 
After  an  assiduous  attention  to  Mars,  he 
acknowledged  that   Kepler's  theory   o£ 
that  planet  was  so  perfect,  that  scarcely 
any  thing  could  be  added  to  it.     He  cor* 
reeled,  however,  some  trifling  inaccura- 
cies ;  and  he  found  that  the  parallax  of 
the  planet  was  less  by  one  second,  than 
had  been  determined  by  Cassini  in  1672. 
During  almost  the  whole  of  the  year  1714, 
his  observations  were  occupied  by  Saturn; 
and  he  shewed  how  the  disappearance 
of  his  ring  at  that  time  confirmed  the 
iheory  of  Huygens.    He  also  bestowed 
incredible  industry  in  perfecting  the  ta- 
bles of  Jupiter's  satellites.    The  results 
of  his  numerous  observations  he  commu- 
nicated to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  to 
whom  they  afforded  the  greatest  satisfac- 
tion, and  particularly  his  discovery,  that 
the  eclipses  of  the  satellites  were  of  dif- 
ferent durations,  even  when  the  distance 
of  their  nodes  was  the  same.     He  was 
now  justly  considered  as  entitled  to  rank 
with  the  most  skilful  astronomers. 

When  Maraldi  first  applied  himself  to 
the  contemplatiorrof  the  heavens,  he  con- 
ceived the  design  of  forming  a  catalogue 
of  the  fixed  stars,  more  perfect  and  com- 
prehensive than  that  of  Bayer,  an  object 
of  the  greatest  utility,  and  of  the  first  im- 
portance In  astronomy.  For.  they  are 
I  i  •;  ... 


Ki 


0* 


MAR 


MAR 


considered  as  so  many  fixed  points,  to 
which  the  motions  of  the  comets,  and  of 
the  other  planets  that  are  under  them,  are 
referred.     Hence  will  appear  the  impor- 
tance of  an  intimate   acquaintance  with 
them;  the  attainment  of  which  is  an  ob- 
ject of  no  less  difficulty  than  it  is  of  mo- 
ment.    However,  this  difficulty  did  not 
deter  Mitraldi,  who  to  the  great  injury  of 
his   health,   applied   himself  to  observe 
them  with  the  most  constant  attention,  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year.     By  this  means  he 
became  so  intimate  with  the  fixed  stars, 
that  on  being  shown  any  one  of  them, 
however  small,  he  could  immediately  tell 
to  what  constellation  it  belonged,  and  its 
place  in  that  constellation.     He  has  been 
known  to    discover  those   small  comets 
which  astronomers  often  take  for  the  stars 
of  the  consellation  in  which  they  are  seen, 
for  want-  of  knowing  precisely  of  what 
stars    the   constellation    consists,    when 
others  on  the  same  spot,  and  with  eyes 
directed  equally  to  the  same  part  of  the 
heavens,  could  not  for  a  long  time  see 
any  thing  of  them      Whenever  Maraldi 
found  it  necessary  to  relax  in  his  astrono- 
mical labours,  by  way  of  amusement  he 
applied  to  the   study  of  natural  history, 
making  observations  on  insects,  curious 
petrifactions,  &c.     To  the  subject  of  bees 
he  paid  particular  attention,  not  only  ac-' 
quainting  himself  with  what  ancient  and 
modern    writers  have    said   concerning 
them,  but  providing  himself  with  glass 
hives,  that  he  might  observe  their  labours 
and  economy.     On  these  and  other  sub- 
jects in  natural   history,  he  drew  up  a 
number  of  very  interesting  papers,  which 
were  received  with  great  applause  by  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  and   ar«  inserted 
in  different  volumes   of  their  n\emoirs. 
In  the  year  1699,  Maraldi  was  admitted  a 
member  of  that  body.     In  1700,  he  was 
employed   Under   Cassini  in   prolonging 
the  French  meridian  to  the  northern  ex- 
tremity of  France,  and  had  no  small  share 
in  completing   it.     When  this   business 
was    finished,  he  paid   a  visit   to    Italy, 
where  the  astronomers  every  where  glad- 
ly availed  themselves  of  his  advice  and 
assistance  in  making  their  observations  ; 
and  Eustachio    Manfredi  has  made  due 
acknowledgments    of    his  great   obliga- 
tions to  him.     Being1  come  to  Rome,  on 
the   invitation  of  Pope  Clement  XI.  he 
assisted  at  the  assemblies  of  the  congre- 
gation then    sitting  in  that  city,  for  the 
purpose  of  reforming  the  calendar.  Bian- 
chini  also  availed  himself  of  his  advice 
and  aid,  in  constructing  the  great  meri- 
dian   line    at    the    baths    of    Dioclesian. 
\Vliilc  he  continued  at  Rome,  he  had  an 


opportunity  of  observing  an  eclipse  cf 
the  fourth  satellite  of  Jupiter,  in  the  up- 
per part  of  his  circle,  from  which  he  was 
led  to  the  conclusion,  that  its  inclination 
is  three  minutes  less  than  as  fixed  by  Cas- 
sini. In  1703,  Maraldi  returned  to  France, 
with  a  rich  treasure  of  subjects  in  natural 
history,  chiefly  collected  at  Verona,  which 
he  presented  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences. 
In  the  year  1718,  he  was  employed,  with 
three  other  academicians,  in  prolonging 
the  French  meridian  to  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  that  kingdom.     Still,  however, 
the  greatest  part  of  his  time  was  occu- 
pied within  the  walls  of  the  observatory 
of  Paris,  where  he  was  incessantly  em- 
ployed in  observing  every  thing  that  was 
curious  and  useful  in   the  motions  and 
phenomena  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  in  in- 
genious applications  of  the  methods  laid 
down  by  Cassini,  in   verifying  theories 
with  which  it  is  of  consequence  to  be  ac- 
quainted,  in   correcting   other  theories 
which  are  susceptible  of  improvement, 
and  in   completing  his  catalogue.    This 
last  mentioned   great  work  he  did   not 
live  entirely  to  finish ;  for  just  after  he 
had  placed  a  mural  quadrant  on  the  ter- 
race of  the  observatory,  in  order  to  ob- 
serve some  stars  towards  the  north  and 
the  zenith,  he  fell  sick  of  a  fever,  and  died 
in  December  1729,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year 
of  his  age.     He  is  highly  commended  for 
seriousness,  integrity,  sincerity,  a  gene- 
rous spirit,  the  purest  morals,  and  an  in- 
teresting simplicity  of  manners.    He  was 
not  proud  of  the  rank  which  he  held  in 
the  scientific  world,  and  was  never  more 
gratified  than  when  he  could  render  ser- 
vice to  others,  by  communicating  to  them 
freely  the  discoveries  and  improvements 
which  he  had  made,  at  the  expense  of  in- 
conceivable labour  and  application.     He 
did  not  publish   his  catalogue,  or  any 
other  of  his  productions,  but  communi- 
cated an  immense  number  of  papers  to 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  which 
are  Inserted  in  their  "  Memoirs"  for  al- 
most every  year  from  1699  to  1729,  and 
not  uncommonly  several  papers  in  the 
same  year. 

MARANTA,  in  botany,  Indian  arrow- 
root, a  genus  of  vhe  Monandria  Monogynia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Scita- 
minex.  Cannae,  Jussleu.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  calyx  three-leaved  ;  corolla  trifid ; 
nectary  three-parted,  the  third  part  bear- 
ing the  anther  on  its  upper  side.  There 
are  five  species,  of  which  M.  arundinacea, 
Indian  arrow-root,  has  a  thick,  flesh)\ 
creeping  root,  full  of  knots,  from  which 
arise  many  smooth  leaves,  six  or  seven 
inches  long,  and  three  broad  towards 


MAR 

thfeir  base ;  the  stalks  about  two  feet  high, 
the  ends  of  which  are  terminated  by  a 
loose  bunch  of  small  white  flowers,  stand- 
ing upon  peduncles  two  inches  long ;  the 
flowers  are  cut  into  six  narrow  segments, 
indented  on  their  e^lges ;  these  sit  upon 
the  embryo,  which  afterwards  turns  to  a 
roundish  three-cornered  capsule,  inclosing 
one  hard  rough  seed.  It  is  called  Indian 
arrow-root,  because  it  was  thought  to  ex- 
tract the  poison  from  wounds  inflicted  by 
the  poisoned  arrows  of  the  Indians.  The 
root,  washed,  pounded  fine,  and  bleached, 
makes  a  powder  and  starch ;  it  is  recom- 
mended as  a  proper  food  for  infants,  and 
is  gelatinous  like  salep.  It  is  a  native  of 
South  America,  and  is  cultivated  in  the 
West  Indies ;  it  is  found  in  great  plenty 
near  La  Vera  Cruz. 

MARATTIA,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
honour  of  Giovanni  Francesco  Maratti, 
an  Italian  botanist,  a  genus  of  the  Cryp- 
togamia  Filices  class  and  order.  Natural 
order  of  Filices  or  Ferns.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  capsules  oval,  gaping  longitudi- 
nally at  top,  with  several  cells  on  each 
side.  There  are  three  species. 

MARBLE  is  a  kind  of  stone,  found  in 
great  masses,  and  dug  out.  of  pits  and 

guarries.  It  is  of  so  hard,  compact,  and 
ne  a  texture  as  readily  to  take  a  beauti- 
ful polish,  and  much  used  in  ornaments 
of  buildings,  as  columns,  statues,  altars, 
tombs,  chimney-pieces,  tables,  and  the 
like.  There  are  infinite  numbers  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  marble.  Some  are  of  one 
simple  colour,  as  white  or  black ;  others 
variegated  with  stains,  clouds,  waves,  and 
veins :  but  all  opaque,  excepting  the 
white,  which,  cut  into  thin  pieces,  be- 
comes transparent.  Marble  is  found  in 
considerable  quantities,  in  most  of  the 
mountainous  parts  of  Europe.  Derby- 
shire is  that  county  of  England  most 
abounding  in  this  article.  Near  Kemlyn 
Bay,  in  the  island  of  Anglesea,  there  is  a 
quarry  of  beautiful  marble,  called  Verde 
di  Corsica,  being  common  to  this  place, 
some  parts  of  Italy,  and  Corsica.  Its  co- 
lours are  green,  black,  white,  and  dull 
purple,  irregularly  disposed.  Italy  is  that 
part  of  Europe  which  produces  the  most 
valuable  marble,  and  in  which  its  expor- 
tation makes  a  considerable  branch  of  fo- 
reign commerce.  The  black  and  the 
milk-white  marble,  coming  from  Carara, 
a  town  in  the  duchy  of  Massa,  are  parti- 
cularly esteemed. 

MARBLES,  Jlrundel,  ancient  marbles, 
with  a  chronicle  of  the  city  of  Athens 
inscribed  on  them,  many  years  before 
our  Saviour's  birth;  presented,  tP  the 


MA& 

University  of  Oxford  by  Thomas  Earl  of 
Arundel,  whence  the  name.     >jee  ARUN- 

DE1IA3T. 

MARBLING,  in  general,  the  painting 
any  thing  with  veins  and  clouds,  so  as  to 
represent  those  of  marble. 

Marbling  of  books  or  paper  is  perform- 
ed thus :  dissolve  four  ounces  of  gum 
arabic  into  two  quarts  of  fair  water ;  then 
provide  several  colours  mixed  with  water 
in  pots  or  shells,  and  with  pencils  pecu- 
liar to  each  colour,  sprinkle  them  by  way 
of  intermixture  upon  the  gum  water, 
which  must  be  put  into  a  trough,  or  some 
broad  vessel ;  then  with  a  stick  curl  them, 
or  draw  them  out  in  streaks,  to  as  much 
variety  as  may  be  done.  Having  done 
this,  hold  your  book,  or  books,  close  to- 
gether, and  only  dip  the  edges  in,  on 
the  top  of  the  water  and  colours,  very 
lightly ;  which  done,  take  them  off,  and 
the  plain  impression  of  the  colours  in 
mixture  will  be  upon  the  leaves;  doing 
as  well  the  ends  as  the  front  of  the  book 
in  the  like  manner,  and  afterwards  glaz- 
ing the  colours. 

MARCGRAVIA,  in  botany,  so  called 
from  George  Marcgraaf,  of  Leibstadt,  a 
genus  of  the  Polyandria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Natural  order  of  Putaminex. 
Capparides,  Jussieu.  Essential  character : 
corolla  one-petalled,  calyptre-shaped ; 
calyx  six-leaved,  imbricate;  berry  many- 
celled;  many-seeded.  There  is  but  one 
species,  viz.  M.  umbellata,  which  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  West  Indies,  in  the  cool  woody 
mountains.  Brown  says,  it  is  frequent  in 
the  woods  of  Jamaica,  appearing  in  such 
various  forms  that  it  has  been  mistaken 
for  different  plants  in  the  different  stages 
of  its  growth. 

MARCHANTIA,  in  botany,  so  named 
in  honour  of  Nicholas  Marchant,  M.  D.  a 
genus  of  the  CryptogamiaHepaticae,  Jus- 
sieu. Essential  character  :  male,  calyx 
salver  shaped ;  anthers  numerous,  imbed- 
ded in  its  disk:  female,  calyx  peltate, 
flowering  on  the  under  side ;  capsules 
opening  at  top ;  seeds  fixed  to  elastic  fi- 
bres. Seven  species  are  enumerated  in 
the  "  Sy sterna  Vegetabilium ;"  of  these 
five  are  natives  of  Britain.  M.  polymor- 
pha  is  very  common  in  wet  places,  on 
shady  walks,  and  by  the  sides  of  wells 
and  springs;  in  figure  it  resembles  an 
oak  leaf;  the  peduncles  are  in  the  angles 
of  the  lobes,  from  one  to  three  inches1 
high;  capsules  greenish,  dividing  into 
eight  segments ;  on  the  upper  surface 
are  glass-shaped  conical  cups,  on  short 
pedicles,  with  a  wide  scalloped  margin, 
inclosing  four  little  bodies,  very  finely 
serrated  at  the  edges, 


MAR 


MAR 


'  MARE.  See  Eatrus. 
MARGARITARIA,  in  botany,  a  genus 
of  the  Dioecia  Octandria  class  and  order. 
Essential  character :  male,  calyx  four- 
toothed  ;  corolla  four-petalled :  female, 
calyx  and  corolla  as  in  the  male  ;  styles 
four  or  five ;  berry  cartilaginous,  four  or 
five  grained.  There  is  but  one  species, 
viz.  M.  nobilis,  found  in  Surinam. 

MARICA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Triandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Natural  order  of  Ensatse.  Irides,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character :  corolla  six- 
parted,  with  tliree  alternate  segments, 
as  small  again  as  the  others;  stigma  petal- 
form,  trifid,  with  the  three  divisions  sim- 
ple, acute ;  capsule  three-celled,  infe- 
rior. There  is  but  one  species,  viz.  M. 
paludosa,  a  native  of  the  moist  meadows 
of  Guiana. 

MARILA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Polyandria  Monogynia  class  and  order. 
Essential  character:  calyx  five-leaved; 
corolla  five-petalled;  capsule  four-celled, 
many-seeded;  stigma  simple.  There  is 
but  one  species,  viz.M.  racemosa,  a  native 
of  the  West  Indies. 

MARINE,  a  general  name  for  the  navy 
of  a  kingdom  or  state  ;  as  also  the  whole 
economy  of  naval  affairs,  or  whatever  re- 
spects the  building,  rigging,  arming, 
equipping,  navigating,  and  fighting  ships. 
It  comprehends  likewise  the  government 
of  naval  armaments,  and  the  state  of  all 
the  persons  employed  therein,  whether 
civil  or  military. 

MARINE  acid.     See  MURIATIC  acid. 
MARiJVE-cAaiV,  a  machine  invented  for 
viewing1  the  satellites  of  Jupiter  at  sea, 
and  thereby  determining  the  longitude 
of  their  eclipses. 

MARINE  remains,  a  term  used  to  ex- 
press the  shells  of  sea-fishes,  and  parts  of 
crustaceous  and  other  sea-animals,  found 
ill  digging  at  great  depths  in  the  earth, 
or  on  the  tops  of  high  mountains.  Being 
found  in  these  situations,  is  an  evident 
and  unquestionable  proof  of  the  sea  hav- 
ing been  once  there,  since  it  must  have 
covered  those  places  where  it  has  left  its 
productions.  It  has  been  the  general 
opinion,  that  these  marine  bodies  were 
carried  to  the  places  where  they  are  oc- 
casionally found  by  the  waters  of  the  uni- 
versal deluge,  described  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. There  are,  however,  evident 
proofs  that  it  cannot  have  been  the  cause 
of  all  that  is  attributed  to  it,  and  there 
must  have  been  some  other  cause  of  many 
of  these  remains  having  been  placed 
Where  we  now  find  them. 

MARINE  surveyor,  is  the  name  of  a  ma- 
chine, contrived  by  Mr,  H.  de 


for  measuring  the  way  of  a  ship  at  sea. 
The  machine  is  in  the  form  of  the  let- 
ter Y,  and  is  made  of  iron,  or  other  metal. 
At  each  end  of  the  lines  which  constitute 
the  angle  or  upper  part  of  the  letter,  are 
two  pallets,  not  much  unlike  the  figure 
of  the  log ;  one  of  which  fulls  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  other  rises.  The  fall- 
ing or  pendant  pallet  meeting  a  resist- 
ance from  the  water,  as  the  ship  moves, 
has  by  that  means  a  circular  motion  un- 
der water,  which  is  faster  or  slower  ac- 
cording as  the  vessel  moves.  This  mo- 
tion is  communicated  to  a  dial  within  the 
ship,  by  means  of  a  rope  fastened  to  the 
tail  of  the  Y,  and  carried  to  the  dial. 
The  motion  being  thus  communicated  to 
the  dial,  which  has  a  bell  in  it,  it 
strikes  exactly  the  number  of  paces, 
miles,  &c.  which  the  ship  has  run.  Thus 
the  ship's  distance  is  ascertained,  and  the 
forces  of  tides  and  currents  may  also  be 
discovered  by  this  instrument.  See  Phil. 
Trans. 

MARINER'S  compass,  is  an  instrument 
used  at  sea  by  mariners  to  direct  and  as- 
certain the  course  of  their  ships.  It  con- 
sists of  a  circular  brass  box,  which  con- 
tains a  paper  card  with  the  32  points  of 
the  compass  or  winds,  fixed  on  a  magnetic 
needle  that  always  turns  to  the  north,  ex- 
cepting a  small  deviation,  wiiich  is  varia- 
ble at  different  places,  and  at  the  same 
place  at  different  times.  The  needle, 
with  the  card,  turns  on  an  upright  pin 
fixed  in  the  centre  of  the  box.  To  the 
middle  of  the  needle  is  fixed  a  brass  coni- 
cal socket  or  cap,  by  which  the  card 
hanging  on  the  pin  turns  freely  round  the 
centre.  The  top  of  the  box  is  covered 
with  a  glass,  to  prevent  the  wind  from 
disturbing  the  motion  of  the  card.  The 
whole  is  inclosed  in  another  box  of  wood, 
where  it  is  suspended  by  brass  hoops  or 
gimbals,  to  keep  the  card  in  a  horizontal 
position  during  the  motions  of  the  ship. 
The  whole  is  to  be  so  placed  in  the  ship, 
that  the  middle  section  of  the  box,  paral- 
lel to  its  sides,  may  be  parallel  to  the  mid- 
dle section  of  the  ship  along  its  keel.  See 
Plate  Miscel.  fig.  9. 

The  mariner's  compass  was  long  very 
rude  and  imperfect,  but  at  length  receiv- 
ed great  improvement  from  the  invention 
and  experiments  of  Dr.  Knight,  who  dis- 
covered the  useful  practice  of  making  ar- 
tificial magnets ;  and  the  farther  emenda- 
tions of  Mr.  Smeaton  and  Mr.  M'Culloch, 
by  which  the  needles  are  larger  and 
stronger  than  formerly,  and  instead  of 
swinging  in  gimbals,  the  compass  is  sup- 
ported in  its  very  centre  upon  a  prop,  and 
the  centres  of  motion,  gravity,  and  mag- 


MARINER'S  COMPASS. 


netism,  are  brought  almost  all  to  the  same 
point.  After  the  discovery  of  that  most 
useful  property  of  the  mag-net,  or  load- 
stone, viz.  its  giving  a  polarity  to  harden- 
ed iron  or  steel,  the  compass  was  many 
years  in  use  before  it  was  known  in  any- 
wise to  deviate  from  the  poles  of  the 
world.  About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  so  confident  were  some  persons 
that  the  needle  invariably  pointed  due 
north,  that  they  treated  with  contempt 
the  notion  of  the  variation,  which  about 
that  time  began  to  be  suspected.  How- 
ever, careful  observations  soon  discover* 
ed,  that  in  England  and  its  neighbour- 
hood, the  needle  pointed  to  the  eastward 
of  the  true  north  line  ;  and  the  quantity 
of  this  deviation  being  known,  mariners 
became  as  well  satisfied  as  if  the  compass 
had  none ;  because  the  true  course  could 
be  obtained  by  making  allowance  for  the 
true  variation. 

From  succeeding  observations  it  was 
afterwards  found,  that  the  deviation  of 
the  needle  from  the  north  was  not  a 
constant  quantity,  but  that  it  gradually 
diminished,  and  at  last,  namely  about  the 
year  1657,  it  was  found  that  the  needle 


pointed  due  north  at  London,  and  has  ev&r 
since  been  going  to  the  westward. 

The  azimuth  compass  differs  from  the 
common  sea  compass  in  this,  that  the 
circumference  of  the  card  or  box  is  di- 
vided into  degrees ;  and  there  is  fitted  to 
the  box  an  index  with  two  sights,  which 
are  upright  pieces  of  brass,  placed  dia- 
metrically opposite  to  each  other,  having 
a  slit  down  the  middle  of  them,  through 
which  the  sun  or  star  is  to  be  viewed 
at  the  time  of  observation.  See  AZI- 
MUTH. 

The  figure  of  the  compass  card,  with 
the  names  of  the  32  points  or  winds,  are 
given,  Plate  Miscel.  fig.  10.  As  there 
are  32  whole  points  quite  around  the 
circle,  which  contains  360  degrees,  there- 
fore each  point  of  the  compass  contains 
the  thirty-second  part  of  360,  that  is,  Hi 
degrees,  or  11°  15';  consequently  the 
half  point  is  5°  3?'  30",  and  the  quarter 
point  2°  48'  45". 

The  points  of  the  compass  are  other- 
wise called  rhumbs ;  and  the  numbers  of 
degrees,  minutes,  and  seconds,  made  by 
every  quarter  point  with  the  meridian, 
are  exhibited  in  the  followin 


MAR 


MAR 


A  TABLE 

Of  Rhumbs,  shewing  the  Degrees,  Minutes,  and  Seconds,  that,  every  Point  and 
Quarter-point  of  the  Compass  makes  with  the  Meridian. 


North. 

Pts.  qr. 

o     /      // 

Pts.  qr. 

South. 

0    1 

0    2 

2  48  45 
5  37  30 

0     1 

0    2 

0    3 

8  26  15 

0    3 

' 

N  b  E 

NbW 

1     0 

11  15     0 

1    0 

Sb  E 

Sb  W 

1     1 

14    3  45 

1     1 

1     2 

16  52  30 

1    2 

1    3 

19  41  15 

1     3 

NNE 

NNW 

2    0 

22  30     0 

2    0 

SSE 

ss  w 

2     1 

25  18  45 

2     1 

2    2 

28     7  30 

2    2 

2    3 

30  56  15 

2    3 

NE  b  N 

NWbN 

3    0 

33  45    0 

3    0 

SEbS 

SWbS 

3    1 

36  33  45 

3     1 

3    2 

39  22  30 

3    2 

3    3 

42  11  15 

3    3 

N  E 

NW 

4    0 

45    0    0 

4    0 

S  E 

sw 

4    1 

47  48  45 

4     1 

4    2 

50  37  30 

4    2 

4    3 

53  26  15 

4    3 

NE  b  E 

NWbW 

5    0 

56  15     0 

5     0 

SEbE 

SWbW 

* 

5    1 

59     3  45 

5     1 

5    2 

61  52  30 

5    2 

5    3 

64  41  15 

5    3 

NNE 

WNW 

6    0 

67  30     0 

6    0 

ESE 

WSW 

6    1 

70  18  45 

6     1 

6    2 

73     7  30 

6    2 

6    3 

75  56  15 

6    3 

E  b  N 

WbN 

7    0 

78  45    0 

7    0 

E  b  S 

WbS 

7    1 

81  33  45 

7    1 

7    2 

84  22  30 

7    2 

7    3 

87  11  15 

7    3 

East 

West 

8    0 

90    0    0 

8    0 

East 

West 

MARINES,  a  body  of  soldiers  raised 
for  the  sea  service,  and  trained  to  fight 
either  in  a  naval  engagement  or  in  an  ac- 
tion at  shore.  The  direction  of  this 
body  is  vested  in  the  Lords  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Admiralty.  It  is  station- 
ed in  three  divisions,  one  at  Chatham, 
one  at  Portsmouth,  and  another  at  Ply- 
mouth. 

MARITIME,  something  relating  to,  or 
bounded  by  the  sea:  thus,  a  maritime 
province,  or  country,  is  one  bounded  by 
the  sea ;  and  a  maritime  kingdom  or  state 
Is  one  that  makes  a  considerable  figure, 
or  is  very  powerful  at  sea.  Hence,  by 
maritime  powers,  among  the  European 
states,  are  understood  Great  Britain  and 
Holland. 


MARK,  in  commerce,  a  certain  note 
which  a  merchant  puts  upon  his  goods, 
or  upon  the  cask,  hogshead,  &.c.  that  con- 
tains them,  in  order  to  distinguish  them 
from  others,  such  as  a  grape,  a  crow's 
foot,  a  diamond,  a  cross,  an  asterisk,  &c. 
Some  use  one  or  other  of  these  marks  by 
themselves;  others  join  them  with  the 
initial  letters  of  their  own  name,  and 
others  use  the  letters  only. 

MAHK,  or  MARC,  also  denotes  a  weight 
used  in  several  states  of  Europe,  and  for 
several  commodities,  especially  gold  and 
silver.  In  France  the  mark  is  divided 
into  eight  ounces,  or  sixty-four  drachms, 
or  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  derniers 
or  penny-weights,  or  one  hundred  and 
sixty  esterlines,  or  three  hundred  maizes, 


MAR 


MAR 


or  six  hundred  and  forty  felins,  or  four 
thousand  six  hundred  and  eight  grains. 
In  Holland  the  mark-weight  is  also  called 
troy-weight,  and  is  equal  to  that  of  France. 
When  gold  and  silver  are  sold  by  the 
mark,  it  is  divided  into  twenty-four  ca- 
racts.  |  See  CARACT. 

M AUK  is  also  used  among  us  for  a  mo- 
ney of  account,  and  in  some  other  coun- 
tries for  a  coin.  The  English  mark  is 
two  thirds  of  a  pound  sterling,  or  thirteen 
shillings  and  four-pence,  and  the  Scotch 
mark  is  of  equal  value  in  Scotch  money 
of  account  The  mark-lubs,  or  Lubeck- 
rnark,  used  at  Hamburgh,  is  also  a  money 
of  account,  equal  to  one-third  of  the  rix- 
dollar,  or  to  the  French  livre :  each  mark 
is  divided  into  sixteen  sols-lubs.  Mark- 
lubs  is  also  a  Danish  coin  equal  to  sixteen 
sols-lubs.  Mark  is  also  a  copper  and  sil- 
ver coin  in  Sweden. 

MARKET,  the  establishment  of  public 
marts  or  places  of  buying  and  selling,  with 
the  tolls  belonging  to  it,  is  enumerated  as 
one  of  the  King's  prerogatives,  and  mar- 
kets can  only  be  set  up  by  virtue  of  the 
King's  grant,  or  by  immemorial  usjage. 

All  sales  and  contracts,  of  any  thing 
saleable  in  markets  overt,  will  not  only  be 
good  as  between  the  parties,  but  binding 
also  upon  all  persons  having  any  property 
therein. 

In  London,  every  shop  in  which  goods 
are  exposed  publicly  to  sale,  is  market 
overt  for  such  things  only  as  the  owner 
professes  to  trade  in  ;  though  if  the  sale 
be  in  a  warehouse,  and  not  publicly  in  the 
shop,  the  property  is  not  altered ;  but  if 
goods  are  stolen  from  one,  and  sold  out 
of  the  market  overt,  the  property  is  not 
altered,  and  the  owner  may  take  them 
wherever  he  finds  them.  If  a  man  buy 
his  own  goods  in  a  market,  the  contract 
shall  not  bind  him,  unless  the  property 
had  been  previously  altered  by  a  former 
sale. 

MARLE,  in  mineralogy,  is  divided  into 
two  sub-species,  viz.  the  earthy  marie, 
and  the  indurated  marie:  the  former  is  of  a 
yellowish  grey  colour,  principally  employ- 
ed for  improving  bad  land.  It  is  found  in 
Thuringia.  The  latter  is  grey  ;  it  occurs 
massive  ;  the  lustre  is  dull ;  it  is  opaque, 
soft,  so  as  to  yield  to  the  nail,  easily  fran- 
gible, and  not  very  heavy ;  it  melts  be- 
fore the  blow-pipe  into  a  blackish  kind  of 
*glass ;  it  effervesces  with  acids ;  it  occurs 
in  beds  in  the  fioetz  lime-stone,  and  in- 
dependent coal  formations ;  in  the  first  it 
alternates  with  beds  of  lime-stone,  and 
sometimes  occurs  in  nests  of  it.  It  is 
found  in  the  coal  works  near  Dresden, 
an$  is  employed  in  improving  bad  land ; 


as  also  mortar,  and  where  lime-stone  *s 
not  easily  had,  in  the  smdting  of  ores  of 
iron.  In  the  business  of  agriculture, 
marie  is  distinguished  into  the  common, 
which  includes  the  earthy  marie,  and 
some  varieties  of  potters'  clay;  stone- 
marie,  which  is  the  earthy  indurated  ; 
slate  marie,  which  is  the  slaty  indurated ; 
shell-marie,  which  is  either  the  earthy  or 
indurated,  abounding  with  shells.  Mr. 
Jameson  says,  it  passes  into  lime-stone 
and  indurated  clay,  and  according  as  alu- 
mina or  silica  preponderates,  it  receives 
the  name  of  clay  or  lime  marie. 

MARQUE,  or  Letters  of  Marque,  in  mi- 
litary affairs,  are  letters  of  reprisal,  grant- 
ing the  subjects  of  one  prince  or  state  li- 
berty to  make  reprisals  on  those  of  an- 
other. Letters  of  marque,  among  us,  are 
extraordinary  commissions  granted  by  au- 
thority, for  reparation  to  merchants  tak- 
en and  despoiled  by  strangers  at  sea ;  and 
reprisals  is  only  the  retaking,  or  taking 
of  one  thing  for  another.  In  the  prose- 
cution of  these  letters  there  must  be,  1. 
The  oath  of  the  person  injured,  or  other 
sufficient  proof,  touching  the  injury  sus- 
tained. 2.  A  proof  of  due  prosecution 
for  satisfaction  in  a  legal  way.  3.  The 
deferring  or  denial  of  justice.  4.  A  com- 
plaint to  his  own  prince  or  state.  5.  A 
requisition  of  justice  made  to  the  su- 
preme head  of  the  state.  After  all  which, 
letters  of  reprisal,  under  certain  restric- 
tions, are  issued;  but  if  the  supreme 
power  think  these  letters  of  reprisal  may 
affect  the  peace  of  the  state,  they  are  put 
off  till  a  more  convenient  time. 

MARQUETRY,  or  INLAID  work,  is  a 
curious  work  composed  of  several  fine 
hard  pieces  of  wood,  of  various  colours, 
fastened  in  thin  slices  on  a  ground,  and 
sometimes  enriched  with  other  matters, 
as  silver,  brass,  tortoise-shell,  and  ivory ; 
with  these  assistances,  the  art  is  now  ca- 
pable of  imitating  any  thing ;  whence  it 
is  by  some  called  the  art  of  painting  in 
wood. 

The  ground  on  which  the  pieces  are  to 
be  arranged  and  glued,  is  usually  of  well 
dried  oak  or  deal,  and  is  composed  of  se- 
veral pieces  glued  together,  to  prevent 
its  warping.  The  wood  to  be  used  in 
marquetiy  is  reduced  into  leaves,  of  the 
thickness  of  a  line,  or  the.  twelfth  part  of 
an  inch,  and  is  either  of  its  natural  co- 
lour, or  stained,  or  made  black,  to  form 
the  shades  by  other  methods  :  this  some 
perform  by  putting  it  in  sand  heated  very 
hot  over  the  fire  :  others  by  steeping  it 
in  lime  water  and  sublimate  ;  and  others 
in  oil  of  sulphur.  The  wood  being  of  the 
proper  colours,  the  contours  of  the  pieces 


MAR 


MAR 


arc  formed  according  to  the  parts  of  the 
design  they  are  to  represent :  this  is  the 
most  difficult  part  of  marquetry,  and  that 
which  requires  the  most  patience  and  at- 
tention. 

The  leaves  to  be  formed,  of  which 
there  are  frequently  three,  four,  or  more 
joined  together,  are,  after  they  have  been 
glued  on  the  outermost  part  of  the  de- 
sign, whose  profile  they  are  to  follow, 
put  within  the  chaps  of  the  vice ;  then 
the  workman  pressing  the  treddle,  and 
thus  holding  fast  the  piece,  with  his  saw 
runs  over  all  the  outlines  of  his  design. 
By  thus  joining  or  forming  three  or  four 
pieces  together,  not  only  time  is  saved, 
but  also  the  matter  is  the  better  enabled 
to  sustain  the  effort  of  the  saw,  which, 
how  fine  soever  it  may  be,  and  how 
slightly  soever  it  may  be  conducted  by 
the  workman,  except  this  precaution 
were  taken,  would  be  apt  to  raise  splin- 
ters, and  ruin  the  beauty  of  the  work. 
All  the  pieces  having  been  thus  formed 
by  the  saw,  and  marked,  in  order  to  their 
being  known  again,  each  is  veneered,  or 
fastened  in  its  place,  on  the  common 
ground,  with  the  best  English  glue  ;  and 
this  being  done,  the  whole  is  set  in  a  press 
to  dry,  planed  over,  and  polished  with 
the  skin  of  the  sea-dog,  wax,  and  shave- 
grass,  as  in  simple  veneering,  and  the  fine 
branches  and  more  delicate  parts  of  the 
figures  are  touched  up  and  finished  with 
a  graver. 

MARQUIS,  a  title  of  honour,  next  in 
dignity  to  that  of  duke,  first  given  to 
those  who  commanded  the  marches,  that 
is,  the  borders  and  frontiers  of  countries. 
Marquisses  were  not  known  in  England, 
till  King  Richard  II.  in  the  year  1337, 
created  his  great  favourite,  Robert  Vere, 
the  earl  of  Oxford,  Marquis  of  Dublin ; 
since  which  time  there  have  been  many 
creations  of  this  sort,  though  at  present 
there  are  twelve  English,  two  Scotch, 
and  nine  Irish  marquisses.  The  manner 
of  creating  a  marquis  differs  in  nothing 
from  that  of  a  duke,  except  the  differ- 
ence of  the  titles,  and  the  marquis's  be- 
ing conducted  by  a  marquis  and  an  earl, 
while  a  duke  is  led  by  a  duke  and  a  mar- 
quis :  he  is  also  girt  with  a  sword,  has  a 
gold  verge  put  into  his  hand,  and  his  robe 
or  mantle  is  the  same  as  those  of  a  duke, 
with  only  this  difference,  that  a  duke's 
mantle  has  four  guards  of  ermine,  and  a 
marquis's  only  three  and  a  half.  The  ti- 
tle given  him,  in  the  stile  of  the  heralds, 
is  most  noble  and  potent  prince.  His  cap 
is  the  same  as  a  duke's,  and  the  differ- 
ence between  their  coronets  consists  in 
the  duke's  being  adorned  with  only  flow- 


er* or  leaves,  while  the  marquis's  has 
flowers  and  pyramids  with  pearls  on  them 
intermixed,  to  show  that  he  is  a  degree 
between  a  duke  and  an  earl. 

MARRIAGE,  is  the  lawful  conjunction 
of  man  and  wife ;  it  was  also  anciently 
used  to  denote  the  interest  of  bestowing 
a  ward  or  a  widow  in  marriage. 

Taking  marriage  in  the  light  of  a  civil 
contract,  the  law  treats  it  as  it  does  all 
other  contracts :  allowing  it  to  be  good 
and  valid  in  all  cases  where  the  parties,  at 
the  time  of  making  it,  were  in  the  first 
place  willing  to  contract ;  secondly,  able 
to  contract ;  and,  lastly,  actually  did  con- 
tract, in  the  proper  forms  and  solemnities 
required  by  law. 

By  several  statutes,  a  penalty  of  1001.  is 
inflicted  for  marrying  any  persons  without 
banns  or  licence ;  but   by  26  George  II. 
c.  33,  if  any  person  shall  solemnize  matri- 
mony without  banns  or  licence,  obtained 
from  some  persons   having  authority  to 
grant  the  same,  or  in  any  other  place  than 
a  church   or  chapel  where  banns  have 
been  usually  published,  unless  by  special 
licence  from  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, he  shall  be  guilty  of  felony,  and 
transported  for  fourteen  years,  and  the 
marriage  shall  be  void.    Marriages  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  any  other  country 
are  valid  in  England,  if  duly  solemnized 
in  another  country,  as  marriages  in  Scot- 
land are  ;  but  by  26  George  II.  c.  33,  a. 
11,  marriages  by  licence,  where  the  par- 
ties are  not  twenty-one,  must  not  be  with- 
out  consent  of  the  father  or  guardian  of 
the  party.    If  the  guardian  or  mother  is 
beyond  sea,  or  insane,  the  Chancellor  will 
proceed,   upon  relation,  in  their   stead. 
Questions  have  lately  arisen,  whether  this 
act  applies  to  illegitimate  children,  and 
the  civilians  have  held  that  it  does.  Mar- 
riages cannot  be  solemnized  between  per- 
sons within  the  Levitical  degrees  ;  but,  if 
solemnized,  they  are  not  void  till  after 
sentence  of  the  proper  court.    Promises 
of  marriage,   and  pre-contracts,   do  not 
prevent  the  parties  from  lawfully  marry- 
ing other  persons ;  but  an  action  lies  for 
a  breach    of   the    contract.       Marriage 
brokage  bonds  are  void  in  equity,  and  all 
contracts  in  restraint  of  marriage  gene- 
rally are  void ;  but  contracts  and  legacies, 
upon  condition  not  to  marry  any  particu- 
lar person,  or  without  proper  consent, 
are  allowed,  though  if  there  is  not  a  de- 
vise over,  the  legacy  is  vested  neverthe- 
less. To  marry  a  woman  an  heiress  forci- 
bly, is  a  capital  felony,  by  3  Henry  VII. 
c.  2,  and  39  Elizabeth,  c.  9. 

A  wife  cannot  leave  her  husband.    If 
she  elope  from  him,  she  loses  her  dower, 


MARRIAGE. 


unless  she  returns  and  is  reconciled.  An 
action  of  trespass  lies  for  taking  away  a 
wife,  with  the  goods  of  her  husband,  and 
also  for  criminal  conversation  with  the 
wife  of  any  one. 

If  a  man  ill-use  and  turn  his  wife  away, 
she  has  credit  for  necessaries  wherever 
she  goes,  and  he  is  obliged  to  pay  her 
debts  ;  but  it  is  otherwise,  if  she  elopes 
or  commits  adultery.  A  married  woman 
cannot  be  sued  for  her  own  debts,  al- 
though she  has  a  separate  maintenance. 

Divorces  are  of  two  kinds,  absolute, 
and  from  bed  and  hoard.  The  former  can 
only  be  by  act  of  Parliament,  unless  it  is 
for  some  original  defect  in  the  marriage  ; 
the  latter  is  allowed  on  account  of  ill- 
treatment,  &c.  and  then  the  wife  has  ali- 
mony or  maintenance  allowed  her. 

MAIUIIAGE,  in  political  economy.  The 
reader  may  find  many  curious  calculations 
and  remarks  relating  to  this  subject  in 
Dr.  Price's  "  Observations  on  Reversion- 
ary Payments."  From  a  variety  of  facts, 
it  appears,  that  marriages,  one  with  an- 
other, do  each  produce  about  four  births, 
both  in  England  and  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope. Dr.  Price  observes,  that  the  births 
at  Paris  are  above  four  times  the  wed- 
dings ;  and  therefore  it  may  seem,  that  in 
the  most  healthy  country  situations,  every 
wedding  produces  above  four  children  ; 
and  though  this  be  the  case  in  Paris,  for 
reasons  which  he  has  given,  he  has  ob- 
served nothing  like  it  in  any  other  great 
town.  He  adds,  that  from  comparing  the 
births  and  weddings  in  countries  and 
towns  where  registers  of  them  have  been 
kept,  it  appears,  that  in  the  former,  mar- 
riages one  with  another  seldom  produce 
less  than  four  children  each ;  generally 
between  four  and  five,  and  sometimes 
above  five ;  but  in  towns  seldom  above 
four,  generally  between  three  and  four, 
and  sometimes  under  three.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  be  observed  here,  that  though  the 
proportion  of  annual  births  to  weddings 
has  been  considered  as  giving  the  true 
number  of  children  derived  from  each 
marriage,  taking  all  Carriages  one  with 
another:  yet  this  is  only  true,  when,  for 
many  years,  the  births"  and  burials  have 
kept  nearly  equal.  Where  there  is  an 
excess  of  the  births,  occasioning  an  in- 
crease, the  proportion  of  annual  births  to 
weddings  must  be  less  than  the  propor- 
tion of  children  derived  from  each  mar- 
riage ;  and  the  contrary  must  take  place, 
where  there  is  a  decrease  :  and  by  Mr. 
King's  computation,  about  one  in  a  hun- 
dred and  four  persons  marry ;  the  num- 
ber of  people  in  England  being  estimated 
tit  five  millions  and  a  half,  whereof  about 
VOL.  IV. 


forty-one  thousand  annually  marry.  In 
the  district  of  V  aud,  in  Switzerland,  the 
married  are  very  nearly  a  third  part  of 
the  inhabitants.  Major  Graunt  and  Mr. 
King  disagree  in  the  proportions  between 
males  and  females,  the  latter  making  ten 
males  to  thirteen  females  in  London ;  in 
other  cities  and  towns,  and  in  the  villages 
and  hamlets,  one  hundred  males  to  nine- 
ty-nine females ;  but  Major  Graunt,  both 
from  the  London  and  country  bills,  com- 
putes that  there  are  in  England  fourteen 
males  to  thirteen  females ;  whence  lie 
justly  infers,  that  the  Christian  religion, 
prohibiting  polygamy,  is  more  agreeable 
to  the  law  of  nature  than  Mahometanism, 
and  others  that  allow  it.  This  proportion 
of  males  to  females  Mr.  Derham  thinks 
pretty  just,  being  agreeable  to  what  he 
had  observed  himself.  In  the  hundred 
years,  for  instance,  of  his  own  parish  re- 
gister of  Upminster,  though  the  burials  of 
males  and  females  were  nearly  equal,  be- 
ing 633  males,  and  623  females,  in  all  that 
time  ;  yet  there  were  baptized  709  males, 
and  but  675  females,  which  is  thirteen  fe- 
males to  13.7  males.  From  a  'register 
kept  at  Northampton  for  28  years,  from 
1741  to  1770,  it  appears,  that  the  propor- 
tion of  males  to  females,  that  were  born 
in  that  period,  is  2,361  to  2,288,  or  nearly 
13.4  to  13. 

However,  though  more  males  are  born 
than  females,  Dr.  Price  has  sufficiently 
shown,  that  there  is  a  considerable  differ- 
ence between  the  probabilities  of  life 
among  males  and  females  in  favour  of  the 
latter ;  so  that  males  are  more  short-lived 
than  females  ;  and  as  the  greater  mortali- 
ty of  males  takes  place  among  children, 
as  well  as  among  males  at  all  ages,  the 
fact  cannot  be  accounted  for  merely  by 
their  being  more  subject  to  untimely 
deaths  by  various  accidents,  and  by  their 
being  addicted  to  the  excesses  and  irre- 
gularities which  shorten  life.  M.  Kerse- 
boom  informs  us,  that  during  the  course 
of  125  years  in  Holland,  females  have,  in 
all  accidents  of  age,  lived  about  three  or 
four  years  longer  than  the  same  number 
of  males.  In  several  towns  of  Germany, 
&c.  it  appears,  that  of  7,270  married  per- 
sons who  had  died,  the  proportion  of 
married  men  who  died,  to  the  married 
women,  was  three  to  two  ;  and  in  Breslaw, 
for  eight  years,  as  five  to  Uiree.  In  all 
Pomerania,  during  nine  years,  from  1748 
to  1756,  this  proportion  was  nearly  15  to 
11.  Among  the  ministers  and  professors 
in  Scotland',  20  married  men  die  to  12 
married  women,  at  a  medium  of  27  years, 
or  in  the  proportion  of  five  to  three  ;  so 
that  there  is  the  chance  of  three  to  two, 

Kk 


MARRIAGE. 


that  married  women  live  longer  than  sin- 


iind  in  some  circumstances  even  a  greater 
chance,  that  the  woman  shall  be  the  sur- 
vivor of  a  marriage,  and  not  the  man  ; 
and  this  difference  cannot  be  accounted 
for  merely  by  the  difference  of  age  be- 
tween husbunds  and  their  wives,  without 
admitting  the  greater  mortality  of  males. 
In  the  district  of  Vaud,  in  Switzerland, 
it  appears,  that  half  the  females  do  not 
die  till  the  age  of  46  and  upwards,  though 
half  the  males  die  under  36.  It  is  like- 
wise an  indisputable  fact,  that  in  the  be- 
ginning of  life,  the  rate  of  mortality 
among  males  is  much  greater  than  among 
females.  From  a  table  formed  by  Dr. 
Price,  from  a  register  kept  for  20  years  at 
Gainsborough,  it  appears,  that  of  those 
who  lived  to  80,  the  major  part,  in  the 
proportion  of  49  to  32,  are  females.  M. 
Deparcieux,  at  Paris,  and  M.  Wargentin, 
in  Sweden,  have  further  observed,  that 
not  only  women  live  longer  than  men,  but 


gle  women.  From  some  registers  exa- 
mined by  M.  Muret,  in  Switzerland,  it  ap- 
pears, that  of  equal  numbers  of  single 
and  married  women,  between  15  and  25, 
more  of  the  former  died  than  of  the  lat- 
ter, in  the  proportion  of  two  to  one. 
With  respect  to  the  difference  between 
the  mortality  of  males  and  females,  it  is 
found  to  be  much  less  in  country  parishes 
and  villages  than  in  towns  ;  and  hence  it 
is  inferred,  that  human  life  in  males  is 
more  brittle  than  in  females,  only  in  con- 
sequence of  adventitious  causes,  or  of 
some  particular  debility  that  takes  place 
in  polished  and  luxurious  societies,  and 
especially  in  great  towns.  From  the  ine- 
quality above  stated,  between  the  males 
and  females  that  are  born,  it  is  reasonable 
to  infer,  that  one  man  ought  to  have  but 
one  wife ;  and  yet  that  every  woman, 
without  polygamy,  may  have  a  husband  ; 
this  surplus  of  males  above  females  being 
spent  in  the  supplies  of  war,  the  seas,  &c. 
from  which  the  women  are  exempt.  Per- 
haps, says  Dr.  Price,  it  might  have  been 
observed  with  more  reason,  that  this  pro- 
vision had  in  view  that  particular  weak- 
ness or  delicacy  in  the  constitution  of 
males,  which  makes  them  more  subject  to 
mortality  ;  and  which  consequently  ren- 
ders it  necessary  that  more  of  them  should 
be  produced,  in  order  to  preserve  in  the 
world  a  due  proportion  between  the  two 
sexes.  That  this  is  a  work  of  Providence, 
is  well  made  out  by  the  very  laws  of 
chance,  by  Dr.  Arbuthnot,  who  supposes 
Thomas  to  lay  against  John,  that  for  82 
years  running,  more  males  shall  be  born 
than  females ;  and  giving  all  allowances  in 
tHe  computation  to  Thomas's  side,  he 


makes  the  odds  against  Thomas,  that  it 
does  not  so  happen,  to  be  near  five  mil- 
lions of  millions  of  millions  of  millions  to 
one  ;  but  for  ages  of  ages,  according  to 
the  world's  age,  to  be  near  an  infinite 
number  to  one.  According  to  M.  Kerse- 
boom's  observations,  there  are  about  325 
children  born  from  100  marriages.  M, 
Kerseboom,  from  his  observations,  esti- 
mates the  duration  of  marriages,  one 
with  another,  as  in  the  following  table. 
Those  whose  ages,  taken  together,  make 

40,  live  together  between  24  and  25  years. 

50 22  .  .  23 

60 23  .  .  21 

70 19  .  .  20 

80 17  .  .  18 

90 14.  .  15 

100 12  .  .  13 

"  Phil.  Trans."  No,  468. 

Dr.  Price  has  shown,  that  on  De  Moi- 
vre's  hypothesis,  or  that  the  probabilities 
of  life  decrease  uniformly,  the  duration 
of  survivorship  is  equal  to  the  duration  of 
marriage,  when  the  ages  are  equal ;  or, 
in  other  words,  that  the  expectation  of 
two  j,oint  lives,  the  ages  being  equal,  is 
the  same  with  the  expectation  of  survivor- 
ship ;  and,  consequently,  the  number  of 
survivors,  or  (which  is  the  same,  suppos- 
ing no  second  marriages)  of  widows  and 
widowers,  alive  together,  which  will  arise 
from  any  given  set  of  such  marriages 
constantly  kept  up,  will  be  equal  to  the 
whole  number  of  marriages,  or  half  of 
them  (the  number  of  widows  in  particu- 
lar) equal  to  half  the  number  of  mar- 
riages. Thus,  the  expectation  of  two 
joint  lives,  both  40,  is  the  third  of  46 
years,  or  their  complement,  i.  e.  15  years 
and  4  months  ;  and  this  is  also  the  expec- 
tation of  the  survivor.  That  is,  suppos- 
ing a  set  of  marriages  between  persons 
all  40,  they  will,  one  with  another,  last 
just  this  time,  and  the  survivors  will  last 
the  same  time.  In  adding  together  the 
years  which  any  great  number  of  such 
marriages,  and  their  survivorships,  hav^ 
lasted,  the  sums  would  be  found  to  be 
equal.  It  is  observed  further,  that  if  the 
number  expressing  the  expectation  of  sin- 
gle or  jointlives,  multiplied  by  the  number 
of  single  or  joint  lives  whose  expectation 
it  is,beaddedannually  to  asociety  or  town, 
the  sum  gives  the  whole  number  living 
together,  to  which  such  an  annual  addi- 
tion would  in  time  grow :  thus,  since  19, 
or  the  third  of  57,  is  the  expectation  of 
two  joint  lives,  whose  common  age  is  29, 
or  common  complement  57,  20  marriages 
every  year  between  persons  of  this  age 
would,  in  57  years,  grow  to  20  times  19, 


MAR 


MAR 


w  380  marriages  always  existing1  together. 
The  number  of  survivors  also  arising 
from  tiiese  marriages,  and  always  living 
together,  would,  in  twice  57  years,  in- 
crease to  the  same  number.  Moreover, 
the  particular  proportion  that  becomes 
extinct  every  year,  out  of  the  whole  num- 
ber constantly  existing  together  of  single 
or  joint  lives,  must,  wherever  this  num. 
her  undergoes  no  variation,  be  exactly 
the  same  with  the  expectation  of  those 
lives  at  the  time  when  their  existence 
commenced.  Thus,  if  it  were  found,  that 
a  nineteenth  part  of  all  the  marriages 
among  any  body  of  men,  whose  numbers 
do  not  vary,  are  dissolved  every  year  by 
the  deaths  of  either  the  husband  or  wife, 
it  would  appear,  that  19  was,  at  the  time 
they  were  contracted,  tb,e  expectation  of 
these  marriages. 

Dr.  Price  observes,  that  the  annual  ave- 
rage ot  weddings  among  the  ministers 
and  professors  in  Scotland,  for  the  last 
twenty-seven  years,  has  been  31;  and  the 
average  of  married  persons,  for  seventeen 
years,  ending  in  1767,  had  been  667.  This 
number,  divided  by  31,  gives  21  i,  the 
expectation  of  marriage  among  them ; 
which,  he  says,  is  above  two  years  and  a 
half  more  than  the  expectation  of  marri- 
age would  be,  by  Dr.  Hal  Ley's  table,  on 
the  supposition  that  all  first,  second,  and 
third  marriages,  may  he  justly  considered 
as  commencing,  one  with  another,  so 
early  as  the  age  of  30;  and  lie  has 
proved,  that  the  expectation  of  two  equal 
joint  lives,  is  to  the  expectation  of  a  sin- 
gle life  of  the  same  age,  as  two  to  three : 
consequently,  the  expectation  of  a  single 
life  at  30,  among  the  ministers  in  Scot- 
land, cannot  be  less  than  32.25.  If  we 
suppose  the  mean  ages  of  all  who  marry 
annually  to  be  33  and  25,  the  expectation 
ef  every  marriage  would  be  nineteen 
years ;  or,  one  with  another,  they  would 
he  all  extinct  in  nineteen  years  :  the  mar- 
fiages  which  continue  beyond  this  term, 
though  fewer  in  number,  enjoying  among 
them  just  as  much  more  duration  as 
those  that  fall  short  of  it  enjoy  less.  B  Jt 
it  appears  from  the  observations  and  ta- 
bles of  M.  Muret,  that,  in  the  district 
of  Vaud  (dividing  half  the  number  of 
married  persons,  viz.  38,328,  by  the  an. 
nual  medium  of  weddings,  viz.  808)  the 
expectation  of  marriage  is  only  23^  years : 
so  much  higher  are  the  probabilities  of 
life  in  the  country  than  in  towns,  or 
than  they  ought  to  be,  according  to  De 
Moivre's  hypothesis.  See  PRICE'S  AN- 


M ARROW,  in  anatomy,  a  soft  oleag/> 
nous  substance,  contained  in  the  cavity  of 
the  bones. 

MARRUBIUM,  in  botany,  horelunmd, 
a  genus  of  the  Didynamia  Gymnospermia 
class  and  order.  Natural  order  of  Verti- 
ciilatae.  Labiate,  Jussieu.  Essential  cha- 
racter :  calyx  salver-shaped,  rigid,  ten- 
streaked  ;  corolla  upper  lip  bifid,  linear, 
straight.  There  are  eleven  species.  These 
plants  are  chiefly  preserved  in  botanic 
gardens  for  the  sake  of  variety. 

MARS,  in  astronomy,  the  planet  that 
revolves  next  beyond  the  earth  in  our 
system,  is  of  a  red  fiery  colour,  and  al- 
ways gives  a  much  duller  light  than  Ve- 
rms, though  sometimes  he  equals  her  in 
size.  He  is  not  subject  to  the  same  limi- 
tation in  his  motions  as  Mercury  or  Ve- 
nus, but  appears  sometimes  very  near  the 
sun,  and  at  others  at  a  great  distance 
from  him;  sometimes  rising  when  the 
sun  sets,  or  setting  when  he  rises.  Of  this 
planet  it  is  remarkable,  that  when  he  ap- 
proaches any  of  the  fixed  stars,  which  all 
the  planets  frequently  do,  these  stars 
change  their  colour,  grow  dim,  and  often 
become  totally  invisible,  though  at  some 
little  distance  from  the  body  of  the  planet ; 
but  Dr.  Herschel  thinks  this  has  been  ex- 
aggerated by  former  astronomers.  Mars 
appears  to  move  from  west  to  east  round 
the  earth.  The  mean  duration  of  his  side- 
real revolution  is  686.979579  days.  His 
motion  is  very  unequal.  When  we  first 
perceive  this  planet  in  the  morning,  when 
lie  begins  to  separate  from  the  sun,  his 
motion  is  direct,  and  the  most  rapid  pos- 
sible. This  rapidity  diminishes  gradually, 
an4  the  motion  ceases  altogether,  when 
the  planet  is  about  137°  distant  from  the 
sun ;  then  his  motion  becomes  retrogade, 
and  increases  in  rapidity  till  he  comes  into 
opposition  with  the  sun.  It  then  gradually 
diminishes  again,  and  becomes  nothing, 
when  Mars  approaches  within  137°  of  the 
sun.  Then  the  motion  becomes  direct, 
after  having  been  retrograde  for  seventy- 
three  days,  during  which  interval  the 
planet  described  an  arc  of  about  16°. 
Continuing  to  approach  the  sun,  the  planet 
at  last  is  lost  in  the  evening  rays  of  that 
luminary.  All  these  different  phenomena 
are  renewed  after  every  opposition  of 
Mars,  but  there  are  considerable  differ- 
ences both  in  the  extent  and  duration  of 
his  retrogradations. 

Mars  does  not  move  in  the  plane  of  the 
ecliptic,  but  deviates  from  it  several  de- 
grees. His  apparent  diameter  varies  ex- 
ceedingly. His  mean  apparent  diameter 


MARS. 


is  27",  and  it  increases  so  much,  that 
when  the  planet  is  in  opposition,  the  appa- 
rent diameter  is  81".  Then  the  parallax 
of  Mars  becomes  sensible,  and  about 
double  that  of  the  sun.  The  disk  of  Mars 
changes  its  form  relatively  to  its  position 
with  regard  tD  the  sun,  and  becomes  oval. 
Its  phases  show  that  it  derives  its  light 
from  that  luminary.  The  spots  observed 
on  its  surface  have  informed  astronomers, 
that  it  moves  round  its  axis  from  West  to 
East  in  1.02733  days,  and  its  axis  is  in- 
clined  to  the  ecliptic  at  an  angle  of  about 
59.70. 

They  were  first  observed  in  1666  by 
Cassini  at  Bologna,  with  a  telescope 
about  16£  feet  long ;  and  continuing  to 
observe  them  for  a  month,  he  found  they 
came  into  the  same  situation  in  twenty- 
four  hours  and  forty  minutes.  The  pla- 
net was  observed  by  some  astronomers 
at  Rome,  with  longer  telescopes,  but  they 
assigned  to  it  a  rotation  in  thirteen  hours 
only.  This,  however,  was  afterwards 
shewn  by  M.  Cassini  to  have  been  a  mis- 
take, and  to  have  arisen  from  their  not 
distinguishing  the  opposite  sides  of  the 
planet,  which,  it  seems,  have  spots  pretty 
much  alike.  He  made  further  observa- 
tions on  the  spots  of  this  planet  in  1670, 
from  whence  he  drew  an  additional  con- 
firmation of  the  time  the  planet  took  to 
revolve.  The  spots  were  again  observed 
in  subsequent  oppositions,  particularly 
for  several  days  in  1704,  by  Maraldi,  who 
took  notice  that  they  were  not  always  well 
defined,  and  that  they  not  only  changed 
their  shape  frequently  in  the  space  "be- 
tween two  oppositions,  but  even  in  the 
space  of  a  month.  Some  of  them,  how- 
ever, continued  of  the  same  form  long 
enough  to  ascertain  the  time  of  the  pla- 
net's revolution.  Among  these  there  ap- 
peared this  year  an  oblong  spot,  resem- 
bling one  of  the  belts  of  Jupiter  when 
broken.  It  did  not  reach  quite  round 
the  body  of  the  planet,  but  had,  not  far 
from  the  middle  of  it,  a  small  protube- 
rance towards  the  North,  so  well  defined, 
that  he  was  thereby  enabled  to  settle  the 
period  of  its  revolution  at  twenty-four 
hours  thirty-nine  minutes,  only  one  minute 
less  than  what  Cassini  had  determined  it 
to  be. 

Besides  these  dark  spots,  former  as- 
tronomers took  notice  that  a  segment  of 
his  globe  about  the  South  pole  exceeded 
the  rest  of  his  disk  so  much  in  brightness, 
that  it  appeared  beyond  them  as  if  it  were 
the  segment  of  a  larger  globe.  Maraldi 
informs  us,  that  this  bright  spot  had  been 
taken  notice  of  for  sixty  years,  and  was 


more  permanent  than  the  other  spots  on 
the  planet.  One  part  of  it  is  brighter  than 
the  rest,  and  the  least  bright  part  is  sub- 
ject to  great  changes,  and  has  sometimes 
disappeared. 

A  similar  brightness  about  the  North 
pole  of  Mars  was  also  sometimes  ob- 
served ;  and  these  observations  are  now 
confirmed  by  Dr.  Herschel,  who  has 
viewed  the  planet  with  much  better  in- 
struments, and  much  higher  magnifying 
powers,  than  any  other  astronomer  ever 
was  in  possession  of.  His  observations 
were  made  with  a  view  to  determine  the 
figure  of  the  planet,  the  position  of  his 
axis,  Sec.  See  Philosophical  Transactions, 
vol.  Ixxiv. 

"  The  analogy,"  says  Dr.  Herschel, 
"  between  Mars  and  the  earth,  is,  perhaps, 
by  far  the  greatest  in  the  whole  solar  sys- 
tem. Their  diurnal  motion  is  nearly  the 
same;  the  obliquity  of  their  respective 
ecliptics  not  very  different.  Of  all  the 
superior  planets,  the  distance  of  Mars 
from  the  sun  is  by  far  the  nearest  alike 
to  that  of  the  earth  ;  nor  will  the  length 
of  the  Martial  year  appear  very  different 
from  what  we  enjoy,  when  compared  to 
the  surprising  duration  of  the  years  of 
Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  the  Herschel.  If 
then  we  find  that  the  globe  we  inhabit 
has  its  polar  region  frozen  and  covered 
with  mountains  of  ice  and  snow,  that 
only  partly  melt  when  alternately  exposed 
to  the  sun,  I  may  well  be  permitted  to 
surmise,  that  the  same  causes  may  proba- 
bly have  the  same  effect  on  the  globe  of 
Mars  ;  that  the  bright  polar  spots  are 
owing  to  the  vivid  reflection  of  light  from 
frozen  regions,  and  that  the  reduction  of 
those  spots  is  to  be  ascribed  to  their  being 
exposed  to  the  sun.  In  the  year  1781, 
the  South  polar  spot  was  extremely  large, 
which  we  might  well  expect,  as  that  pole 
had  but  lately  been  involved  in  a  whole 
twelvemonth's  darkness  and  absence  ot 
the  sun  ;  but  in  1783,  I  found  it  consi- 
derably smaller  than  before,  and  it  de- 
creased continually  from  the  20th  of  May 
till  about  the  middle  of  September,  when 
it  seemed  to  be  at  a  stand.  During  this 
last  period  the  South  pole  had  already 
been  above  eight  months  enjoying  the 
benefit  of  summer,  and  still  continued  to 
receive  the  sun-beams,  though,  towards 
the  latter  end,  in  such  an  oblique  direc- 
tion, as  to  be  but  little  benefited  by  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  year  1781,  the 
North  polar  spot,  which  had  been  its 
twelvemonth  in  the  sun-shine,  and  was 
but  lately  returning  into  darkness,  ap- 
peared small,  though  undoubtedly  in.- 


MAR 


MAR 


creasing  in  size.     Its  not  being1  visible  in 
the  year  17S3,  is  no  objection  to  these 
phenomena,  being  owing  to  the  position 
of  the  axis,  by  which  it  was  removed  out 
of  sight.     It  has  been  commonly  related 
by  astronomers,  that  the  atmosphere  of 
this  planet  is  possessed  of  such  strong  re- 
fractive powers,  as  to  render  the  small 
fixed  stars  near  which  it  passes  invisible. 
Dr.  Smith  relates  an  observation  of  Cassini, 
where  a  star  in  the  water  of  Aquarius, 
at  the  distance  of  six  minutes  from  the 
disk  of  Mars,  became  so  faint  before  its 
^    occultation,  that  it  could  not  be  seen  by 
the  naked  eye,  nor  with  a  three  feet  tele- 
scope.    This   would  indicate  an  atmos- 
phere of  a  very  extraordinary  size  and 
density  ;  but  the  following  observations  of 
Dr.  Herschel  seem  to  show   that  it  is  of 
much  smaller  dimensions.     "  1783,  Oct. 
26th.     There  are  two   small    stars  pie- 
ceding  Mars,  of  different  sizes  ;  with  460 
they   appear  both   dusky   red,   and  are 
pretty  unequal ;   with   218   they  appear 
considerably  unequal.  The  distance  from 
Mars  of  the  nearest,  which  is  also  the 
lurp;est,  with  227  measured  3'  26"  20'". 
Some  time  after,  the  same  evening,  the 
distance  was  3;  8''  55'",  Mars  being  retro- 
grade.    Both   of  them    were   seen   very 
distinctly.    They  were  viewed  with  a  new 
twenty  feet  reflector,  and  appeared  very 
bright.     October  27th,  the  small  star  is 
not  quite  so  bright,  in  proportion  to  the 
large  one,  as  it  was  last  night,  being  a 
good  deal  nearer  to  Mars,  which   is  now 
on  the  side  of  the  small  star ;   but  when 
the  planet   was   drawn   aside,  or  out  of 
view,  it  appeared  as  plainly  as  usual.  The 
distance  of  the  small  star  was  2'  5"  25'". 
The  largest  of  the  two  stars  (adds  he,) 
on  which   the  above  observations   were 
made,  cannot  exceed  the  twelfth,  and  the 
smallest  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  mag- 
nitude ;  and  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  they  were  any  otherwise  affected  by 
the  approach    of  Mars,  than   what  the 
brightness  of  its  superior  light  may  ac- 
count for.     From  other  phenomena  it  ap- 
pears, however,  that  this  planet  is  not 
without  a  considerable  atmosphere ;  for 
besides  the  permanent  spots  on  its  sur- 
face,   I   have    often  noticed  occasional 
changes  of  partial  bright  belts,  and  also 
once  a  darkish  one  in  a  pretty  high  lati- 
tude ;    and    these    alterations    we    can 
hardly  ascribe  to  any  other  cause  than 
the  variable  disposition  of  clouds  and  va- 
pours floating  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
planet." 

MARSHALLIA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of 
the  Syngenesia  Polygamia  JEqualis  class 


and  order.  Generic  character  :  calyx' 
common,  many-leaved,  spreading ;  leaf- 
lets linear  lanceolate,  blunt,  concave, 
almost  equal,  permanent  ;  corolla  corn- 
pound,  uniform,  longer  than  the  calyx  ; 
stamen  filaments  five,  capillary ;  pistil 
germ  ovate ;  pericarpium  none ;  seeds 
solitary ;  receptacle  chaffy. 

MARSHALLING  a  coat,  in  heraldry, 
is  the  disposal  of  several  coats  of  arms 
belonging  to  distinct  families,  in  one  and 
the  same  escutcheon  or  shield,  together 
with  their  ornaments,  parts,  and  appur- 
tenances. 

MARSHALSEA  court,  is  a  court  of  re- 
cord, originally  instituted  to  hear  and  de- 
termine causes  between  the  servants  of 
the  king's  household,  and  others,  within 
the  verge  ;  and  has  jurisdiction  of  things 
within  the  verge  of  the  court,  and  of  pleas 
of  trespass,  where  either  party  is  of  the 
king's  family,  and  of  all  other  actions  per- 
sonal, wherein  both  parties  are  the  king's 
servants ;  but  the  court  has  also  power 
to  try  all  personal  actions,  as  debt,  tres- 
pass, slander,  trover,  actions  on  the  case, 
&c.  between  party  and  party,  within  the 
liberty,  which  extends  twelve  miles  about 
Whitehall.  The  judges  of  this  court  are 
the  steward  of  the  king's  household, 
and  knight-marshal  for  the  time  being ; 
the  steward  of  the  court  or  his  deputy,  is 
generally  an  eminent  counsel.  It  can  try 
all  causes,  and  sits  every  week,  so  that 
judgment  can  be  obtained  in  a  fortnight 
or  three  weeks.  It  has  jurisdiction  ot  all 
debts  above  as  well  as  below  40s.  But  if 
a  cause  of  importance  is  brought  in  this 
court,  it  is  frequently  removed  into  the 
court  ot  King's  Bench,  or  Common  Pleas, 
by  an  habeas  corpus  cum  causa.  This  can- 
not be  done  unless  the  debt  is  above  20/. 
The  court  would  have  a  great  deal  of 
practice,  on  account  of  the  expedition  of 
it,  if  it  were  not  confined  by  having  only 
a  fixed  number  of  attornies. 

MARSH  MALLOW,  in  botany  and  me- 
dicine. See  ALTHJEA. 

MARSILEA,  in  botany,  a  genus  of  the 
Cryptogamia  Miscellanea:.  Generic  cha- 
racter :  calyx  common  oval ;  corolla  none ; 
stamens,  filaments  none  ;  anthers  several, 
inserted  round  each  pistil ;  pistil  in  each 
cell  several ;  pericarpium  none  ;  seeds 
as  many  as  there  are  pistils ;  receptacle 
membrane  somewhat  fleshy,  clothing  the 
cells  internally.  There  are  three  species, 
natives  of  France,  Italy,  and  the  East  In- 
dies. 

MARTIN  (BENJAMIN,)  in  biography, 
was  born  in  1704,  and  became  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  mathematicians  and  opti> 


MAR 


MAS 


eians  of  his  time.  He  first  taught  a  school 
in  the  country ;  but  afterwards  came  up 
to  London,  were  lie  read  lectures  on  ex- 
perimental philosophy  for  many  years, 
and  carried  on  a  very  extensive  trade  as 
an  optician  and  globe-maker  in  Fleet- 
street,  till  the  growing  infirmities  of  old 
age  compelled  him  to  withdraw  from  the 
iictive  part  of  business.  Trusting  too  fa- 
tally to  what  he  thought  the  integrity  of 
others,  lie  unfortunately,  though  with  a 
capital  more  than  sufficient  to  pay  all  his 
debts,  became  a  bankrupt.  The  unhap- 
py old  man,  in  a  moment  of  desperation 
from  this  unexpected  stroke,  attempted 
to  destroy  himself ;  and  the  wound, 
though  not  immediately  mortal,  hastened 
his  death,  which  happened  the  9th  of  Feb. 
ruary,  1782,  at  78  years  of  age. 

He  had  a  valuable  collection  of  fossils 
and  curiosities  of  almost  every  species  ; 
which,  after  his  death,  were  almost  given 
away  by  public  auction.  He  was  indefa- 
tigable as  an  artist,  and  as  a  writer  he  had 
a  very  happy  method  of  explaining  his  sub- 
ject, and  wrote  with  clearness,  and  even 
considerable  elegance.  He  was  chiefly 
eminent  in  the  science  of  optics  ;  but  he 
was  well  skilled  in  the  whole  circle  of  the 
mathematical  and  philosophical  sciences, 
and  wrote  useful  books  on  every  one  of 
them ;  though  he  was  not  distinguished 
by  any  remarkable  inventions  or  discove- 
ries of  his  own.  His  publications  were 
very  numerous,  and  generally  useful ; 
some  of  the  principal  of  them  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  The  Philosophical  Grammar;  being 
a  View  of  the  present  State  of  Experimen- 
tal Physiology,  or  Natural  Philosophy," 
1735,  8vo.  "  A  New,  Complete,  and  Uni- 
versal System  or  Body  of  Decimal  Arith- 
metic," 1735, 8vo.  "The  Young  Student's 
Memorial  Book,  or  Pocket  Library," 
1735,  8vo.  "  Description  and  Use  of  both 
the  Globes,  the  Armillary  Sphere,  and 
Orrery,  Trigonometry,"  1736,  2  vols.  8vo. 
"  System  of  the  Newtonian  Philosophy," 
1759,  3  vols.  "  New  Elements  of  Op- 
tics," 1759.  "  Mathematical  Institutions," 
1764,  2  vols.  "  Philologic  and  Philoso- 
phical Geography,"  1759.  "  Lives  of 
Philosophers,  their  Inventions,  &c."  1764, 
3  vols.  "  Miscellaneous  Correspondence," 
1764, 4  vols.  "  Institutions  of  Astronomical 
Calculation,"  3  parts,  1765.  « Introduction 
to  the  Newtonian  Philosophy,"  1765. 
«'  Treatise  of  Logarithms."  "  Treatise  on 
Navigation."  "  Description  and  Use  of 
the  Air-pump."  "  Description  of  the 
Torricellian  Barometer."  "  Appendix  to 
the  Use  of  the  Globes."  «  Philosophia  Bri- 


tannica,"  3  vols.  «  Principles  of  Pump- 
work."  "  Theory  of  the  Hydrometer." 
"  Description  and  Use  of  a  Case  of  Ma. 
thematical  Instruments"  "  Ditto  of  a 
universal  Sliding  Rule."  "  Micogniphia, 
or  the  Microscope"  '*  Principles  of 
Perspective."  "  Course  of  Lectures." 
"  Optical  Essays  "  "  Essay  on  Electrici- 
ty." **  Essay  on  Visual  Glasses,  or  Spec- 
tacles." "  Horologia  Nova,  or  New  Art 
of  Dialling."  "  Theory  of  Comets."  "Na- 
ture and  Construction  of  Solar  Eclipses." 
"  Venus  in  the  Sun."  "  The  Mariner's 
Mirror."  "  Thermometrum  Maguum." 
"  Survey  of  the  Solar  System."  "  Essay 
on  Island  Crystal."  «*  Logorithmologia 
Nova,"  &c.  &c. 

MARTYN1A,  in  botany,  so  named  in 
honour  of  John  Martyn,  F.  R.  S.  profes- 
sor of  botany  at  Cambridge,  a  genus  of 
the  Didynamia  Angiospermia  class  and 
order.  Natural  order  of  Personate. 
Bignonise,  Jussieu.  Essential  character: 
calyx  five  cleft ;  corolla  ringent ;  capsule 
woody,  corticate,  with  a  hooked  beak, 
four-celled,  two-valved.  There  are  six 
species, 

MARTLETS,  in  heraldy,  little  birds 
represented  without  feet,  and  used  as  a 
difference  or  mark  of  distinction  for  young- 
er brothers,  to  put  them  in  mind  that  they 
are  to  trust  to  the  wings  of  virtue  and 
merit  in  order  to  raise  themselves,  and 
not  to  their  feet,  they  having  little  land  to 
set  their  foot  on. 

MASON,  a  person  employed  under  the 
direction  of  an  architect  in  the  raising  of 
a  stone  building.  The  chief  business  of 
a  mason  is  to  make  the  mortar ;  raise  the 
walls  from  the  foundation  to  the  top,  with 
the  necessary  retreats  and  perpendicu- 
lars ;  to  form  the  vaults,  and  employ  the 
stones  as  delivered  to  him.  When  the 
stones  are  large,  the  business  of  hewing- 
or  cutting  them  belongs  to  the  stone-cut- 
ters, though  these  are  frequently  con- 
founded with  masons :  the  ornaments  of 
sculpture  are  performed  by  carvers  in 
stones,  or  sculptors.  The  tools  or  im- 
plements principally  used  by  them  are 
the  square,  level,  plumb-line,  bevel,  com- 
pass, hammer,  chissel,  mallet,  saw,  trow- 
el, &c.  Besides  the  common  instruments 
used  in  the  hand,  they  have  likewise  ma- 
chines for  raising  of  great  burdens,  and 
the  conducting  of  large  stones,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  are  the  lever,  pulley,  wheel 
and  axis,  crane,  &c.  See  LEVER,  &c. 

MASONS,  free  and  accepted,  a  very  an- 
cient society  or  body  of  men,  so  called, 
either  from  some  extraordinary  know- 
ledge of  mason  ny  or  building-,  which  they 


MAS 


MAS 


arc  supposed  to  be  masters  of,  or  because 
the  first  founders  of  the  society  were 
persons  of  that  profession.  These  are 
now  very  considerable,  both  tor  number 
and  character,  being  found  in  every  coun- 
try in  Europe,  and  consisting  principally 
of  persons  of  merit  and  consideration.  As 
to  antiquity,  they  lay  claim  to  a  standing 
of  some  thousand  years.  What  the  end 
of  their  institution  is  seems  still  a  secret; 
and  they  are  said  lo  be  admitted  into  the 
fraternity  by  being  put  in  possession  of  a 
great  number  of  secrets,  called  the  ma- 
son's word,  which  have  been  religiously 
kept  from  age  to  age,  being  never  divulg- 
ed. 

MASONRY,  in  general,  a  branch  of  ar- 
chitecture, consisting  in  the  art  of  hewing 
or  squaring  stones,  and  cutting  them  level 
or  perpendicular,  for  the  uses  of  building: 
but  in  a  more  limited  sense,  masonry  is 
the  art  of  assembling  and  joining  stones 
together  with  mortar. 

MASSETER,  in  anatomy,  a  muscle 
which  arises  from  the  superior  maxillary 
bone,  and  from  the  z,ygonia,  and  is  insert- 
ed into  the  angle  and  coronoid  process  of 
the  lower  jaw. 

MASSONIA,  in  botany,  so  named  from 
Mr.  Francis  Masson,  a  genus  of  the  Hex- 
andria  Monogynia  class  and  order.  Na- 
tural order  of  Coronarize.  Asphodeli, 
Jussieu.  Essential  character  :  corolla  in- 
ferior, with  a  six  parted  border ;  filaments 
on  the  neck  of  the  tube ;  capsule  three- 
winged,  three-celled,  many-setded.  There 
are  four  species,  all  of  them  found  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

MAST,  a  long  round  piece  of  timber, 
elevated  perpendicularly  upon  the  keel  of 
a  ship,  upon  which  are  attached  the  yards, 
the  sails,  and  the  rigging,  in  order  to  their 
veceiving  the  wind  necessary  for  naviga- 
tion. A  mast,  according  to  its  length,  is 
either  formed  of  one  single  piece,  which 
is  called  a  pole-mast,  or  composed  of  se- 
veral pieces  joined  together,  each  of 
which  retains  the  name  of  mast  separate- 
ly. A  top-mast  is  raised  at  the  head  or 
top  of  the  lower  mast,  through  a  cap,  and 
supported  by  the  trestle-trees.  It  is  com- 
posed of  two  strong  bars  of  timber,  sup- 
ported by  two  prominences,  which  are  as 
shoulders  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the 
masts,  a  little  under  its  upper  end : 
athwart  these  bars  are  fixed  the  cross- 
trees,  upon  which  the  frame  of  the  top  is 
supported.  Between  the  lower  mast- 
head and  the  foremost  of  the  cross-trees, 
a  square  space  remains  vacant,  the  sides 
of  which  are  bounded  by  the  two  trestle- 
trees.  Perpendicularly  above  this  is  the 


foremost  hole  in  the  cap,  wh<5«e  after-hole 
is  solidly  fixed  an  the  head  of  the  lower- 
mast.  The  top-mast  is  erected  by  a 
tackle,  whose  effort  is  communicated 
from  the  head  of  the  lower-mast  to  the 
foot  of  the  top-mast,  and  the  upper  end 
of  the  latter  is  accordingly  guided  into, 
and  conveyed  up  through  the  holes,  be- 
tween the  trestle-trees  and  the  cap,  as  be- 
fore mentioned;  the  machinery  by  which 
it  is  elevated,  or,  according  to  the  sea- 
phrase,  swayed  up,  is  fixed  ii>  the  follow- 
ing manner.  The  top-rope,  passing 
through  a  block  which  is  hooked  on  one 
side  of  the  cap,  and  afterwards  through 
a  hole,  furnished  with  a  sheave  or  pully 
on  the  lower  end  of  the  top-mast,  is  again 
brought  upwards  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mast,  where  it  is  at  length  fastened  to  an 
eye-bolt  in  the  cap,  which  is  always  on 
the  side  opposite  to  the  top-block.  To 
the  lower  end  of  the  top-rope  is  fixed  the 
top-tackle,  the  effort  of  which,  being  trans- 
mitted to  the  top-rope,  and  thence  to  the 
heel  of  the  top-mast,  necessarily  lifts  the 
latter  upwards  parallel  to  the  lower  mast. 
When  the  top-mast  is  raised  to  its  pro- 
per height,  the  lower  end  of  it  becomes 
firmly  wedged  in  the  square  hole  (above 
described)  between  the  trestle-trees.  A 
bar  of  wood  or  iron,  called  the  fid,  is 
then  thrust  through  a  hole  in  the  heel  of 
it,  across  the  trestle-trees,  by  which  the 
whole  weight  of  the  top-mast  re  support- 
ed. See  SHIP  building. 

MASTER  of  arts,  is  the  first  degree 
taken  up  in  foreign  universities,  and  for 
the  most  part  in  those  of  Scotland ;  but 
the  second  in  Oxford  and  Cambridge; 
candidates  not  being  admitted  to  it  till 
they  have  studied  seven  years  in  the  uni- 
versity. 

MASTER  in  chancery.  The  masters  in 
chancery  are  assistants  to  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor and  Master  of  the  Rolls ;  of  these 
there  are  some  ordinary,  and  others  ex- 
traordinary :  the  masters  in  ordinary  are 
twelve  in  number  ;  some  of  whom  sit  in 
court  every  day  during  the  term,  and 
have  referred  to  them  interlocutory  or- 
ders for  stating  accounts,  and  computing 
damages,  and  the  like ;  and  they  also  ad- 
minister oaths,  take  affidavits,  and  ac- 
knowledgments of  deeds  and  recogni- 
zances. The  masters  extraordinary  are 
appointed  to  act  in  the  country,  in  the 
several  counties  of  England,  beyond  ten 
miles  distance  from  London ;  by  taking 
affidavits,  recogniiances,  acknowledg- 
ments of  deeds,  &c.  for  the  ease  of  the 
suitors  of  the  court. 

MASTER  of  the  horse,  a  great  officer  of 


MAS 


MAS 


the  crown,  who  orders  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  king's  stables,  races,  breed  of 
horses  ;  and  commands  the  equerries,  and 
all  the  other  officers  and  tradesmen  em- 
ployed in  the  king's  stables.  His  coaches, 
horses,  and  attendants,  are  the  king's,  and 
bear  the  king's  arms  and  livery. 

MASTER  of  the  rolls,  a  patent  officer  for 
life,  who  has  the  custody  of  the  rolls  of 
parliament,  and  patents  which  pass  the 
great  seal,  and  of  the  records  ofchancery, 
as  also  commissions,  deeds,  and  recogni- 
zances, which,  being  made  of  rolls  of 
parchment,  gave  rise  to  the  name. 

In  absence  of  the  chancellor  he  sits  as 
judge  in  the  court  ofchancery:  at  other 
times  he  hears  causes  in  the  rolls  chapel, 
and  makes  orders ;  but  all  hearings  be- 
fore him  are  subject  to  appeal  before  the 
chancellor.  He  hath  a  writ  of  summons 
to  parliament,  and  sits  on  the  second 
wool-pack,  next  the  lord  chief  justice. 

In  his  gift  are  the  six  clerks  in  chan- 
cery, the  examiners,  three  clerks  of  the 
petty  bag,  and  the  six  clerks  of  the  rolls 
chapel,  where  the  rolls  are  kept.  The 
rolls  house  is  for  his  habitation,  &c.  By 
statute  23  George  II.  c.  25.  12001.  per  an- 
num is  directed  to  be  paid  to  the  master 
ot  the  rolls. 

MASTER  of  a  ship,  the  same  with  cap- 
tain in  a  merchantman ;  but  in  a  king's 
ship  he  is  an  officer  who  inspects  the 
provisions  and  stores,  and  acquaints  the 
captain  of  what  is  not  good,  takes  parti- 
cular care  of  the  rigging  and  of  the  bal- 
last, and  gives  directions  for  stowing  the 
hold;  he  navigates  the  ship  under  the  di- 
rections of  his  superior  officer;  sees  that 
the  log  and  log-book  be  duly  kept ;  ob- 
serves the  appearances  of  coasts  ;  and 
notes  down  in  his  journal  any  new  shoal 
or  rocks  under  water,  with  their  bearing 
and  depth  of  water,  &c. 

MASTER  at  arms  in  a  king's  ship,  an 
officer  who  daily,  by  turns,  as  the  cap- 
tain appoints,  is  to  exercise  the  petty  offi- 
cers and  ship's  company,  to  place  and  re- 
lieve centinels,  to  see  the  candles  and  fire 
put  out  according  to  the  captain's  orders, 
to  take  care  the  small  arms  are  kept  in 
good  order,  and  to  observe  the  directions 
of  the  lieutenant  at  arms. 

MASTER  of  the  Temple.  Since  the  disso- 
lution of  the  order  of  the  Templars,  the 
spiritual  guide  and  pastor  of  the  temple 
is  so  called,  which  was  the  denomination 
of  the  founder  and  his  successors. 

MASTER  of  the  ivurdrobe,  an  officer  un- 
der the  Lord  Chamberlain,  who  has  the 
care  of  tb.e  royal  robes,  as  well  as  the  wear- 


ing apparel,  collar,  George,  and  garter,  ke^ 
He  has  also  the  charge  of  all  former  kings' 
and  queens'  robes  remaining  in  the  Tower, 
all  hangings,  bedding,  &.c.  for  the  king's 
house,  the  charge  and  delivery  of  velvet 
and  scarlet  allowed  for  liveries.  He  has 
under  him  a  clerk  of  the  robes,  wardrobe 
keeper,  a  yeoman,  &c. 

MASTER,  quartei\     See  QUARTER. 

MASTERS  and  SERVANTS.  In  Lon- 
don and  other  places,  the  mode  of  hiring 
is  by  what  is  commonly  called  a  month's 
warning,  or  a  month's  wages ;  that  is,  the 
parties  agree  to  separate,  on  either  of 
them  giving  to  the  other  a  month's  no- 
tice for  that  purpose,  or  in  lieu  thereof, 
the  party  requiring  the  separation  to  pay 
or  give  up  a  month's  wages.  But  if  the 
hiring  of  a  servant  be  general,  without 
any  particular  time  specified,  it  will  be 
construed  to  be  an  hiring  for  a  year  cer- 
tain ;  and  in  this  case,  if  the  servant  de- 
part before  the  year,  he  forfeits  all  his 
wages.  And  where  a  servant  is  hired  for 
one  year  certain,  and  so  from  year  to 
year,  as  long  as  both  parties  shall  agree, 
and  the  servant  enter  upon  a  second  year, 
he  must  serve  out  that  year,  and  is  not 
merely  a  servant  at  will  after  the  first 
year.  If  a  woman  servant  marry,  she 
must  nevertheless  serve  out  her  term, 
and  her  husband  cannot  take  fyer  out  of 
her  master's  service. 

If  a  servant  be  disabled  in  his  master's 
service,  by  an  injury  received  through  an- 
other's default,  the  master  may  recover 
damages  for  loss  of  his  service.  Which 
is  the  foundation  also  of  an  action  where 
the  servant,  even  though  she  is  the  child 
of  the  master,  is  seduced. 

And  a  master  may  not  only  maintain 
an  action  against  any  one  who  entices 
away  his  servant,  but  also  against  the 
servant ;  and  if,  without  any  enticement, 
a  servant  leaves  his  master  without  just 
cause,  an  action  will  lie  against  another, 
who  retains  him  with  a  knowledge  of  such 
departure. 

A  master  has  a  just  right  to  expect 
and  exact  fidelity  and  obedience  in  all  his 
lawful  commands ;  and  to  enforce  this, 
he  may  correct  his  servant  in  a  reason- 
able manner,  but  this  correction  must  be 
to  enforce  the  just  and  lawful  commands 
of  the  master. 

In  defence  of  his  master,  a  servant  may 
justify  assaulting  another,  and  though 
death  should  ensue,  it  is  not  murder,  in 
case  of  any  unlawful  attack  upon  his  mas- 
ter's person  or  property. 

Acts  of  the  servant  are,  in  many  in- 


MAS 


MAS 


stances,  deemed  acts  of  the  master;  and 
he  is  answerable  for  them  when  they  are 
pursuant  to  his  authority. 

If  a  servant  commit  an  act  of  trespass 
by  command  or  encouragement  of  his 
master,  the  master  will  be  answerable. 
But  in  so  doing  his  servant  is  not  excus- 
ed, as  he  is  bound  to  obey  the  master  in 
such  things  only  as  are  honest  and  law- 
ful. 

If  a  servant  of  an  innkeeper  rob  his 
master's  guest,  the  master  is  bound  to 
make  good  the  loss.  Also,  if  a  waiter  at 
an  inn  sell  a  man  bad  wine,  by  which  his 
health  is  impaired,  an  action  will  lie 
against  the  master :  for  his  permitting  him 
to  sell  it  to  any  person  is  deemed  ?»n  im- 
plied general  command.  In  like  manner, 
if  a  servant  be  frequently  permitted  to  do 
a  thing  by  the  tacit  consent  of  his  mas- 
ter, the  master  will  be  liable,  as  such 
permission  is  equivalent  to  a  general  com- 
mand. 

If  a  servant  is  usually  sent  upon  trust 
with  any  tradesman,  and  he  takes  goods 
in  the  name  of  his  master  upon  his  own 
account,  the  master  must  pay  for  them. 
And,  also,  if  he  is  sent  sometimes  on  trust, 
and  at  other  times  with  money.  But  if  a 
man  usually  deals  with  his  tradesmen 
himself,  or  constantly  pays  them  ready 
money,  he  is  not  answerable  for  what  his 
servant  may  take  up  in  his  name  ;  for  in 
this  case  there  is  not,  as  in  the  other,  any 
implied  order  to  trust  him. 

So  it  is  if  the  master  never  had  any  per- 
sonal dealings  with  the  tradesman,  but 
the  contracts  have  always  been  between 
the  servant  and  the  tradesman,  and  the 
master  has  regularly  given  his  servant 
money  for  payment  of  every  thing  had  on 
his  account,  the  master  shall  not  be  charg- 
ed. Or  if  a  person  forbid  his  tradesman 
to  trust  his  servant  on  his  account,  and  he 
continues  to  purchase  upon  credit,  he  is 
not  liable. 

The  act  of  a  servant,  though  he  has 
quitted  his  master's  service,  has  been  held 
to  be  binding  upon  the  master,  by  reason 
of  the  former  credit  given  him  on  his  mas- 
ter's account,  and  its  not  being  known 
to  the  party  trusting  that  he  was  discharg- 
ed. 

The  master  is  also  answerable  for  any 
injury  arising  by  the  fault  or  neglect  of 
his  servant  when  executing  his  master's 
business.  But  if  there  be  no  neglect  or 
default  in  the  servant,  the  master  is  not 
liable. 

If  a  smith's  servant  lame  a  horse  whilst 
shoeing  him,  or  the  servant  of  a  surgeon 
make  a  wound  worse,  an  action  for  dama- 

VOL.  IV. 


ges  will  lie  against  the  master,  and  not 
against  the  servant.  But  the  damage 
must  be  done  whilst  the  servant  is  actu- 
ally employed  in  his  master's  service, 
otherwise  he  is  liable  to  answer  for  his 
own  misbehaviour  or  neglect. 

A  master  is  likewise  chargeable,  if  his 
servant  cast  any  dirt,  &c.  out  of  the  house 
into  the  common  street ;  and  so  for  any 
other  nuisance  occasioned  by  his  servants, 
to  the  damage  or  annoyance  of  any  indi- 
vidual, or  the  common  nuisance  of  his 
majesty's  subjects. 

A  servant  is  not  answerable  to  his  mas- 
ter for  any  loss  which  may  happen  with- 
out his  wilful  neglect ;  but  if  he  be  guilty 
of  fraud  or  gross  negligence,  an  action, 
will  lie  against  him  by  his  master. 

A  master  is  not  liable  in  trespass  for 
the  wilful  act  of  his  servant,  as  by  driving 
his  master's  carriage  against  another,  done 
without  the  direction  or  assent  of  his  mas- 
ter, no  person  being  in  the  carriage  when 
the  act  was  done  But  he  is  liable  to 
answer  for  any  damage  arising  to  an- 
other from  the  negligence  or  unskilful- 
ness  of  his  servant  acting  in  his  employ, 
as  for  negligently  driving  against  an- 
other- 

MASTICATION,  in  medicine,  the  ac- 
tion of  chewing,  or  of  agitating  the  solid 
parts  of  our  food  between  the  teeth,  by 
means  of  the  motion  of  the  jaws,  the 
tongue,  and  the  lips,  whereby  it  is  broken 
into  small  pieces,  impregnated  with  saliva, 
and  so  fitted  for  deglutition  and  a  more 
easy  digestion. 

MASTICH,  in  the  materia  medica, 
when  pure,  is  in  the  form  of  little  round 
drops,  or  tears,  of  a  very  pale  amber ;  a 
piece  recently  broken  is  quite  transpa- 
rent, but  by  exposure  to  the  air  it  becomes 
somewhat  inclining  to  the  form  of  powder. 
When  slightly  warmed,  this  resin  has  a 
faint  and  rather  pleasant  odour,  which 
becomes  stronger  and  more  grateful  when 
it  is  melted.  In  its  chemical  properties, 
mastich  does  not  much  differ  from  the 
other  resins.  If  it  is  digested  in  alcohol, 
it  is  separated  into  two  portions ;  the  one 
soluble  in  the  spirit,  the  other  insoluble  : 
the  former  composes  four-fifths  of  the 
whole,  and  is  pure  resin  ;  the  latter,  in 
most  of  its  properties,  closely  resembles 
caoutchouc.  In  Turkey,  mastich  is  in 
great  request  among  women  as  a  mastica- 
tory ;  and  the  produce  of  China  is  appro- 
priated solely  to  the  use  of  the  Emperor's 
seraglio.  In  other  countries  it  is  employ- 
ed, medically,  in  fumigations;  and  by 
painters  and  other  artists,  in  the  compo- 
sition of  the  tougher  kinds  of  varnishes. 

LI 


MAT 


MAT 


MASTOIDES,  in  anatomy,  the  same 
with  mammillaris ;  being-  applied  to  such 
processes  in  the  body  as  have  the  appear- 
ance of  breasts  or  dugs,  arising  in  a  broad 
basis,  and  terminating  in  an  obtuse  top. 
Mastoides  is  sometimes  applied  to  the 
muscle  which  stoops  the  head,  proceed- 
ing from  the  neck-bone  and  breast- 
bone, and  terminating  in  the  process  of 
the  mammiformis.  See  MAMMILLARY 
glarat. 

MATCH,  a  kind  of  rope  slightly  twist- 
ed, and  prepared  to  retain  fire  for  the 
uses  of  artillery,  mines,  fire-works,  Sec. 
It  is  made  of  hempen  tow,  spun  on  the 
wheel  like  cord,  but  very  slack ;  and  is 
composed  of  three  twists,  which  are  after- 
wards again  covered  with  tow,  so  that 
the  twists  do  not  appear :  lastly,  it  is  boil- 
ed in  the  lees  of  old  wines.  This,  when 
once  lighted  at  the  end,  burns  on  gradu- 
ally and  regularly,  without  ever  going 
out,  till  the  whole  be  consumed :  the 
hardest  and  driest  match  is  generally  the 
best. 

MATERIAroetffca.  It  is  a  subject  of  cu- 
riosity rather  than  of  use,  to  enquire  by  what 
means  mankind  are  induced,  in  the  first  in- 
stance,to  have  recourse  to  substances,when 
in  a  state  of  disease,  which,  for  the  most 
part,  they  abhor  and  fly  from  when  in  a 
state  of  health  ;  and  how  they  came  to  dis- 
cern that  in  these  substances  chiefly,  nature 
has  treasured  up  the  remedies  of  sick- 
ness, the  restoratives  of  a  vitiated  or  de- 
bilitated constitution.  From  whatever 
source  this  knowledge  has  been  derived, 
we  feel  it  daily  to  be  a  knowledge  of  a 
very  important  character,  and  we  are  sen- 
sible of  its  having  been  very  generally 
diffused  at  a  very  early  period  of  ancient 
history.  Accident,  in  the  first  instance, 
and  experience  confirming  the  result  of 
some  fortunate  discovery,  were  perhaps 
the  chief  foundation  of  therapeutic  science 
in  the  simplest  and  rudest  ages  of  the 
world.  Yet  the  whole  can  by  no  means 
be  traced  to  this  source,  for  the  general 
fallacy  of  experience  is  sufficient  to  prove, 
that  it  has  had  but  a  very  small  share  in 
establishing  the  virtues  which  have  been  as- 
cribed to  most  medicines ;  and  it  was  pro- 
bably from  a  too  frequent  disappointment 
in  practice,  from  palpable  proof  of  the  un- 
certainty of  those  remedies  which  are  re- 
commended by  the  ancients,  that  physi- 
cians in  times  comparatively  modern  have 
been  induced  to  seek  for  means,  not  only 
for  ascertaining  more  exactly  the  quali- 
ties of  established  medicines,  but  of  in- 
vestigating the  virtues  of  substances  alto- 
gether new  and  untried. 


Hence  unquestionably  the  union  of  che- 
mistry with  the  art  of  healing ;  for  among 
the  earliest  chemists  we  meet  with  the 
first  attempts  at  departing  from  the  usual 
catalogue  of  medicines  in  pursuit  of  a  new 
list.  Paracelsus  led  the  way,  by  introduc- 
ing the  absurd  notion  of  astral  influences 
and  of  signatures ;  to  which  succeeding 
and  more  rational  chemists  suggested  the 
mility  of  a  chemical  analysis.  The  doc- 
trine of  astral  influences  and  of  signatures, 
has  been  altogether  exploded  for  a  long 
time,  though  we  still  trace  certain  vesti- 
ges of  its  former  existence  in  many  of  our 
latest  publications  on  the  JVlateria  Medica. 
Chemical  analysis,  as  it  ought  to  do,  has 
completely  triumphed  over  the  two  for- 
mer systems,  and  IB  Ja'ily  extending  its 
enquiries.  To  arts,  manufactures,  and 
commerce,  these  enquiries  have  been  pre- 
eminently useful,  nor  have  they  been 
without  their  benefit  to  medicine ;  yet 
the  benefit  resulting  from  this  last  ap- 
plication has  by  no  means  been  equal 
to  that  which  has  resulted  to  the  two 
former. 

The  means  then  resorted  to  in  the  pre- 
sent day  for  determining  substances  to  be 
remedial  or  medicinal,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  previous  steps  to  their  introduction  in- 
to the  Materia  Medica,  are  their  own  sen- 
sible qualities,  their  botanical  affinity, 
their  chemical  examination,  and  general 
experience. 

Having  introduced  them  into  the  medi- 
cal catalogue,  our  two  next  subjects  of 
consideration  are,  their  classification  or 
arrangement,  and  the  best  mode  of  em- 
ploying them,  whether  simply,  and  on  ac- 
count of  their  own  specific  virtues,  or  in 
connection  with  other  substances,  by 
which  their  proper  qualities  are  so  inter- 
mixed with  the  qualities  of  the  other  sub- 
stances employed,  as  to  acquire  an  in- 
creased, a  diminished,  or  altogether  a 
new  action ;  and  consequently  to  be  pro- 
ductive of  a  different  result. 

The  former  consideration  alone  be- 
longs, strictly  speaking,  to  the  present 
article ;  the  latter  constituting  the  proper 
subject  of  pharmacy  or  compound  medi- 
cine. For  the  theory  and  practice,  there- 
fore, of  combining  and  compounding  me- 
dicinal substances,  we  refer  our  readers 
to  the  article  PHARMACY  ;  and  shall  here 
confine  ourselves,  as  strictly  as  we  may 
be  able,  to  the  materials  actually  em- 
ployed in  medicine,  on  account  of  their 
own  supposed  inherent  virtues,  and 
which  for  the  most  part  are  denominated 
simples. 

What  ought  to  be  classification  of  these 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


materials  ?  This  is  a  question  which  has 
often  been  agitated,  and  almost  as  often 
answered  in  a  different  manner:  whence 
the  arrangement  of  different  writers  is  as 
different  as  possible,  as  founded  upon 
some  supposed  superior  advantage,  or 
even  the  mere  fancy  of  the  author  him- 
self. The  most  simple  arrangement  is 
that  of  an  alphabetic  form,  and  it  has 
taken  place  in  most  of  the  dispensatories 
and  pharmacopoeias  of  modern  times  ;  but 
it  conveys  no  practical  information,  indi- 
cates no  specific  virtue,  communicates  no 
scale  of  comparative  power.  Another 
arrangement  is  that  founded  upon  the 
quarter  or  kingdom  from  which  the  mate- 
rial is  derived ;  and  of  course  under  this 
system  the  Materia  Medica  is  divided  into 
the  three  grand  classes  of  animal,  vegeta- 
ble, and  mineral  substances.  Yet  this  ar- 
rangement does  not  appear  to  be  of  much 
more  advantage  than  the  preceding ;  the 
plan  is  even  less  simple,  and  the  know- 
ledge it  communicates  is  too  trivial  to  be 
of  any  importance.  Another,  therefore, 
and  a  better  distribution  is  founded  upon 
the  sensible  and  more  obvious  qualities 
of  the  substances  employed  in  medicine  ; 
from  their  being  acid,  absorbent,  gluti- 
nous, unctuous,  astringent,  saccharine, 
acrid,  aromatic,  bitter,  emetic  or  cathartic. 
For  this  classification  we  are  indebted  to 
Cartheuser ;  it  is  highly  ingenious,  and 
so  far  as  it  is  applicable,  of  considerable 
utility.  But  it  labours  under  the  defect 
of  being  incapable  of  general  application. 
There  are  many  simples,  for  example, 
and  those  even  of  great  power  and  ac- 
tivity, in  which  we  can  distinguish  no  pre- 
dominant sensible  quality;  there  are 
many,  again,  in  which  various  qualities 
are  so  equally  united,  that  they  have  just 
the  same  claim  to  a  position  under  one 
class  or  order  as  under  another  ;  and 
there  are  many,  also,  wliich,  though  simi- 
lar in  their  sensible  qualities,  are  very 
dissimilar  in  their  effects  upon  the  ani- 
mal frame :  thus,  though  gentian  and  aloes 
agree  in  possessing  a  bitter  taste,  and 
sugar  and  manna  in  being  sweet,  their 
medical  virtues  are  widely  different. 
Accordingly,  Cartheuser  himself  is  com- 
pelled to  deviate  ocasionally  from  his 
general  plan,  and  to  found  a  part  of  his 
division  on  the  medicinal  effects  of  his 
materials ;  introducing  not  only  a  class  of 
.purgatives  and  emetics,  but  of  vaporose 
inebriants  and  narcotics;  under  which 
last  class  he  arranges  tobacco,  elder-flow- 
er, saffron,  opium,  and  poppy- seeds,  sub- 
stances, certainly,  very  discordant  in  all 
the  qualities  that  relate  to  medicinal  in- 
tentions. 


The  last  division  we  shall  notice  is  that 
of  Vogel,  who  has  classified  his  materials 
according  to  their  effects  on  the  human 
body.  Some  are  found  to  have  the  pro- 
perty of  rendering  the  solid  parts  of  the 
frame  more  lax  than  before,  and  are  hence 
denominated  relaxing-  medicines ;  others 
possess  a  directly  contrary  power,  and  arc 
consequently  called  indurating  medicines. 
A  third  kind"  are  found  to  excite  inflam- 
mation in  the  part  to  which  they  are  ap- 
plied, and  are  therefore  named  inflam- 
matory ;  while  a  fourth,  from  being  per- 
ceived to  increase  or  diminish  the  vigour 
of  the  body,  or  what  is  called  the  tone  of 
the  solids,  have  acquired  the  name  of 
tonics  in  the  first  instance,  and  sedatives 
in  the  second.  Some,  again,  are  conjec- 
tured neither  remarkably  to  increase  nor 
diminish  the  tone  of  the  solids ;  but  to 
perform  their  office  either  by  correcting 
some  morbid  matter  in  the  body,  or  by 
evacuating  it ;  in  the  former  case  they 
are  called  alterants,  in  the  latter  evacu- 
ants. 

These  are  the  general  divisions  or  clas- 
ses into  which  simple  medicines  are  par- 
titioned under  this  system  ;  but  when  we 
begin  to  consider  their  virtues  more  par- 
ticularly, a  variety  of  inferior  divisions 
must  necessarily  ensue.  Thus,  of  the  re- 
laxing medicines,  some,  when  externally 
applied,  are  supposed  merely  to  soften 
the  part;  and  in  such  case  are  called 
emollients ;  while  others,  which  are  sup- 
posed to  have  a  power  of  augmenting  the 
disposition  of  the  secernents  of  an  in- 
flamed part  to  the  secretion  of  pus,  are 
called  maturants  or  suppuratives.  Se- 
dative medicines,  that  have  the  power  of 
assuaging  pain,  are  denominated  parego- 
rics ;  if  they  altogether  remove  or  de- 
stroy pain,  they  are  called  anodynes ;  if 
they  take  off  spasm,  antispasmodics ;  if 
they  produce  quiet  sleep,  hypnotics ; 
if  a  very  deep  and  unnatural  sleep,  to- 
gether with  considerable  stupefaction  of 
the  senses,  narcotics.  Tonic  medicines, 
in  like  manner,  obtain  the  name  of  corro- 
boratives, analeptics,  or  nervines,  when 
they  slightly  increase  the  contractile 
power  of  the  solids ;  but  of  astringents, 
or  adstringents,  if  they  do  this  in  a  great 
degree.  Some  of  this  order  of  medicines 
have  been  supposed  to  promote  the 
growth  of  flesh,  to  consolidate  wounds, 
and  restrain  haemorrhages,  and  hence  the 
names  of  sarcotics  and  traumatics,  or  vuj- 
neraries ;  names,  however,  which  may 
well  be  dispensed  with,  as  the  quality  is 
very  questionable,  and  perhaps  altogether 
erroneously  ascribed.  Other  astringents, 
again,  are  denominated  repellent,  discu- 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


tient,  stimulant,  or  attractive,  according 
to  the  respective  modes  by  which  they 
tire  conceived  to  produce  one  common 
effect.  Medicines  of  the  inflammatory 
tribe,  are,  in  like  manner,  divided  into 
vesicatorics  or  blisters,  if  by  their  appli- 
cation they  raise  watery  bladders  on  the 
skin ;  catlueretics,  escharotics  or  corro- 
sives, if  they  eat  into  and  destroy  the  sub- 
stance of  the  solid  parts  themselves  ;  and 
rubefacti-ve  or  rubefacient,  if  possessed 
of  less  power  than  the  vesicatories,  they 
merely  produce  a  redness  on  the  part  to 
which  they  are  applied,  by  increasing1  the 
action  of  a  part,  and  stimulating  the  red 
particles  of  the  blood  into  vessels  which 
tlo  not  naturally  possess  them.  The  al- 
terant tribe  is  divided  into  absorbents, 
antiseptics,  coagulants,  resolvents,  cale- 
fiants,  and  refrigerants,  according  to  the 
peculiar  mode  by  which  the  different  in- 
dividuals of  this  tribe  are  supposed  to 
operate.  The  evacuants  are  generally 
subdivided  from  the  nature  of  the  hu- 
mour they  are  supposed  to  discharge: 
emetics,  if  they  evacuate  the  contents  of 
the  stomach  by  vomiting ;  cathartics,  if 
they  induce  purging ;  laxatives,  if  they 
produce  a  moderate  discharge  of  feces 
•without  pain  or  sickness;  eccoprotics,  if 
the  discharge  be  greater,  but  still  con- 
fined to  the  common  nature  of  the  feces 
themselves.  Thus  again  they  are  named 
diaphoretics,  if  they  promote  the  expul- 
sion of  humours  through  the  pores  of  the 
skin  >,  ith  a  small  increase  of  action ;  su- 
doriiies,  if  the  increase  of  action  be  great- 
er, and  the  discharge  more  copious.  Such 
as  excite  urine  are  called  diuretics ; 
such  as  produce  evacuation  from  the 
glands  of  the  palate,  mouth,  and  salivary 
ducts,  salivating  medicines;  those  that 
promote  the  discharge  of  mucus  from 
the  throat,  apophlegmatics ;  those  that 
evacuate  by  the  nose,  ptarmics ;  errhines, 
sternutatories  ;  and  those  which  promote 
the  menstrual  discharge,  emenagogues. 
To  this  order,  also,  some  writers  reduce 
those  medicines  which  expel  any  preter- 
natural bodies,  as  worms,  stones,  and  fla- 
tus or  confined  air  :  of  these  the  first  are 
called  anthelmintics  ;  the  second,  and  es- 
pecially when  directed  to  the  bladder, 
lithontriptics;  and  the  third,  carminatives. 
Such  is  the  general  outline  of  those  who 
have  adopted  this  kind  of  system.  But 
it  must  be  obvious  that,  though  the  gene- 
ral outline  be  the  same,  it  may  submit  to 
a  great  variety  of  modifications ;  and 
hence,  again,  the  writers  who  have  made 
choice  of  this  system,  and  founded  their 
classifications  upon  the  effects  produced 
by  the  articles  of  which  they  have  treated 


upon  the  human  body,  have  arranged  it 
in  various  ways,  according  to  their  re- 
spective ideas  of  superior  utility  or  con- 
venience. Hence  the  classes  of  Cullen 
amount  to  twenty-three  ;  those  of  Darwin 
to  not  more  than  seven  ;  while  others 
have  given  us  twelve,  fourteeen  or  fifteen, 
according  to  their  own  fancy. 

The  twenty-three  classes  of  Dr.  Cullen 
are  as  follow": 


Astringents 

Tonics 

Emollients 

Corrosives 

Stimulants 

Narcotics 

Refrigerants 

Antispasmodics 

Diluents 

Attenuants 

Inspissants 

Demulcents 


Antacids 

Antalkalines 

Antiseptics 

Errhines 

Silagogues 

Expectorants 

Emetics 

Cathartics 

Diuretics 

Diaphoretics 

Menagogues. 


The  seven  classes  of  Dr.  Darwin  arc  the 
ensuing : 

Nutrients  Invertents 

Incitants  Ilevertents 

Secernents  Torpents. 
Absorbents 

It  will  appear,  even  upon  a  superficial 
examination  of  the  former  of  these  clas- 
sifications, that  the  first  division  is  unne- 
cessarily diffuse;  thatsomeof  the  divisions 
might  be  introduced  under  one  common 
head,  as,  for  example,  those  of  emollients 
and  demulcents ;  diluents  and  attenuants ; 
and  that  for  one  or  two  of  them  there  is 
little  foundation  in  nature.  We  particu- 
larly allude  in  this  last  instance  to  the  an- 
talkalines,  which  are  obviously  only  intro- 
duced as  a  sort  of  graceful  contrast  to  the 
antacids ;  and  concerning  which  the  wri- 
ter himself  observes,  "had  it  not  been  to 
give  some  appearance  of  system,  and  from 
my  complaisance  to  Dr.  Boerhaave,  who 
treats  de  inwbis  ex  alkali  spontanco,  I  should 
not  have  admitted  of  this  chapter  ;  for  I 
am  well  persuaded  that  no  alkaline  salt, 
in  its  separate  state,  ever  exists  in  the 
blood  vessels  of  the  living  human  body." 
This  is  not  the  only  instance,  however, 
in  which  we  find  men  of  judgment  and 
deserved  reputation  consenting  to  propa- 
gate errors  from  the  mere  love  of  system, 
or  from  attachment  to  names  of  exten- 
sive celebrity.  Happy  would  it  be  for 
us,  that  all  who  thus  act  should  avow  their 
error,  like  the  author  before  us,  and 
thus  put  the  remedy  by  the  side  of  the 
evil ! 

The  classification  of  Dr.  Darwin,  how- 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


ever,  labours  under  still  stronger  objec- 
tions. Instead  of  being1  too  diffuse,  it  is 
too  contracted,  for  we  may  defy  the 
warmest  supporter  of  the  Darwinean 
school  to  simplify  and  arrange. the  whole 
of  what  is  included  in  the  preceding-  clas- 
sification, or  that  ought  to  be  so  included, 
under  the  present.  But  it  has  a  fault  still 
more  prominent ;  and  that  is,  it  is  adapted 
to  an  individual  nosology,  we  mean  the 
nosology  of  the  author  himself;  and  this  a 
nosology,  which  in  some  of  its  divisions 
is  perhaps  founded  on  mere  fancy,  and 
consequently  has  no  chance  of  a  perma- 
nent or  general  adoption.  His  inverten- 
tia  and  revertentia  depend  upon  actions, 
which  to  say  the  least  of  them  are  highly 
doubtful,  and  have  for  some  years  been 
gradually  sinking  into  disbelief. 

Between  these  two  extremes  we  have 
had  a  variety  of  arrangements  of  late 
years,  one  of  the  best  of  which,  perhaps, 
is  Dr.  Kirby's,  published  in  a  small  tract, 
entitled, "  Tables  of  the  Materia  Medica," 
which,  with  a  chemical  and  a  miscella- 
neous division,  consists  of  eighteen  classes; 
but  to  both  of  which  we  cannot  but  ob- 
ject ;  to  the  first,  as  it  enters  too  deeply 
into  the  department  of  pharmacy,  for  a 
mere  list  of  the  materials  of  medicine ; 
and  to  the  second,  as  evincing  a  careless- 
ness, or  want  of  methodizing  talent, 
which  we  should  not  have  expected,  and 
a  total  departure  from  every  system  what- 
ever. We  shall  nevertheless  avail  our- 
selves of  its  general  merit  as  far  as  we 
may  be  able,  and  endeavour  to  correct  its 
deficiencies. 

There  is,  however,  another  point  to 
which  we  must  advert  before  we  proceed 
to  our  classification  :  and  that  is  the  no- 
menclature by  which  the  different  sub- 
stances ought  to  be  distinguished.  Till 
of  late,  from  the  use  of  different  nomen- 
clatures by  different  colleges  of  medicine, 
and  an  absurd  intermixture  of  several  of 
them  by  some  writers,  the  whole  has  been 
a  scene  of  perplexity  and  confusion. 
Within  the  last  six  or  seven  years,  how- 
ever, a  disposition  has  been  progressively 
evinced  to  simplify  and  generalize  the 
technology,  and  render  the  descriptions 
more  accurate.  The  language  of  Linnaeus 
has  been  resorted  to  as  by  common  con- 
sent, throughout  the  three  kingdoms  of 
animals,  vegetables,  and  minerals  ;  and 
though  the  chemical  vocabulary  of  La- 
voisier has  not  yet  been  generally  intro- 
duced, it  is  daily  gaining  ground  in  the 
publications  of  individual  writers,  and  has 
been  admitted  in  its  utmost  latitude  into 
one  or  two  of  our  collegiate  pharmaco- 


poeias. The  college  of  Edinburgh,  as 
it  has  long  led  the  way  as  a  medical 
school,  has  also  taken  vhe  lead  in  this  in- 
stance,  and  has  the  honour  of  having  first 
composed  a  pharmacopoeia,  in  the  pure 
and  unmixed  language  of  science,  by  its 
last  edition,  published  in  November  1804. 
The  Dublin  College  has  followed  its  ex- 
ample, by  a  very  excellent  specimen  alte- 
rum,  published  about  six  months  ago  ; 
and  at  length  the  College  of  London,  sti- 
mulated by  such  noble  incentives,  has  also 
roused  itself,  and  is  on  the  point  of  re- 
editing  its  own  pharmacopoeia,  with  the 
modern  improvements,  of  the  greater  part 
of  which  we  are  even  now  able  to  avail 
ourselves,  from  the  possession  of  one  of 
the  few  copies  which  have  been  worked 
off"  as  specimens,  and  circulated  amidst 
the  members  of  the  college,  and  the  best 
informed  medical  practitioners,  for  the 
purpose  of  marginal  remarks,  before  the 
publication  of  the  work  in  a  finished  state. 
In  its  general  nomenclature,  it  will  be 
found  not  to  vary  essentially  from  the  no- 
menclature of  the  Edinburgh  pharmaco- 
poeia, and  especially  in  that  part  of  it 
which  relates  to  the  Materia  Medica,  the 
immediate  object  before  us. 

We  freely  confess  our  surprise,  that, 
from  the  errors  resulting  from  a  promis- 
cuous use  of  weights  and  measures,  no- 
thing either  general  or  very  decisive,  has 
been  attempted  by  either  of  the  two  new, 
or  the  projected  pharmacopoeia.  It  would 
have  added  largely  to  the  reputation  of 
the  intended  edition  of  the  London  Col- 
lege, if  it  had  adopted  the  decimal  and 
applicable  mensuration  of  the  French  In- 
stitute, at  the  same  time  that  it  consented 
to  admit  the  French  nomenclature.  It  has 
not,  however,  been  altogether  inactive 
upon  this  subject,  for  it  has  thrown  away 
the  unscientific  and  indecisive  measure  of 
drops,  and  has  instituted  that  of  grains  in 
its  stead,  so  that  a  drop  in  the  forthcom- 
ing edition  will  be  found  to  answer  to  a 
grain,  in  the  same  manner  as  a  pint  an- 
swers to  a  pound,  the  Troy  weight  being 
still  continued  as  heretofore  :  and  of 
course  a  scruple  will  intimate  twenty 
grains  of  liquids  as  well  as  of  solids.  We 
shall  only  observe  further,  that  the  Edin- 
burgh College  has  expressed  an  intracta- 
ble abhorrence  of  all  measures  of  medi- 
cines whatsoever,  and  in  consequence  has 
rejected  their  use  in  every  instance  :  so 
that  in  the  Edinburgh  forms,  the  liquids 
of  every  kind  are  supposed  to  be  em. 
ployed  by  weight  alone. 

In  the  ensuing  classification  we  have 
been  anxious  to  give  our  readers  a  gene- 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


ral  and  concentrated  view,  as  far  as  we 
have  been  able,  not  only  of  the  substances 
employed,  Ivt  of  the  mode  and  prepara- 
tion in  wlaei;  they  are  exhibited  by  the 
different  pharmacopoeias  at  present  ex- 
tant; we  may  be  told,  perhaps,  that  we  are 
hereby,  in  some  measure,  entrenching 
upon  i, ie  province  of  Pharmacy,  properly 
so  called.  We  are  not  insensible  to  the 
remark  :  but  we  hereby  gain  an  advantage 
which  no  other  plan  could  present  to  us; 
we  offer  at  one  and  the  same  time  a  table 
of  comparative  statements,  and  show  the 
various  forms  in  which  the  same  material 
becomes  an  official  drug.  We  have  also 
been  anxious  to  exhibit,  in  every  instance, 
a  glance  at  the  common  dose  for  adult 
age,  as  well  as  to  specify  in  terms,  as  ab- 
breviated as  possible,  the  name  of  the 
country  in  which  the  different  articles 
exist  indigenously  ;  the  part  or  organ  of 
the  substance  employed  ;  and  the  dis- 
ease in  which  it  is  supposed  to  be  effi- 
cacious. The  classification  is  as  follows, 
and  every  class  is  subdivided  as  far  as 
possible  into  an  animal,  a  vegetable,  and 
u  fossile  section. 


Emetics 

Expectorants 

Diaphoretics 

Diuretics 

Cathartics 

Emmenagogues 

Errliines 

Sialagogues 

Emollients 


Refrigerants 

Astringents 

Tonics 

Stimulants 

Antispasmodics 

Narcotics 

Anthelmintics 

Absorbents 


CLASS  I.    EMETICA. 

SECT.   I.     ANIMALIA. 

Murias  Ammonite.  Edin. 

Sal.  ammoniactim.  Lond.  Dub. 
Brittannia. 

Aq.  carbonatis  ammonise.E."^ 

Aq.  ammoniac.  L.  V dr.  1—2. 

Liquor  alkali  volat.  mitis.D.  J 

SECT.  II.     VEGETABILIA. 

Anthemis  nobilis.  E. 

Chamiemelum.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Flos.  Infus.  dr,  2 — 4.  ad.  aq.  lib.  J. 
Asarum  europaeum.  E. 

Asarum.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Hal.  Folia.  Pulv.  dr.  £ — 1. 
Centaurea  benedicta. 

Carduus  bentclictus.  L. 

Insul  gr?ec.  Folia,  int'us.  vel  decoct. 
Cephrelis  ipecacuanha. 

Ipecacuanha.  L.  E.  D. 


India   occid.   Brasil.  Radix.  Pulv.  gr. 

15—25. 
Vinum  ipecacuanha.   L.  E.  D.   unc. 

1-2. 

Nicotiana  Tabacum.  E. 
Nicotiana.  L. 

America.  Folia.  Fum.  Cataplasm. 
Olea  europxa.  E. 
Oliva.  L.  D. 

Europ.  merid.  Fructus  oleum  express. 
Ad  Venena. 
Scilla  maritima.  E. 
Scilla.  L.D. 

Eur.  merid.  Rad.  Pulv.  gr.  4  —  10. 
Acetum.  Scillae  marit.  E. 
Acet.  scillse.  L.D.  unc.  ^  —  1. 
Sinapis  alba.  E. 
Sinapi.  L.  D. 

Brit.   Seminis   pulvis    aqua  commixt, 
dr.  1. 

SECT.  III.     FOSSILIA. 

Sulphas  Cupri.  E. 

Cuprum  vitriolat.  L.D. 
Brit.  Solut.  gr.  2—5. 
Ad  Venena. 

Sulphuretum  antimonii.  E. 
Antimonium.  L.  Stibium.  D. 
Brit. 

Oxidum  Antimonii  cum  Sulphur,  vi- 
trificat  E. 

Antimonium  vitrificatum  L. 

Vinum  Antimonii  L. 

Tartris  Antimonii  E.  "1  gr.1-4. 

Antimonium  tartarisatum  L  >  dos.re- 

Tartarum  Stibiatum.  D.        J  petit. 

Vinum  Tartrit.    Antimon.    E.    unc. 


Antimon.  tartar.  L. 
Tartar!  stibiat.  D.  dr.  2—6. 
Zincum  E. 

Sulphas  Zinci  E.  ?      1Q_  «,0 

Zincum  vitriolatum.  L.  D.  5  &r'A 

CLASS  II.     EXPECTORANTIA. 

SECT.   I.     VEGETABILIA. 

Cephzelis  Ipecacuanha.  Pulv.  gr.  1.  Stia 

aut  4ta  qu.  hor. 
Peripneumon.  noth.  Asthma. 
Nicotiana  Tubacum.     Fumus. 
Scilla  maritima. 

Acet.  Scil.  maritim.  dr.  2  —  4. 

Syrup  Scill  maritim.  E. 

Oxymel  Scillx.  L.  D. 

Tinctura  Scilix.  L.  gt.  10  —  dr.  1. 

Pauls  Scillee.  L.D.  7        1n     ,- 

Semitic*.  E  5  £r-10-15' 

Conserva  Scillae,  L.  gr.  30  —  40. 
Allium  sativum.  E. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Allium.  L.  D. 

Eur.  mcrid.  Rad.  reccns.  dr.  1 — 2. 

Syrupus  Allii.  L.  coch.  1.  subinde. 
Ammoniacum.  E.  L.  D. 

India.    Gum-resin.  Pil.  Mist. gr.  10—20. 

dos.  rep. 
Lac  Ammoniaci.  L.   unc.  1 — 2.  dos. 

rep. 

Arum  maculatum.  E. 
Arum.  L. 
Brit.  Rad.  recens. 

Conserv.  Ari.  L.  dr.  ^ — 1. 
Colchicum  autumnale.  E. 
Colchicum.  L. 
Brit.  Rad.  recens. 

Syrupus  Colcbici  autumnalJE.  ?  dr.  2 — 
Oxymel  Colchici.  L.  3  unc.  1. 

Ferula  Asa  foetida.  E. 
Asafoetida.  L.D. 
Persia.  Gum-resin.  Pil.  mist.gr.  10 — 15. 

dos.  rep. 
Lac  Asae  fcetidse.  L.  unc.  1 — 2.  dos. 

rep. 

Hyssopus  officinalis. 
Hyssopus.  D. 
Brit.  Herba. 
Marrubium  vulgare.  L. 

Brit.  Folia.  Syrup. 
Myrrha.  L.  E.  D. 

Arab.  Abyssin.  Gum-resin.  Pul.  Pil.  gr. 

10— dr.  £. 

Pimpinella  Anisum.  E. 
Anisum.  L.  U. 
Asia.  Semin.  Infus. 

Ol.  volat.  Pimpinell.  Anisi.  E. 

Essent.  Anisi.  L.  gr.  2 — 6. 
Polygala  Senega.  E. 
Seneka.  L.  D. 
Amer.  Rad. 
Decoctum.  Polygal.  Senegs.  E.  unc. 

Cynanch.  tracheal.  Pneumon. 
Styrax  Benzoin.  E. 
Benzoinum.  D. 
Benzoe.  L. 
Sumatra.  Balsam. 
Acidum  Benzoicum.  E. 
Sal  Benzoini.  D.        £  gr.  1—2.  dos. 
Flores  Benzoes.  L.   5      repel. 
Tinct.  Benzceis.  compos.  L.  gt.  15 — 30. 
Alcohol. 

Spirit.  Vini  rectificat.  L.  D. 
JEther  Sulphuricus.  E.  ^   forma  va- 

vitriolicus.  L.  D.  >       poris. 
Astlima. 


SECT.  II.     FOSSILIA. 

Sulphuretum  Antimonii. 

Tartris  Antimonii.  gr. -3 — |.  subinde. 
VinumTartrit.  Antimoiiii.  E  dr.  1 — 2. 


jgr.3-5. 


Antimonii  tartaris.  L.  D.  gt. 

30— d.  1. 
Sulphuretum  Antimonii    precipitat 

E*. 
Sulphur  Antimonii  praecip. 

L.  Stibii  rufum.  D. 
Sulphur  sublimatum.  E. 
Flores  Sulphuris.  L.  D. 

Sulphur  subamat.  lotum.  E.">  gr.  15- 
Flores  Sulphuris  Joti.  L.  D.  3  dr.  ^. 
Oleum   Sulphuratum.    L.  13.  E.  ert. 

10—20. 

Petroleum  Sulphuratum.  L. 
Trochisci  Sulphuris.  L. 
Asthma,  &c. 

*  This  should  have  been  called  Hydro- 
sulphuretum. 

CLASS  III.    DIAPHORETICA. 
A.  Mitiora. 

SECT.  I.      ANIMALIA. 

Murias  Ammoniac. 

Aqua  Carbonat.  Ammoniac,  gt.  50. 
Carbonas  Ammoniac.  E.^ 
Ammonia  preparata.  L.  Cgr.  5 — 10. 
Alkali  volatile  mite.  D.  3 
Alcohol  Ammoniatum.  E. 
Spirit.  Ammoniac.  L.       7  gt-  30 — 
Alkali  volatil.  D.  5  dr.  1. 

SECT.  II.      VEGETABILIA. 

Anthemis  nobilis. 

Infus.  calid. 
Centaurea  Benedicta. 

Ibid. 
Myrrha. 

Pulv. 

Allium  sativum. 
Acidum  Acetosum. 
Acetum.  L.  D 
Serum  lactis  Aceto  coacti. 
Rheumatism. 

Acidum  Acetosum  destillat.  E. 
Acetum  distillatum.  L.  D. 
Aqua  Acetitis  Ammonias.  E."^ 

Ammoniac  acetatae.  L.    vdr.  3-6. 
Liq.  Alhali  volat.  acetat.       j 
Arctium  Lappa.  E. 
Bardana.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Rad.  Decoct. 
Artemisia  Abrotanum. 
Abrotanum.  L. 
Eur  merid.  Folia.  Infus. 
Aristolochia  Serpentaria.  E. 
Serpentaria.  L.  D. 

Americ.Rad.  Pulv.  gr.  20—30. 6ta  quaq. 
hor. 


MATERIA  MEDIC  A. 


dr.  3-6. 


Pulv, 


Tinctur.  Aristoloch.  Ser-" 
pcntar.  E. 

Sepentar  L. 

Daphne  Mezereum.  E. 
Mezereum.  L. 
Mezereon.  D. 
Eur.    septentr.  Radicis   cortex. 

gr.  1. 
Decoctum  Daphnes  Mezerei.  E.  unc. 

1—2. 

Syphil.  Morb.  cutan. 
Dorstenia  Contrayerva.  E. 
Contrayerva.  I...  D. 
Amer.  merid.  Had.  Pulv.  gr.  30—40. 
Decoct. 

Febr.  Cynancli. 
Pulv.  Contraycrv.comp.  L.gr.  30 — 40. 

4ta.  qu.  hor. 
Fumaria  officinalis. 
Fumaria.  D. 
Brit.  Herba.  Infus. 
Laurus  Sassafras.  E. 
Sassafras.  L.  D. 

Amer.  sept.  Ling.  Rad.  Cort.  Decoct. 
Salvia  officinalis.  E. 
Salvia.  L.  D. 

Eur.  mer.  Folia.  Infus.  ad  libitum. 
Sambucus  nigra.  E. 
Sambucus.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Baecx.  Succus  expressus. 

Succus  baccae  Sambuc.  spissat,  L. 
Smilax  Sarsaparilla.  E. 
Sarsaparilla.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Occ.  Rad.  Decoct. 
Decoctum  Smilac.  Sarsapa-" 
rilLE. 

Sarsaparill.  L.  D. 
compos. 
Ad  morbos  cutan. 
Solanum  Dulcamara.  E. 
Dulcamara.  E. 
Brit.  Stipites.  Decoct. 
Supertartris  Potassse.  E. 
Crystalli  Tartari.  L.  D. 
Gallia,  &c.  Pulv.  Solut.  scr.  1— dr.  1. 
szepius  in  die. 

B.  Fortiora. 

SECT.  I.      ANIMALIA. 

Moschus  moschiferus.  E. 
Moschus.  L.  D. 
Asia.  Msetries  prope  Umbilic.  collccta. 

Bol. 

Haust.  gr.  10—20. 
Mistura  moschata.  L.  unc.  1 — 2. 

SECT.  II.      VEGETABILIA. 

Aconitum  neomontanum. 


Aconitum  napellus.  L.  E.  D. 

Eur.   mer.   Folia.   Pulv.    Tinctur. 


lib.  1. 


Succus  spissat.  Aconit  uapell.  E.  gr, 

i — 2. 

Rheumat.  Podagr.  Paralys. 
Guaiacum.  officinale,  E. 
Guaiacum.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Occ.  Ling. 
Cort.  Dec.  Gum-resin.  Pulv.  Pil.  Emuls. 

gr.  10—30. 
Decoct.  Guaiaci  offic.  comp.  E.  lib. 

^ — 1.  in  die. 
Ad.  morb.  cutan. 
Tinctur.  Guaiac.  offic.  dr.  2—4. 
Ammoniac.  E.} 
Guaiaci.  L.     's.dr.  1 — 3. 
volatilis.  D.    j 
Rheumatism. 
Laurus  Camphora.  E. 
Camphora.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Orient.  Bol.  Mist.  gr.  5—20. 
Mistura  Camphorata,  L.  unc.  2 — £, 
Emulsio  Camphorata,  E.  unc.  1 — 3 
Papaver  somniferum.  E. 
Pap.  album.  L.  D. 
Opium. 
Asia.  Succus  spiss.  capsul.  Pil.  Pulv.  gr 

1—2. 

Tinctura  Opii.  L.  E.  D.  gt.  25 — 50. 

Tinct.  Opii  camphorat.  L.  dr.  2 — 6. 

Ammoniata.  E.  dr.  1 — H. 

Pulv.  Ipecac,  et  Opii.  E.  ^  gr.  10— 

compos.  L.  D.3      20. 
Rhododendron  Chrysanthum.  E. 

Siberia.  Fol.  Summit.  Decoct,  dr.  2 — 4, 

ad  lib.  7. — unc.  1 — 2.  bis  in  die. 
Rheumut.  Podagr. 

SECT.  III.      FOSSIIIA. 

Sulphuretum  Antimonii. 

Tartris  Antimonii.gr.  £.  6ta.  qu.  hora. 
Vinum  Tartrit.  Antimon.  E.  dr.  2. 

Antimon.  tartar.  L.  dr.  1. 
Sulphuret.  Antimon.  prxp.  gr.  1 — 2. 
Sulphur  Stibii  fuscum.  D.  Gr.  1— H, 
Oxidum  Antimon.  cum  % 

phosphate  Calcis.  E. 
Pulvis  Antimonialis  L. 

StibiatusD.  )llu 

Antimoniurn  calcinatum  L.  gr.  10 — 

15. 

Calx  Stibii  praecipitat.  D. 
Febres.  Cynanchen.  Pneumon.  Rheu- 
mat.   Variol.  Rubeol.  Scarlatin. 
Catarrh. 
Dysenter,  &c. 
Sulphur  sublimatum. 

Sulph.  sublimat.  lat  E. 

praecipitat.  L. 
Hydrargyrum. 


MATERIA  MEDIGA. 


Hydrargyrus.  L.  E.  D. 
Hungaria,  &c. 

Hydrargyr.  purificat  L.  E.  D. 
Submurias  Hydrargyr.  E.^ 
Calomelas.  L.  '  gr.  1. 

Hydrarg.    muriat.    mit.    fnocte. 

sublim.  D.  J 

Rheumat. 

CLASS  IV.    DIURETICA. 

SECT.    I. 


Lytta  vesicatoria. 
Meloe  vesicatoria.  E. 
Cantharis.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Pulv.  gr.  3.  —  1.  4ta  vel  6ta  qu. 

hor. 
Tinctur.  Meloes  vesicat.  E. 

Cantharid.  L.  gt.  10—20. 
Ischur.  Hydrop. 
©niscus  Asellus.  E. 
Millepedes.  L. 
Brit. 

SECT.    II.      VEGETABILIA. 

Asarum  europaeum.  Rad.  Decoct. 

Hydrop. 
Nicotiana  Tabacum.  Infus.  line.    1.  ad  lib. 

1.  gt.  60—80. 
Hydrop.  Dysur. 
Scilla  maritima.  Pulv.  gr.  1  —  2.  bis  terve 

in  die. 

Tinctur.  Scil*.  gt.  20—30. 
Hydrop. 
Allium  sativum. 
Colchicum  autumnale. 
Syrup.  Colchici.  E. 
Oxymel  Colchica.  L. 
Acetum  Colchici.  D.  _ 
Hydrop. 
.Polygala  Senega. 

Decoct.  Polygal.  Seneg.  unc.  1  —  1^. 
Acidum  Acetosum. 

Acetis  Potassse.  E.  ^ 

Kali  acetatum.  L.  C  ser.  1  —  4. 

Alkali  vegetabile  acetat.j 
Hydrop.  Icterura. 
Daphne  Mezereum. 

Decoct.  Daplm.  Mezerei.  unc.  1  —  2. 
Smilax  Sarsaparilla. 

Decoct.  Sarsaparill.  com.  ad  libit. 
Solanum  Dulcamara.  Decoct. 
Supertartris  Potassx  Solut.  unc. 

Hydrop. 

Allium  Cepa. 

Cepa.  D. 

Cult.  Rad.  recens  ad  libit. 
Gissampelos  Pareira. 
Pareira.  brava.  L.  D. 
Jnd.  Occid.  Rad. 
Cochlearia  Armoracia,  E. 
VOIi.  IT, 


dr.  1—4.   bis 
terve  in  die. 


in  die. 


Raphanus  rusticanus.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Rad.  recens.  Infus. 
Hydropes. 
Copaifera  Officinalis.  E. 

Balsamum  Copaiva.  L.  Copaiba.  D. 
Ind.  Occ.  Amer.  Resin.   Gutt.  EmuJs.. 

gtt.  20—60. 
Cynara  Scolymus. 
Cin.  Scolymus.  E. 
Cinara.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Folia.  Succ.  express,  unc.  ^ — 

1.  bis  in  die. 
Hydrop. 

Digitalis  purpurea.  E. 
Digitalis.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Fol.  Pulv.  gr.  1.  bis  in  die.  Infi|£. 

Decoct. 
Hydrop. 

Juniperus  communis. 
Juniperis.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Bacc.  scr.  1 — dr.  £.  Cacumen.  In- 
fus. ad  libit. 

Spir.  Juniper.  commun."lunc.  £—1. 
comp.  E.  vdilut.su- 

compos.  L.  D.  J  bind. 
Ol.  Juniper.  L.  D. 

commun.  E. 
Juniperus  Lycia. 
OHbanum.'L.  D. 
India.  Gum-resin. 
Leontodon  Taraxacum. 

Taraxacum.  L.  D.  Rad. 
Pinus  Sylvestris.  E. 

Terebinthina  vulgaris.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Resina  et  ol.  volat.  Gutt.  Enema. 

Pill.  gr.  15—20. 

Ol.  Volat.  Terebinth  rect.  gtt.  20 — 30, 
Pinus  Larix. 

Terebinthina  Veneta.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Resina.  Enema.  Pill. 
Spartium  scoparium.  E. 
Genista.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Sem.  Cacum.  Decoct,  ad  libit. 
Ulmus  campestris.  E. 
Ulmus.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Cort.  intern.  Decoct. 
Decoct.  Ulmi.  L.  unc.  4 — 8.  saepius  in 

die. 
Ad  morb.  cutan. 

SECT.  in.    rossniA. 

Hydrargyrum. 

Murias  Hydrargyri.  E.      "^ 
Hydrargyrus  muriatus.  L.  v gr.  -|^^-. 
Hyd.  mur.  corros.  D.         j 
Ad  morb.  cutan. 
Nitras  Potassre.  E. 
Nitnim.  L.  D. 
India.  Pulv.  gr.  5 — 15. 

Nitnim  purificat.  E.  L.  u.  s. 
Acidum  Nitrosum.  L.  E.  D.  dr.  1— 2> 

ad  Aqujs  lib,  1,  in  die. 
Mm 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Spir.   zether.   nitros,  L.   E.  D.   gtt. 
30—60.  saep.  in  die. 

CLASS  V.     CATHARTIC  A. 
A.  Mtiora. 

SECT.    I.      AXOIALIA. 

Mel.  I,.  E.  D. 

Brit. 
Mel  despumatum.  E.  L.  D. 

SECT.    II.      VEGETABILIA. 

Anthemis  nobilis. 

Decoct.  Anthemid.  nobil.  E.Enc-ma. 
Olea  europaea.  Oleum.  Enema. 
Supertartris  Potassae.  Pulv.  dr.  2 — 4. 
Tartris  Potassje.  E.    "\ 

Kali  tartarisatum.  L.    [  ,     9 ,. 

Alkali  vegetabile  tar-  ¥ 

tarisat.  D.  J 

Tartris  Potassse  et  Sodae.  E.  ^ 
Natron  tartarisatum.  L.      Cunc.  1-2, 
Sal  Rupellense.  D.  3 

Ad    Febres.     Phlegmas.    Haemorrhag. 

Comata.  Colicam. 
Choleram.  Hydropes.  Icterum. 
Cassia  fistula.  E. 
C.  fistularis.  L.  D. 

Ind.  Or.  et  Occ.  Fnict.  Pulpa.  ad  libit. 
Electuar.  Cassiae.  L. 


C.  Senna.  E. 
Senna.  L.  D. 
JEgypt.  Folia.  Pulv.  Infus. 

Pulvis  Sennse  composit.  L.  dr.  % — 1. 

Febres,  &c. 

Electuar.  CassiaeSennae.E. 7  i    a    c. 
Senn*.L.D.       j  dr.  2-6. 

Infusum  Sennae.  Simpl.  L."^ 

Senna;.  D.  Cunc.l — 3. 

tartarisat.  L.    ^ 
Infus.  Tamarind.  Indie,  cum    Cass. 

Senna  E.  unc.  1 — 3. 
Tinctura  Sennae.  comp.  E. 

Sennse.  L.  D.  unc.  \ — 1£. 
Colicam. 
Ficus  Carica. 
Carica.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Fruct. 
Fraxinus  Ornus.  E. 
Manna.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Succ.  concret.  Solut.  Elect 

unc.  1— 1£. 
Syrupus  Mannse.  D. 
Prunus  Domestica.  E. 
Pr.  Gallica.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Fruct.  ad  libit. 
Rosa  Damascena.  L.  D. 
Rosa  centifolia.  E. 
Eur.  mer.  Petala. 


Aq.  Rosae  centifolia.  E. 

Ross.  L.  D. 
Syrup.  Ross,  centifol.  E. 

Rosa:.  L.  D. 

Saccharum  officinale.  E. 
Sacch.  non.  purificat.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Occid.  Succ.  spissat. 
Tamarindus  Indicus.  E. 
Tamarindus.  L.  D. 

Ind.  Occ.  Fruct.  Pulpa.  unc.  1 — 2.  In- 
fus. 

Viola  odoratu.  E. 
Viola.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Petala.  Infus. 

Syrupus  Violae  odoratae.  E. 
viols.  L.  D. 

SECT.    HI.      FOSSILIA. 

Sulphur  sublimatum. 

Sulphur,  sublimat.  lotum.  dr.  1 — 2 
Ad  Hxinorrhag-.  Morb.  cutan.  Obsti- 

pat. 

Sapo  Hispanus.  L.  E.  D. 
Hispan.  Pil.  Enema. 
Icterum. 

B.  Fortiora. 

SECT.    I.      AXTMALIA. 

Cervus  Elaphus.  E. 
Cervus.  L.  Cornu  cervinum.  D. 
Pliosphas  Calcis. 
Phosphas  Sodae.  E.  unc.  1—2. 

SECT.    II.      VEGETABILIA. 

Nicotiana  Tabacum.  Fum.  Infus.  pro  Ene- 

mat. 

Colicam  Obstipat. 
Sambncus  nigra.  Cortex  interior  Decoct. 

unc.  1.  ad  lib.  1.  in  die. 
Hydrop. 
Pinus  sylvestris  7  -»<.      t.-  ^« 

Larix         k  l  erebmtmna  Enemat 
Aloe  perfoliata.  E. 
Aloe  Soccotrina. 
A.  Hepatlca. 
A.  Cabalina.  L.  E.  D. 
Asia.  Ind.  Occ.  Africa.  Gum  resin.  Pil. 

gr.  5—20. 

Pulv.  Aloes  cum  Canella.  L.gr.  8 — 20. 
Pilulae  Aloeticze  E.  D.     7 

Aloes  compos.  L.j^.  10-20. 
Aloes  cum  Colocynth.  L.  gr. 

10-29. 

Vinum  Aloes  Soccotrin.  E.  unc.  1—2. 

Aloes.  L.  Aloetic.  D.  unc.  ^ — 1. 

Tinctura  Aloes  socotrin.E.  7  unc.  ^ — 

Aloes.  L.  5  1£. 

Dyspeps.  Hypochondrias.  Chloros. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Icter.  Obstipat. 
Bryonia  alba.  E. 
Bryonia.  D. 

Brit.  Rad.  Decoct.  Pulv.  scr.  1 — 2. 
Maniam .  Hydrop. 
Convolvulus  Jalapa.  E. 
Jalapium.  L. 
Jalapa.  D. 

Amer.  Rad.  Pulv.  Bolus,  gr.  15—30. 
Pulvis  Jalapx  compos.  E.  dr.  ^ — 1. 
Extract.  Rad.  Convol-} 

vul.  Jalapse.  E.      C  gr.  5—12. 

Jalapii.  L.      j 
Tinctur.   Gonvolvul.   Jalapae.  E.  dr. 

3—6. 
Tinctur.  Jalapii.  L.  T.  Jalaps.  D.  dr. 

2—4. 

Conv.  Scammoniura.  E. 
Scammonium.  L.  D. 
Asia.  Resin.  Pulv.  Bol.  Pil.  gr.  5 — 15. 
Pulvis  Scammon.  comp.  L.  gr.  8 — 15. 
E.  gr.  10—30. 
cum  Aloe.  L.  gr.  5 — 12, 
Electuar.  Scammonii.  L.  D.  gr.  15—30. 
Hydrop.  Vermes. 
Cucumis  colocynthis.  E. 
Colocynthis  L,  D. 
Syria.  Fructus  medulla.  Pil.  Bol.  gr. 

2—5. 
Extract.  Colocynth.  comp.  L.  gr.  5 — 

15. 

Gratiola  officinalis.  E. 
Gratiola.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Herba.  Radix.  Decoct.  Pulv. 

gr.  15—30. 

Helleborus  niger.  E.  D. 
Melampodium. 
Eur.  mer.  Rad.  Pulv.  Pil. 

Extract.  Hellebor.  nigri.  E.  gr.  3—6. 
Hydrop. 
Helleb.  fostidus. 
Helleboraster.  L. 
Brit.  Rad.  Fol.  Decoct. 
Iris  Pseudacorus. 
Iris.  D 
Brit.  Rad.  recens.  Succ.  express,  gtt. 

60—80. 
Hydrop. 
Linum  catharticum.  D. 

Brit.  Herba.  Infus.  Pulv.  dr.  1. 
Momordica  Elaterium.  E. 
Cucumis  agrestis.  L. 
Brit.  Fructus  recens. 
Succ.  spiss.  Momordic.} 
Elater.  E.  C  gr.  1—3. 

Elaterium.  L.  j 

Hydrop. 

Rhamnus  Catharticus.  E. 
Spina  cervina.  L. 
Brit.  Bacca.  Succ.  express. 

Syrupus  Rhamni  cathart.  E,"}     dr. 
spinse  cervinse.  L.   3  6—12. 


Hydrop. 

Rheum  palmatum.  E. 
Rhabarbarum.  L.  D. 
Russia.  Ind.  Rad.  Pulv.  Bol.  Pil.  gr. 

10—40. 

Infusum  Rhei  palmati.  E.  unc.  1 — 3. 
Vinum  Rhei  palmati.  E.  dr.  2—6. 
Vinum  Rhabarbari.  L.  unc.  1—2. 
Tinctura  Rhei  palmat.  E.}    unc. 
Rhabarbari.  L.  3^ — 1$. 
Rhabarbari  comp.  L.  unc.  1. 
Rhei  et  Aloes.  E.  dr.  4—6. 

Gentian.  E.  dr.  4—6. 
Febres.   Dysenter.   Dyspeps.   Hypo- 

chond.  Icterum. 
Ricinus  communis.  E.  L.  D. 

Ind.  Occ.  Seminum  Ol.  express,  dr. 

3 — unc.  1. 

Stalagmitis  Gambogioides.  E. 
Gambogia.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Gum-resin.  Phil.  g.  3 — 15. 

SECT.    III.       FOSSILIA. 

Sulphuretum  Antimonii. 

Tartris  Antimonii.  gr.  £  4ta.  quaq.  hor. 
Dysenter. 
Hyd'rargyrum. 

Submurias  Hydrargyri.  gr.  1 — 4. 
Submurias  Hydrargyri  prx-"^ 

cipitat.  E. 

Hydrargyr.  muriat.  mitis.  L.  )-QJLio* 
Hydrarg.mur.mit.praecip.D.  J 
Pilulje  Hydrargyri.  E.  D.  L.  J 
Phlegmas.  Comata.  Colicam.  Icterum. 
Obstipat.  &c. 
Nitras  Potassae. 

Sulphas  Potasss.  E.         "> 

Kali  vitriolatum.  L,  f,    j -2 

Alkali  vegetabile  vitrio-  ' 
lat.  D.  J 

Murias  Sodae.  E. 

Natron  muriatum.  L. 
Alkali  fossile  muriatum.  D. 
Brit.  Solut.  unc.  £ — 1.  Enem. 
Sulphas  Sodae.  E.  ~) 

Natron  vitriolatum.  L,      £  unc.  1—2. 
Alkali  fossile  vitriolat.  D.  ) 
Sulphas  Magnesiae.E. 
Magnesia  vitriolat.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Solut.  Enem.  unc.  £ — 1£. 
Dysenter.  &c. 

CLASS  VI.    EMMENAGOGA. 

SECT.  I.      ANIMAHA. 

Murias  Ammoniac. 

Carbonas  Ammonia. 
Castor  Fiber.  E. 
Castor.  L.  D. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Russia  Amer.  Mater,  prope  anum  col- 

lecta. 
Pulv,  Pi!,  gr.  10—20.  Enem.  scr.  2— 

dr.  1. 

Tinctura  Castor.  L.  E.  D.   gtt.  20 
dr.  1. 

compos.  E  gtt.  20. — dr.  1 

SECT.  II.       VEGETABILIA. 

Anthemis  nobilis.  Pulv.  Infus.  fort. 
Extract.  Anthem,  nobil.") 

E.  C  gr.  15—30. 

Chamxmel.L.D  j 
Ammoniacum.  Pil  gr.  10. — scr.  1. 
Ferula  Asa  foetida.  Pil.  gr   10—20. 

Pii.  Asx  foetid,  comp.  E.  gr.  15—30. 
Tinctur.  Asa:  foetid.  L.  E.  D.  dr.  1—2. 
Alcohol.  Ammoniat.  foetid.  E. 
Spir.  Ammonia  foetid.  L.     ")  gU.  SO 

Alkal  volatil  fostid.  D.5  —dr.  1. 
Marrubium  vulgare.  Infus. 
Myrrh  a, 

Pulvis  Myrrh,  comp.  L.  gr.  15—20. 
Solanum  Dulcamara. 
Aloe  pertbliata.  Pil.gr.  1.  ter  in  die. 

Pulv.   Aloes    cum    Myrrh.    L.    gr. 

15—30. 

Pil.  Aloes  cum   Myrrh.  L.  gr.  8 — 15. 
E.  gr.  5—12. 

cum  Asa  fcetida.  E.  gr.  10. 
bis  in  die. 
Tinctura  Aloes  compos.  L.  unc.  1. 

cum  Myrrh  a.  dr.  2—4. 
Bryonia  alba.  Pulv.  gr.  10—20. 
Helleborus  niger. 

Tinctura  Hellebor.  nigr.  E.  dr.  1.  bis 

in  die. 
Rheum  palmatum.  Pulv.  gr.  5 — 10.  bis  in 

die. 

Pil  til.  Rhei  compos,  scr.  1. — dr.  ^. 
Arnica  montana.  E.  L. 

German.  Flores.  Infus.  scr.  1—2.  in  die. 
Bubon  Galbanum.  E. 
Gal  ban  u  m.  L.  D. 
Afric.  Gum-resin,  gr.  10 — 20. 
Tinctura  Galbani.  L.  dr.  1. 
Pilui.  Galbani  compos,  gr.  15 — 30. 
Junipt'i-us  Subina.  E. 
Sabina.  L.  D. 

Asia.  Fol.  Pulv.  gr.  10 — 15.  bis  in  die. 
Extract.  Sabinse  compos.  L.  D.   gr. 

5 — 10.  bis  in  die. 
Tinct.  Sabinae.  L.  gtt.  40  -60. 
Pastinaca  Opopanax-  E. 
Opopanax.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Gum -resin.  Pil. 
Rosmarinus  officinalis.  E. 
Rosmarinus.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Summitat.  Infus. 
Rubia  tinctorum.  E. 
Rubia.  L.  D. 


Brit.  Zealand.  Rad.  Pulv.  dr.  -J—  1.  ter 

in  die. 

Ruta  graveolens. 
Ruta.  L,  D, 

Eur.  mer.  Herba.  Infus. 
Extract.  Rutae.  L.  D. 
Sagapenum  L,  E.  D. 

.  Gum-resin.  Pil. 


SECT.    III.      TOSSILIA. 

Hydrargyrum. 

Submurias.  Hydrargyri.  gr.  3  —  5. 

prxcip.  gr.  5  —  10. 
Pilul?e  Hydrargyr.  gr.  10  —  20. 
Ferrum  E.  L.  D. 
Brit.,  &c. 

*  Carbonas  Ferri.  E.   ">  scr.  1  —  dr.  1. 

Rubigo  Ferri.  L.  D.  5  bis  in  die. 
Carbonas  Ferri  prxcip.  E.  gr.  5  —  15. 
Aqua  Ferri  JErati.  D.  lib.  f  —  1.  in  die. 
Sulphas  Ferri.  E.  ~>  gr  1  —  5.  bis 

Ferrum  vitriolat.  L  D.  }  in  die. 
Vmurn  Ferri.  L.  dr.  2  —  4. 
Tinctur.MuriaUsFerri.-l    ?t  1Q_2? 

'6' 


*  The  quantity  of  Carbonic  Acid  in 
these  two  preparations,  can  scarcely  enti- 
tle them  to  tiie  name  of  Carbonate  ;  they 
are  rather  Carbonated  Oxyde,  or  what  Dr. 
Thomson  calls  Oxy-carbonates. 

CLASS  VII.     ERRHINA. 

SECT.    I.       VEGETABILIA.. 

Asarum  europaeum.  Pulv, 

Pulvis  Asari  europ.  compos.  E. 

Asari  compos.  L. 
Nicotian*  tabacum.  Pulv. 
Rosmarinus  Officinalis.  Pulv. 
Iris  florentina. 

Iris.  L. 

Ital.  Rad.  Pulv. 
Lavandula  spica.  E. 

Lavandula.  L.  D. 

Eur.  mer.  Flores.  Pulv. 
Origanum  majorana.  E. 

Majorana.  L.  D. 

Eur.  mer.  Folia,  Pulv. 
Teticrium  marum. 

Marum  syriacum.  L. 

Eur.  mer.  Herba.  Pulv. 
Veratrum  album.  E. 

Helleborus  albus.  L.  D. 

Eur.  mer.  Rad.  Pulv. 


SECT.   II.      FOSSILIA. 


Hydrargyrum. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


SubsulphasHydrarg.  flav.  E.  ?  gr.  l.bis 
Hydrargyr.  vitriolat.  L.  D.    5  in  die. 

CLASS  VIII.     SIALAGOGA. 

SECT.    I.       VEGETABILIA. 

Daphne  Mezereum.  Rad.  masticat. 

Odontalg.  Paralys. 
Amomum  Zingiber.  L.  E. 

Zingiber.  L.  I). 

Ind.  Occ.  Rad.  masticat.  Infus. 

Odontalg. 
Anthemis  Pyrethrum.  E. 

Pyre  thrum.  L.  D. 
,  Eur.  mer.  Rad.  masticat.  Infus. 
Pistacia  lentiscus.  E. 

Mastacia.  L.  D. 

Eur.  merid.  Resina.  Masticat. 

SECT.    II.      FOSSIHA. 

Hydrargyrum. 

Hydrargyrum  purification. 
Submurias  Hydrargyri.  gr.  1 — 2.  bis 

in  die. 
Marias  Hydrargyri.  g.  1 — 1.  bis  terve 

in  die. 
Submurias  Hydrarg.  prrccip.  gr.  2.  bis 

in  die. 
Pilulae  Hydrargyri.  gr.   6 — 8.  bis  in 

die. 
Oxidum  Hydrargyri  cinere-  ~)  gr.  2. 

urn.  E.  Vbisin 

Pulvis  Hydrargyri  cinereus.D.j  die. 
Unguentum  Hydrargyr.  E.  - 
scr.  4. 

fortius 
L.  D.  scr.  2. 


I  sin- 

lis 

nocti- 
bus. 


mitius. 
L.D. 

Hydrargyr.  calcinatum.  L.  gr.  \.  bis 

in  die. 

Acetis  Hydrargyria,  E.         7        „ 
Hydrargyr.  acetatum,  L.  D.  5  °  " 
Hydrargyrus  sulphurat.  ruber.  L.  ex- 

terne- 

Sulphuretum  Hydrargyri  nigrum. 
Hydrargyr.  cum  Sulphure.  L. 
Hydrargyr.  sulphuratus  niger.D. 
Ad  Febrem  flav.  Phrenit.  Hydrocepha- 

lic.  Ophthaim. 
Cynanch.    tracheal.    Hepatit.  Chronic. 

Comata.  Tetanum. 

Hydrophob.  Hydrop.  Chloros.  Siphi- 
lid.  Lepr.  Icterum.  Psoram. 
Yermes. 

CLASS  IX.     EMOLLIENTIA. 

SECT.    I.       ANIMALIA. 

Acipenser  Huso.  Sturio.,  &c.  E. 


Ichthyocolla.  L.  D. 
Russia.  Decoct,  ad  liblt 
Ovis  Aries.  E. 
Ovis  sevum.  L. 
Sevum  ovillum.  D. 
Brit.  Ungt.  Liniment.  Cerat. 
Physeter  macrocephalus.E. 
Sperma  Ceti.  L.  D. 
Sevum.  Unguent,  &c. 
Sus  scrofa.  E. 

Adeps  suillum.  L.  D. 
Brit.,  &c.  Adeps.  Unguent,  &c. 
Linimentum  simplex.  E. 
Unguentum  Adipis  suillx.  L. 

simplex.  E. 
Unguentum  spermatis  Ceti.  L.  D. 

Cerx  L.D. 
Ceratum  simplex.  E. 

Spermatis  Ceti.  L.  D. 
Cera  alba,  et  flava.  E.  L.  D. 
Brit  Emuls.  Unguent.,  5cc, 
Ad  Diarrhoeam.  Dysenter.  Ulcera, 

SECT.    IX.       VEGETABILIA. 

Olea  europaea.  Liniment.,  &c.  et  interne. 
Althea  officinalis.  E. 
Althea.  L.  D. 
Brit  Rad.  Decoct,  ad  libit. 

Decoct.  Altheje  officinal.  B.  ad  libit, 
Syrupus  Altheae.  E  L. 
Amyg'dalus  communis.  E. 
Amygdal.  dulc.  et  amar.  L,  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Fructus  nucl.  et  OI.  express. 
Emulsio  Amygdali  communis."^    i  ,• 

Lac  Amygdala:.  L,  D. 
Ad  Febres.  Pneumon.  Catarrh., 

Oleum  Amygdali  communis. 
Astragalus  Tragacantha.  E. 
Gum  Tragacantha.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Gummi.  Pulv.  Solut.  ad  libit. 

Mucilago  Astragali  Tragacanthae.  E. 

Mucilag.  Tragacanthre.  L. 

Mucilag.  Gum.  Tragacanthx.  D. 

Pulvis  Tragacanthse  comp.    L.    dr. 

Avena  sativa.  E. 

Avena  L.  D. 

Cult-  Semen.  Decoct  ad  libit. 

Febres.  Pneumon.   Catarrh.   Dysenter. 

Diarrhoea.,  &c. 
Cocos  Butyracea.  E. 

Amer.  merid.  Oleum  nucis  fixum. 

Externe. 
Eryngiuvn  maritimum,  E. 

Eryngium.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Rad.  recens. 
Glycyrrhiza  glabra.  E. 

Glycyrrhiza.  L  D, 

Eur.  mer    Rad.    Pulv.   Decoct.  Succ- 
spissat. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Trochisci  Glycyrrhiz.  E.  L.  D.  ad  li- 
bit. Catarrh.,  &c. 
Hordeum  distichon.E. 
Hordeum.  L.  D. 
Cuit.  Semen.  Decoct,  ad  libit. 
Ut  Avena. 

Decoctum  Hordei  distichi.  E. 
compositum. 
L. 

Lilium  candidujn. 
Lilium  alburn.  D. 
Cult.  Rad.  recens.  Catapl. 
Linum  usitatUsimum.  E. 
Linum.  L. 
Cult.  Semen.  Infus.  Ol.  express. 

Oleum  TLini  usitatiss.  E.  unc.  1 — 3. 

Lini.  L.  D. 

Pneumon.  Nephrit.  Dysenter.  Haemopt. 
Malva  sylveStris.  E. 
Malva.  L  D. 
Brit.  Folia.  Decoct. 

Decoctum  pro  Enemate.  L. 
Melissa  officinalis.  E. 
Melissa.  L-  D. 
Cult.  Herba.  Infus. 
Mimosa  nilotica.  E. 

Gummi  Arabicum.  L.  D. 
Arab.  Senegal.  Gum.  Pulv.  Solut.  ad  li- 
bit. 
Mucitago  Mimosse  niloticx.  E.^ 

Arabici  Gummi.  L.  D.  j     , ,. 
Emulsio  Mimos.  nilot.  E.  Vf? 

Arabica.  L.  D. 

Trochisci  Gummosi.  E.  J 

Catarrh.  Pneumon.  Diarrh.  Blenorrh. 
Pyrus  Cydonia.  E. 
Cydonia  Malus.  L. 
Cult.  Semen. 

Mucilago  Seminis  Cydonise  mali.  L. 
Sarcocolla. 

Asia  succ.  spissat. 
Triticum  hibernum.  E. 
Anv'lum.L. 
Cult.  Semen. 

Mucilago  Amyli.  E.  D. 
Trochisci  Amyli.  L. 
Vitis  vinifera.  E. 
Vitis.L.D. 

Fruct.  sice.  Uvx  passee. 
Decoct,  ad  libit. 


CLASS  X.     REFRIGERANTIA. 

SECT.     I.       VEGETABIL.IA. 

Acidum  Acetosum  dilutem  ad  libit.  ex- 
tern. 
Acetis  Potassae.  dr.  2.  ad  aq.  lib.  1  in 

die. 
Aque  Acetitis  Ammonia-,  unc.  £  freq. 


ad  libit. 


Febres.  Phlegmas. 
Supertartris  Potassae  solut.  ad  libit. 
Tamarindus  Indica. 
Fructus  ad  libit. 
Febres. 

Berberis  vulgaris. 
Berberis.  D. 
Brit.  Fructus. 
Febres. 

Citrus  medica.  E. 
Limonium.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  et  Ind.  Occ.  Fruct.  succ.  rec. 

et  crystall. 
Syrup.  Citri.  medic. 

Limonii.  L.  D. 
Febres. 

Citr.  Aurantium.  E. 
Aurantia.  L.  D. 
Eur.  mer.  Fruc.  succ.  recens. 
Cochlearia  officinalis.  E. 
Cochlearia.  D.  C.  hortens.  L. 
Brit.  Herba.  et  succus. 

Succ.  Cochlear.  comp.  E.  L.  ad  libit. 
Ad  Scorbutum. 
Morus  nigra. 
Morus.  L. 
Cult.  Fructus. 

Syrupus  Fruct.  Mori.  L. 
Oxalis  Acetosella. 
Lijula.  L. 
Acetosella.  D. 
Brit.  Herba.  Succ. 

Conserv.  Acetosellse.  D. 
Lijulse.  L. 

Ribes  nigrum.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Fruct. 

Succ.  spissat.  Rib.  nigr.  L. 
Syrup,  succ.  Rib.  nigr.  L. 
Ribes  rubrum.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Fructus. 
Rosa  canina.  E. 
Cynosbatus.  L. 
Brit.  Fruct. 

Conserva  Rosse  caninae.  E. 

Cynosbati.  L. 
Rubus  Idseus.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Fructus. 

Syrup.  Fruct.  Rub.  Idsci.  L.  D, 

Rumex  Acetosa.  E. 

Acetosa.  D. 

Acet.  pratensis.  L. 

Brit.  Folia. 
Sisymbrium  Nasturtium.  E. 

Nasturt.  aquatic.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Herba. 

Ad  Scorbutum. 
Veronica.  Beccabunga. 

Beccabunga.  L. 

Brit.  Herba. 
Ad  Scorbutum. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


SECT.  XI.    FOSSILIA. 

2Tmcum. 

Sulphas  Zinci.  Externe  pro  Lotione. 
Nitras  Potassae. 

Acid,  nitrosum.  dr.  1—2-  ad  Aq.  lib. 

1.  in  die. 
Febres,  &c. 
Spirit.  aetheris  nUrosi.L.E,")  gtt.  30 — 

xthereus  nitros.  D.  3  dr.  1. 
Trochisci  Nitrat.  Potass.  E. 

Nitri.  L. 

Febres.  Phiegmas.Haemorrh.  Maniam. 
Murias  Sods. 

Acidum    Muriaticum.    gtt.    20 — 40 

dilut.  subind. 
Febres. 
Acidum  Sulphuricum.  E. 

Vitriolicum.  L.  D. 

Acidum  Sulphuric.dilutum.E.  ">  ut Ac. 
vitriolic,  dilut.  L.  D.  _>  Mur. 
Febres.  Haemorrhag. 
Plumbum.  E.  L.  D. 

Acetis  Plumbi.  E.* 

Cerussa  Acetata.  L.  D. 

Interne  ad  Haemorrhag.  sed  cautissi- 

me. 

AquaLithargyr.  acetati.L.  ?  Externe 
Liquor  Litharg.  acetat.  D.5 
Aqua  Lithargyr.  acetat.  comp.  L. 
Liquor  Litharg.  Acetat.  comp.  D. 
Unguent.  Acetit.  Plumb.  E. 
Ceruss.  acetat.  L. 
Cerat.  Litharg.  acetat.  comp. 
Ad  Phlegmasias.  &c. 

*  It  is  now  found  that  there  are  two 
acetates  of  lead,  an  acetate  which  crys- 
tallizes in  scales,  and  this  salt,  which, 
containing  an  excess  of  acetic  acid,  should 
be  called  superacetas  plumbi. 

CLASS  XI.    ASTRINGENTIA. 


SECT.   I.       VEGETABILIA. 

Hsematoxylum  campechian.  E. 
Haematoxylum.  L.  D. 
Americ-  Lign.  Decoct. 
Extract  Lign.  Hxmat.} 

camp.  E.  Cgr.  10—30. 

Hzematoxyl.  L.  D.  J 
Juglans  regia. 
Juglans.  L. 
Brit.  Fruct.  immatur.  Decoct.  Externe. 

Ulcera. 
Kino.  E.  L.  D. 

Africa  Pulv.  Solut.  gr.  15—30. 
Tinct.  Kino.  E.  D.  dr.  1 — 2, 
Diarrh.  Dysent.  Menorrh. 
Mimosa  Catechu.  E. 


Catechu.  L.  D. 

India.  Extract,  lign.  P'ulv.    Solut.  scr. 

1—2. 

Infus.  Mimos.  Catech  u.  E.  unc.  \ — 1  £. 
Tinct.  Mimos.  Catechu.  E.  7  ,     . 

Catechu.  L.  JW.1— * 

Elect.  Catechu.  E.  7        0    A 

Comp.  D.5  scr-3~4' 
Diarrh.  Dysenter. 
Anchusa.  Tinctoria.  E. 
Anchusa  D. 
Eur.  Merid.  Radix. 
Boletus  igniarius.  E. 
Agaricus. 
Brit,  ad  vulnera. 
Pterocarpus  Santolinum.  E. 
Santolinum  rubrum.  L.  D« 

India  Lign. 

Polygonum  Bistorta. 

Bistorta.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Rad.  Pulv.  dr.  £—1.  Decoct. 
Potentilla  reptans. 
Pentaphyllum.  L. 
Brit.  Fol. 
Prunus  Spinosa. 
Prim,  sylvestris.  L. 
Brit.  Fruct.  ad  libit. 
Conserv.  Prun.  sylvestris.  L.  dr.  1 — 3. 

Diarrh. 

Pterocarpus  Draco.  E. 
Sanguis  Draconis.  L.  D. 
Amer.  merid.  Resina. 
Punica  granatum. 
Granatum.  L. 
Flor.  Balaust.  D. 
Eur.  Merid.  Flor.  Cort  Fruct. 
Decoct,  ad  Gargar.  ad  libit. 
Quercus  cerris.  E. 
Gallze.  L.  D. 

Asia.  Cyniphis  nidus.  Pulv.  Inf.  Ungt. 
Quercus  robur.  E. 
Quercus.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Cort.  Decoct.  Externe. 
Scarlatin.  Angin — Uvulae  relaxat. 

Haemorrh.  Menorrhag. 
Rosa  Gallica.  E. 
Ros.  Ruhr.  L.  D. 
Eur.  Merid.  Brit.  Petal.  Inf.  Conserv.  ad 

libit. 
Inf.  Ros.  Gallic.  E.-) 

Rosae.  L.         Cad  libit. 
Rosar.  D.         3 
Conserv.  Ros.  gallica.  E. 
Rosx.  D. 
Ros.  rubr.  L. 
Syrup.  Ros.  Gall.  E. 
Mel.  Ros.  L.  D. 
Haemorrh.  Cynanchen,  &c. 
Tormentilla  erecta.  E. 
Tormentilla.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Rad.  Decoct,  unc.  £— 1. 
Diarrhoea. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


SECT.  II.     FOSSILIA. 


Sulphas  Cupri.  gr.  $—  1.  bis  terve  in  die. 
Febr.  Intermitt. 
Inject.  Lot.  Cqllyr. 

Solut.  Sulplmt.  Cupri.  E. 
Liquor  Cupri  Ammoniat.  D. 
Aq.  Cupri.  Ammon.  L. 
Ophthalm.  Gonorrhoea. 
Zincum. 

Sulphas  Zinci.  gr.  2  —  5.  bis  terve  in 

die.        7 
Febres  Intermitt 

Soiutio  Acetit.  Zinci.  Collyr.  Inject. 
Aqua  Zii^ue  Vitriolat.  cum  Campho- 

ra.  L.    ' 

Ophthalm  Blenorrh. 
Ferrtim. 

Tinctura  Muriat.  Ferri.  gtt.  10—20.  ter 

in  dieJ 

Menorrhag.  cum  debilitate. 
Plumbum. 

Acetis  Plum  bi.  Lotion. 
Oxydum  album  et  Semivitreum. 
Super-Sulphas  Alumin.  et  Potass. 
Sulphas  Alumin.  E. 
Alumen.  L.  D, 
Brit.  Pulv.  Solut.  gr.  5—15. 
Externe  p.  Gacgar.  et  Lotione. 
Sulphas  Alumin.  exsiccat.  E. 
Alumen  ustum.  L. 
Pulvis  Sulphat.  Alumin.  comp.  E.  gr. 

15—30. 

Cataplasm.  Aluminis.  L. 
Ophthalm. 

Aqua  Alumin.  Comp.  L.  pro  Lotione. 

CLASS  XH.     TONICA. 

SECT.    I.      VEGETABILIA. 

Anthemis  Nobilis.  Pulv.  gr.  10  —  scr.  1.  In- 

fus.  unc.  £.  ad  lib.  1. 
Centaunx  benedlcta.  Inf'us. 
Marrubium  Vulgare.  Infus. 
Myrrha.  Pulv.  Pil.  gr  10—20. 

Pulv.  Myrrh.  Comp.  gr.  20.  ad  30. 
DorsteniaContrajerva.  Pulv. 

Pulv.  Contrajerv.  Comp.  L.  gr.  20—30. 
Titis  Yinifera. 

Vinum  rubrum  Lusitanum. 
JEsculus  Hippocastanum.  E. 

Asia.  Brit.  Cort.  Pulv.  dr.  |  —  scr.  2. 

Decoct,  unc.  1.  ad  lib.  1. 
Angustura.  E.  L.  D. 

Ind.  Occident.  Cort.  Pulv.  gr.  15—  dr.  L 

Inf.       . 
Chironea.  Centaur.  Gentian.  Cent.E. 

Centaur.  Min.  D. 

Brit.  Summitat.  Infus. 
Cinchona  officinalis.  E. 

Cinchona.  L. 

Gort.  Peruv.  D. 


„     A 
unc'  3~6 


Peru.  Cort.  Pulv.  dr.  £—2.  Electuar. 

Enem.  dr.  1  —  3. 
Inf.  Cinchon.  Off.  E. 

Cort.  Peruv. 
Decoct.  Cinchon.  Off. 

Cort.  Peruv. 
Tinct.  Cinchon.  Off.  E.  L.  D.  unc.  |—  I. 
Comp.L.  D.dr.3—  6. 
Ammoniat.  dr.  ^  —  1. 
Extract  Cinchon.  Off.  E.     ">       gr. 

Cort.  Peruv.  L.  D.3    10—20. 
Ad  Febres.    Rheumatism.  Odontalg. 
Catarrh.  Febril.  Blenorrh.  Dysenter. 
Erysipelat.    Scarlatin.    Haemoptys. 
Menorrhag.  "Dyspeps.  Hypochond. 
Astheniam.  Spasmos.  Hydrop. 
Cinchona  Carribbx. 

Insul.  Carribb.  Cort.  (ut  Cinchon.  Off.) 
Columba.L.  E.  D. 

Ceylon.  Africa.  Had.  Pulv.  gr.  5—20. 

Inf.  dr.  3.  ad  lib.  1. 
Tinct.  Columbae.  L.  D.  E. 
Croton  Eleutheria.  E. 
Cascarilla.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Or.  et  Occident.  Cort.  Pulv.  scr. 

1—  dr.  1. 

Tinct.  Cascarill.  L.  D  dr.  2—6. 
Extract  Cascarill.  L.  D.  gr.  10—20- 
Gentiana  lutas.  E. 
Gentiana-  L.  D. 
Eur.  Merid.  Rad. 

Inf.  Gentian.  Comp.  E.  unc.  ^  —  1. 
D.  dr.  6—12. 
L.  unc.  2  —  4. 

Tinct.  Gentian.  Comp.  E.  L.  dr.  2—6. 
Yin.  Gent.  Comp.  E.  unc.  1  —  2. 
Extract.  Gent.  L.  D.  lut.  E.  gr.  10— 

30. 

Menyanthes  Trifoliata.  E. 
Trifol.Paludos.L. 

Brit.  Rad.  Exsiccat.  Inf.  unc.  ^  —  lib.  1. 
Quassia  Excelsa.  E. 
Quassia.  L. 
Insul.  Caribb.  Lignum.  Cort.  Rad.  Inf. 

dr.  3—2.  ad.  lib.  1. 
Qu.  Simaruba.  E. 
Simarouba.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Occ.   Cortex.   Decoct,  dr.  2.    aS 

lib.  1. 

Salix  fragilis. 
Salix.  D. 
Brit.  Cortex.  Pulv.  scr.  2  —  4. 

Decoct,  unc.  2.  ad  lib. 
Swietenia  Mahagani.  E. 
Ind.  Occ.  Cortex.  Pulv.  Decoct,  ut  Gin 

chona. 
Sw.  Febrifuga.  E. 

Ind.  Occ.  Cort.  ut  supra. 
Tanacetum.  vulgare. 
Tanacetum.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Fol.  Flor.  Infus. 
Ad  Verraes. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


SECT.  II.     FOSSILIA. 

Sulphas  Cupri.  gr.  1 — 3.  bis  terve  in  die. 
Febr.  Intermitt. 

Ammoniaretum  Cupri.  E.  7        , 
Cuprum  Ammoniatum.  L.  >  *"  ' : 

bis  terve  in  die. 

Pilulae  Ammoniar.  Cupri.  E.  Pil.  1. 
Epileps. 
Zincum. 

Sulphas.  Zinci.  gr.  2—5.  bis  terve  in 

die. 

Febr.  Intermitt.  Epileps. 
Solutio  Sulphat.  Zinc.  E. 
Exrerne  pro  Collyrio. 
Oxydum  Zinci.  E. 

Zincum  calcinatum.L.  ?  gr.l.bis  terve 
Calx  Zinci.  D.  5     in  die. 

Epiieps. 
.Nitras  Patassx. 

Acidum  Nitrosum.  gtt.  30—40. 
Sulphas  Magnesiae.  Solut.  dr.  2.  bis  in  die. 
Ferrum. 

Carbonas  Ferri  scr.  1 — dr.  1. 

Praecip.  gr.  5 — 15. 
Aq.  Ferri  serati.  D.  Jib.  -£.  bis  in  die. 
Sulphas  Ferri.  gr.  1 — 5. 
Vinum  Ferri.  dr.  2 — 6.  bis  in  die. 
Tinct.  Muriat.  Ferri.  gt.  10 — 30.  bis 

in  die. 

Sulphas  Ferri  exsiccat.  E. 
Oxydum  Ferri  rubrum.  E. 
Emplast.  Occid.  Ferri  rub.  E. 
Ferri  limatura  purific.  E. 
Oxydum  Ferri  nigr.  purific.  E. 
Murias  Ammon.  et  Ferri.  E.  7     gr. 
Ferrum  Ammoniacale  L.     3  3 — 10. 
Tinct.  Ferr.  Ammoniac.  L.  gtt.  10 — 

30 

Tartris  Ferri  et  Potassae.  E.  ^      gr. 
Ferrum  Tartarisatum.  L.     5  10 — 30. 
Tinct.  Ferri  acetati.  D.  gtt.  20 — 40. 
Dyspeps.  Hypochondrias.  Asthen.Chor- 
cam.  Hydrop.  Chloros.  Phthis.  Ver- 
mes. 
Acidum  Sulphuricum. 

Acidum  Sulphur,  dilutum.  gtt,  20- 

Acidum  Sulphuric.  Aromaticum  E. 

gtt.  10 — 20.  bis  terve  in  die. 
Dyspeps,  Stc. 
Argentum.  L.  E.  D. 

Ultras  Ai-genti.  E.  ~)  gr.  J— 1. 

ArgentumNitratum.L.D.  3  bis  in  die. 
Arsenicum.    Oxid.  alb.  vel.  Acid.  Arsen. 
Oxidum  Arser.ici.  E, 
Solut. 
Carbonas  Barytae.  E. 

Vid.  Sulphas  Barytae. 
Carbonas  Calcis.  E, 

VOL.  IV. 


Creta.  L.  D. 

Brit.  &c. 

Solutio  Muriatis  Calcis.  E.  gt.  30—60. 

bis  terve  in  die. 
Ad  Scrofulam,  S.chirrum,  &c. 
Sulphas  Barytae. 
Terra  ponderosa. 
Brit. 

Murias  Barytae.  E. 

Solutio  Muriatis  Barytae.  E.  gt.  5 — 

10.  bis  terve  in  die. 
Ad  Scrofulam,  Schirrum,  &c. 

CLASS  XIII.  STIMULANTIA. 

SECT.  I.      ANIMALIA. 

Murias  Ammoniae. 

Aqua    Ammonia:.    E.    gt.     10 — 20, 

pur.  L. 

Liquor,  alkal.  volat.  caust.  D. 
Alcohol  Ammoniatum.  E.  gt.    20 — 

40. 
Spiritus  Ammonia;.  L. 

Alkal.  volat,  D. 

Carbonas  Ammoniac.  E.  gr.  5 — 10, 
Ammonia  praeparata.  L. 
Alkali  volatile  mite.  D. 
Aqua  Carbonat.  Ammon.  E.  gt.  20 — 
dr.  1. 

Ammoniae.L. 
Liq.  alkal.  volatil.  mit.  D. 
Liq.  volat.  Cornu  Cervi,  L.  gt.  2'0— 

dr.  1. 

Sal.  Cornu  Cervi,  L.  gr.  10 — 20. 
Oleum  Ammoniatum,  E. 
Liniment.  Ammon.  fort.  L. 
Liniment.  Ammon.  L. 
Liniment,  volatile.  D. 
Alcohol.  Ammoniat.  aromaticum.  E= 

gt.  20— dr.  1. 
Spir.  Ammon.  comp.  L. 

Alcoh.  volat.  arom.  D. 
Spir.  Ammon.  succin.  L. 
Asphyx.  Spasmos.  Rheumatism,  &c, 
Moschus  moschiferus. 
Bol.  Mist.  gr.  10— scr.  1. 
Mistura  Moschata  unc.  1—2. 
Ad  Typhum.  Gangraen. 
Coccus  Cacti.  E. 
Coccinella.  L. 
Mexico. 

Lytta  vesicatoria. 
Bol.  gr.  1—3. 

Tinct.  Meloes  vesicat.  gt.  10—30, 
Ungt.  Infus.  mel  vesicat.  E, 
Cantharid.  L  D. 
Pulv.  mel.  vesicat.  E. 
Ceratum.  Cantharid  L. 
Empl.  melo.  vesicat.  E. 
Cantharidis  L.  D. 
mel.  vesicat.  com.  E. 
N  n 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Ad  Synoch.  Typh.  Phrenit.  Cynanch. 
Pneumon.  Gastrit.Entent  Rheu- 
matism. Odontalg.Variol.  Scarla- 
lin.  Apoplex.  Paralys.  Chorcam. 
Asthm.  Dyspnceam.  Pertuss.  Co- 
licam.  Hysteriam.  Hydrophob. 
Maniam  Icterum.  Caligin.  Am- 
auros.  Ischuriam. 


SECT.    II.       VEGETABIL1A. 

Sinapis  alba. 

Semen  et  ejusd.  Pulvis.  dr.  1—4. 
Cataplasma  Sinapeos.  L.  D. 
Rheumatism.  Paralys. 
Allium  sativum. 

Rad.  recens. 
Arum  maculatum- 

Rad.  recens.   Col.   Elect.   Emuls.   gr. 

10—20.  bis  in  die. 
Conserva  An  L  dr.  ^  —  dr.  1. 
Rheumatism 
Fimpinella  Anisum. 
Senien. 

Ol.  volat.  Pimpin.  Anisi.  gtt.  2—6. 
Dyspeps  &c. 
Sty  rax  Benzoin. 
Balsamum. 

Acidum  Benzoicum.  gr.  1  —  3. 
Tinctura     Benioes    comp.    L.    gtt. 

10—20. 
Alcohol. 

JEther  Sulphuricus.  dr.  £  —  dr.  1. 
Ad  Morb.  spasmod 
JEther  Sulphuric  cum.  Alcohole.  E. 
SpiritusJEtheris  vitrioli--\ 

Liquor  atherus.  vitrioli-  >&*'  l5—  30- 

cus.  D.  J 

JEtherSulphur.  cum  Al--\ 

cohol.comp.E, 
Spir.      *ther.     vitriol.  X 
comp.  L.  J 

Oleum  Vini.  L.  gtt.  10—20. 
Acidum  Acetosum. 

Acidum  Acetosum  forte.  E. 
Externe  per  nares  in  Syncope,  As- 

phyxia, &c. 

Acidum  Acetosum  Camphoratum,  E. 
Ut  supra. 

Acetum  Aromaticum.  E. 
Ut  supra. 

Aristolochia  Serpentaria. 
Rad.  Pulv.  Bol.  scr.  1—2. 
Tinctura  Aristol.  Serpentar.  dr.  2  —  6. 
Typh.  Dyspeps. 
Daphne  Mezereum'. 
Rad. 
Decoctum  Daphn.  Mezerei.  unc.  1  —  2. 

saep.  in  die. 

Ad  morbos  cutan.  Syphil. 
Guaiacum  officinale. 


Lign.  Decoct,  unct.  1.  ad.  lib.  1.  Resin 

Pulv.  Emuls  gr.  10—20. 
Rheumatism   Syphil.  Morb  cutan. 
Decoctum  Guaiac.  officin.  unc.  4  —  8. 

bis  in  die. 
Tinctura  Guaiac.  offic.  dr.  2—4. 

ammoniat.  dr.  1  —  3. 
Papaver  somniferum. 

Opium,  gr.  i—  1.  dos.  repetit. 

Tinctura  Opii  gtt.  5  —  20.  simili  modo 
Camphorat  dr.  1  —  4. 
Ammoniat.  dr.  ^  —  1. 
Typh.  Dyspeps,  Tetan.  &c. 
Cochlearia  Armoracia. 
Rad  rec.  Subst.  Infus. 
Spirit  Raphani  comp.  L.  unc.  1—2. 
Paralys.  &c. 
Copaifera  officinalis, 
Balsam,  gtt.  15  —  30. 


Ol.  vol.  Pini  puriss. 
Ungt.  Resin,  flav.  L.  D. 

Resinosum.  E. 
Cerat.  Uesin.  flav.  L. 
Empl  Cerse  D.  comp.  L. 
Ungt.  Picis.  L.  D. 
Empl.  Picis.  Burgund. 
Externe  ad  Ulcera.  &c- 
Arnica  montana. 

Rad.  Pulv.  scr.  1—2. 
Typh.  Paralys. 
Bubon  Galbanum. 

Pilul  Galbani  comp.  gr.  15  —  20. 
Emplastrum  Galbani  comp.  E. 

Lithargyri  compos.  L 
Juniperus  Sabina. 

Oleum  Juniper.  Sabinx,  gt.  1  —  4. 
Pastinaca  Opoponax. 

PH.  gr.  2—5. 
Veratrum  album. 

Unguentum  Hellebori  albi.  L. 
Decoct.  Hellebori  albi.  L. 
Ad.  morb  cutan.  L. 
Amomum  Zingiber. 
Rad.  Pulv.  gr.  5—20. 
Podagr.  retroced.  vel   atonic.  Paralys. 

Dyspeps,  &c. 
Syrupus  Amom.  Zingib. 
Tinctura  Amom.  Zingib.  E.  dr.  2—4. 
Acorus  Calamus.  E. 
Calamus  aromaticus.  L. 
Brit.  Rad.  Pulv. 
Amomum  repens.  E. 

Cardamomum  minus.  L.  D. 
India.  Semen. 

Tinctura  Amomi  repent.  E.  I  ,          A 
Cardamomi.L.D.  |  Ur^~ 

comp.  L.  dr.  2—4. 
Amyris  Gileadensis. 

Asia.  Resina. 
Amyris  Elemifera. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Elemi.  L.  D. 
Amer.  mer.  Rcsina, 
Unguentum  Elemi.  L. 
An-jtUum  Foeniculum.  E. 
Fceniculum.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Sem.  Decoct.  Enem. 

Oleum  volatil.  Foenicul.  dulc.  D. 
Aqua  Fceniculi  dulcis.  L.  unc.  1 — 3. 
Anethum  graveolens. 
Eur.  mer.  Semen. 
Aqua  Anethi.  L. 
Angelica  Archangelica.  E. 
Angelica  L.  D. 
Cult.  Rad.  Semen. 
Apium  Petroselinum.  E. 
Petroselinum.  L. 
Cult.  Rad.  Semen. 
Arbutus  Uva  Ursi.  E. 
Uva  Ursi.  L    D. 
Eur.  merid.  Folia.  Pulv.  scr.  1 — dr.  1. 

Infus. 

Ad  Calculum. 
Artemisia  maritima. 
Absinthium  maritimum.  L. 
Brit.  Cacumen. 

Conserva  Absinthii  maritimi.  L, 
Decoctum  pro  Fomento.  L. 
Canella  alba.  E.  L.  D. 

India  Occid.  Cortex.  Pulv. 
Carbo  Ligni. 

Delphinum  Staphisagria. 
Slaphisagria.  L.  D. 
Eur.  Mar.  Sem.  Pulv. 
Capsicum  annuu.m. 
Piper  Indicum.  L.  D. 
Ind.  Occ.  Capsulse.  Pulv.  gr.  2—6.  Infus. 
Ad  Febres    Scarlatinam  anginosam. 
Carum  Carvi.  E. 
Carum.  L. 
Carvi.  D. 
Cult.  Semen.  Decoct. 

Oleum  Carvi.  L.  gtt.  1—4. 
Spiritus  Cari  Carvi.  E. 

Carvi.  L  D. 

Dyspeps.  Colic. 

Cistus  Creticus. 

Ladanum.  L. 

Syria.  Resina. 

Emplastrum  Ladani  compos.  L. 
Citrus  Aurantium. 

Aurantium  Hispalense.  L.  D. 
Eur.  merid.  Flores.  Cortex.  Fruct.  Infus. 
Oleum   volat.  Citri   Aurant.  E.  gtt. 

2—6. 

Aqua  Citri  Aurantii.  E.  unc  1 — 3. 
Tinctura   Aurantii  Cort.  L.  D.  unc. 

i-li. 
Syrupus  Citri  Aurantii.  E. 

Cort.  Aurantii.  L.  D. 
Conserva  Citri  Aurantii.  E 

Cort.  Aurantii.  L.  D. 
Coriandrum  sativum.  E. 


Coriandrum.  L.  D. 
Eur.  merid.  Semen.  Pulv.  Infos. 
Crocus,  sativus.  C. 
Crocus.  L.  D. 
Cult.  Stigmata.  Infus. 
Syrupus  Croci.  L. 
Tinctura  Croci.  E.  L.  dr.  2—4. 
Cuminum  Cyminum. 
Cum'mum.  L. 

.flSgypt.  Sicil.  Semen.  Decoct. 
Cataplasma  Cumini.  L. 
Emplastrum  Cumini.  L. 
Curcuma  longa. 
Curcuma.  L. 
India  Radix.  Pulv. 
Daucus  Carota.  E. 
Daucus  Sylvestris.  L. 
Brit.  Semen.  Radix.  Cataplasm. 
Diunthus  Caryophyllus.  E. 
Caryophyllum  rubrum.  L.  D. 
Italia.  Petala.  Infus. 
Syrupus  Caryophylli  rubri.  L. 
Eugenia  caryophyllata.  E. 

Caryophyllum  aromaticum  L.  D. 
Instil.  Molucc.  Floris  German. 
Oleum  volat.  Caryophylli  aromatici.  gtt 

1—2. 

Odontalg.  Colic. 
Hypericum  perforatum. 
Hypericum.  L. 
Brit.  Flos. 
Inula  Helenium. 

Enula  campana.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Radix. 
Juniperus  Lycia.  E. 
Olibanum.L.  D. 
Asia.  Gum-resin  PiluL 
Kaempferia  rotunda.  E. 
Zedoaria.  L. 
India  Rad  Pulv. 
Lavandula  Spica.  E. 
Lavendula.  L. 
Lavandula.  D. 
Cult.  Flores. 

Oleum  volat.  Lavandulse  Spicse.  E. 

Lavandula;.  L. 
Spiritus  Lavandulse.  Spicx.  E. 

Lavandulse  L. 
Spiritus  Lavandulse  comp."\ 

F 
Tinctura  Lavendulxcomp.  f    r* 

L.  J 

Laurus  Cinnamomum.  E. 
Cinnamomum.  L.  D. 
Ceylon.  Cortex.  Pulv.  gr.  5  —  15.  Infus. 
Ol.  volat.  Laur.  Cinnamom."} 

L.  essent.  Cinnamom.  £•  gt.  1  —  % 

D.  3 

Aqua  Laur.  Cinriam.  E.  unc.  1  —  3. 

Cinnamom.  L  D. 
Spir.  Laur.  Cinnamom.  E.  unc.  %  —  1  £• 

Cinnamom.  L.  D. 


' 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Tinct.  Laur.  Cinnamom.  E.  dr.  2 — 4. 
Cinnamom.  L.  D. 
Cinnamom.  comp.E.  dr.  1 — 2. 
Cinnam.comp.  L.  D. 
Pulv.  Aromaticus.L.  E.  D  gr.  10—20. 
Electuar.  Aromat.  E.  D.  gr.  10 — 30. 
Contect.  Aromat.  L. 
Lauriii  Cassia.  E. 
Cassia  lignea.  D. 
India  Cortex.  Pulv.  &c.  Flor.  nondum. 

explicit. 

Aqua  Lauri  Cassiae.  E.  unc.  2 — 4. 
Laurus  nobilis.  E. 
Laur  us.  L.  D. 
Cult.  Folia.  Bacc.  et  Oleum   Bacc.  Ex- 

terne. 

Lobelia  syphilitica.  E. 
Virgin.  Rad.  Pulv. 
Ad  Siphilidem. 
Melaleuca  Leucodendron.  E. 
Cajeputa. 
Insul.  Molucc.  Ol.  essential,  gtt.  1 — 4.  et 

Externe. 
Rheumatism. 
Mentha  viridis.  E. 
Mentha  sativa.  L.  D. 
Cult  Herba  Infus. 

Oleum  Menthae  sativac.  L.  gtt.  2—6. 
Aqua  Menthae  sativae.  L-  D.  unc.  2 — 6. 
Spiritus  Menth  as  sativae.  L.  unc.  1—2. 
Colic. 

Mentha  Piperita.  E. 
M.  Piperitis.  L.  D. 
Cult.  Herba.  Inf. 

Aq.  Menthae  piperitae.  E.  unc.  1 — 4. 

piperitidis.L.  D. 
Ol.  volat.  Menthae  piper.  E.  gt.  1 — 3. 

essent.  M.  piperitid.  L.  D. 
Spir.  Menthae  piperit.  E.  dr.  2—6. 

piperitid.  L.  D. 
Mentha  Pulegium.  E. 
Pulegmm.  L.  D. 
Cult.  He rba.  Infus. 

Aq.  Menth.  Pulegii.  E.  unc.  2—4. 

Pulegii.  L.  D, 
Ol.  volat.  Menth.  Puleg.  E.  gt.  1—3. 

esstnt.  Pulegii.  L.  D. 
Spirit.  Pulegii.  L  unc.  1—2. 
Myristica  Moschata.  E. 
Myristica.  L. 
Nux  Moschata.  D. 
Insul.  Molucc.  Nucleus.  Pulv.Ol.  volatil. 

et  express,  gtt.  1 — 3. 
Spiritus  Myristic.  Moschat.  E.  ?  dr.  2 — 

Nucis  moschatae.  L  D.  5      6. 
Myroxylon  Peruiferum.  E. 
Balsamum  Peruvianum.  L.  D. 
Amer.  merid.  Balsam,  gtt.  10 — 30. 
Tinctura  Balsami  Peruvian!,  dr.l — 2, 
Myrtus  Pimenta.  E. 
Pimtnto.  L.  D. 
Jamaica.  Bacca. 


Aq.  Myrti  Piment.  E.  unc.  2—6. 

Piment.  L. 

Ol.  volat.  Myrt.  Pirn.  E.  gt.  1—3. 
Spir.  Myrt.  Pinient.  E.  unc.  1 — 2. 

Pimento.  L.  D. 
Origamim  vulgar*.  E. 
Origanum  L.  D. 
Brit.  Herba. 
Oleum  Origani,  L. 
Ad  Odontaig. 
Panax  quinquetblium. 
Ginseng.  L. 
China.  Radix.  Pulv. 
Parietaria  officinalis. 
Parietaria.  L. 
Brit,  herba. 
Pinus  balsamea.  E. 
Balsamum  Cunadense. 
Americ.  septent.Resina  liquida. 
Piper  nigrum.  E.  L.  D. 

India.  Fruct. 
Piper  Cubeba. 
Cubeba.  L. 
Java.  Fruct. 
Pip.  longum.  E.  L.  D. 

Fruct. 

Pistacia  Terebinthus. 
Terebinthina  Chio.  L- 
Insul.  Chio.  et  Cyprus. 
Rhus  Toxicodendron.  E. 
Amer.  Folia. Pulv. gr.  1,— bis  terve  indie. 

In  Paralysin. 
Styrax  officinale,  E. 
Styrax.  L.  D. 
Eur.  merid.  Balsam. 
Styrax  Purificata.  L.  D. 
Toluifera  Balsamum.  E. 

Balsamum  Tolutanum.  L.  D. 
Amer.  merid.  Balsam.  Troch. 
Tinctura  Toluiferse  Balsam.  E. 
Syrupus  Toluiferae  Balsam.  E. 

Tolutan.  L. 

Trigonella  Foenum  grsecum. 
Faenum  grxcum.  L. 
Gallia.  Semen.  Catapl.  Fotus. 
Urtica  dioica. 
Urtica.  L. 
Brit.  Herb.  rec.  externe.  Pulv.  scr.  1— 

dr.  1. 

Paralys.  Febr  Intermitt. 
Wintera  aromatica.  E. 

Amer.  merid.  Cortex.  Pulv. 

SECT.    III.       FOSSILIA 

Hydrargyrum. 
Vid.  Sialogoga. 

Ungt.  Oxid.  Hydr.  rubr.  E. 
Nitrat.  Hydrarg.  E. 
^  Hydrarg.  nitrat.  L. 
Un.  nitrat.  Hydrarg.  mitius.  E 
Nitras  Potassje. 


MATERIA  MEDiCA. 


Aciclum  nitrosam.  dr.  1 — in  die. 
Unguentum  Acidi  nitrosi.  E. 
Ad  morb.  cutan. 
Sapo  Hispanus. 

Tinctura  Saponis.  E. 
Linimentum  Saponis  compos.  L. 

Saponaceum.  D. 
Rheumatism,  &c. 
Tinctura  Saponis  cum  Opio.  E. 
Ceratum  Saponis.  L.  D. 
Emplastrum  Saponis.  L. 

Saponaceum.  E.  D. 
Murias  Soda: 

Murias  Sodae  exsiccatus.  E. 
Externe  in  Asphyx. 
Acidum  Sulphuricum, 

Externe  in  Ungt.  ad  morb.  cutan.  et 

interne. 
Oxidum  Arsenici. 

Externe  in  Carcinom. 
Bitumen  Petroleum.  E. 
Petroleum.  L. 
India. 

Oleum  Petrolei. 
Sub-boras  Sodse. 
Boras  Sod*.  E. 
Borax.  L.  D. 
India  Pulv.  Linctus. 
Ad  Aphthas. 
Sub-acetis  Cupri.  E. 
JErugo.  L.  D. 
Collyr.  Ungt. 
Oxymel  JEruginis.  L. 
Unguentum  Sub.  acetit.  Cupri.  E. 
Calx.  E. 

Calx  viva.  L.  D. 
Linimentum  Aquae  Calcis.  E. 
Ad  Tineam  Capitis, 
Nitras  argenti. 
Externe  pro  escharchio. 

CLASS  XIV.    ANTISPASMODICA. 

SECT.    I.       ANIMALIA. 

Murias  Ammoniac. 
Vid.  Stimulantia. 
Moschus  moschiferus. 

Pulv.  Bol.  scr.  1 — dr.  £. 
Cervus  Elaphus. 

Ol.  Animal.  L.  7  gtt.  15 

CornuCervin.  rectificat.  D.  $  —  30. 
Castor  Fiber.  Pulv. 

Tinctur.  Castor,  gtt.  30— dr.  1. 

compos,  gtt.  20 — 40. 
Ad  Hysteriam,  &c. 

SECT.  II.       VEGETABILTA. 

Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha. 

Pulv.  gr.  3—6. 
Nicotiana  Tabacum. 

Fum, 


Colic. 

Ferula  Asafoctida. 
Pilul.  gr.  10— scr.  1. 

Alcohol  Ammoniat.  foetid."^ 
E.  I 

Spiritus  Ammoniac  foetid.  >gtt.l5-30 

L.  | 

Spt.  Alkali.volatil.  foetid.  D.  J 
Pilulae  Asx  foetid,  comp.  E. 
Emplastr.  Asee  fcctid.  E. 

Hysteria,  &c. 
Alcohol. 

JEthcr  Sulphuricus.  dr.  ^—2. 
Laurus  Camphor  a. 

Emulsio  Camphorata,  unc.  2 — 3. 
Mistura  Camphorata,  unc.  2 — 3. 
Tinctura  Camphorae.  E. 
Spirit.  Camphoratus,  L.  U.  Exteme. 
Liniment.  Camphor,  com.  L. 

Camphorat.  D. 
Papaver  somniferum. 

Opium.  Pil.  Mist.  gr.  1 — 
Liniment.  Enem. 
Tinct.  Opii. 

camphorat.  I*,  dr.  1 — 4*. 
ammoniata.  E.  dr.  1. 
Elect.  Opiatum,  gr.5. 
Pilul.  Opii.  L, 

OpiatK.gr.  10. 
Bubon  Galbanum. 
Pilul. 

Tinctura  Galbani.  L  dr.  1—2. 
Pilul.  Galbani  comp.  L.  gr.  15 — 40, 
Hysteria. 
Vitis  vinifera. 

Vinum  rubrum  Lusitanum.  Ib.  1 — in  di'e 
Ad  Tetanum. 
Citrus  Aurantium. 
Fol.  Pulv.  dr.  -J. 
Convuls. 

Artemisia  Absinthiuin. 
Absinthium  vulgare.  L. 
Brit.  Cacumen,  Oleum,  volat, 
Carbonas  Potassx  impurus.E. 
Cineres  clavellati.  L.  D. 
Aqua  Potassae.  E. 
Kali  puri.  L. 

Lixivium  alkali  vegetab.  caust.  D. 
Externe  in  Balneo  ad  Tetanum. 
Cardamine  pratcnsis.  E. 
Cardamine.  L. 

Brit.  Flores.  Pulv.  dr.  £.  bis  in  die. 
Ad  Choream,  &c. 
Conium  maculatum.  E. 
Cicuta.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Folia.  Pulv.  gr.  1. 

Succus  spissat.  Conii  maculat.  K 
Extract.  Cicutx.  L.  D. 
Fuligo  Ligni  Combusti.  D. 

Hyster. 

Hyoscyamus  niger.  E. 
Hyoscyamus.  D. 
Brit,  Folia.  Semen. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Succus  spissat.  Hyoscyam.  nigri.   E. 

g-r.  2—4. 

Valeriana  officinalis.  E. 
Valeriana.  L.  D. 
Brit.   Radix.  Pulv.   scr.  1— dr.  1 — bis 

terve  in  die. 
Tinctura  Valerians.  L.  dr.  2 — 4. 

Ammoniat.  E.  dr.  1. 
Extract.  Valerian,  sylvestr.  Resinos.  D. 
Ad  Hysteriam,  &c. 

SECT.  III.      FOSSJLTA. 

Hydrargyrum. 

Vid.  Sialagoga. 
Bitumen  Petroleum.  E. 
Petroleum.  L.  D. 
Italia. 

Oleum  Petrolei.  L. 
Succiimm.  L.  E.  D. 
Oleum  Succini.  E. 

purissimum.  E.  7  STtt.  10 
rectificat.  L. 
Sal  Succini.  D. 
Spiritus  Ammoniac,  succinat.  L.  gtt.  30. 


uE.  ~>gtt.  1( 
,.  D.  5  —20. 


CLASS  XV.     NARCOTICA. 


Flores.  Pulv.  gr.  5. 

Paralys.  Convuls.  Amauros, 
Khus  Toxicodendron. 

Folea.  Vid.  Stimulantia. 
Conium  maculatum. 

Pil.  Pulv.  gr.  1. 

Succus  spissat.  Conii  maculat.  gr.  2. 
Hyoscyamus  niger. 

Succus  spissat.  Hyoscyam.  nigr.  gr. 

2—4. 

Tinctura  Hyoscyami  nig.  E.  dr.  1. 
Atropa  Belladonna.  L.  D. 

Belladonna.  L.  D. 

Brit.  Fol.  Pulv.  gr.  1. 
Datura  Stramonium.  E. 

Brit  Fol.  Pulv.  gr.  1. 
Humulus  Lupulus*. 

Cult.  Conus.  Pulv.  Pil.  gr.  3. 
Lactuca  viroso.  E. 

Brit.  Folia.  Succ.  spissat.  gr.  1. 

Ad  Hydrop. 
Papaver  Rhoeas.  E. 

Papaver  erraticum.  L. 

Brit.  Petala.  Infus. 

Syrupus  Papaver.  errat.  L. 
Sium  nodiflorum. 

Slum.  L. 

Brit.  Herba. 


TEGETABII.IA. 

Nicotiana  Tabacum. 

Vinum  Nicot.  Tabaci,  E.  gt.  30. 
dr.  1  bis  in  die. 
Aconhum  neomontanum. 

Succus  spissat.  Aconit.  napel  gr.  ^ — 2. 
Papaver  somniferum. 
Tinct.  Opii.  gt.  25. 

Camphorat.  dr.  2—6. 
Syrup.  Opii.  D. 
Extr.  Papaver.  somnifer.  E. 
Pulv.  Opiat.  L.  E.  gr  10. 
Elect.  Opiatum.  E.  gr.  43. 
Confect.  Opiata.  L.  gr.  36. 
Pil.  Opii.  E.  gr.  5. 

Opiatae.  E.  gr.  10. 

Ad  Febr.  intermittent.  Typh.  Rheu- 
matism. Odontalg.  Catarrh.  Dy- 
senter.  Ophthalm.  Enterit.  Scar- 
latin.  Variol.  Rubeol.  Hsemoptys. 
Menorrhag.  Hxmorrh.Tetan.  Cho- 
ream.  Epileps.  Pertuss.  Asthmat. 
Hydrophob.  Angin.  pectoris.  Hys- 
teriam. Phthis.  Icter.  Diabet. 
Rhododendron  Chrysauthum. 

Folia.     Vid.  Diaphoretica. 
Digitalis  purpurea. 
Pulv.  gr.  1. 

Tinctura  Digital,  purpur.  gtt.  10 — 
Ad  Synocham.  Phrenit.  idiopath  etHy- 
drocephalic.  Pneumon.  Phthisin,  &c. 
Arnica  montana. 


CLASS  XVI.    ANTHELMINTICA. 

SECT.    I.       AX1MALIA. 

Murias  Ammonias. 

Aqua  Carbonatis  Ammoniac. 
Emuls. 

SECT.  II.      VEGETABILIA. 

Anthemis  nobilis. 

Pulv.  scr.  1. — dr.  £ — bis  in  die. 
Lumbric. 


*  We  have  inserted  the  hop  among  tke 
articles  of  the  materia  medica,  as  it  proba- 
bly would  have  been  received  by  the 
Edinburgh  College,  had  their  Pharma- 
copeia been  published  some  months  later. 
Within  the  last  year  it  has  been  frequent- 
ly employed  in  the  Edinburgh  Infirmary 
as  a  substitute  for  opium  with  great  suc- 
cess, as  it  was  found  to  produce  sleep  m 
cases  where  opium  was  ineffectual  or  in- 
admissible. It  is  usually  administered  in 
the  form  of  a  saturated  tincture.  Vid.  De 
Roches'  "  Dissert.  Inaug.  de  HumuloLu- 
pulo.  Edin.  1803." 

Dr.  Spens  has  adopted  it  in  his  edition 
of  the  Infirmary  Pharmacopoeia,  and  has 
given  a  formula  of  it  under  the  title  of 
"  Pilute  Humuli  lupuli." 


MATEHIA  ME  DIG  A. 


Nicotiana  Tabacum. 

Enema. 

Ascarid. 
Olea  Europea. 

Oleum.  Enema.  Emuls. 
Allium  sativum. 

Had.  recens.  Subst.  ad  libitum. 
Ferula  Asafoetida. 

Gum.  Resin.  Enema,  scr.  1 — 2. 
Convolvulus  Jalapa. 

Rad.  Pulv.  gr.  10—30. 
Convolvulus  Scammonium. 

Pulv. 

Pulvis  Scammonii  compositus, 
H.elleborus  fcctidus. 

Fol.  Succ.  express. 

Lumbric. 
Rheum  palmatum. 

Pulv.  gr.  5 — 10.  omni  nocte. 
Ricinus  communis. 

Oleum  express,  unc.  £ — 1.  Enem.  unc. 

1—2. 
Stalagmitis  Cambogioides. 

Pil".  gr.  5—15. 

Ad  Taeniam. 
Ruta  graveolens. 

Infus.  Enema. 

Oleum  volat.  Rutae.  gtt.  3 — 6. 
Juglans  regia. 

Cortex  Fructus  immatur.  Extract. 
Tanacetum  vulgare. 

Flor.  Pulv.  scr.  1 — 2. 
Valeriana  *fficinalis. 

Rad.  Pulv.  dr.  1. 
Artemisia  Santonica.  E. 

Santonicum.  L.  D. 

Asia.  Semen.  Pulv.  dr.  ^. — scr.  2.  bis  in 

die. 
Dolichos  pruriens.  E. 

Ind.  Occ.  Pubes  leguminum.  Elect,  gr. 

10—30. 
Geoffroea  inermis.  E. 

Jamaica.  Cortex.  Decoct.  Syrup. 

Decoctum  Geoffr.  inerm.  E.  unc.  1—2. 

omni  mane. 
Poly  podium  Filix  mas.  E. 

Filix.  L. 

Filix  mas.  D. 

Brit.  Rad.  Pulv.  dr.  2 — 3. 

Ad  Taeniam. 
Spigelia  marilandica.  E. 

Amer.  Rad.  Pulv.  gr.  10 — scr.  2 


SECT.  III.      FOSS.II.IA. 

Hydrargyrum. 

Amalgama  Stanni. 

Submurias  Hydrargyri.  gr.  3 — 10- 
Murias  Sodae. 

Pulv.  dr,  $ — unc.  1, 
Ferrum. 


Carbonas  Ferri  gr.  10 — 30. 

Sulphas  Ferri  gr.  3 — 10. 

Ferri  limatura  purificat.  dr.  £ — 1. 

Tartris  Ferri  et  Potassae  gr.  10-scr  1 
Calx.  E. 

Calx  viva.  L. 

Calx  recens  usta.  D. 

Aqua  Calcis.  L.  E.  D.  Enema,  lib.  $-1-. 

Ad  Ascard. 
Stannum,  L.  E.  D. 

Stanni  Pulvis.  E.  unc.  ^ — 1. 
Ad  Taeniam,  et  Lumbric. 


CLASS  XVII.    ABSORBEXTIA. 


SECT.  I.      A20MALIA. 

Cerous  Elaphus. 

Phosphas  Calcis.  E.  ">  gr.  10—20 

Cornu  Cervi  ushem  ppt.  L.  3    bis  in  die. 

Ad  Rachit. 
Cancer  Astagus  etPagurus.  E. 

Cancris  oculi,  vel  Cheloe.  L. 

Brit.  Lapil.  et  Chelae.  Pulv. 

Chelae.  Cancr.  ppt.  L.  dr.  ^ — 1. 

Pulv.  e  Chel.  Cancr.  Comp.  L.  scr.  1—2. 

Ad  Diarrhoeam,  &c. 
Murias  Ammoniac. 

Aq.  Ammoniae.  gtt.  10 — 15. 

Carbonas  Ammoniac,  gr.  5 — 15. 

Aq.  Carbonatis  Ammon.  gtt.  20 — 40. 

Sal.  Cornu  Cervi.  gr.  5 — 12. 

Ad  Cardialg,  &c. 
Isisnobilis.  E. 

Corallium.  L. 

Corallium  rub  rum  praepar.  L, 
Ostrea  edulis.  E. 

Ostreae  Testeae.  L. 

Brit.  Testae  Pulv. 

Testae  Ostr.  praepar.  L. 
Spongia  officinalis.  E. 

Spongia.  L. 

Spongia  usta.  L.  scr.  1 — 2. 
Ad  Scrofuh 


SECT.  II.      VEGETABILIA. 

•Carbonas  Potassae  impurus. 
Aqua  Potassae. 
Potassa.  E.  Externe. 
Kali  purum.  L. 
Alkali  vegetable  caust.  D. 
Potassa  cum  Calce.  E. 
Calx  cum  Kali  puro.  L. 
Causticum  mitius.  D. 
Carbonas  Potassae.  E.  gr.  10. 
Kali  praeparatum.  L. 
Alkali  vegetabile  mite. 
Carbonas  Potass,  puriss.  E.  gr.  10, 
Aqua  Carbonat.  Potass,  gt.  30. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


Kali.  L. 

Lixivium  mite.  D. 
Aqua  super-carbonat  Potass.  E.  unc. 

4.  ssep.  in  die. 

Liquor  Alkal.  veget.  mitiss.  D. 
Ad  Curdialg1.  Calciilum,  Stc. 

SECT.  III.       FOSSILIA. 


III. 

Potassse.  E.          } 
turn.  L.  C  I*' 

ulesulphurat.D.J    A 


Sulphur  sublimatum. 

Sulphuretum  Potassse.  E. 
Kali  sulphuratum.  L. 
Alkali  vegetabile  sulphurat. 
Ad  Venena  metallica. 
Hydrosulphuretum  Ammoniac.  E.  gtt. 

5—10. 

Ad  Diabeten. 
S  alphas  Magnesias. 

Carbonas  Magnesix.  dr.  £. 
Magnesia  Alba.  L.  U. 
Magnesia.  E.  scr.  1—  -dr.  1. 
Magnesia  Usta.  L.  D. 
Trochisci  Magnesias.  L.  ad  libit. 
Ad  Cardialgiam. 
Calx. 

Aqua  Calcis.  E.  L.  D. 
Ad  Dyspeps. 
B^olus  Gallicus.  L. 
Pulv. 

Ad  Diarrhoeam,  &c. 
Carbonas  Calcis.  E. 
Creta.  L.  D. 

Carbonas    Calcis    praeparat.    E.    gr. 

15—  dr.  1. 

Creta  przeparata.L.  D. 
Pulv.    Carbonat.  Calc.   com.   E.   gr. 

15—30. 

Cretae  composit.  L. 
Trochisc.  Carbonat.  Cretae.  E.ad  libit. 

Cretx.  L. 

Potio  Carbonat.  Calcis.  unc.  2  —  3. 
Mistura  Cretacea.  L. 
Aqua  JEris  fixi.  D.  lib.  ^  —  1  in  die. 
Ad  Cardialgiam.  Calciilum. 
Carbonas  Sodx  impurus.  E. 
Natron.  L. 
Alkali  fossile  mite.  D. 

Carbonas  Sodx.  E.          7        1Q  _  3Q 

Natron  prxparatum.  L.  3  ° 

Aqua  super-carbonatis  Soda:.  E.  lib. 

^  —  1.  in  die. 
AdCalculum,  &c. 
Carbonas  Zinci  impurus.  E. 
Lapis  Calaminaris.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Ung.  et  Collyr. 
Osydum  Zinci  impurum.  E. 
f  utia.  L.  D. 
Brit.  Ung.  et  Collyr. 


To  render  this  article  the  more  com- 
lete,  v>  e  shall  *dd  a  few  remarks  upon  the 


nature,  use,  and  indications  of  the  respec- 
tive  classes  in  the  preceding  system,  as 
they  may  be  inserted  with  more  pro- 
priety here  than  in  any  other  part  of 
this  work. 


1.  Of  Emetics. 

These  may  be  regarded  as  irritative  or 
evacuant,  or  both.  Of  the  first  we  have 
instances  in  the  sulphuret  of  antimony,  the 
tartar  emetic  of  popular  language,  sulphate 
of  zinc,  or  white  vitriol,  and  the  sulphate 
of  copper,  or  blue  vitriol.  Of  the  second  we 
have  instances  in  ipecacuanha  and  squills  ; 
of  the  third,  in  tobacco  and  foxglove. 

From  the  use  of  emetic  medicines  the 
following  direct  effects  are  produced. 
They  excite  sickness,  nausea,  and  their 
common  attendants.  They  produce  the 
action  of  vomiting  itself.  They  occasion 
sudden  and  opposite  changes  in  the  cir- 
culation. They  increase  the  secretion  or 
the  discharge  of  secreted  matter  from  the 
various  glands  which  prepare  fluids  to  be 
deposited  in  the  alimentary  canal. 

The  changes  induced  in  the  system  in 
consequence  of  the  primary  effects  of 
emetics  are :  the  evacuation  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  stomach,  and,  in  some  degree, 
of  the, upper  part  of  the  intestinal  tube, 
free  circulation  through  the  stomach,  in- 
testines, and  glands,  whose  secreted  mat- 
ters are  acted  upon  :  general  agitation  of 
the  body :  a  commotion  of  the  nervous 
system :  a  particular  affection  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  body.  The  indications  which 
emetic  medicines  are  capable  of  fulfilling 
may  be  derived  from  the  following 
sources :  1.  Their  producing  agitation  of 
the  body,  whence  they  may  be  employed 
to  restore  uniform  circulation ;  to  pro- 
mote diminished  lymphatic  absorption; 
to  remove  obstruction  in  the  sanguife- 
rous  system.  2.  From  their  producing 
evacuation  by  vomiting,  whence  they 
may  be  used,  to  discharge  noxious  mat- 
ters taken  in  by  the  mouth ;  to  discharge 
morbid  accumulations  of  secreted  matters 
lodged  in  the  stomach ;  to  evacuate  se- 
rous accumulations.  3.  From  the  affec- 
tion of  the  nervous  system  which  they 
occasion ;  whence  they  may  be  employ- 
ed, to  restore  excitement  to  the  nervous 
system  in  general,  and  obviate  inordinate 
affections  of  the  nervous  energy.  These 
indications  may  be  illustrated  and  confirm- 
ed by  attention  to  the  use  of  emetics, 
when  employed  in  cases  of  fever,  dysen- 
tery, pulmonary  consumption,  jaundice, 
apoplexy,  dropsy,  and  poisons. 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


In  the  use  of  emetics  we  ought  to  pay 
attention  to  the  circumstances  of  infancy, 
old  age,  pregnancy,  delicacy  of  habit,  and 
plethora.  The  circumstances  chiefly  to 
be  regarded  with  respect  to  the  regimen 
necessary  for  this  class,  are,  the  state  of 
the  stomach  when  the  emetic  is  exhibit- 
ed; the  means  of  facilitating  the  opera- 
tion ;  the  time  of  exhibiting  the  medi- 
cine ;  the  temperature  in  which  the  pa- 
tient is  kept,  after  its  operation  is  finish- 
ed. The  different  individuals  belonging 
to  the  class  of  emetics  are  chiefly  contra- 
indicated  by  the  presence  of  the  follow- 
ing morbid  states :  a  rupture  or  relaxa- 
tion of  containing  membranes  ;  topical  in- 
flammation of  the  internal  viscera ;  a  high 
degree  of  morbid  debility  in  these  ;  fixed 
obstructions  to  the  circulation. 

2.  Of  Expectorants. 

The  direct  effects  of  the  medicines 
which  are  employed  under  this  name  are 
as  follow  :  they  stimulate  the  lungs  them- 
selves; they  augment  the  secretion  tak- 
ing place  by  the  mucous  glands  of  the 
lungs;  they  increase  the  excretion  of 
mucus  from  the  lungs.  The  changes  in- 
duced in  the  system,  from  the  primary 
effects  of  expectorants,  are,  an  alteration 
in  the  state  of  the  mucus  excreted  to  a 
more  thin  and  fluid  consistence ;  an  in- 
crease of  the  sensibility  of  the  lungs  ;  free 
circulation  through  the  blood-vessels  of 
the  secreting  glands  ;  and  the  evacuation 
of  those  cavities  in  the  lungs  in  which 
mucus  is  deposited. 

Expectorants  may  be  divided  into  the 
nauseating,  as  squills,  gum-ammoniac, 
and  garlic ;  the  antispasmodic,  as  blis- 
ters, feet,  and  vapour-baths ;  and  irrita- 
tive, as  acid  vapours,  and  the  common 
smoking  of  tobacco.  The  indications 
these  medicines  are  capable  of  fulfilling 
may  be  traced  as  follows  :  1.  From  their 
affecting  the  secretion  of  mucus;  whence 
they  may  be  used,  to  promote  the  secre- 
tion of  mucus  by  the  lung;;,  when  mor- 
bidly diminished  there ;  to  render  the 
mucus  of  the  lunge  thinner,  when  mor- 
bidly thick  and  viscid.  2.  From  their  af- 
fecting the  excretion  of  mucus  ;  whence 
they  may  be  employed,  to  evacuate  mor- 
bid accumulations  of  mucus  in  the  lungs ; 
to  supply  irritation  to  the  lungs  when 
morbidly  deficient.  3.  From  their  af- 
fecting the  state  of  the  lungs  themselves; 
whence  they  may  be  employed  as  local 
stimulants.  The  caution*  to'be  observed 
in  the  employment  of  expectorants,  as 

VOL.  IV. 


derived  from  their  nature,  chiefly  respect 
their  operations  as  exciting  nausea;  their 
power  of  stimulating  the  system  in  gene- 
ral from  acting  on  the  stomach;  and  their 
influence  as  irritating  the  lungs  them- 
selves. The  conditions  of  the  system 
which  chiefly  require  attention  in  their 
employment  are,  the  degree  of  irritabili- 
ty with  which  the  lungs  are  endowed;  and 
the  youth  of  the  patient.  The  circum- 
stances chiefly  to  be  attended  to  in  the 
regimen  necessary  for  this  class,  are,  the 
state  of  the  stomach;  the  employment  of 
diet  fitted  to  conspire  with  the  effect  of 
the  medicine;  the  free  use  of  exercise; 
and  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  in  which 
the  patient  breathes. 

The  different  individuals  belonging  to 
the  class  of  expectorants,  are  chiefly  con- 
tra-indicated by  the  presence  of  the  fol- 
lowing morbid  states;  a  high  degree 
of  increased  sensibility  in  the  lungs; 
and  an  uncommonly  quick  excretion  of 
mucus  from  the  lungs. 

3.  Of  Diaphoretics. 

These  are  medicines,  which,  taken  in- 
ternally, increase  the  discharge  by  the "' 
skin,  without  exciting  this  effect  in  con- 
sequence of  violent  agitation  or  acute 
pain.  The  following  are  their  direct 
results :  they  accelerate  the  motion  of 
the  blood  ;  produce  free  circulation 
through  the  vessels  on  the  surface  ;  and 
excite  a  discharge  of  sweat.  The  changes 
induced  in  the  system,  from  the  more 
immediate  effects  of  diaphoretics,  are,  a 
change  in  the  balance  of  the  circulation ; 
a  diminution  of  the  quantity  of  circulating 
fluids ;  and  a  diminution  more  particular- 
ly of  the  serosity. 

Diaphoretics  may  be  regarded  as  pun- 
gent, of  which  we  have  instances  in  spirit 
of  hartshorn,  oil  of  lavender,  or  amber; 
stimulant,  as  various  preparations  of  anti- 
mony and  quicksilver,  guiacum,  contra- 
yerva,  and  snake-root;  antispasmodic,  as 
musk,  opium,  and  camphor;  and  diluent, 
as  water  and  whey.  Their  use  and  indi- 
cation may  be  collected,  1.  From  their 
changing  the  mode  of  circulation;  whence 
they  may  be  employed,  to  obviate  morbid 
determination  taking  place  to  the  inter- 
nal viscera ;  to  remove  various  causes  ob- 
structing or  impeding  the  natural  state  of 
circulation  on  the  surface  ;  to  restore  the 
natural  discharge  from  the  body,  which 
should  take  place  by  the  surface,  in  those 
cases  where  it  is  morbidly  diminished.  2. 
From  their  producing  evacuation;  whence 

O  o 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


they  may  be  employed,  to  diminish  the 
quantity  of  circulating  fluids,  where  it  is 
greater  than  the  state  of  the  system  at 
the  time  can  admit  of;  to  restore  dimi- 
nished lymphatic  absorption,  and  to  dis- 
charge morbid  accumulations  of  serum. 
These  indications  may  be  illustrated  and 
confirmed,  from  practical  observations 
concerning  the  effects  of  diaphoretic  me- 
dicines in  fever,  dysentery,  rheumatism, 
dropsy,  and  herpes. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the 
employment  of  diaphoretic  medicines, 
as  derived  from  their  nature,  chiefly 
respect  the  determination  they  produce 
to  the  surface;  the  acceleration  of  the 
motion  of  the  blood,  which  many  of  them 
occasion  ;  the  debility  which,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  discharge,  is  produced  in 
the  system ;  and  the  effects  sometimes 
produced  on  the  vessels  of  the  surface 
themselves,  by  the  free  passage  of  the 
blood  through  them.  The  conditions  of 
the  system,  which  chiefly  require  atten- 
tion in  their  employment,  are,  the  period 
of  infancy;  lax  and  debilitated  habits; 
constitutions  liable  to  costiveness. 

4.  Of  Diuretics. 

These  are  medicines  which,  from  be- 
ing taken  internally,  augment  the  flow 
of  urine  from  the  kidnies,  by  stimulating 
its  secretion  from  the  mass  of  circulating 
fluids.  The  changes  induced  in  the  sys- 
tem from  these  direct  effects,  are,  a 
change  in  the  balance  of  circulation ;  a 
diminution  of  the  quantity  of  circulating 
fluids;  but  more  especially  of  the  serosity 
and  of  the  saline  parts  of  the  blood ;  an  in- 
crease of  absorption  by  the  lymphatic  ves- 
sels ;  a  diminution  of  the  quantity  of  mat- 
ter discharged  by  perspiration ;  and  an 
uncommon  flow  of  fluid  through  the 
urinary  passages. 

Diuretics  may  be  divided  into  such  as 
are  stimulant,  of  which  we  have  instances 
in  squills,  broom,  colchicum,  cantha- 
rides ;  refrigerant,  as  sorrel,  berberry, 
vinegar,  cream  of  tartar  ;  and  diluent,  as 
water,  whey,  and  acidulated  waters. 
Their  use  and  indication  may  be  ascer- 
tained from  the  following  effects:  1.  Their 
producing  evacuation ;  whence  they  may 
be  employed  to  remove  superabundant 
serosity  from  the  blood ;  to  evacuate 
morbid  accumulations  of  serum ;  to  re- 
move morbid  acrimony  from  the  blood ; 
to  diminish  the  quantity  of  circulating 
fluids,  when  too  great  for  the  state  of  the 
system  at  the  time.  2.  From  their  alter- 
ing the  mode  of  circulation;  whence  they 


may  be  employed,  to  restore  the  natural 
secretion  of  urine,  when  morbidly  dimi- 
nished; to  diminish  other  secretions, 
when  morbidly  augmented.  3.  From 
their  augmenting  the  flow  of  liquid 
through  the  urinary  passages ;  whence 
they  may  be  employed,  to  remove  ob- 
structions in  these  passages,  and  to 
wash  out  acrimony  from  them.  These 
indications  may  be  illustrated  by  an  at- 
tention to  the  effects  of  this  class  of 
medicines,  as  employed  in  ascites,  icto- 
rus,  and  nephritis. 

5.   Of  Cathartics. 

These  are  medicines  which,  taken  in- 
ternally, increase  the  number  of  stools, 
by  stimulating  the  alimentary  canal,  in- 
creasing the  peristaltic  motion  of  the  in- 
testines, and  promoting  the  secretion 
of  the  fluids  which  constitute  alvine 
evacuations.  They  may  be  subdivided 
into  the  following  tribes :  stimulant,  as 
jalap,  aloes,  bitter-apple ;  refrigerant, 
as  Glauber's  salts,  sal  polychrest,  cream 
of  tartar  ;  astringent,  as  rhubarb,  rose- 
leaves  ;  and  emollient,  as  manna,  mal- 
lows, castor  oil. 

The  changes  induced  in  the  system 
from  the  primary  effects  of  cathartics, 
are,  the  evacuation  of  the  contents  of 
the  intestines;  a  diminution  of  the  quan- 
tity of  circulating  fluids,  and,  in  a  parti- 
cular manner^  of  the  serosity  ;  a  change 
in  the  balance  of  circulation;  a  diminu- 
tion of  perspiration  ;  higher  excitement 
of  the  nervous  energy  in  the  system  in 
general,  but  more  especially  in  the  intes- 
tinal canal. 

The  indications  which  cathartic  medi- 
cines are  capable  of  fulfilling,  may  be  de- 
rived from  the  three  following  sources : 
1.  From  their  producing  evacuation , 
whence  they  may  be  employed,  to  obvi- 
ate morbid  retention  of  the  contents  of 
the  intestines ;  to  diminish  the  quantity 
of  circulating  fluids  when  too  great  for 
the  then  state  of  the  system ;  to  evacu- 
ate morbid  accumulations  of  serum.  2 
From  their  altering  the  balance  of  circu- 
lation ;  whence  they  may  be  employed  to 
promote  free  circulation  through  the  in- 
testines, in  those  cases  where  it  is  mor- 
bidly impeded ;  and  to  diminish  the  im- 
petus of  the  blood  against  parts  morbidly 
affected.  3.  From  the  affection  of  the 
nervous  system  which  they  occasion ; 
whence  they  may  be  employed  to  re- 
move torpor  in  the  muscular  fibres  of  the 
intestines  ;  and  to  restrain  inordinate  mo- 
tions in  their  muscular  fibres.  These  in- 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


dications  may  be  illustrated  and  confirm- 
ed, from  considering  the  effects  of  this 
class  of  medicines,  as  employed  in  dysen- 
tery, small-pox,  dropsy,  obstructed  men- 
struation, and  diarrhoea. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  em- 
ployment of  cathartics,  as  derived  from 
their  nature,  chiefly  respect  the  degree 
of  evacuation  they  produce  from  the  cir- 
culating fluids,  and  the  topical  irritation 
they  occasion  to  the  intestines  themselves. 
The  conditions  of  the  system  which  chief- 
ly require  attention  in  their  employment, 
are,  childhood,  female  habits,  hysterical 
constitutions,  high  degrees  both  of  irrita- 
bility and  torpor,  remarkable  delicacy 
of  the  stomach  and  peculiar  antipa- 
thies. The  circumstances  chiefly  to 
be  regarded  with  respect  to  the  regimen 
necessary  for  this  class,  are,  the  mode  of 
exhibiting  the  cathartic ;  the  time  at 
which  it  is  given  ;  the  temperature  in 
wliich  the  patient  is  kept  during  its  ope- 
ration ;  the  diet  employed ;  and  the  de- 
gree of  exercise  he  uses. 

The  morbid  conditions,  contra-indicat- 
ing the  use  of  cathartic  medicines,  apply 
only  to  particular  orders.  The  stimulant, 
refrigerant,  and  astringent,  are  contra-in- 
dicated by  general  inanition  of  the  sys- 
tem ;  the  stimulant,  by  a  high  degree  of 
irritability  in  the  intestines,  and  by  mor- 
bidly accelerated  circulation ;  the  refri- 
gerant, by  a  circulation  unusually  slow 
and  languid ;  the  astringent,  by  habitual 
costiveness  ;  and  the  emollient,  by  un- 
common relaxation  of  the  bowels. 

6.   OfEmmenagogv.es. 

By  emmenagogues  are  meant  medi- 
cines which  possess  a  power  of  promot- 
ing that  periodical  secretion  from  the 
uterus,  which  should  take  place  in  certain 
conditions  of  the  female  frame.  The 
following,  therefore,  are  their  effects : 
They  stimulate  the  whole  circulating  sys- 
tem. They  stimulate,  in  a  particular 
manner,  the  vessels  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  uterus;  and  this  effect  seems,  in 
some  degree,  to  be  communicated  to  the 
vessels  of  the  uterus  themselves.  They 
occasion  a  particular  affection  of  the 
whole  nervous  system.  The  changes  in- 
duced in  the  system  from  the  primary 
effects  of  emmenagogues,  are,  an  increase 
in  the  impetus  of  the  blood  circulating 
through  the  uterus  and  its  neighbour^ 
hood;  and  an  augmentation  of  the  quan- 
tity of  blood  determined  to  the  uterus. 
From  some  individuals  referred  to  this 
class,  there  arises  an  increase  of  the  tonic 


powers  of  the  vessels  in  the  uterus,  and 
from  others  a  diminution  of  it.  Emmc- 
nugogues  may  be  divided  into  the  follow- 
ing tribes  :  stimulant,  as  various  forms  of 
quick-silver  and  antimony ;  irritant,  as 
aloes,  savin,  cantharides ;  tonic,  as  iron, 
cold-bath,  corporeal  exercise  ;  and  anti- 
spasmodic,  as  assafoetida,  castor,  warm 
foot-bath. 

Their  indications  may  be  thus  traced: 
1.  From  their  changing1  the  mode  of  cir- 
culation, whence  they  may  be  employed 
to  free  the  circulatory  system  in  the 
neighbourhod  of  the  uterus  when  ob- 
structed there  ;  to  promote  that  accumu- 
lation of  fluid  in  the  vessels  of  the  uterus 
themselves,  which  is  necessary  to  the 
menstrual  discharge :  and  to  remove 
morbid  obstructions  to  the  passage  of 
blood  into  the  cavity  of  the  uterus.  2. 
From  their  acting  on  the  state  of  the  ani- 
mated solids.  Hence  they  may  be  used, 
to  increase  the  tonic  power  of  the  system 
where  it  is  morbidly  diminished.  To  in- 
crease the  tonic  power  in  the  vessels  of 
the  uterus  in  particular,  when  deficient 
there.  To  remove  spasmodic  stricture 
taking  place  on  the  vessels  of  the  uterus. 

Practical  observation  in  different  cases 
of  obstructed  menstruation,  arising  from 
different  causes,  will  illustrate  and  confirm 
these  various  indications. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  em- 
ployment of  emmenagogues  chiefly  re- 
spect the  consequences  of  a  cure  if  urged 
too  precipitately  or  violently;  the  irritation 
produced  to  the  intestines,  and  the  stimu- 
lus affecting  the  whole  system.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  animal  frame  which  require 
attention  in  their  employment,  are,  the 
age  of  the  patient ;  the  complaints  to 
which  she  has  formerly  been  liable  ;  the 
duration  of  her  present  complaints ;  and 
her  general  character.  The  circumstan- 
ces chiefly  to  be  attended  to  in  the  regi- 
men necessary,  respect  the  temperature 
in  which  the  patient  is  kept  ;  the  use  of 
moderate  exercise  ;  and  the  employment 
of  liberal  diet. 

In  enumerating  the  morbid  conditions 
contra-indicating  emmenagogues,  a  dis- 
tinction is  to  be  made  betwixt  those 
which  contra-indicate  the  restoration  of 
the  discharge  altogether,  and  those  which 
contra-indicate  particular  modes  of  re- 
storing it.  As  morbid  conditions,  which 
entirely  contra-indicate  the  restoration 
of  this  discharge,  we  may  mention  ex- 
treme debility,  either  constitutional,  or 
induced  by  previous  disease,  which  pro- 
hibit our  attempting  its  restoration  so 
long  as  the  debility  continues.  The  time 
of  critical  discharges ;  high  degrees  of 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


irritability  and  torpor ;  and  a  constitu- 
tional disposition  to  deliquium  animi.  The 
circumstances  chiefly  to  be  attended  to 
in  the  regimen  necessary,  respect  the 
adapting  the  diet  and  temperature  to  the 
disease  under  which  the  patient  labours ; 
the  time  of  performing  the  operation ; 
the  state  of  the  ingesta  at  that  time ;  and 
the  mode  of  the  discharge. 

7.   OfEivhines. 

These  are  medicines  which,  when  topi- 
cally applied  to  the  internal  membrane  of 
the  nose,  excite  sneezing,  and  increase 
the  secretion,  without  any  mechanical  ir- 
ritation. They  may  be  regarded  as  of 
two  kinds ;  sternutatory,  or  those  used  for 
the  purpose  of  general  agitation,  chiefly, 
as  tobacco,  snuff,  hellebore,  euphorbium; 
and  evacuant,  or  those  designed  to  pro- 
duce determination  of  the  fluids  to  the 
nostrils,  as  asarum,  beta,  betonica. 

The  changes  induced  in  the  system, 
from  the  primary  effects  of  errhines,  are, 
violent  agitation  of  the  body ;  commotion 
of  the  nervous  system;  sudden  changes 
in  the  circulation ;  a  diminution  of  the 
quantity  of  circulating  fluids ;  more  free 
circulation  through  the  mucous  glands, 
on  which  the  ermine  acts ;  a  change  in 
the  balance  of  circulation  subsisting  be- 
tween these  and  the  neighbouring  parts. 

The  use  of  errhines  may  hence  be  as- 
certained by  the  following  results :  1. 
From  their  producing  agitation  of  the 
system  in  general ;  whence  they  may  be 
employed  to  discharge  morbid  accumula- 
tions of  mucus  in  the  cavities  surrounding 
the  nose  ;  to  remove  a  state  of  torpor  in 
the  nervous  system ;  to  obviate  nervous 
affections  of  the  convulsive  or  spasmodic 
kind.  2.  From  their  producing  determi- 
nation to  the  nose.  Whence  they  may 
be  employed  to  promote  the  secretion  of 
mucus  in  the  nose  when  morbidly  dimin- 
ished ;  and  to  occasion  derivation  from 
parts  morbidly  affected  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  nose.  These  indications  may 
be  illustrated  and  confirmed  from  practi- 
cal observations  concerning  the  effects  of 
this  class  of  medicines  when  employed  in 
cases  of  apoplexy,  palsy,  head-ach,  and 
opthalmics. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  em- 
ployment of  errhines,  as  derived  from 
their  nature,  respect  chiefly,  the  agita- 
tion they  produce  in  the  system  in  gene- 
ral, and  the  change  they  occasion  i'n  de- 
termination, whether  as  producing  a 
greater  flow  to  the  nose,  or  derivation 


from  other  parts.  The  conditions  of  the 
system  chiefly  requiring  attention  in  the 
employment,  are,  infancy,  old  age,  irrita- 
ble and  haemorrhagic  habit,  those  which 
are  morbidly  torpid,  and  those  formerly 
accustomed  to  the  frequent  use  of  the 
same  stimulus.  The  circumstances  to 
be  attended  to  in  the  regimen  necessary, 
respect  the  means  of  obviating  inflamma- 
tion when  excited,  and  the  avoiding  sud- 
den exposure  to  cold  air. 

The  different  individuals  belonging  to 
the  class  of  errhines,  are  chiefly  contra- 
indicated  by  the  presence  of  the  follow- 
ing morbid  states  :  a  high  degree  of  ple- 
thora ;  morbid  debility  of  the  viscera ; 
uncommon  sensibility  of  the  nose ;  pre- 
ternatural determination  to  the  nose  ;  and 
ulceration  of  the  nose  or  of  neighbouring 
parts. 

8.  Of  Sialagogues. 

Siulagogues  are  medicines  which  excite 
an  uncommon  flow  of  saliva.  They 
stimulate  the  salivary  glands,  or  their  ex- 
cretories.  They  increase  the  action  of 
the  vessels  secreting  saliva.  They  ac- 
celerate the  circulation  through  the  sali- 
vary glands,  and  through  the  blood-ves- 
sels in  the  neighbourhood  of  these. 
They  produce  a  preternatural  discharge 
of  saliva,  both  in  point  of  quantity  and 
consistence.  The  changes  induced  in  the 
system,  from  the  primary  effects  of  siala- 
gogues,  are,  a  change  in  the  distribution 
of  the  fluids  circulating  through  these  ves- 
sels to  which  the  action  of  the  sialagogue 
extends,  and  through  the  vessels  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  these  ;  a  diminution  of 
the  quantity  of  circulating  fluids  in  gene- 
ral ;  and  a  change  in  the  state  of  the  re- 
maining mass,  independently  of  the  dimi- 
nution of  quantity.  They  may  be  distri- 
buted into  topical,  as  squills,  tobacco, 
peppers  and  other  aromatics ;  and  gene- 
ral, as  mercurial  preparations. 

The  use  of  sialagogues  may  be  deter- 
mined as  follows :  1.  From  their  effects 
as  changing  the  balance  of  circulation, 
whence  they  may  be  employed  to  dimi- 
nish the  impetus  of  the  blood  against 
parts  morbidly  affected  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  salivary  glands;  to  dimi- 
nish the  action  of  the  vessels  when  mor- 
bidly increased  in  these  neighbouring 
parts;  to  promote  free  circulation  of  the 
blood  through  the  salivary  glands,  when 
morbidly  obstructed  there.  2.  From  their 
effects,  as  producing  evacuation,  whence 
they  may  be  employed  to  evacuate  mor- 
bid accumulations  of  serum;  to  produce  a 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


thorough  change  in  the  fluids  of  the  body, 
when  morbidly  vitiated. 

These  uses  may  be  illustrated  from 
practical  observations  in  cases  of  tooth- 
ach,  angina,  dropsy,  and  siphilis. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  em- 
ployment of  sialagogues,  as  derived  from 
their  nature,  respect  chiefly  the  stimulus 
they  occasion  to  the  salivary  glands  and 
neighbouring  parts ;  the  time  required 
by  the  order  of  interna  for  the  produc- 
tion of  evacuation  ;  the  difficulty,  per- 
haps, in  some  cases,  the  impossibility,  of 
exciting  salivation  by  means  of  the  inter- 
na; and  the  debility  induced  in  the  sys- 
tem from  excessive  evacuation.  The 
conditions  of  the  system  chiefly  requir- 
ing attention  in  their  employment,  are, 
old  age,  constitutions  habituated  to  siala- 
gogues ;  peculiarities  in  constitution,  de- 
termining the  mercury  to  act  on  other 
parts  than  the  salivary  glands ;  menstrua- 
tion ;  and  pregnancy.  Sialagogues  are 
contra-indicated,  where  there  is  an  un- 
common determination  to  the  salivary 
glands;  preternatural  sensibility  in  them; 
deficient  serosity ;  and  general  debility  of 
the  system. 

9.  Of  Emollients. 

By  emollients  are  meant  medicines 
which  have  a  power  of  relaxing  the 
living  animal  fibre,  independently  of  me- 
chanical action ;  they  render  the  part  to 
which  they  are  immediately  applied 
more  soft  and  flexible  than  it  was  be- 
fore. They  excite  a  peculiar  sensation 
indistinctly  referred  to  the  part  to  which 
they  are  applied;  they  produce  through 
the  rest  of  the  system  an  effect,  in  some 
degree  analogous  to  that  taking  place  in 
the  part  on  which  they  more  immediately 
act.  The  changes  induced  in  the  system 
from  the  primary  effects  of  emollients 
are,  a  dimunition  of  the  power  of  cohe- 
sion in  various  parts  of  the  animal  body; 
a  diminution  of  the  tonic  power  in  the 
system ;  an  increase  of  the  capacity  of 
containing  vessels  in  the  part  on  which 
they  more  particularly  act,  and  in  some 
degree  in  the  system  in  general;  and  an 
increase  of  irritability  and  sensibility 
through  the  entire  frame. 

They  may  be  regarded  as  humectant, 
of  which  we  have  examples  in  warm  wa- 
ter, warm  vapour,  and  warm  baths ; 
laxative,  as  marshmallows,  mallows,  white 
lily  root ;  lubricative,  as  bland  oils,  suet, 
hog's  lard  ;  atonic,  as  opium,  foot-bath. 

The  curative  indications  of  emollients 
may  be  collected  -hence :  1,  From  their 


producing  a  change  in  the  state  of  the 
moving  solids.  Hence  they  may  be  em- 
ployed to  restore  the  natural  flexibility  to 
parts  morbidly  rigid  ;  to  diminish  a  mor- 
bid increase  of  tonic  power.  2.  From 
their  producing  a  change  in  the  state  of 
the  containing  vessels.  Hence  the}'  may 
be  employed,  to  obviate  the  effects  of 
morbid  distention ;  to  remove  obstruc- 
tions. These  indications  may  be  illus- 
trated and  confirmed,  from  practical  ob- 
servations concerning  the  effects  of  this 
class  of  medicines,  as  employed  in  cases 
of  contraction,  rigidity,  and  tumor.  The 
cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  employ- 
ment of  emollients,  as  derived  from  their 
nature,  chiefly  respect  their  influence  as 
acting  on  the  system  in  general ;  and  the 
effects  of  a  degree  of  laxity  induced  in 
particular  parts,  higher  than  is  natural 
to  these.  The  conditions  of  the  system 
which  chiefly  require  attention  in  their 
employment  are,  the  period  of  youth ; 
delicacy  of  habit;  and  debility.  The 
circumstances  chiefly  to  be  attended  to 
in  the  necessary  re'gimen,  respect  the 
temperature  and  air  in  which  the  patient 
is  kept ;  and  the  mode  of  applying  the 
emollient.  The  class  of  emollients  are 
chiefly  contra-indicated  by  the  presence 
of  the  following  morbid  states :  a  high  de- 
gree of  morbid  relaxation  in  the  system 
in  general ;  and  a  peculiar  sensibility  of 
the  moving  fibres. 

10.  Of  Refrigerants. 

These  are  medicines  which,  as  their 
name  implies,  are  supposed  to  diminish 
the  heat  of  the  living  body,  not  by  the 
application  of  an  actual  cold,  but  by  a 
power  peculiar  to  themselves. 

They  may  be  considered  under  the 
two  divisions  of  acids  or  acetous  fruits,  as 
tamarinds,  berberries,  lemons,  wood-sor- 
rel ;  and  neutral  salts,  as  nitre,  Glauber's 
salt,  sal  polychrest.  They  may  hence  be 
usefully  employed  ;  1.  In  cases  of  febrile 
heat,  or  of  general  plethora,  and  an  use- 
ful auxiliary  to  the  tribe  of  refrigerant 
cathartics.  2.  As  sedatives,  to  diminish 
undue  irritability  and  action  of  any  of  the 
vascular  systems,  and  are  hence  usefully 
conjoined  with  the  sedatives,  more  pro- 
perly so  called,  of  Class  XV.  of  this  sys- 
tem. In  the  employment  of  these  medi- 
cines attention  should  be  paid  to  their 
power  of  diminishing  action,  and  either 
generally  checking  the  secretions  of 
the  system,  or  augmenting  some  by  a 
diminution  of  others.  Hence  they  are 
contra-indicated  in  cases  of  chlorosis, 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


leucophlegrnatic  habits,  and  predispo- 
sitions to  dropsical  affections.  We  en- 
large the  less,  however,  upon  this  sub- 
ject, because  the  indications  and  contra- 
indications are  closely  connected,  as 
we  have  just  observed,  with  the  arti- 
cles and  the  remarks  offered  upon  Class 
XV.  of  which,  in  various  systems  of 
therapeutics,  they  merely  constitute  a 
separate  division. 

11.  Of  Astringents. 

These  are  medicines  which  possess  a 
power  of  condensing  the  animal  fibre 
without  the  aid  of  mechanical  action.  In 
general  they  are  found  to  excite  a  pecu- 
liar sensation  referred  to  the  part  to 
which  they  are  applied  ;  if  to  the  organs 
of  taste,  a  sense  of  dryness.  They  pro- 
duce a  remarkable  corrugation  in  the 
parts  on  which  they  more  immediately 
act.  They  occasion,  in  some  degree,  a 
similar  affection  through  the  rest  of  the 
system.  Some  individuals  belonging  to 
this  class  produce  an  evident  condensa- 
tion in  dead  animal  fibres.  The  changes 
induced  in  the  system,  from  the  primary 
effects  of  astringents,  are,  an  increase 
of  the  power  of  cohesion  in  various  parts 
of  the  animal  body  ;  an  increase  of  what 
may  be  termed  the  tonic  power  in  the 
system  ;  a  diminution  of  the  capacity  of 
containing  vessels  in  the  system  ;  a  dimi- 
nution of  irritability,  and  perhaps,  in  some 
degree,  of  sensibility. 

Astringents  may  be  divided  into  styp- 
tic, of  which  we  have  examples  in 
most  metallic  oxides,  as  well  as  in  alumi- 
nous earths ;  corrugant,  as  rose-leaves, 
galls,  oak-bark ;  indurant,  as  alcohol  and 
ucids ;  and  tonic,  as  exercise,  cold,  and 
friction. 

The  indications  of  cure,  which  the 
class  of  astringent  medicines  are  capable 
of  fulfilling,  may  be  deduced  from  the 
following  sources.  1.  From  the  altera- 
tion they  produce  on  the  state  of  the 
moving  solids:  whence  they  may  be  em- 
ployed, to  obviate  original  delicacy;  to 
restore  natural  compactness  to  parts 
morbidly  relaxed  ;  to  restore  diminished 
tonic  power;  to  diminish  mobility  when 
morbidly  increased.  2.  From  the  altera- 
tion they  produce  on  the  state  of  the 
containing  vessels  :  whence  they  may  be 
employed,  to  diminish  secretions  mor- 
bidly augmented ;  to  increase  the  power 
of  retaining  excrementitious  matters 
when  morbidly  diminished  •,  to  produce 
a  constriction  on  the  orifices  of  ruptured 
vessels. 


These  indications  may  be  illustrated 
and  confirmed  from  practical  observations 
concerning  the  effects  of  astringents  in 
cases  of  histeria,  epilepsy,  haemorrhage, 
and  diarrhoea. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the 
employment  of  astringents,  as  derived 
from  their  nature,  chiefly  respect  the 
stimulant  and  caustic  powers  possessed 
by  many  individuals  belonging  to  the 
class :  the  effects  of  an  alteration  pro- 
duced in  the  solids,  if  carried  beyond  the 
natural  state ;  and,  in  a  particular  man- 
ner, their  influence  as  diminishing  secre- 
tions ;  and  as  increasing  the  power  of  the 
system  for  the  retention  of  excrementi- 
tious matters.  The  conditions  of  the  sys- 
tem whicli  chiefly  require  attention  in 
their  employment,  are,  old  age,  me- 
lancholic habits,  and  particular  mor- 
bid affections  of  the  stomach.  The  cir- 
cumstances chiefly  to  be  attended  to 
in  the  regimen  necessary,  respect  the 
avoiding  a  relaxing  diet ;  and  the  keep- 
ing the  patient  in  a  cool  temperature  and 
dry  air. 

Astringents  are  chiefly  contra-indi- 
cated by  the  presence  of  the  following 
morbid  states;  a  high  degree  of  rigidity 
in  the  system  in  general ;  remarkable 
insensibility  in  the  moving  fibres ;  and 
particular  diminution  of  the  excretions 
from  the  body. 

12.  Of  Tonics. 

The  medicines  thus  denominated  are 
those  which  increase  the  tone  of  the 
muscxilar  fibre,  are  supposed  to  brace 
the  system  when  constitutionally  relaxed, 
and  give  it  vigour  when  debilitated  by 
immediate  disease.  They  may  be  divid- 
ed into  stimulants,  as  various  prepara- 
tions of  mercury,  iron,  zinc,  and  other 
metals ;  and  astringents,  as  chamomile- 
flowers,  myrrh,  Peruvian,  and  other 
barks,  and  gentian.  It  is  hence  obvious, 
that  this  class  of  medicines  has  a  near  re- 
lation to  those  noticed  in  the  class  that 
immediately  precedes,  and  immediately 
follows  it.  On  which  account  we  shall 
dismiss  it  with  a  single  additional  obser- 
vation or  two.  The  changes  induced  in 
the  system  by  the  use  of  tonics  are,  in- 
crease of  muscular  powrer,  greater  mode- 
ration, and  a  firmer  stroke  of  the  pulse, 
increased  desire  for  food,  and  an  aug- 
mented vivacity  of  the  animal  spirits. 
Hence  their  use  is  clearly  indicated  in  all 
cases  in  which  there  is  a  deficiency  of 
these  natural  powers  or  desires.  They 
are  therefore  contra-indicated  by  the  ex- 


MATERIA   MEDICA. 


istence  of  a  plethoric  habit,  constitutional 
predisposition  to  maniacal  affections,  or 
topical  hemorrhage,  and  a  sanguineous 
temperament. 

13.  Of  Stimulants. 

These,  like  the  last,  are  medicines 
which  have  a  power  of  exciting  the  ani- 
mal energy ;  but  for  the  most  part  topi- 
cally, rather  than  generally,  or  for  a  short- 
er period  of  time.  They  occasion  a  par- 
ticular sensation  referred  to  the  part  more 
immediately  acted  upon;  frequently  a 
sense  of  pain  ;  they  increase  the  action  of 
muscular  fibres  in  that  part,  particularly 
in  its  vessels ;  they  increase  the  energy  of 
the  sensorium  ;  they  increase  the  nervous 
energy  in  the  moving  fibres  through  the 
system  in  general.  The  changes  induced 
in  the  system  from  the  primary  effects  of 
stimulants,  are,  acceleration  of  the  motion 
of  the  blood  in  the  part  to  which  they 
are  particularly  applied ;  an  increase  of 
the  force  of  circulation  in  the  system  in 
general ;  an  increase  of  excitement  in  the 
powers  of  sensation ;  and  an  augmenta- 
tion of  mobility  and  vigour  in  the  muscu- 
lar organs.  They  may  be  divided  into  the 
following  heads :  topical,  of  which  we 
have  examples  in  mustard-seed,  cantha- 
rides,  mercurial  preparations ;  diffusible, 
of  which  we  have  instances  in  volatile  al- 
kali, electricity,  heat;  cardiac,  such  as 
cinnamon,  nutmegs,  and  other  spices, 
and  wine. 

The  indications  of  cure  which  stimu- 
lants are  capable  of  fulfilling,  may  be  de- 
rived from  the  three  following  sources  : 
3 .  From  their  affecting  the  state  of  circu- 
lation :  whence  they  may  be  employed, 
to  facilitate  the  passage  of  blood  through 
parts  in  which  it  is  morbidly  obstructed ; 
to  augment  the  force  and  celerity  of  the 
circulation,  where  it  is  morbidly  slow  and 
weak.  2.  From  their  acting  on  the  pow- 
ers of  sensation:  whence  they  may  be 
employed,  to  quicken  the  senses  where 
morbidly  dull ;  to  rouse  the  mental  facul- 
ties when  in  a  lethargic  state  ;  to  exhila- 
rate a  despondent  condition.  3.  From 
their  acting  on  the  moving  fibres :  whence 
they  may  be  employed,  to  restore  the 
power  of  motion  where  morbidly  defi- 
cient j  to  increase  the  strength  of  motion 
where  morbidly  weak.  These  indications 
may  be  illustrated  and  confirmed  from 
practical  observations  concerning  the  ef- 
fects of  this  class  of  medicines,  as  em- 
ployed in  cases  of  syncope,  apoplexy, 
and  palsy.  The  cautions  to  be  observed 
in  employing  stimulants,  are,  the  pain 
they  excite,  the  violence  of  circulation, 


or  the  flow  of  the  animal  spirits  which 
they  produce,  the  mobility  of  the  system 
which  arises  from  their  employment,  and 
the  collapse,  which  is  the  consequence  of 
high  and  sudden  excitement.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  system,  which  chiefly  re- 
quire attention  in  their  employment,  are 
delicate  and  irritable  habits.  The  cir- 
cumstances chiefly  to  be  attended  to  in 
the  regimen  necessary,  respect  the  diet 
and  temperature  best  adapted  to  the  sti- 
mulant employed,  and  the  nature  of  the 
particular  disease  in  which  it  is  used.  The 
individuals  belonging  to  this  class  are 
chiefly  contra-indicated  by  the  presence 
of  the  following  morbid  states :  a  high 
degree  of  morbid  irritability ;  the  circu- 
lation uncommonly  accelerated;  and  a 
preternatural  disposition  to  haemorrhage. 

14.    Of  Antispasmodics. 

By  these  are  meant  whatever  has  a 
power  of  allaying  inordinate  motions  in 
the  system,  particularly  those  involuntary 
contractions  which  take  place  in  muscles 
naturally  subject  to  the  command  of  the 
will ;  they  counteract  and  remove  various 
causes  exciting  contractions ;  they  dimi- 
nish the  influence  of  the  nervous  energy 
in  the  parts  spasmodically  affected.  The 
changes  induced  in  the  system,  from  the 
primary  effects  of  antispasmodics,  are, 
the  restoration  of  the  proper  balance  of 
the  nervous  energy  in  different  parts  of 
the  body,  the  restoration  of  the  due  influ- 
ence of  the  will,  and  the  restoration  of 
the  natural  state  of  tension  to  the  mus- 
cles. The  different  articles  referred  to 
the  class  of  antispasmodics  may  be  distri- 
buted into  the  two  following  orders  :  sti- 
mulant, as  volatile  alkali,  essential  oils, 
ether ;  sedative,  as  camphor,  musk,  opi- 
um. 

As  the  action  of  the  medicines  referred 
to  this  class,  depends  entirely  upon  the 
presence  of  a  morbid  state,  what  has  been 
advanced  with  regard  to  their  nature, 
will,  in  a  good  measure,  serve  to  illus- 
trate their  use.  The  indications  of  cure 
which,  as  antispasmodics,  they  are  capa- 
ble of  fulfilling,  are  entirely  to  be  derived 
from  their  influence  on  the  nervous  ener- 
gy :  whence  they  may  be  used,  to  remove 
spasmodic  contractions  taking  place  in 
different  muscles,  to  allay  convulsive  agi- 
tations. These  indications  ma)  be  illus- 
trated and  confirmed  from  practical  ob- 
servations concerning  the  effects  of  anti- 
spasmodics, as  employed  in  cases  of  epi- 
lepsy and  cramp.  The  circumstances 
claiming  attention  in  the  employment  of 
antispasmodics,  which  respect  either  the 


MATERIA  MEDICA. 


nature  of  the  medicine  itself,  the  condi- 
tion of  the  patient  in  whom  it  is  used,  or 
the  necessary  regimen,  are  different  ac- 
cording to  the  particular  order  which  is 
employed.  They  will  easily  be  under- 
stood, from  what  has  already  been  said  of 
stimulants  and  sedatives,  considered  as 
separate  classes. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  condition  of  the 
body  which  will  contra-indicate  the  use  of 
every  individual  referred  to  the  class  of 
antispasmodics.  But  the  same  morbid 
conditions,  which  have  already  been  men- 
tioned, as  contra-indicating  the  use  of  sti- 
mulants and  sedatives,  will  likewise  con- 
tra-indicate the  orders  of  antispasmodics 
denominated  from  these  classes. 

15.    Of  Narcotics. 

These  are  medicines  which  have  a  pow- 
er of  diminishing  the  animal  energy,  and 
hence  inducing  torpor  and  sleep,  during 
which  this  energy  is  usually  recruited 
and  restored.  They  diminish  the  sensi- 
bility of  the  part  to  which  they  are  parti- 
cularly applied.  They  diminish  the  ac- 
tion and  tonic  power  of  its  muscular 
fibres.  They  produce  a  peculiar  sensa- 
tion in  the. system  in  general.  They  di- 
minish the  energy  of  the  sensorium. 

Tiie  changes  induced  in  the  system 
from  the  primary  eifects  of  narcotics  are, 
retardation  of  the  blood's  motion  in  the 
part  more  immediately  acted  upon :  di- 
minution of  the  force  of  circulation  in  the 
system  in  general :  diminution  of  excite- 
ment in  the  powers  of  sensation  and  re- 
flection :  and  diminution  of  vigour  in  mus- 
cular action  through  the  system. 

Narcotics  may  be  divided  into  those 
which  act  directly,  and  those  which  act 
indirectly.  Of  the  former  tribe  are  pop- 
pies, opium,  hyoscyamus,  hops,  and  let- 
tuce ;  of  the  latter,  neutral  salts  and 
acids.  Their  use  may  be  calculated  from 
the  following  sources :  1.  From  their  af- 
fecting the  circulation ;  whence  they  may 
be  employed  to  diminish  the  force  and 
celerity  of  the  blood's  motion  where 
morbidly  augmented ;  to  diminish  the  im- 
petus of  the  blood  against  parts  morbidly 
affected.  2.  From  their  acting  on  the 
powers  of  sensation ;  whence  they  may 
be  employed  to  abate  violent  pain;  to 
procure  sleep,  in  cases  of  preternatural 
watchfulness.  3.  And  from  their  acting 
on  the  moving  fibres ;  whence  they  may 
be  employed  to  restrain  inordinate  mo- 
tions, and  to  moderate  excessive  evacua- 
tions. These  indications  may  be  illus- 
trated and  confirmed  from  practical  ob- 
servations concerning  the  effects  of  this 


class  of  medicines,  as  employed  in  cases 
of  inflammation,  tooth-ach,  and  dysente- 
ry. The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the 
employment  of  this  class  of  medicines, 
as  derived  from  their  nature,  chiefly  re- 
spect the  insensibility  which  they  pro- 
duce ;  the  atony  they  occasion  in  the 
muscular  fibres,  particularly  in  the  blood- 
vessels ;  and  the  suspension  of  the  pow- 
ers of  sensation  with  which  they  are 
sometimes  followed.  The  conditions  of 
the  system  which  chiefly  require  atten- 
tion in  their  employment  are,  irritable 
and  relaxed  habits ;  and  such  as  are  con- 
stitutionally liable  to  delirium  from  their 
use.  The  circumstances  chiefly  to  be  at- 
tended to  in  the  necessary  regimen,  re- 
spect the  regulation  of  the  dose  of  the 
medicine  employed  ;  the  avoiding  all  sti- 
mulating causes  during  their  operation ; 
and  the  guarding  against  their  becoming 
habitual  to  the  system.  Narcotics  are 
chiefly  contra-indicated  by  a  preternatu- 
raily  languid  circulation  ;  a  peculiarly  le- 
thargic disposition,  and  great  morbid  tor- 
por in  the  system. 

16.     Of  Jlnthelmintics. 

By  anthelmintics,  are  meant  those  me- 
dicines which,  without  endangering  the 
life  of  the  patient,  are  effectual  in  pro- 
curing the  removal  of  worms  lodged  in 
the  human  body.  The  direct  effects  aris- 
ing from  this  class  of  medicines  are  in- 
tended to  be  exerted  only  on  the  worms 
themselves ;  but  there  are  at  the  same 
time  few,  if  any,  medicines,  which,  when 
employed  with  this  intention,  do  not  also 
produce  some  effect  on  the  animal  body : 
to  enter  upon  the  consideration  of  these, 
however,  would  be  foreign  to  this  class. 
As  anthelmintics  they  produce  the  follovr- 
ing  effects.  They  kill  worms  to  which 
they  come  to  be  applied  in  the  body. 
They  expel  them  from  the  body.  They 
prevent  their  generation  in  the  body. 
The  only  changes  produced  in  the  sys- 
tem, that  are  here  to  be  considered,  are 
those  which  arise  from  their  action  upon 
the  worms  themselves.  These  are,  the 
removal  of  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
different  symptoms  which  worms  produce 
whilst  lodged  in  the  body.  Anthelmin- 
tics may  be  subdivided  into  the  following 
tribes :  poisonous,  as  quicksilver,  tin,  sul- 
phur ;  lubricant,  as  oil  of  olives  and  oil  of 
linseed ;  tonic,  as  savin,  tansy,  santonicum; 
cathartic,  as  scammony,  jalap,  aloes,  gam- 
boge. Their  indications  are  manifested 
from  the  following  considerations :  1. 
From  their  action  on  the  worms  them- 
selves ;  whence  they  may  be  employed 


MAT 


MAT 


to  kill  worms  lodged  in  different  parts  of 
the  hitman  body.  2.  From  their  action  on 
the  system ;  whence  they  may  be  used 
to  promote  the  expulsion  of  worms  from 
the  body,  whether  dead  or  alive  ;  to  pre- 
vent the  generation  of  worms  in  the  bo- 
dy. These  indications  may  be  illustrated 
and  confirmed  from  practical  observations 
concerning  the  use  of  anthelmintics  in 
cases  of  atrophy,  diarrhoea,  and  vomit- 
ing. 

The  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  em- 
ployment of  anthelmintics,  as  derived 
from  their  nature,  chiefly  respect  the 
other  effects  they  have  upon  the  system, 
independent  of  their  action  as  anthelmin- 
tics.  The  conditions  of  the  system  which 
chiefly  require  attention  in  their  employ- 
ment are,  infancy,  delicacy  of  habit,  and 
other  similar  affections.  In  the  regimen, 
farinaceous  food  should  be  avoided ;  and 
exercise  should  be  encouraged. 

There  are,  perhaps,  no  morbid  condi- 
tions of  the  system,  during  which  the  re- 
moval of  worms  from  the  body  may  not 
with  propriety  be  attempted  by  one  mean 
or  other.  But  although  it  may  be  doubt- 
ful whether  there  be  morbid  conditions  con- 
tra-indicating the  whole  class,  yet  it  can- 
not be  questioned  that  there  are  many  con- 
tra-indicating particular  orders.  Among 
others  may  be  mentioned:  an  abraded 
or  inflamed  state  of  the  intestines,  contra- 
indicating  the  poisonous;  accumulations 
of  t'eces  in  the  first  passages,  contra-indi- 
cating the  lubricant ;  a  peculiar  sensibili- 
ty of  the  stomach,  contra-indicating  the 
tonic ;  and  topical  inflammation  of  the  in- 
testines, previous  looseness,  or  a  high  de- 
gree of  inanition,  contra-indicating  the  ca- 
thartic. 

17.  Absorbents. 

This  term  is  used  differently  by  differ- 
ent therapeutists.  Generally  speaking,  it 
implies  medicines  which,  possessing  no 
acrimony  in  themselves,  possess,  notwith- 
standing, a  power  of  destroying  acidities 
in  the  stomach  and  bowels :  at  other 
times,  however,  it  is  employed  more  large- 
ly to  indicate  those  substances,  as  well, 
which  increase  the  general  action  of  the 
absorbent  system.  They  may  hence  be 
divided  into  two  kinds :  the  calcareous, 
as  burnt  hartshorn,  oyster  shells,  and 
chalk  ;  and  stimulative,  as  burnt  sponge, 
salt  of  hartshorn,  and  alkalies.  They 
are  hence  indicated  in  peculiar  acrimo- 
nies, or  peculiar  torpidities  of  the  sys- 
tem gent-rally,  or  particular  organs  of  the 
system ;  and"  may  hence  be  employed  be- 
neficially in  acidities  of  the  stomach, 
VOL.  IV. 


heartburn,  and  excesses  in  a  vinous  po 
tation ;  as  well  as  in  strumous  and  other 
leucophlegmatic  affections  of  the  glandu- 
lar system  ;  especially  in  bronchocele,  or 
the  disease  termed  provincially  Derby- 
shire neck,  and  scirrhosities  ot  either  ex- 
tremity of  the  stomach.  Their  use  may 
be  collected  from  practical  attention  to 
these  diseases,  in  which,  notwithstanding, 
they  commonly  require  to  be  connected 
with  more  active  applications.  On  this 
last  account  they  may  generally  be  em- 
ployed without  apprehension  :  yet  in  canes 
of  acidity  of  the  stomach,  they  have  often 
been  used  to  an  extent  that  has  produced 
worse  diseases  than  the  malady  they  were 
intended  to  remedy,  and  have  laid  the 
foundation  for  calcareous  concretions,  that 
have  resisted  the  application  of  almost 
every  purgative,  and  formed  indurations 
almost  as  troublesome  as  the  calcareous 
concretions  of  the  bladder :  concretions 
which  have  only  been  removed  by  a  long 
use  of  active  lithontriptics. 

M ATHEM  ATICAL instnnnenia.  Under, 
this  term  we  shall  treat  of  the  instruments 
usually  sold  in  cases,  and  made  on  a  port- 
able plan,  so  as  to  fold  up  into  a  small 
space,  to  be  carried  in  the  pocket  with- 
out injury  to  any  part.  These  cases  are 
made  either  vertical,  or  horizontal ;  but 
the  latter  mode  is  far  preferable,  although 
the  bulk  is,  in  this  form,  somewhat  aug- 
mented, because  the  points  are  kept  in  a 
better  state  of  security;  an  object  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  mathematician, 
since  the  excellence  of  the  compasses,  and 
drawing  pens  in  particular,  will,  in  a  great 
measure,  depend  upon  the  delicacy  of 
their  terminations.  The  whole  of"  the 
steel-work  in  a  case  of  instruments  should 
be  of  the  best  finish,  duly  tempered,  and 
fitted  wilh  scrupulous  exactness;  the 
hinges  in  every  part  should  fit  close  and 
firmly ;  having  screw-pivots,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  taken  to  pieces  on  occasion. 
The  screws  ought  to  fit  into  female  sock- 
ets of  steel;  those  of  brass  being  extreme- 
ly liable  to  wear  out  in  the  thread,  or 
worm,  and  to  cause  the  parts  that  depend 
on  their  motion  to  be  lax  and  uncertain. 
The  protractor  and  sector  should  be  of 
very  fine  clear  ivory,  and  the  parallel  ruler 
may  be  of  the  same,  or  of  ebony :  but 
which  ever  it  may  be  made  of,  the  ut- 
most care  must  be  taken  to  preserve 
it  from  warping,  while  its  edges,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  other  flat  instruments, 
ought  to  be  guarded  from  injury.  The 
protractor,  especially,  should  never  be 
touched  by  a  knife,  or  by  any  sharp  or 
hard  instrument,  when  drawing  lines 


MATHEMATICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


along  its  edge.  When  describing  its 
uses,  the-  reader  will  collect  proper  ideas 
regarding  the  absolute  necessity  for  pre- 
serving its  edges  from  the  smallest  di- 
minution or  irregularity  ;  since  the  most 
trivial  defect  therein  could  not  fail  to 
render  the  whole  of  its  operations  pre- 
carious. We  are  disposed  to  think  that 
the  flat  instruments  are  usually  made 
rather  too  thin,  whence  they  are  easily 
warped  by  change  of  weather,  or  by  be- 
ing kept  in  too  warm  a  situation  ;  leaving 
them  exposed  to  a  hot  sun  is  extremely 
injudicious. 

Having  said  thus  much  respecting  the 
materials  of  which  they  should  be  form- 
ed, we  shall  detail  the  uses  and  propor- 
tion of  each  instrument  separately.  The 
pencil  ought  to  be  of  very  pure  lead, 
such  as  is  free  from  ore,  and  that  cuts 
to  a  fine  point  without  offering  too 
much  resistance  to  the  knife;  the  sur- 
face of  the  lead  should,  when  cut,  appear 
very  smooth  and  glossy,  without  any 
flaws,  or  resemblance  of  antimony :  the 
mark  left  on  paper  should  be  perfectly 
superficial,  and  exempt  from  any  impres- 
sion or  scratch,  which  bad  pe'ncils  in- 
variably make,  and  which  cannot  be 
erased  or  defaced  without  giving  the  pa- 
per a  rough  surface,  and  a  disposition 
to  absorb ;  so  as  to  shew  blotty  when 
colours  are  used.  Some  judgment  is  re- 
quired to  distinguish  the  fine  pencils, 
made  of  solid  lead  ore,  from  those  which 
are  vended  by  Jews,  and,  indeed,  by 
some  who  call  themselves  respectable 
manufacturers  of  this  article.  The  infe- 
rior kind  are  made  of  black-lead  dust, 
cemented  with  glue,  gum,  starch,  lin- 
seed-tea, and  a  variety  of  such  adhesive 
matters,  according  to  the  degree  of  hard- 
ness the  composition  is  intended  to  bear. 
When  we  see  "  hard  lead,"  and  "  soft 
lead,"  impressed  on  the  cedar  casings  of 
black-lead  pencils,  we  may  generally  sus- 
pect their  quality ;  for  though  the  best 
makers  occasionally  make  a  distinction  in 
regard  to  the  hardness  or  softness  of  the 
lead,  they  usually  sort  such  into  different 
chests,  and  vend  to  the  retailers  accord- 
ing to  their  fancy,  or  to  the  predilection 
shewn  by  their  respective  customers. 
We,  therefore,  recommend  to  persons 
wishing  to  obtain  good  black-lead  pen- 
cils, that  they  purchase  by  the  gross, 
from  the  most  eminent  makers  ;  or  that 
they  give  a  good  price  for  them  at  those 
warehouses  where  articles  in  the  draw- 
ing line  are  sold  in  perfection.  In  ta- 
pering a  pencil  to  a  fine  point>  it  is  ne- 


cessary, after  the  shape  may  have  beeis 
generally  given,  to  hold  the  point  against 
the  inside  of  the  tip  of  the  fore-finger 
of  the  left  hand,  cutting  from  you  very 
carefully,  and  turning  the  pencil  round, 
as  may  be  necessary.  By  this  means  the 
point  is  supported,  and  may,  when  the 
lead  is  very  good,  be  made  to  taper  beau- 
tifully, without  danger  of  being  broken  by 
the  operation. 

The  compasses  given  in  a  complete 
case  vary,  being  intended  for  various  dif- 
ferent purposes.  First,  a  pair  of  hair- 
compasses,  so  called,  because,  by  means 
of  a  screw  near  the  middle  of  one  limb, 
a  spring,  which  unites  with  the  steel  leg, 
may  be  acted  upon  so  gradually,  as  to 
cause  the  points  to  give  the  most  precise 
measurements.  When  compasses  are  re- 
laxed too  much  at  the  joint,  they  should 
be  tightened  by  means  of  two  little  aper- 
tures that  are  on  each  side  of  the  pivot- 
head.  In  these  the  two  small  studs  that 
appear  on  the  turnscrew  are  applied, 
either  to  pinch  tighter,  by  turning  with 
the  sun  ;  or  to  relax,  and  even  to  separate 
the  two  limbs,  by  turning  against  the  sun. 
If  the  points  of  compasses  are  not  duly 
tempered,  they  will  prove  very  trouble- 
some ;  when  too  brittle,  they  will  be  per- 
petually snapping;  and  when  too  soft, 
they  will  be  subject  to  bend.  The  mathe- 
matician will  occasionally  have  to  work 
on  substances  harder  than  paper  ;  there- 
fore the  temper  of  his  points  is  a 
matter  of  some  importance.  If  too 
highly  tempered,  he  should  heat  them 
near  the  flame  of  a  candle  until  they 
change  to  a  straw  colour,  when  they 
ought  to  be  instantly  plunged  into  a  lump 
of  soap,  or  of  tallow,  &c.  When  too  soft, 
let  the  points  be  heated  to  a  bright  red, 
and  then  be  suddenly  immersed  in  water 
in  which  salt-petre  has  been  dissolved. 
The  points  of  compasses  ought  to  be  very 
even,  and  the  two  sides  that  lay  together, 
when  they  are  closed,  should  never  be 
ground,  or  rubbed,  except  to  take  ofT  the 
rough  point  sometimes  occasioned  by  set- 
ting the  two  other  sides  of  each  point. 
The  puncture  made  by  compasses  ought 
to  be  barely  visible;  consequently  the  points 
should  be  extremely  fine  :  hence  also  we 
see  the  necessity  for  avoiding  to  press  up- 
on compasses  while  measuring  on  paper, 
&c.  as  their  own  weight  will,  generally, 
cause  them  to  leave  a  sufficient  impression 
for  mathematical  purposes. 

Besides  the  hair  compasses,  there  is 
usually  a  rather  longer  pair,  of  which  one 
of  the  steel  legs  draws  out  altogether,  for 


MATHEMATICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


the  purpose  of  being-  replaced  by  a  brass 
limb,  with  a  port-crayon,  a  dotting-leg, 
&c.  The  former  has  a  pair  of  clasp-springs, 
acted  upon  by  a  ring1  of  the  same  metal, 
to  secure  a  piece  of  fine  black-lead  pencil, 
which  should  be  cut  to  a  fine  point,  ex- 
actly level  with  the  other  leg  of  the  com- 
pass. This  is  meant  for  drawing  circular 
lines.  The  dotting-leg  is  for  making  dots 
in  circular  figures,  and  bears  a  small 
brass  graduated  wheel  between  two  side- 
pieces,  from  which  it  derives  its  supply 
of  ink.  The  dotting- leg  is,  however,  best 
used  dry ;  when  the  marks  made  by  the 
impression  of  the  gradations  on  the  wheel 
may  be  followed  by  a  pen-  The  wheel  is 
apt  to  let  the  ink  fall,  and  to  make  sad 
blotted  work.  A  third  limb  is  likewise 
applicable  in  this  instance,  viz.  a  drawing 
pen,  intended  to  make  ink  lines  in  circular 
figures ;  the  sides  of  this  are  two  steel 
slips,  bending  towards  each  other  at  their 
ends,  which  are  finished  so  as  not  to  cut 
the  paper,  but  to  make  a  line  of  any 
strength,  according  as  the  ink  may  be 
allowed  to  pass,  more  or  less  freely,  by 
the  expansion  or  contraction  of  their 
points,  as  acted  upon  by  a  small  screw 
about  the  middle  of  their  bend. 

There  is  also  a  neat  small  pair  of  com- 
passes intended  for  drawing  circles,  &c. 
of  a  small  diameter ;  in  tliese  there  is  only 
a  fixed  drawing  limb,  in  lieu  of  a  plain 
steel  leg :  they  are  highly  convenient  when 
the  longer  compasses  are  in  use  for  dot- 
ting', and  are  capable  of  doing  the  work, 
which  comes  within  a  small  radius,  to 
great  nicety;  not  being  so  apt  to  jump  as 
those  of  a  longer  size,  when  the  circles 
are  very  small.  The  inventor  of  this  in- 
strument was  named  Bowes,  whence  it 
bears  that  designation ;  though  some 
have  vulgarly  corrupted  it  to  "  bow-com- 
passes." t 

The  proportional  compasses  consist  of 
two  flat  brass  limbs,  both  of  which  bear 
steel  points  ;  a  screw,  sliding  in  a 
groove,  connects  them  ;  and  by  being 
tightened  at  pleasure  enables  the  operator 
to  slide  the  bridge  along  so  as  to  be  fixed 
at  an}'  point  on  the  lateral  tables.  When 
closed,  the  two  limbs,  and  their  respec- 
tive points,  appear  but  as  one  piece,  and 
are  kept  to  that  position  by  a  small  stud 
in  one,  which  fits  into  the  other  half.  This 
instrument  must  be  perfectly  closed  be- 
fore the  bridge  is  moved,  else  the  chan- 
nels of  the  two  limbs  will  not  lay  in  a 
right  line.  Four  tables  are  engraved  on 
these  compasses,  viz.  on  one  side  a  table 
of  circles,  on  the  other  side  (of  the  same 
face)  a  table  of  lines.  By  applying  the 


index  on  the  bridge  to  the  several  lines, 
as  numbered  in  the  former  table,  the  ra- 
dius of  a  circle  being  taken  between  the 
long  points,  at  one  end  of  the  compasses, 
the  shorter  points,  at  the  other  end,  will 
give  such  part  of  the  circumference  as  the 
bridge  may  be  placed  against :  thus,  if 
the  seventh  part  of  a  circle  be  required, 
close  the  compasses  and  slide  the  bridge, 
bringing  the  mark  on  it  into  an  exact  line 
with  the  mark  at  7  in  the  table  of  circles ; 
then  screw  rather  tight,  and  open  the 
long  points  equal  to  the  radius  of  the  cir- 
cle ;  the  other  points  will  give  a  measure- 
ment, between  their  points,  equal  to  a  se- 
venth part  of  that  circle's  circumference  ; 
and  give  the  face  of  a  regular  polygon  of 
seven  sides. 

The  proportional  parts  of  lines  are  as- 
certained in  the  same  manner,  by  setting 
the  index  to  that  table,  the  long  points 
measuring  the  whole  line,  and  the  short 
ones  giving  t  lie  part  required,  according  to 
the  figure  against  which  the  index  on  the 
bridge  is  set. 

The  line  of  planes,  or  of  squares,  shews 
the  areas  under  the  different  figures  : 
thus,  set  the  index  to  four,  the  measure 
between  the  long  points  will  give  a  square 
four  times  as  large  (in  contents)  as  a 
square  made  with  the  measure  between 
the  small  points  on  one  of  its  sides :  thus, 
if  the  square  made  on  the  latter  contained 
six  square  inches,  that  made  on  the  former 
would  give  an  area  equal  to  twenty-four 
square  inches. 

The  line  of  solids  shews,  in  the  same 
manner,  the  difference  between  the  solid 
contents  of  bodies  of  a  regular  figure;  in 
this  case,  however,  the  bodies  must  be 
similarly  quadrangular,  such  as  cubes  ;  or 
spherical,  as  balls,  globes,  &c. ;  then,  by 
taking  their  diameter,  the  table  will  indi- 
cate the  difference  of  their  solid  contents  ; 
the  small  points  being  considered  as  im- 
plying unity. 

Triangle-compasses  are  made  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  three  points,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  common  biped- 
compasses  ascertain  only  two.  This  is 
effected  by  a  third  leg,  which  may  be 
taken  off  at  pleasure,  working  like  a  gin 
for  raising  weights ;  or  like  the  legs  of  a 
theodolite-stand,  and  having  a  hinge  at 
right  angles  with  that  where  it  joins  the 
top  of  the  compasses.  By  this  simple  con- 
trivance the  added  leg  may  be  made  to 
incline  to  the  right  or  left  of  the  direction- 
given  by  the  upper  hinge. 

Where  work  is  to  be  executed  on  a 
large  scale,  viz.  projecting  meridians  in 
maps,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  very 


MATHEMATICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


large  pair,  such  as  are  known  at  the 
makers  by  the  designation  of  beam-com- 
passes :  these  may  be  had  in  separate 
cases,  with  covers  sliding  in  grooves, 
and  to  the  extent  of  full  two  feet  in 
length.  In  some  professions  such  are  in- 
dispensable, but  it  is  far  more  convenient 
to  have  a  branch,  or  elbow-joint,  to  the 
shifting  compasses ;  the  upper  part  fitting 
into  the  socket  made  for  receiving  the 
several  limbs,  and  its  lower  end  being 
socketed  in  the  same  manner ;  so  that  one 
leg  of  the  compasses  may  be  made,  to 
any  extent,  longer  than  the  other.  As 
all  the  additional  joints  have  a  hinge, 
the  excess  of  length  may  be  made  sub- 
servient to  any  direction,  by  being  bent 
downwards,  so  as  to  stand  at  right  an- 
gles with  the  paper ;  as  in  such  case 
the  other  leg  ought  also,  in  order  to 
prevent  its  shifting,  or  cutting  the  sur- 
face. The  elbow  joint  is  often  given  in 
a  flat  case  of  instruments. 

The  drawing-pen  is  ordinarily  about 
six  inches  in  length,  and  is  made  on  the 
same  principle  as  that  intended  for  cir- 
cular operations ;  in  general,  this  un- 
screws in  the  centre,  and  disengages  the 
upper  part  of  the  handle,  to  which  a  fine 
steel  needle  is  attached,  the  use  of  which 
is  to  mark  down,  by  the  slightest  punc- 
ture, those  points  that  require  peculiar 
delicacy.  The  small  flat  steel  turn-screw 
has  one  end  narrowed,  that  it  may  fit  the 
screw-heads  in  the  hinges  of  compass 
limbs ;  while  the  other,  by  means  of  two 
studs  that  fit  into  corresponding  holes 
on  the  side  of  the  joint  connecting  the 
two  limbs  of  the  compass,  serves  to 
tighten  or  to  relax  them  at  pleasure. 

The  common  parallel  rules  made  to 
fit  into  cases,  consist  of  two  slips,  mov- 
ing upon  four  pivots  ;  i.  e.  one  at  each 
end  of  two  metal  plates,  whereby  the 
slips  are  always  kept  at  a  perfect  paral- 
lel. This  chiefly  depends  on  the  perfect 
equality  of  lengths  in  the  metal  slips,  and 
theii  being  placed  at  exactly  the  same  an- 
gle,  at  points  equidistant  from  the  edges 
of  the  slips.  Some  parallels  have  a  third 
piece,  which  fold*  between  the  two  above 
described,  and  requiring  an  additional  pair 
of  metal  hinges,  which  meet  on  them  as  a 
centre.  This  is  certainly  a  very  great 
convenience,  inasmuch  as  it  extends  the 
scope  of  the  instrument,  and  gives  a  third 
parallel ;  but  the  slightness  of  the  middle 
piece  subjects  it  to  warp ;  and,  at  all 
events,  demands  great  care  in  using,  so 
as  not  to  wrench  the  pivots,  or  to  bend 
them  into  an  improper  direction,  where- 
by the  whole  work  would  be  falsified.  In 


drawing  lines  with  this  ruler,  observe  the 
following  instructions.  When  a  parallel 
is  to  be  made  above  the  line  to  which  you 
apply  the  ruler,  let  the  limbs  be  closed, 
then  press  firmly  on  the  bottom  slip,  by 
two  fingers  placed  at  least  two  inches 
apart,  and  clear  of  the  hinges  ;  slide  the 
upper  limb  gently  from  you,  by  means  of 
the  meta!  stud  in  its  centre,  until  you 
bring  it  up  to  the  point  through  which 
the  parallel  is  to  be  drawn.  When  you 
would  make  a  parallel  below  any  given 
line,  the  slips  should  be  separated  (keep- 
ing the  upper  limb  well  pressed  by  two 
fingers)  until  you  bring  the  upper  or  lower 
edge  of  the  other  limb,  as  may  prove 
most  convenient,  to  the  point  through 
which  the  parallel  is  to  be  made.  Or  you 
may  open  your  ruler  to  its  full  extent; 
first,  placing  its  upper  thin  edge  along 
the  original  line,  and  pressing  on  the 
lower  limb,  then  draw  the  upper  one 
down  to  the  desired  point.  Both  the 
edges  of  this  ruler  are  chamfered  on. 
one  side  only  ;  whence  one  edge  lays 
very  flat  to  the  paper,  so  as  to  guide 
with  great  exactness,  and  serving  excel- 
lently for  pencilled  lines ;  while  the  other, 
being  raised  from  the  paper,  gives 
greater  security  from  blotting  when  ink 
is  used,  but  requires  a  very  steady  hand, 
and  a  no  less  accurate  eye. 

Parallel  rulers  are  sometimes  made  to 
move  on  wheels,  with  graduated  edges, 
shewing  the  parts  of  inches  over  which 
they  pass.  The  theory  is  .excellent,  but 
we  find  in  this  many  practical  inconve- 
niences ;  such  rulers  being  easily  turned 
out  of  their  proper  directions,  by  any 
little  inequality  on  the  surface  of  paper, 
or  by  the  smallest  deviation  from  per- 
fectly even  propulsion,  or  retraction.  Be- 
sides, the  axis  being  necessarily  made 
loose,  so  as  to  allow  greut  freedom  of  mo- 
tion, it  is  obvious  the  wheels  cannot  al- 
ways preserve  an  exact  level  ;  whence 
the  instrument  must  move  as  though  of 
a  conical  form,  and  give  concentrating, 
instead  of  parallel  lines.  Hence  such 
rulers  aie  deservedly  discarded  in  most 
instances  ;  though,  for  work  requiring 
more  celerity  than  accuracy,  they  may  be 
found  to  answer. 

Protractors  are  chiefly  made  of  ivory, 
in  the  form  of  a  thin  flat  scale,  or  ruler, 
of  which  one  side  is  plain,  excepting  a 
very  small  nick,  or  mark,  that  points  out 
its'exact  centre,  and  corresponds  with  a 
line,  perpendicular  to  it,  on  the  opposite 
edge,  marked  90,  dividing  the  instrument 
into  two  equal  and  similar  portions.  The 
edges  on  three  sides  of  the  protractor  are 


MATHEMATICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


graduated  with  180  degrees,  backwards 
and  forwards,  the  centre  point  90  being- a 
right  angle.  The  protractor  is  used  for 
laying  down  angles  to  any  extent,  as  also 
for  taking  their  measurements :  hence  it 
is  of  extreme  service  in  every  branch  of 
mathematics,  and  indeed  of  mechanism. 
On  the  same  side  with  the  graduations,  we 
generally  find  a  line  of  chords  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale.  We  shall  explain  its  con- 
struction when  we  treat  of  the  sector,  ob- 
serving, in  this  place,  that  by  its  aid  we 
are  enabled  to  set  off  any  angle  without 
the  assistance  of  a  protractor :  thus,  take 
the  measurement  of  60°,  from  the  line  of 
chords,  as  a  radius  wherewith  to  describe 
any  segment  at  pleasure,  putting  one  foot 
of  your  compasses  at  the  point  whence 
the  angle  is  to  proceed,  and  commencing 
the  segment  from  that  line  whence  the 
angle  is  to  be  made.  Take  then  from  the 
line  of  chords  the  number  of  degrees 
you  intend  the  angle  should  contain ;  set 
them  off  upon  the  segment  from  the  place 
where  it  joins  the  line ;  the  angle  will  be 
thus  made,  leaving  the  centre  whence  the 
radius  was  drawn  for  its  point,  and  the 
two  ends  of  the  chord  that  cut  off  the 
segment  for  its  measurement.  See  GEO- 
SIETKY  and  DIALLING. 

Some  protractors  are  made  of  brass,  in 
the  form  of  a  semi-circle  ;  they  are  pre- 
cisely on  the  same  principle,  but  are 
more  calculated  for  the  measurement  than 
for  the  construction  of  angles ;  because 
they  expose  the  directions  of  lines,  how- 
ever short,  and  enable  us,  by  means  of 
any  right  line  instrument,  laid  from 
the  centre  to  the  circumference,  to  ascer- 
tain the  angle  without  extending  the  line, 
as  must  be  done  when  an  ivory  protractor 
is  used  to  a  short  line. 

On  the  back  of  the  protractor  there 
are  usually  six  scales,  marked  60,  50,  45, 
40,  35,  and  30 ;  meaning,  that  the  mea- 
sures, or  equal  points,  1,  2, 3,  &c.  respec- 
tively include  60,  50,  &c.  such  within  the 
length  of  an  inch ;  the  number  1,  2,  3, 
&c.  being  considered  at  10,  20,  30,  &c.  of 
such  small  divisions  as  are  placed  at  the 
commencement  of  each  scale  respective- 
ly. The  scale  marked  C,  standing  on  the 
same  line  with  that  of  60  to  an  inch,  is  a 
line  of  chords  on  a  reduced  scale,  for  the 
convenience  of  persons  working  on  such; 
and  the  broader  scale,  of  10  lines  in 
depth,  is  of  half  and  quarter  inch  divi- 
sions, with  oblique  scales  at  the  two  ends. 
These  shew  all  the  tenths  of  a  half,  or  of 
a  quarter  of  an  inch,  respectively,  accord- 
ing as  the  oblique  line  gives  more  space 
between  it  and  the  firsi  perpendicular,  as 
may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  figures 


246 ,*  which 

ot  the  division,  and  enable  us  to  embrace 
any  number  of  whole  divisions,  and  oi" 
tenth  parts,  within  our  compasses,  with 
readiness  and  precision.  This  is  intended 
chiefly  for  work  on  a  larger  scale,  such  as 
ground-plans,  &c. ;  though  for  such  pur- 
poses, a  scale  divided  into  twelfth  parts  is 
more  convenient ;  since  it  takes  feet  and 
inches,  instead  of  decimals  of  feet. 

It  is  proper  to  remark  in  this  place, 
that  the  protractor  should  be  prevented 
from  warping,  else  its  measurements  of 
angles  will  not  be  true.  When  this  de- 
fect has  taken  place,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  press  the  instrument ;  thereby  to  bring 
it  as  flat  as  possible,  that  the  measure- 
ments may  be  accurate,  by  the  bearings 
being  restored  to  their  proper  places. 

The  sector  is  made  to  fold  in  the  mid- 
dle, not  only  that  it  may  lay  in  a  smaller 
compass,  but  to  solve  many  problems,  by 
means  of  the  references  given  to  various 
tabks  and  scales  that  are  engraved  on 
both  sides  of  each  limb.  When  opened 
to  its  full  length,  the  sector  commonly 
measures  one  foot ;  each  inch  being  num- 
bered, and  divided  into  tenth  parts,  called 
lines.  At  the  edge  is  another  scale, 
which  divides  the  foot  into  ten  equal 
parts  (numbered  10,  20,  30,  &c.)  because 
each  tenth  part  of  the  foot  is  again  subdi- 
vided into  ten  ;  thus  giving  a  division  of 
the  twelve  inches  into  100  equal  parts. 

The  first  scale  we  shall  notice  is  that 
next  to  the  inner  edges,  marked  Pol. 
meaning  polygon.  By  opening  the  sec- 
tor to  such  a  width,  as  may  admit  the  ra- 
dius of  any  circle  to  measure  exactly 
from  the  figure  6  on  one,  to  the  figure  6 
on  the  other  limb,  we  at  once  ascertain 
the  division  of  that  circle's  circumference 
into  any  number  of  equal  parts,  from  four 
to  twelve  ;  because,  from  the  figure  4  to 
the  opposite  figure  4  will  give  a  chord 
subtending  a  quadrant  of  the  circle ; 
from  5  to  5  will  give  the  side  of  a  regular 
pentagon,  or  figure  of  five  sides ;  from  6 
to  6  a  hexag'on  ;  and  so  forth. 

The  line  of  chords  on  the  sector  is 
known  by  the  letter  C  on  each  limb,  and 
measures  60  degrees  only ;  though  on  the 
protractor  it  goes  as  far  as  90,  which  is  its 
full  measurement.  This,  however,  is  not. 
important,  as  we  can  always  add  30  to  60, 
and  thus  complete  any  figure  in  hand. 
The  formation  of  the  line  of  chords  be- 
ing given,  its  application  will  be  more 
readily  understood;  we  shall  therefore 
shew  how  they  are  constructed  from  the 
circle. 

Suppose  the  line  A  B  (fig.  1,  Plate  Mis- 


MATHEMATICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


eel.)  to  represent  the  end  of  your  scale, 
and  that  A  C,  B  U,  be  perpendicular 
thereto  :  with  A  B  as  a  radius,  and  from 
A  as  a  centre,  dra\y  the  quadrant  B  F  C, 
and  the  straight  line  or  chord  B  C  sub- 
tending- that  quadrant.  Divide  the  qua- 
drant into  90  equal  parts,  and  from  B,  as 
a  centre,  measure  off  each  division  suc- 
cessively, so  as  to  cut  Ihe  chord  B  C  into 
90  parts,  all  which  will  be  unequal.  Mark 
every  tenth  degree,  both  on  the  quadrant 
and  on  the  chord,  thus,  10,  20,  30,  40,  50, 
60,  70,  80,  and  90.  This  division  will 
make  the  line  B  C  a  line  of  chords,  which 
affords  a  scale  of  very  general  utility  in 
mathematics. 

The  line  of  sines,  commonly  marked  S, 
shews  the  relation  of  sines  to  various  por- 
tions of  circles.  Here  it  is  necessary  to 
state,  that  there  are  three  kinds  of  sines, 
•viz.  the  sine,  the  co-sine,  and  the  versed 
sine.  The  sine  is  that  perpendicular 
which  stands  at  right  angles  with  the 
chord  subtending1  an  arc,  and  reaches 
from  it  to  the  circumference,  such  as  the 
line  E  F ;  the  co-sine  is  a  chord,  such  as 
F  G,  which  commences  from  the  junction 
of  the  sine  with  the  circumference,  and 
is  parallel  with  that  line  from  which  the 
sine  arises,  proceeding  in  that  direction 
until  intercepted  by  the  perpendicular 
A  C,  which  terminates  the  quadrant ;  the 
co-sine  is  therefore  the  complement  or 
residue  of  the  base  line  A  B,  after  de- 
ducting from  its  other  end  the  amount  of 
the  versed-sine  B  E.  If  from  B  60  de- 
grees be  measured  on  the  quadrant  to  F, 
its  sine  will  divide  the  base  A  B  into  two 
equal  parts ;  so  that  the  co-sine  and 
versed-sine  will  be  of  equal  length.  The 
line  of  sines  is  therefore  made  on  the 

aendicular  A  C  by  means  of  parallels, 
e  base  A  B,  drawn  from  the  circum- 
ference at  the  parts  marked  10,  20,  30, 
Sec.  degrees,  which  of  course  give  a  regu- 
larly diminishing  scale. 

The  line  of  tangents  is  made  by  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  perpendicular  B  D  to  K, 
and  by  drawing  from  the  graduated  qua- 
drant the  several  lines  10,  10 ;  20,  20 ;  30, 
30  ;  &c.  to  that  perpendicular,  all  point- 
ing to  the  centre  A.  This  scale  regularly 
augments,  and  is  earned  to  45  degrees 
only.  Now,  by  transferring  all  the  tan- 
gent scale,  and  the  places  of  the  degrees 
thus  obtained  from  the  point  A,  by  draw- 
ing segments  from  each  part  respectively 
to  the  perpendicular  A  H,  we  have  a  line 
of  secants :  thus  the  10  on  the  tangent 
scale  will  be  transferred  to  10  beyond  C 
on  the  secant  line,  20  to  20,  and  thus  to 
the  end  of  the  scale  up  to  *90  degrees, 
which  would,  however,  require  a  great 


length  of  ruler.  The  line  of  tangents  is 
confined  to  45  degrees ;  but  a  line  of 
lesser  tangents,  from  45°  to  90°,  is  made 
on  a  smaller  radius. 

The  line  of  equal  parts  between  A  and 
B  is  also  called  the  line  of  lines,  and  is  di- 
vided into  10, 100,  1000,  &c.  equal  parts ; 
but  the  indicial  numerals  are  confined  to 
10,  for  we  have  only  ten  numbers  on  each 
limb  of  the  sector,  made  by  dividing  the 
radius  (or  base  line)  A  B  into  that  num- 
ber of  equal  spaces.  The  uses  of  the 
lines  above  described  are  verv  extensive ; 
but  we  shall  give  a  brief  example  of  their 
intentions,  observing,  that  the  line  of 
equal  parts  is  distinguished  by  the  letter 
L  on  each  limb  of  the  sector  :  the  line  of 
sines,  by  S ;  the  line  of  tangents,  by  T  ; 
the  line  of  secants,  by  se.  •  and  the  line 
of  lesser  tangents,  by"  ta. 

N.  B.  In  some  sectors  the  letter  C  is 
engraved  close  to  the  very  centre  of  the 
hinge,  which  centre  is  marked  by  an  ob- 
vious puncture,  towards  which  all  the 
lines  have  a  tendency  :  in  using  the  lines, 
the  measures  are  to  be  taken  from  those 
marked  L.  S.  C.  &c.  on  one  limb  to  those 
marked  L.  S.  C.  on  the  other  limb,  re- 
spectively, they  standing  at  an  angle  of 
six  degrees  from  their  respective  part- 
ners. 

"  To  find  a  fourth  proportional  by  the 
line  of  equal  parts."  Say  you  would  wish 
to  find  a  line  proportioned  to  15  as  3  is  to 
8 :  on  the  line  of  equal  parts  take  a  dis- 
tance from  C  with  your  compasses  equal 
to  15,  and  with  that  opening  extend  your 
sector  so  as  the  distance  between  3  and  3 
may  correspond  therewith  ;  then  measure 
the  distance  thus  generated  between  8 
and  8,  and  lay  it  from  the  point  C  along 
the  line  of  equal  parts  :  it  will  fall  on  40, 
which  is  in  the  same  proportion  to  15 
that  8  is  to  3.  And  this  is  demonstrable 
by  common  arithmetic  ;  for  3  being 
f  of  8,  and  15  being  f  of  40,  the  solution 
given  by  this  scale  must  be  correct.  This 
depends  entirely  on  the  mathematical 
axiom  ;  tiz.  that  "  parallel  lines  under  the 
same  angle  are  to  each  other  in  propor- 
tion to  their  respective  distances  from  the 
angular  point." 

"  To  set  off  an  angle  by  a  line  of  chords 
of  60°  only,"  (fig.  2.)  Open  the  sector 
to  any  extent  at  pleasure,  and  with  the 
distance  between  60  and  60  describe  a 
segment  at  least  equal  to  the  space  you 
think  the  angle  will  occupy.  On  the 
same  line  of  cords  take  on  your  com- 
passes the  number  of  degrees  you  intend 
the  angle  to  be,  say  27,  and  applying  one 
leg  to  the  commencement  of  your  seg- 


MATHEMATICS. 


ment,  (which  we  suppose  to  be  a  given 
point  on  a  given  line)  measure  the  same 
space  on  the  segment.  The  two  points 
thus  ascertained  on  the  segment  will 
shew  an  angle  of  27  degrees  ;  which  will 
be  better  seen  by  drawing  lines  from 
them  respectively  to  the  centre  where 
the  segment  was  described.  When  the 
angle  is  to  be  more  than  60  degrees, 
another  operation  on  a  second  line,  made 
at  60  degrees,  will  give  the  angle  requir- 
ed: thus  you  may  make  an  angle  of  60 
degrees  in  the  intended  direction  ;  and  if 
the  whole  angle  to  be  made  amount  to 
73,  you  may  add  a  second  angle  of  13. 
But  the  neatest  and  shortest  way  is  to 
draw  a  perpendicular  to  the  given  line, 
on  the  point  whence  the  segment  arises, 
and  from  that  to  make  an  angle  equal  to 
the  complement :  thus,  if  the  angle  is  to 
be  73,  from  the  base  line,  you  should 
make  an  angle  equal  to  17,  which  added 
to  73  complete  90  degrees,  and  thus  ob- 
tain the  desired  angle  by  inversion. 

"  A  line  being  given,  to  find  the  sine 
of  a  segment  whose  radius  shall  be  the 
hypothenuse  of  a  triangle  (at  any  given 
angle),  formed  by  that  line,  as  a  base,  and 
by  the  sine  as  a  perpendicular  thereto," 
(fig.  3.)  Here  we  have  one  of  the  most 
important,  yet  simple,  operations  in  ma- 
thematics ;  viz.  the  ascertaining  a  sine 
upon  an  undescribed  segment.  Let  the 
base  line,  A  B,  be  174,  and  the  given 
angle  be  42;  make  the  angle  at  one  end, 
B,  of  the  base,  and  at  the  other,  A,  raise 
a  perpendicular  which  is  to  become  the 
sine,  when  intercepted  by  the  hypothe- 
nuse C  B.  Take  174  from  the  line  of 
equal  parts  on  your  compasses,  and  open 
your  sector  until  the  distance  between 
48  and  48  on  the  lines  of  sines  corres- 
ponds therewith.  Now  measure  the  dis- 
tance between  42  and  42  on  the  lines  of 
sines,  and  their  result,  162,  will  be  the 
length  of  the  sine  to  a  segment,  of  which 
the  hypothenuse  of  the  triangle  is  radius, 
and  whose  versed  sine  will  be  found  by 
continuing-  the  base  line  until  it  meets  the 
segment :  the  base  line  in  this  case  will 
be  equal  to  the  co-sine  ;  since  a  perpen- 
dicular raised  at  the  angular  point  paral- 
lel to  the  sine,  A  C,  would,  if  the  seg- 
ment were  continued  thereto,  complete 
the  quadrant  of  a  circle. 

But  if,  instead  of  taking  the  hypothe- 
nuse for  a  radius,  we  take  only  the  length 
of  the  base  line ;  and  from  the  same 
point  as  before,  draw  a  segment,  A  D, 
from  the  end  of  the  base  to  the  hypothe- 
nuse ;  then,  Instead  of  being  a  sine,  the 
line  whose  length  we  have  just  ascertain- 


ed to  be  162  will  be  a  tangent,  and  comes 
under  the  next  example. 

"  To  ascertain  the  length  of  a  tangent 
under  a  given  angle,  on  a  given  line.'* 
Take  the  distance  174  (equal  to  the  ra- 
dius), from  the  line  of  equal  parts,  and 
open  your  sector,  so  that  it  may  be  the 
distance  between  45  and  45  on  the  lines 
of  tangents.  Then  take  the  distance 
from  42  to  42  on  the  same  lines,  and  it 
will  be  found  equal  to  162  on  the  line  of 
equal  parts.  Hence  wre  see  ttiat  the  tan- 
gent of  a  segment  made  on  the  base  as  a 
radius  is  the  line  of  a  segment  made  on 
the  hypothenuse  as  a  radius ;  the  angle 
in  both  instances  being  the  same,  and  not 
exceeding  45°. 

"  To  find  the  length  of  the  secant  in 
the  same  figure."  Take  the  length  of 
the  base,  as  before,  from  the  line  of  equal 
parts,  and  spread  the  sector  until  that 
measure  reaches  from  0  to  0  (that  is,  from 
the  very  beginning)  of  the  lines  of  se- 
cants ;  measure  the  distance  from  42 
to  42  on  the  lines  of  secants;  it  will 
reach  to  238  on  the  line  of  equal  parts, 
and  give  that  for  the  length  of  the  hypo- 
thenuse, which  is  in  this  case  considered 
as  a  secant. 

Besides  the  lines  already  described, 
there  are  some  that  require  the  sector  to 
be  completely  unfolded,  so  as  to  be  all 
in  one  line.  These  are  the  artificial  lines 
of  numbers,  sines,  and  tangents,  taken 
from  Gunter's  tables,  which  depend  on 
logarithms  for  the  solution  of  their  opera- 
tions ;  as  will  be  seen  under  the  head  of 
NAVIGATION,  in  which  the  properties  of 
Gunter's  scale  are  illustrated. 

MATHEMATICS,  originally  signified 
any  discipline  or  learning ;  but,  at  pre- 
sent, denotes  that  science  which  teaches, 
or  contemplates,  whatever  is  capable  of 
being  numbered  or  measured,  in  so  far 
as  it  is  computable  or  measurable ;  and, 
accordingly,  is  subdivided  into^arithmetic, 
which  has  numbers  for  its  object,  and 
geometry,  which  treats  of  magnitude; 
See  ARITHMETIC  and  GEOMETRY. 

Mathematics  are  commonly  distinguish' 
edinto  pure  and  speculative,  which  con- 
sider quantity  abstractedly ;  and  mixed, 
which  treats  of  magnitude  as  subsisting  in 
material  bodies,  and  consequently  are  in- 
terwoven every  where  with  physical  con- 
siderations. Mixed  mathematics  are  very 
comprehensive  ;  since  to  them  may  be  re 
ferred  astronomy,  optics,  geography,  hy- 
drography, hydrostatics,  mechanics,  forti- 
fication, navigation,  Sec.  See  ASTRONOMY 
OPTICS,  &c. 

Pure  mathematics  have  one  peculiar 


MAT 


MAT 


advantage,  that  they  occasion  no  disputes 
among  wrangling  disputants,  as  in  other 
brandies  of  knowledge  ;  and  the  reason 
is,  because  the  definitions  of  the  terms 
are  premised,  and  every  body  that  reads 
a  proposition  has  the  same  idea  of  every 
part  of  it.  Hence  it  is  easy  to  put  an  end 
to  all  mathematical  controversies,  by 
shewing1  either  that  our  adversary  has  not 
stuck  to  his  definitions,  or  has  not  laid 
down  true  premises,  or  else  that  he  has 
drawn  false  conclusions  from  true  princi- 
ples ;  and  in  case  we  are  able  to  do  neither 
of  these,  we  must  acknowledge  the  truth  of 
what  he  has  proved. 

It  is  true,  that  in  mixed  mathematics, 
where  we  reason  mathematically  upon 
physical  subjects,  we  cannot  give  such 
just  definitions  as  the  geometricians :  we 
must,  therefore,  rest  content  with  de- 
scriptions ;  and  they  will  be  of  the  same 
use  as  definitions,  provided  we  are  con- 
sistent with  ourselves,  and  always  mean 
the  same  thing  by  those  terms  we  have 
once  explained.  Dr.  Barrow  gives  a  most 
elegant  description  of  the  excellence  and 
usefulness  of  mathematical  knowledge, 
in  his  inaugural  oration,  upon  being  ap- 
pointed Professor  of  Mathematics  at 
Cambridge. 

The  mathematics,  he  observes,  effec- 
tually exercise,  not  vainly  delude,  nor 
vexatiously  torment,  studious  minds  with 
obscure  subtilties ;  but  plainly  demon- 
strate every  thing  within  their  reach, 
draw  certain  conclusions,  instruct  by  pro- 
fitable rules,  and  unfold  pleasant  ques- 
tions. These  disciplines  likewise  enure 
and  corroborate  the  mind  to  a  constant 
diligence  in  study ;  they  wholly  deliver  us 
from  a  credulous  simplicity,  most  strongly 
fortify  us  against  the  vanity  of  scepticism, 
effectually  restrain  ms  from  a  rash  pre- 
sumption, most  easily  incline  us  to  a  due 
assent,  perfectly  subject  us  to  the  govern- 
ment of  right  reason.  While  the  mind 
is  abstracted  and  elevated  from  sensi- 
ble matter,  distinctly  views  pure  forms, 
conceives  the  beauty  of  ideas,  and  in- 
vestigates the  harmony  of  proportions ; 
the  manners  themselves  are  sensibly 
corrected  and  improved,  the  affections 
composed  and  rectified,  the  fancy  calm- 
ed  and  settled,  and  the  understanding 
raised  and  excited  to  more  divine  con- 
templations. 

MATRASS,  CUCURBIT,  or  BOI/THEAD, 
amongst  chemists.  See  LABORATORY. 

MATRICARIA,  in  botany,  feverfew,  a 
genus  of  the  Syngenesia  Polygamia  Su- 
perflua  class  and  order.  Natural  order  of 
Composite  Discoidese.  Cory  nib  iferae,  Jus- 
sieu.  Essential  character :  calyx,  hemis- 


pherical, imbricate ;  the  marginal  scales 
solid,  sharpish  ;  down  none  ;  receptacle 
naked.  There  are  eight  species.  These 
are  herbaceous  plants,  with  leaves  mostly 
piiinate,  in  some  few  simple ;  flowers 
terminating  either  in  corymbs,  or  al- 
most solitary ;  florets  in  the  ray  com- 
monly white.  M.  Parthenium,  common 
feverfew,  is  a  native  of  many  parts 
of  Europe,  in  waste  places,  in  hedges 
and  walls,  sometimes  in  cornfields  and 
gardens,  where  it  is  also  cultivated  in  a 
double  state. 

MATRIX,  in  anatomy,  the  same  with 
uterus. 

MATRIX,  in  letter-foundery.  See  Foux- 
DBRY. 

MATROSSES,  are  soldiers  in  the  train 
of  artillery,  who  are  next  to  the  gunners, 
and  assist  them  in  loading,  firing,  and 
spunging  the  great  guns.  They  carry 
fire-locks,  and  march  along  with  the  store 
waggons,  both  as  a  guard,  and  to  give 
their  assistance  in  case  a  waggon  should 
break  down. 

MATT,  in  a  ship,  rope-yarn,  junk, 
8cc.  beat  flat  and  interwoven  ;  used 
in  order  to  preserve  the  yards  from 
galling  or  rubbing  in  hoisting  or  lower- 
ing them. 

MATTER,  in  physiology,  whatever  is 
extended  and  capable  of  making  resist- 
ance :  hence,  because  all  bodies,  whether 
solid  or  fluid,  are  extended,  and  do  re- 
sist, we  conclude  that  they  are  material, 
or  made  up  of  matter.  That  matter  is 
one  and  the  same  thing  in  all  bodies,  and 
that  all  the  variety  we  observe  arises 
from  the  various  forms  and  shapes  it  puts 
on,  seems  very  probable,  and  may  be 
concluded  from  a  general  observation  of 
the  procedure  of  nature  in  the  generation 
and  destruction  of  bodies.  Thus,  for  in- 
stance, water,  rarified  by  heat,  becomes 
vapour ;  great  collections  of  vapours  form 
clouds ;  these  condensed  descend  in  the 
form  of  hail  or  rain  ;  part  of  this  collect- 
ed on  the  earth  constitutes  rivers ;  ano- 
ther part  mixing  with  the  earth  enters 
into  the  roots  of  plants,  and  supplies  mat- 
ter to,  and  expands  itself  into  various  spe- 
cies of  vegetables.  In  each  vegetable  it 
appears  in  one  shape  in  the  root,  another 
in  the  stalk,  another  in  the  flowers,  ano- 
ther in  the  seeds,  &c.  From  hence  va- 
rious bodies  proceed;  from  the  oak, 
houses,  ships,  &c.  from  hemp  and  flax 
we  have  thread;  from  thence  our  various 
kinds  of  linen ;  from  thence  garments ; 
these  degenerate  into  rags,  which  receive 
from  the  mill  the  various  forms  of  paper; 
hence  our  books. 

According  to    Sir    Isaac  Newton,  it 


MATTER. 


s'eems  highly  probable,  that  God  in  the 
beginning1  formed  matter  into  solid, 
massy,  impenetrable,  moveable  particles, 
or  atoms,  of  such  sizes  and  figures,  and 
with  such  other  properties,  and  in  such 
proportion  to  space,  as  most  conduced  to 
the  end  for  which  he  formed  them  ;  and 
that  these  primitive  particles,  being  so- 
lids, are  incomparably  harder  than  any 
porous  bodies  compounded  of  them, 
even  so  hard  as  never  to  wear  or  break 
in  pieces  ;  no  ordinary  power  being  able 
to  divide  what  God  himself  made  one  in 
the  first  creation.  -While  these  particles 
continue  entire,  they  may  compose  bo- 
dies of  one  and  the  same  nature  and  tex- 
ture in  all  ages ;  but  should  they  wear 
away,  or  b real;  in  pieces,  the  nature  of 
things  depending  on  them  may  be  chang- 
ed. Water  and  earth,  composed  of  old 
worn  particles  and  fragments  of  parti- 
cles, would  not  be  of  the  same  nature 
and  texture  now,  with  water  and  earth 
composed  of  entire  particles  in  the  be- 
ginning; and  therefore,  that  nature  may 
be  iasling,  the  changes  of  corporeal 
things  are  to  be  placed  only  in  the  va- 
rious separations  and  new  associations  of 
motions  of  these  permanent  particles, 
compound  bodies  being  apt  to  break,  not 
in  the  midst  of  solid  particles,  but  where 
these  particles  are  laid  together,  and  only 
touch  in  a  few  points. 

Dr.  Berkeley  argues  against  the  ex- 
istence of  matter  itself;  and  endeavours 
to  prove  that  it  is  a  mere  -ens  rationis,  and 
has  no  existence  out  of  the  mind.  Some 
late  philosophers  have  advanced  a  new 
hypothesis  concerning  the  nature  and  es- 
sential properties  of  matter. 

The  first  of  these  who  suggested,  or  at 
least  published  an  account  of  this  hypo- 
thesis, was  M.  Boscovich,  in  his  "  Theoria 
Philosophise  Naturalis."  lie  supposes, 
that  matter  is  not  impenetrable,  but  that 
it  consists  of  physical  points  only,  endued 
with  powers  of  attraction  and  repulsion, 
taking  place  at  different  distances,  that  is, 
surrounded  with  various  spheres  of  at- 
traction and  repulsion  ;  in  the  same 
manner  as  solid  matter  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  be.  Provided,  therefore,  that 
any  body  move  with  a  sufficient  degree 
of  velocity,  or  have  sufficient  momen- 
tum to  overcome  any  power  of  repul- 
sion that  it  may  meet  with,  it  will  find 
no  difficulty  in  making  its  way  through 
any  body  whatever.  If  the  velocity  of 
such  a  body  in  motion  be  sufficiently 
great,  Boscovich  contends,  that  the  par- 
ticles of  anybody  through  which  if-  pass. 

VOL.  IV 


es,  will  not  even  be  moved  out  of  their 
place  by  it. 

With  a  degree  of  velocity  something 
less  than  this,  they  will  be  considerably 
agitated,  and  ignition  might  perhaps  be 
the  consequence,  though  the  progress  of 
the  body  in  motion  would  not  be  sensi- 
bly interrupted  ;  and  with  a  still  less  mo- 
mentum it  might  not  pass  at  all.  Mr. 
Mitchell,  Dr.  Priestley,  and  some  others 
of  our  own  country,  are  of  the  same  opi- 
nion. See  Priestley's  "  History  of  Dis- 
coveries relating  to  Light,"  p.  390.  In 
conformity  to  this  hypothesis,  this  author 
maintains,  that  matter  is  not  that  inert 
substance  that  it  has  been  supposed  to 
be  ;  that  powers  of  attraction  or  repul- 
sion are  necessary  to  its  very  being,  and 
that  no  part  of  it  appears  to  be  impene- 
trable to  oilier  parts.  Accordingly,  he 
defines  matter  to  be  a  substance,  possess- 
ed of  the  property  of  extension,  ami  of 
powers  of  attraction  or  repulsion,  which 
are  not  distinct  from  matter,  and  foreign 
to  it,  as  it  has  been  generally  imagined, 
but  absolutely  essential  to  its  very  nature 
and  being :  so  that  when  bodies  are  di- 
vested of  these  powers,  they  become  no- 
thing at  all.  In  another  place,  Dr.  Priest- 
ley has  given-  a  somewhat  different  ac- 
count of  matter  :  according  to  which  it  is 
only  a  number  of  centres  of  attraction 
and  repulsion;  or  more  properly  of  cen- 
tres, not  divisible,  to  which  divine  agen. 
cy  is  directed ;  and  as  sensation  and 
thought  are  not  incompatible  with  these 
powers,  solidity,  or  impenetrability,  and 
consequently  a  vis  inertix  only  having- 
been  thought  repugnant  to  them,  he 
maintains,  that  we  have  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose, that  there  are  in  man  two  sub- 
stances absolutely  distinct  from  each 
other.  See  "  Disquisitions  cu  Matter 
and  Spirit." 

But  Dr.  Price,  in  a  correspondence 
with  Di-.  Priestley,  published  under  the 
title  of  "  A  Free  Discussion  of  the  Doc- 
trines of  Materialism  and  Philosophical 
Necessity,"  1778,  has  suggested  a  variety 
of  unanswerable  objections  against  this 
hypothesis  of  the  penetrability  of  matter, 
and  against  the  conclusions  that  are 
drawn  from  it.  The  vis  inert) x  of  mat- 
ter, he  says,  is  the  foundation  of  all  that 
is  demonstrated  by  natural  pbilospliers 
concerning  the  laws  of  the  collision  of 
bodies.  This,  in  particular,  is  the  foun- 
dation of  Newton's  philosophy,  and  es- 
pecially of  his  three  laws  of  motion. 
Solid  matter  has  the  power  of  acting  on 
other  matter  by  impulse  ;  and  this  is  the 


MAU 


MAU 


only  way  in  which  itis  capable  of  acting,  by 
any  action  t.'iat  is  properly  its  own.  If  it  be 
said,  that  one  particle  of  matter  can  act 
upon  another  without  contact  and  impulse, 
or  that  matter  can,  by  its  own  proper 
agency,  attract  or  repel  other  matter 
•which  is  at  a  distance  from  it,  then  a 
ma^dm  hitherto  universally  received  must 
be  false,  that  "  nothing  can  act  where  it 
is  not."  Newton,  in  his  letters  to  Bent- 
ley,  calls  the  notion,  that  matter  possess- 
es an  innate  power  of  attraction,  or  that  it 
can  act  upon  matter  at  a  distance,  and 
attract  and  repel  by  its  own  agency,  an 
absurdity,  into  which  he  thought  no  one 
could  possibly  fall.  And  in  another  place 
he  expressly"  disclaims  the  notion  of  in- 
5iate  gravity,  and  has  taken  pains  to 
shew  that  he  did  not  take  it  to  be  an  es- 
sential property  of  bodies.  By  the  same 
kind  of  reasoning  pursued,  it  must  ap- 
pear, that  matter  has  not  the  power  of 
attracting  and  repelling;  that  this  power 
is  the  power  of  some  foreign  cause,  act- 
ing upon  matter  according  to  stated 
laws ;  and,  consequently,  that  attraction 
and  repulsion,  not  being  actions,  much 
less  inherent  qualities  of  matter,  as  such 
it  ought  not  to  be  defined  by  them.  And 
if  mutter  has  no  other  property,  as  Dr. 
Priestley  asserts,  than  the  power  of  at- 
tracting and  repelling,  it  must  be  a  non- 
entity ;  because  this  is  a  property  that 
cannot  belong  to  it.  Besides,  all  power 
is  the  power  of  something;  and  yet,  if 
matter  is  nothing  but  this  power,  it  must 
be  the  power  of  nothing;  and  the  very 
idea  of  it  is  a  contradiction. 

MATTHIOLA,  in  botany,  so  named 
from  Pietro  Andrea  Matthiolus,  the  fa- 
mous botanist,  a  genus  of  the  Pentandria 
Monogynia  class  and  order.  Natural  or- 
der of  Rubiaceae,  Jussieu.  Essential 
character :  calyx  entire  ;  corolla  tubu- 
lar, superior,  undivided;  drupe  with 
a  globular  nucleus.  There  is  but  one 
species,  riz.  M.  scabra,  a  native  of  Ame- 
rica. 

MATTUSCHKJEA,  in  botany,  a  ge- 
nus of  the  Tetrandria  Monogynia  class 
and  order.  Essential  character :  calyx 
four-parted,  with  linear  leaflets;  co- 
rolla one-pctalled,  with  a  long  tube 
and  four  cleft  border?  germ  superior, 
(bur-cleft ;  seeds  four,  nuked.  There  is 
but  one  species,  viz.  M.  hirsuta,  found  in 
Guiana. 

MAUNDY  "'A.v-vr.-iW,  is  the  Thursday 
in  Passion  Week,  whicn  was  called  Maun- 
elay  or  Mandate  Thurs-  lay,  from  the-  com- 
mand which  our  Saviour  gave  his  apos- 
tles, to  commemorate  him  hi  the  Lord's 


Supper,  which  he  this  day  instituted ;  or 
from  the  new  commandment  wrhich  IK 
gave  them,  to  love  one  another,  after  he 
had  washed  their  feet  as  a  token  of  his 
love  to  them.  Our  Saviour's  humility 
in  washing  his  disciples'  feet,  is  com- 
memorated on  this  day  by  most  Chris- 
tian kings  ;  who  wash  the  feet  of  a  cer- 
tain number  of  poor  people,  not  indeed 
with  their  own  royal  hands,  but  by  the 
hands  of  their  lord  almoner,  or  some 
other  deputy. 

MAUPERTUIS  (PKTER  Louis  MOR 
CEAU  DE),  a  celebrated  French  mathe- 
matician and  philosopher,  was  born  at 
St.  Malo  in  1698,  and  was  there  private- 
ly educated  till  he  attained  his  sixteenth 
year,  when  he  was  placed  under  the 
celebrated  professor  of  philosophy,  M 
Le  Blond,  in  the  college  of  La  Marche, 
at  Paris ;  while  M.  Guisnee,  of  the  Acade- 
my of  Sciences,  was  his  instructor  in  ma- 
thematics. 

For  this  science  he  soon  discovered  a 
strong  inclination,  and  particularly  for 
geometry.  He  likewise  practised  in- 
strumental music,  in  his  early  years., 
with  great  success  ;  but  fixed  on  no  pro 
fession  till  he  was  twenty,  when  he  en- 
tered into  the  army;  in  which  he  re- 
mained about  five  years,  during  which 
time  he  pursued  his  mathematical  studies 
with  great  vigour ;  and  it  was  soon  re- 
marked by  M.  Freret,  and  other  acade- 
micians, that  nothing  but  mathematics 
could  satisfy  his  active  soul  and  unbound- 
ed thirst  for  knowledge. 

In  the  year  1723,  he  was  received 
into  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences, 
and  read  his  first  performance,  which 
was  a  memoir  upon  the  construction  and 
form  of  musical  instruments.  During- 
the  first  years  of  his  admission,  he  did 
not  wholly  confine  his  attention  to  ma- 
thematics; he  dipped  into  natural  philoso- 
phy, and  discovered  great  knowledge 
and  dexterity  in  observations  and  experi- 
ments upon  animals. 

If  the  custom  of  travelling  into  remote 
countries,  like  the  sages  of  antiquity,  in 
order  to  be  initiated  into  the  learned  mys- 
teries of  those  times,  had  still  subsisted, 
no  one  would  have  conformed  to  it  with 
more  eagerness  than  Muupertuis.  His 
first  gratification  of  this  passion  was  to 
visit  the  country  which  had  given  birth  to 
Newton  ;  and  during  Irs  residence  at 
London  he  became  as  zealous  an  admirer 
and  follower  of  that  philosopher  as  any 
of  his  own  countrymen.  His  next  excur- 
sion was  to  Basil  in  Switzerland,  where 
he  formed  a  friendship  with  the  celebrat- 


MAUPERTUIS. 


ed  John  Bernoulli  and  his  family,  which 
continued  till  his  death.  At  his  return  to 
Paris,  he  applied  himself  to  his  favourite 
studies  with  greater  zeal  than  ever.  And 
how  well  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  an 
academician,  may  be  seen  by  running 
over  the  memoirs  of  the  academy  from 
the  year  1724  to  1744  ;  where  it  appears 
he  was  neither  idle,  nor  occupied  by  ob- 
jects of  small  importance.  The  most 
sublime  questions  in  the  mathematical 
sciences,  received  from  his  hand  that 
elegance,  clearness,  and  precision,  so 
remarkable  in  all  his  writings. 

In  the  year  1736,  he  was  sent  to  the 
polar  circle,  to  measure  a  degree  of  the 
meridian,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  figure 
of  the  earth ;  in  which  expedition  he 
was  accompanied  by  Messrs.  Clairault, 
Camus,  Monnier,  Outhier,  and  Celsus, 
the  celebrated  professor  of  astronomy  at 
Upsal.  This  business  rendered  him  so 
famous,  that  on  his  return  he  was  ad- 
mitted a  member  of  almost  every  acade- 
my in  Europe. 

In  the  year  1740,  Maupertuis  had  an 
invitation  from  the  King  of  Prussia  to  go 
to  Berlin  ;  which  was  too  flattering  to  be 
refused.  His  rank  among  men  of  letters 
had  not  wholly  effaced  his  love  for  his 
profession,  that  of  arms.  He  followed 
the  King  to  the  field,  but  at  the  battle  of 
Molvvitz  was  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of 
being  present,  when  victory  declared  in 
favour  of  his  royal  patron,  by  a  singular 
kind  of  adventure.  His  horse  during  the 
heat  of  the  action  running  away  with  him, 
he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and 
was  at  first  but  roughly  treated  by  the 
Austrian  Hussars,  to  whom  he  could  not 
make  himself  known  for  want  of  lan- 
guage ;  but  being  carried  prisoner  to 
Vienna,  he  received  such  honours  from 
the  Emperor  as  never  were  effaced  from 
his  memory.  Maupertuis  lamented  very 
much  the  loss  of  a  watch  of  Mr. Graham's, 
the  celebrated  English  artist,  which  they 
had  taken  from  him  ;  the  Emperor,  who 
happened  to  have  another  by  the  same 
artist,  but  enriched  with  diamonds,  pre- 
sented it  to  him,  saying',  "  The  Hussars 
meant  only  to  jest  with  you,  they  have 
sent  me  your  watch,  and  I  return  it  to 
you." 

He  went  soon  after  to  Berlin,  but  as 
the  reform  of  the  academy  which  the 
King  of  Prussia  then  meditated  was  not 
yet  mature,  he  repaired  to  Paris,  whore 
his  affairs  called  him,  and  was  chosen, 
in  1742,  director  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences.  In  1743,  he  was  received  into 
the  French  Academy,  which  v/as  the  first 


instance  of  the  s.ame  person  being  a  mem- 
ber of  both  the  academies  at  Paris  at  the 
same  time.  Maupertuis  again  assumed 
the  soldier  at  the  siege  of  Fribourg,  and 
was  pitched  upon  by  Marshal  Coigny  and 
the  Count  d'Argenson,  to  carry  the  news 
to  the  French  King  of  the  surrender  of 
that  citudel. 

Maupertuis  returned  to  Berlin  in  the 
year  1744,  when  a  marriage  was  nego- 
tiated and  brought  about,  by  the  good 
offices  of  the  Queen  mother,  between  our 
author  and  Mademoiselle  de  Borck,  a 
lady  of  great  beauty  and  merit,  and  nearly 
related  to  M.  de  Borck,  at  that  time  mi- 
nister of  state.  This  determined  him  to 
settle  at  Berlin,  as  he  was  extremely  at- 
tached to  his  new  spouse,  and  regarded 
this  alliance  as  the  most  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance of  his  life. 

In  the  year  1746,  Maupertuis  was  de- 
clared, by  the  King  of  Prussia,  president 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at 
Berlin,  and  soon  after  by  the  same  prince 
was  honoured  with  the  Order  of  Merit. 
However,  ail  these  accumulated  honours 
and  advantages,  so  far  from  lessening  his 
ardour  for  the  sciences,  seemed  to  furnish 
new  allurements  to  labour  and  applica- 
tion. Not  a  day  passed  but  he  produced 
some  new  project  or  essay  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  knowledge.  Nor  did  lie 
confine  himself  to  mathematical  studies 
only  ;  metaphysics,  chemistry,  botany, 
polite  literature,  all  shared  his  attention, 
and  contributed  to  his  fame.  At  the 
same  -time  he  had,  it  seems,  a  strange 
inquietude  of  spirit,  with  a  dark  atra- 
bilaire  humour,  which  rendered  him  mi- 
serable amidst  honours  and  pleasures. 
Such  a  temperament  did  not  promise  a 
pacific  lite  ;  and  he  was  in  fact  engaged 
in  several  quarrels.  One  of  these  was 
with  Kcenig,  the  professor  of  philosophy 
at  Fraueker,  and  another  move  terrible 
with  Voltaire.  Maupertuis  had  inserted 
in  the  volume  of  memoirs  of  the  academy 
of  Berlin  for  1746,  a  di;-,cour-e  upon  the 
laws  of  motion ;  which  Koenig  was  not 
content  with  attacking,  but  attributed  to 
Leibnitz.  Maupertuis,  stung  with  the  im- 
putation of  plagiarism,  engaged  the  aca- 
demy of  Berlin  to  call  upon  him  for  his 
proof;  which  Koenig  failing  to  produce, 
his  name  was  struck  out  of  the  academy, 
of  which  he  was  a  meml>er. 

Several  pamphlets  were  the  conse- 
quence of  this  measure;  and  Voltaire, 
for  some  reason  or  other,  engaged  in  the 
quarrel  against  Maupertuis.  We  say,  for 
some  reason  or  other,  because  Mauper- 
tuis fend  Voltaire  were  apparently  upon 


MAU 


MAX 


the  most  amicable  terms  ;  and  the  latter 
respected  the  former  as  his  master  in  the 
mathematics.  Voltaire,  upon  this  occa- 
sion, exerted  all  his  wit  and  satire  against 
him ;  and  upon  the  whole  was  so  much 
transported  beyond  what  was  thought 
right,  that  he  found  it  expedient,  in  1753, 
to  quit  the  court  of  Prussia. 

Oar  philosopher's  constitution  had  long 
been  considerably  impaired  by  the  great 
fatigues  of  various  kinds  in  which  his 
active  mind  had  involved  him ;  though, 
from  the  amazing  hardships  he  had  un- 
dergone, in  his  northern  expedition,  most 
of  his  bodily  sufferings  may  be  traced. 
The  intense  sharpness  of  the  air  could 
only  be  supported  by  means  of  strong 
liquors,  which  helped  but  to  lacerate  his 
lungs,  and  to  bring  on  a  spitting  of  blood, 
which  began  at  least  twelve  years  before 
be  died.  Yet  still  his  mind  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  greatest  vigour  ;  for  the  best 
of  his  writings  were  produced,  and  most 
sublime  ideas  developed,  during  the  time 
of  his  confinement  by  sickness,  when  he 
was  unable  to  occupy  his  presidial  chair 
at  the  academy.  He  took  several  journies 
to  St  Malo,  during  the  last  years  of  his 
life,  for  the  recovery  of  his  health  ;  and 
though  he  always  received  benefit  by 
breathing  his  native  air,  yet  still,  upon  his 
return  to  Berlin,  his  disorder  likewise  re- 
turned with  greater  violence. 

His  last  journey  into  France  was  under- 
taken in  the  year  175" ;  when  he  was 
obliged,  soon  after  his  arrival  there,  to 
quit  his  favourite  retreat  at  St.  Malo,  on 
account  of  the  danger  and  confusion 
which  that  town  was  thrown  into  by  the 
arrival  of  the  English  in  its  neighbour- 
hood. From  thence  he  went  to  Bour- 
deaux,  hoping  there  to  meet  with  a  neu- 
tral ship  to  carry  him  to  Hamburgh,  in 
his  way  back  to  Berlin  ;  but  being  disap- 
pointed in  that  hope,  he  went  to  Toulouse, 
where  he  remained  seven  months.  He 
had  then  thoughts  of  going  to  Italy,  in 
hopes  a  milder  climate  would  restore  him 
to  health  ;  but  finding  himself  grow  worse, 
he  rather  inclined  towards  Germany,  and 
went  to  Neufchatel,  where  for  three 
months  he  enjoyed  the  conversation  of 
Lord  Marisehal,  with  whom  he  had  for- 
merly been  much  connected.  At  length 
he  arrived  at  Basil,  Oct.  16,  1758.  where 
he  was  received  by  his  friend  Bernoulli 
and  his  family  with  the  utmost  tenderness 
and  affection.  He  at  first  found  himself 
much  better  here  than  he  had  been  at 
Neufchatel ;  but  this  amendment  was  of 
short  duration ;  for  as  the  winter  ap- 
proached his  disorder  returned,  accom- 


panied by  new  and  more  alarming-  synij, 
toms.  He  languished  here  many  months, 
during  which  he  was  attended  by  M.  de 
la  Com.amine,  and  died  in  1759,  at  61 

years  of  age. 

The  works  which  he  published  were 
collected  into  4  vols.  8vo.  published  at 
Lyons  in  1756,  where  also  a  new  and 
elegant  edition  was  printed  in  1768. 
These  contain  the  following  works  :  1. 
Essay  on  Cosmology. — 2.  Discourse  on 
the  different  Figures  of  the  Stars. — 3. 
Essay  on  Moral  Philosophy. — 4  Philoso- 
phical Reflections  upon  the  Origin  of  Lan- 
guages, and  the  Signification  of  Words. — 
5.  Animal  Physics,  concerning  Genera- 
tion, &c. — 6.  System  of  Nature,  or  the 
Formation  of  Bodies. — 7-  Letters  on  va- 
rious Subjects. — 8.  On  the  Progress  of 
the  Sciences. — 9.  Elements  of  'Geogra- 
phy.—10.  Account  of  the  Expedition  to 
the  Polar  Circle,  for  determining  the 
Figure  of  the  Earth  ;  or  the  Measure  of 
the  Earth  at  the  Polar  Circle. — 11.  Ac- 
count of  a  Journey  into  the  Heart  of  Lap- 
land, to  search  for  an  ancient  Monu- 
ment.—12.  On  the  Comet  of  1742.— 13. 
Various  Academical  Discourses,  pronoun- 
ced in  the  French  and  Prussian  Acade- 
mies.— 14.  Dissertation  upon  Languages. — 
15.  Agreement  of  the  different1  Laws  of 
Nature,  which  have  hitherto  appeared  in- 
compatible— 16.  Upon  the  Laws  of  Mo- 
tion.— 17.  Upon  the  Laws  of  Rest.— 18. 
Nautical  Astronomy. — 19.  On  the  Paral- 
lax of  the  Moon. — 20.  Operations  for  de- 
termining the  Figure  of  the  Earth,  and 
the  Variations  of  Gravity. — 21.  Measure 
of  a  Degree  of  the  Meridian  at  the  Polar 
Circle. 

Besides  these  works,  Maupertuis  was 
author  of  a  great  multitude  of  interesting 
papers,  particularly  those  printed  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Paris  and  Berlin  Acade- 
mies, far  too  numerous  here  to  mention, 
viz.  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  at 
Paris  from  the  year  1724  to  1749;  and  in 
those  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin,  from  the 
year  1746  to  1756. 

MAURITIA,  in  botany,  belonging  to 
the  App.  Pahnse,  and  natural  order  of 
Palms.  Essential  character  :  male  in  an 
oblong  sessile  ament ;  calyx  one-leafed, 
cup-shaped,  entire  ;  corolla  one-petalled, 
with  a  short  tube,  and  a  three-parted 
border  ;  filaments  six.  There  is  but  one 
species,  viz.  M.  flexuosa,  a  native  of  the 
woods  of  Surinam. 

MAXILLA,  the  jaws,  or  those  parts  of 
an  animal  in  which  the  teeth  are  set. 

MAXIM,  an  established  proposition  or 


MAX 


MAX 


'{principle,  in  which  sense  it  denotes  much 
the  same  with  axiom.  See  AXIOM. 

Maxims  are  a  kind  of  propositions, 
which  have  passed  for  principles  of  sci- 
ence, and  which,  being-  self-evident,  have 
been  by  some  supposed  innate. 

MAXIMUM,  in  mathematics,  denotes 
the  greatest  state  or  quantity  attainable 
in  a  given  case,  or  the  greatest  value  of  a 
variable  quantity  ;  hence  it  stands  oppos- 
ed to  the  minimum,  which  is  the  least 
possible  quantity  in  any  case.  Thus  in  the 
expression  a1—- b  x,  where  a  and  b  are 
constant,  and  x  variable,  the  value  of  the 
expression  will  increase  as  b  x  or  x  dimi- 
nishes, and  it  will  be  greatest,  or  a  maxi- 
mum, when  x  is  least,  or  =0.  The  ex- 

b     •  b      v 

pression  a2 increases    as    —    dimi- 

x  x 

nishes,  that  is,  as  x  increases,  and  it  will 
be  a  maximum  when  x  is  infinite.  If  along 
the  diameter,  K  Z  (Plate  X.  Miscel.  fig. 
4.)  of  a  circle,  a  perpendicular  ordinate, 
L  M,  be  conceived  to  move  from  K  to  Z, 
•it  increases  till  it  arrive  at  the  centre, 
where  it  is  greatest,  and  from  thence  it 
decreases  till  it  vanishes  at  Z.  Some  quan- 
tities continually  increase,  and  have  no 
maximum,  unless  what  is  infinite,  as  the 
ordinates  of  a  parabola  :  some  continual- 
ly decrease,  so  that  their  minimum  state 
is  nothing,  as  the  ordinates  to  the  asymp- 
totes of  the  hyperbola.  Others  increase 
to  a  certain  point,  which  is  their  maxi- 
mum, and  then  decrease  again  ;  as  the 
ordinates  of  a  circle.  Others  admit  of  se- 
veral maxima  and  minima  ;  as  the  ordi- 
nates of  the  curve  (fig.  5  )  a  b  c  d  e,  &c. 
where  b  and  d  are  the  maxima,  and  ace 
are  minima  :  hence  it  is  easy  to  imagine 
of  other  variable  quantities,  exhibited  by 
the  ordinates  of  other  kinds  of  curves.  We 
have,  under  the  article  FLUXIONS,  given 
some  examples  on  the  maxima  and  mini- 
ma of  quantities  :  we  shall  in  this  place 
point  out  another  mode  of  performing  the 
same  thing,  with  uu  example  or  two.  The 
rule  is  this  :  "  Find  two  values  of  an  or- 
dinate expressed  in  terms  of  the  abscissa: 
put  those  two  values  equal  to  each  other, 
striking  out  the  parts  that  are  common  to 
both,  and  dividing-  all  the  remaining 
terms  by  the  difference  between  the  ab- 
scissas, which  will  be  a  common  factor  in 
them  :  then  supposing  the  abscissas  to  be- 
come equal,  that  the  equal  ordinates  may 
concur  in  the  maximum  or  minimum,  that 
difference  will  vanish,  as  well  as  all  the 
terms  of  the  equation  that  include  it,  and 
therefore,  striking  those  terms  out  of  the 
equation,  the  remaining  terms  will  give 


the  value  of  the  abscissa  corresponding  to 
the  maximum." 

1.  Suppose  it  were  required  to  find  the 
greatest  ordinate  in  a  semicircle  K  M  Q 
Z.  Let  KZ=a .-  K  L  the  abscissa  =x  :  L 
M  the  ordinate  =  y  :  hence  L  Z  =a — xt 
and  by  the  nature  of  the  circle  KLxLZ= 
L  M2,  that  is  a  x — o:2=:t/z, 

Let  the  abscissa  K  P—x  x  d,  d  being 
equal  to  L  P  ;  the  ordinate  P  Q=LM  = 
y.  K  P  X  P  Z  =  P  QS  or  r  +  'd  X 
a —  x  —  d  =  a  x  —  x2 — 2  d  x-\-a  d — d2 
=z/1  =  ax  —  x-  ;  therefore  —  2  d  x  -{- 
a  d — d-=0  :  or  a  d  =  2  d  x  -\-d-t  or  «== 
2  x  -J-  d,  an  equation  derived  from  the 
equality  of  the  two  ordinates  :  now,  by 
bringing  the  two  equal  ordinates  toge- 
ther, or  making  the  two  abscissas  equal, 
their  difference,  dt  vanishes,  and  a=2  x, 

or  x  =  •-  =  K  N,  the  value  of  the  ab- 
scissa K  N,  when  N  O  is  a  maximum,  that 
is,  the  greatest  ordinate  bisects  the  dia- 
meter. 

2.  Let  it  be  required  to  divide  a  given 
line  into  two  such  parts,  that  the  one 
drawn  into  the  square  of  the  other  may  be 
the  greatest  possible.  Let  the  given  line 
be  a  ;  one  part  x,  of  course  the  other  part 
a — x  •  and  therefore  by  the  terms  of  the 
question  x-  x  «  —  a:  =  ax2  —  x"> is  the 
product  of  one  part  by  the  square  of  the 
other.  For  the  sake  of  comparison,  let 
one  part  be  x-\-d,  then  theotherpart  will 
be  a — x — d  and  a--f-Jla  X  ti — x — d  =  a 
X*—X3  —  3  dx*  -f  2  a  d  -—  3  d1  x  x  -f- 
a  d* — d3  —  (as  before)  a  x2  —  x3 .•  there- 
fore,  —3d  x3-  -\-T~a~tl  —  3  d-  x  x  -|~ 
a  dz  —  do,  divided  by  d,  gives  —  3  x1  -j- 
2  a — 3  d  x  x  -f-  a  d —  d-,  and  now  strik- 
ing out  the  terms  that  have  d  in  them, 
we  get  —  3  OL •*  -f  2  a  x  =  0,  and  3  x  = 

2  a,  and  x  =  -  «,  that  is,  the  given  line 

must  be  divided  into  two  parts,  in  the  ra- 
tio of  3  to  2. 

MAXIM  US  (TYRIUS),  in  biography,  a 
celebrated  philosopher  and  elegant  writer 
in  the  second  century,  was  a  native  of 
Tyre,  in  Phoenicia,  whence  he  took  his 
name.  Suiclas  says,  that  he  lived  under 
the  Emperor  Commodus,  while  Eusebius 
and  Syncellus  place  him  under  Antoninus 
Pius.  If  we  suppose  that  he  flourished 
under  Antoninus,  and  lived  to  the  time  of 
the  first  mentioned  Emperor, the  accounts 
of  those  chronologers  may  be  reconciled. 
According  to  some  writers,  he  can|e  to 
Rome  in  the  year  146;  where  the  Emperor 


MAY 


MAY 


Marcus  Aurelius  gave  him  many  tokens 
of  fiis  esteem,  and  placed  himself  under 
his  instruction  ;  but  it  is  more  probable, 
that  the  preceptor  of  whom  that  prince 
speaks,  under  the  name  of  Maximus,  was 
some  other  philosopher,  of  the  Stoical  sect. 
Our  Maximus  appears,  from  his  writings, 
to  have  adopted  the  principles  of  the  Pla- 
tonic school,  with  some  tendency  towards 
scepticism.  Forty -one  of  his  "  Disserta- 
tions" on  various  philosophical  topics  are 
still  extant,  and  display  the  most  capti- 
vating powers  of  eloquence.  The  first 
Latin  version  of  them  was  published  at 
Basil,  by  Cosmo  Pazzi,  Archbishop  of 
Florence,  in  1519,  folio ;  and  Henry  Ste- 
vens first  printed  the  original  Greek,  at 
Paris,  in  1557,  Svo.  to  which  he  added 
Pazzi's  version,  with  numerous  alterations 
and  corrections.  In  1607,  the  learned 
Daniel  Heinsius  published  an  edition  of 
them  at  Leyden,  in  Greek  and  Latin,  8vo-; 
the  version  being  his  own,  and  illustrated 
with  notes.  Of  this  edition  our  country- 
man, Dr.  John  Davies,  gave  a  new  im- 
pression from  the  Cambridge  press,  in 
5703,  Svo.  with  corrections,  additional 
notes,  and  two  useful  indexes. 

MAYER  (TOBIAS),  in  biography,  a 
very  able  German  astronomer  and  me- 
chanic in  the  eighteenth  century,  was 
born  at  Marspach,  in  the  duchy  of  Wir- 
temberg,  in  the  year  1723.  His  father  was 
an  ingenious  civil-engineer,  who  particu- 
larly excelled  in  hydraulics  ;  and  young 
Tobias,  who  was  fond  of  observing  him 
while  at  work,  displayed  an  early  inqui- 
sitiveness  concerning  such  ingenious  pur- 
suits, and  from  the  age  of  four  years  be- 
gan to  design  machines  with  the  greatest 
dexterity  and  justness.  The  death  of  his 
father,  however,  whom  he  lost  when  very 
young,  probably  prevented  him  from  be- 
ing educated  to  that  employment.  Pos- 
sessing but  scanty  means  for  obtaining  as- 
sistance in  his  studies,  he  was  obliged  to 
rely  on  his  own  energies,  by  which  he 
made  himselfa  proficient  in  mathematical 
learning,  and  became  qualified  to  be  an 
able  instructor  of  others.  While  thus  oc- 
rupied,  he  also  assiduously  cultivated  an 
acquaintance  with  classical  and  polite 
iiterature,  and  learned  to  write  the  Latin 
longue  with  elegance.  So  well  establish- 
ed was  his  reputation  when  he  had  at- 
tained to  his  eight-and-twentieth  year, 
that  the  university  of  Gottingen  nominat- 
ed him  to  the  chair  of  mathematical  pro- 
fessor ;  and  not  long  afterwards  he  was 
admitted  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society 
:n  that  town.  From  this  time,  every  year 
of  his  short,  but  glorious  life,  was  distin- 


guished by  some   considerable   discove- 
ries m    geometry  or  astronomy.     He  in- 
vented several  useful  instruments  for  the 
more   commodious  and  exact   measure- 
ment of  angles  on  a  plane.    He  corrected 
many  errors  in  practical  geometry,  trac- 
ing them  to  their   origin,    in    the  refrac- 
tions occasioned    by  terrestrial    objects. 
Afterwards  he  particularly  applied   nim- 
self  to  study  the  theory  of  trhe  moon,  its 
appearances,   the  question  of  its  atmo- 
sphere, and  the  reciprocal  actions  of  the 
sun,  earth,  and  moon,  upon  each    other. 
He  then  extended  his  observations  to  the 
planet  Mars,  and  the  fixed  stars  ;  deter- 
mining with  greater  exactness  than  before 
the  places  of  the  latter,  and  ascertaining 
that,  though  commonly  denominated  fix- 
ed, they  possess  a  certain  degree  of  mo- 
tion relative  to  their  respective  systems. 
Towards  the  end  of  his  life  the  magnetic 
needle  engaged  his  attention,  to  which  he! 
assigned  more  certain  laws  than  those  be- 
fore  received.     To  these  various  inquiries 
and  observations  he  applied  with  such  in- 
defatigable assiduity,  that  he   died,    ex- 
hausted and  worn  mit  by  his  labours,  in 
1762,  when  only  39  years  of  age.    His  ta- 
ble of  refractions,  deduced  from    his  as- 
tronomical observations,  agrees  very  nice- 
ly with  that  of  Dr.  Bradley;  and  his  theory 
of  the  moon,  and  astronomical  tables  and 
precepts,  were  so  well  received,  that  they 
were  rewarded  by  the  English  Board  of 
Longitude  with  the  premium   of  3,OOCtf. 
which  sum  was  paid  to  his  widow  after 
his  decease.     These  tables  and    precepts 
were  published  by  the  board  in  the  year 
1770.  The  principal  works  which  he  gave 
himself  to  the  public  were,  "  A  New  and 
General  Method  of  resolving  all  Geome- 
trical Problems,  by  means  of  Geometri- 
cal Lines,"   1741,  Svo.  in    German.     «*  A 
Mathematical  Atlas,  in  which  all  the  Ma. 
thematical  Sciences  are  comprised  in  six- 
ty Tables,"  1748,  folio,  in  German.     "  A 
Description  of  a  Lunar  Globe,  construct- 
ed by  the  Cosmographical  Society  of  Nu- 
remberg, from  new  Observations,"  1750, 
4to.    also    in    German.       Several    exact 
"  Maps  ;"  and   some   valuable  papers  in 
the   Memoirs   of  the  Royal   Society   of 
Gottingen.  The  first  volume  of  his  works 
was  published  at  that  place  in  1775,  in 
folio. 

MAYOR,  is  the  chief  magistrate  in  a 
city  or  town  corporate,  who  has  under 
him  aldermen,  common-council,  and  offi- 
cers of  different  kinds.  Their  authority- 
is  different,  according  to  different  char- 
ters ;  but  they  are  always  magistrates  with  - 
in  the  corporation. 


MEA 


MEA 


MEAN,  a  middle  state  between  two 
extremes  ;  thus  we  have  an  arithmetical 
mean,  geometrical  mean,  mean  distance, 
mean  motion,  &.c.  An  arithmetical  mean 
is  half  the  sum  of  the  extremes :  thus,  if  2 

2    I    12 
and  12  be  the  extremes,  then — ^ —  - 


7  is  the  arithmetical  mean  :  likewise  be 
Geometrical 


tween  a  and  b  it  is 


mean,  usually  called  a  mean  proportional, 
is  the  square  root  of  the  product  of  the 
two  extremes  :  therefore,  to  find  a  mean 
proportional  between  two  given  ex- 
tremes, multiply  these  together,  and  ex- 
tract the  square  root  of  the  product. 
Thus,  a  mean  proportional  between  6  and 
24  is  12  ;  for  ^/  6  x  24  =  ^/  144  =  12  : 
and  between  x  and  y  it  is  ^/  x  y.  The 
arithmetical  mean  is  greater  than  the  geo- 
metrical mean  between  tlie  same  two  ex- 
tremes :  thus,  between  6  and  24  the  geo- 
metrical mean  is  12 ;  but  the  arithmetical 

64-24 
mean  is '- —  =  15.   Or,  generally,  let 

a  be  the  greater  and  6  the  less;  then 

a  -f-  b  — 

~ — is  greater  than  v/a£,or  multiply- 

ingjboth  by  2  ;  a  -f  A  is  greater  2 
v/«  b :  for  squaring  both  we  have  «*  -+- 
'2  a  b  - \-  b^  greater  than  4  a  b  ;  for  take 
away  4  a  b  and  oa  —  2  a  b  -f-  b'-  greater 
than  0:  or  a  —  6\-  greater  than  0  by  the 
supposition. 

To  find  a  mean  proportional,  geometri- 
cally, between  two  given  right  lines,  a 
and  0,  (Plate  Miscel.  X.  fig.  6.)  join  the 
two  given  lines  together  atx  in  one  con- 
tinued line,  «  b ;  upon  the  diameter  a  b 
Jescri.be  a  semicircle  a  z  b,  and  erect 
the  perpendicular  z  x,  which  will  be 
the.  required  mean  proportional;  for, 
by  a  well-known  theorem  in  geometry, 
a  x  x  x  b  is  equal  to  x  z2,  or  ax  :  x  z  :: 
x  Z  :  x  b. 

To  find  two  mean  proportionals  be- 
vsveen  two  given  extremes :  "  Multiply 
each  extreme  by  the  square  of  the  other, 
viz.  the  greater  extreme  by  the  square 
of  the  less,  and  the  less  extreme  by  the 
square  of  the  greater ;  then  extract  the 
cube  root  out  of  each  product,  and  the  two 
roots  will  be  the  two  mean  proportionals 
sought.  Thus  the  two  mean  proportionals 
between  a  and  b  are  \/  a-  b  and  \/afr  • 
or  between  2  and  16  the  mean  pro. 
portionals  are  \/64,  and  ^/3T2  =  4 
and  8. 


MEAN  distance  of  a  planet  from  the  SUH, 
in  astronomy,  is  the  right  line  drawn 
from  the  sun  to  the  extremity  of  the  con- 
jugate axis  of  the  ellipsis  the  planet  moves 
in ;  and  this  is  equal  to  the  semi-trans- 
verse axis,  and  is  so  called,  because  it  is 
a  mean  between  the  planet's  greatest  and 
least  distance  from  the  sun.  See  DIS- 
TANCE. 

MEAN  motion,  in  astronomv,  that  \\  here- 
by a  planet  is  supposed  to  move  equally 
in  its  orbit,  and  is  always  proportional  to 
the  time.  See  MOTION. 

MEASLES.     See  MEDICINE. 

MEASURE  signifies  any  given  quanti- 
ty, estimated  as  one,  to  which  the  propor- 
tion of  other  similar  quantities  may  be 
expressed. 

Measure  is  classed  under  a  variety  of 
heads,  of  which  the  following  are  illustra- 
tions. 

MEASURE  of  velocity,  is  the  interval  ot 
space  between  two  points,  regularly  pass- 
ed through  by  a  substance  in  constant  and 
uniform  motion,  within  a  certain  period 
of  time. 

MEASUIIE  of  a  solid,  is  a  cubic  inch,  foot, 
or  yard ;  in  other  words,  a  cube,  the  side 
of  which  is  an  inch,  a  foot,  or  a  yard. 

MK  VSUIIE  of  a  line,  is  the  extension  of  a 
right  line  at  pleasure,  which  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  unity  ;  for  instance,  an  inch,  a 
foot,  or  a  yard. 

MKASUUE  of  a  figure,  or  a  surface  per- 
fectly level,  thence  called  a  plane  survive?, 
is  a  square  inch,  foot,  or  yard.  This 
square  is  termed  the  measuring  unit,  be- 
cause the  side  is  an  inch,  a  foot,  a  yard, 
or  any  other  determinate  extent. 

MKASUHE  of  a  certain  portion  or  quantity 
of  matter,  is  its  weight. 

MEASURE  of  a  number,  applies  thus  :  2  is 
the  measure  of  4, 3  of  6,  &c. ;  in  fact,  it  is 
any  number  which  divides  without  a  re- 
mainder. 

It  has  long  been  wished  by  the  learn- 
ed, that  an  universal  measure,  secured  by 
penalties  in  an  unalterable  state,  hadt 
hitherto  been,  or  may  hereafter  be  adopt- 
ed, which  would  prove  of  incalculable, 
advantage  to  mankind  in  their  philosophi- 
cal and  even  less  exalted  pursuits.  Pre- 
judices are,  however,  far  too  numerous 
and  powerful  to  be  easily  overcome,  or 
removed,  in  matters  of  infinitely  less  mo- 
ment. \Ve  cannot,  therefore,  entertain 
the  slightest  hope  that  national  partiality 
will  be  subdued  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  so  as  to  produce  a  general  resigna- 
tion of  favourite  methods,  in  order  to 
adopt  a  new  one  recommended  by  a  con-. 
^TCSS  of  philosophers,  whfirh  it  would  bo 


MEASURE. 


equally  difficult  to  assemble,  or  prevail 
upon  to  agree  to  any  plan  unanimously. 
The  theories  of  eminent  men  on  this  sub- 
ject are  useful  and  deserve  attention,  as 
they  may  suggest  improvements  of  great 
importance.  Huygens  proposed  the  length 
of  a  pendulum  that  should  vibrate  se- 
conds, to  be  measured  from  the  point  of 
suspension  to  that  of  oscillation.  The 
third  part  of  this  pendulum  he  termed  a 
horary  foot,  and  such  he  recommended 
should  be  the  standard  by  which  the  mea- 
sure of  every  foot  in  Europe  might  be  re- 
gulated. Admitting  his  plan  to  be  wor- 
th} or' adoption,  and  an  experiment  made, 
it  appears  that  the  Paris  foot  would  bear 
a  proportion  to  the  horary  foot  of  864  to 
881,  which  is  demonstrated  in  this  man- 
ner :  The  length  of  three  Paris  feet  is 
864  half  lines,  and  that  of  a  pendulum  vi- 
brating seconds  consists  of  881  half  lines. 
The  principal  objection  to  this  ingenious 
suggestion  of  Huygens  is  founded  on  the 
assumption,  that  the  action  of  gravity  is 
the  Same  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  which 
is  certainly  not  the  case  ;  consequently, 
instead  of  its  serving  universally,  it  would 
be  useful  only  in  those  places  which  lie 
under  the  same  parallel  of  latitude.  Thus, 
if  each  different  latitude  had  its  foot 
equal  to  the  proposed  third  part  of  the 
pendulum  vibrating  seconds  there,  any 
given  latitude  must  have  a  different 
length  for  the  foot.  Exclusive  of  this  ob- 
jection, there  would  be  a  second  pro- 
ceeding from  the  difficulty  attending  the 
exact  measurement  between  the  cen- 
tres of  motion  and  oscillation,  which  is 
such,  that  it  is  highly  probable  no  two 
persons  would  agree  in  their  accounts  of 
the  space. 

Many  attempts  and  expedients  were 
suggested,  after  the  rejection  of  the  above 
plan,  with  similar  want  of  success.  This 
circumstance  did  not  escape  the  notice 
of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of 
Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce,  the 
officers  of  which,  with  a  commendable 
zeal,  advertized  a  premium  of  one  hun- 
dred guineas,  or  a  gold  medal,  as  a  re- 
ward to  those  who  would  propose  the  ap- 
proved means  "  for  obtaining  invariable 
standards  for  weights  and  measures,  com- 
municable at  all  times  and  to  all  nations." 
This  invitation  produced  a  communica- 
tion from  Mr.  Hatton,  in  1779,  in  which 
he  proposed  the  application  of  a  movea- 
ble  point  of  suspension  to  one  and  the 
same  pendulum,  and  by  this  means  he  in- 
tended to  accomplish  the  full  effect  of 
two,  the  difference  in  the  lengths  of 
which  was  the  desired  measure. 

The  ideas  of  Mr.  Hatton  were  approv- 


ed by  the  ingenious  "Whitehurst,  who  im- 
proved upon  them,  and  invented  sorcu 
very  curious  and  excellent  machinery  ; 
besides  which,  he  published,  eight  years 
after,  a  work  entitled  "  An  Attempt  to- 
wards obtaining  invariable  Measures  of 
Length,  Capacity,  and  Weight,  from  the 
Mensuration  of  Time,"  Sec.  Mr.  \\hite- 
hurst  thought  it  convenient  and  proper, 
for  attaining  this  most  desirable  end,  to 
endeavour  to  obtain  a  measure  of  the 
greatest  convenient  length  from  two 
pendulums,  the  vibrations  of  which  arc- 
in  the  ratio  of  two  to  one,  and  of  lengths 
agreeing  with  the  English  standard  in 
whole  numbers. 

To  explain  our  philosopher's  inten- 
tions more  fully,  let  us  admit  the  suppo- 
sition, that  the  length  of  a  pendulum  vi- 
brating seconds  in  the  latitude  of  London 
is  39.2  inches ;  the  length  of  one  vibrat- 
ing 42  times  in  a  minute  amounts  to  80 
inches  ;  by  the  same  unerring  rule,  ano- 
ther vibrating  84  times  in  a  minute  musi 
be  20  inches :  the  difference  resulting 
from  these  data  is  60  inches  and  his  pro- 
posed standard  measure.  Pursuing  hi? 
experiments  to  the  very  acme  of  perfec- 
tion, he  found  the  variation  in  the  length 
of  the  two  pendulums  to  be  59.89L* 
inches,  instead  of  60,  arising  from  an  er- 
ror in  the  assumed  length  of  the  second'?- 
pendulum. 

It  is  generally  admitted,  that  M:- 
Whitehurst  has  succeeded  in  his  design., 
and  demonstrated  to  the  learned  how  an 
invariable  standard  may  at  any  time  be 
found  for  the  same  latitude.  Besides 
this  discovery,  the  world  is  indebted  to 
him  for  the  accurate  ascertaining  of  a  fact 
of  very  considerable  importance  in  natu- 
ral philosophy.  A  person  who  wrote 
with  ability  on  this  point  observes,  witl, 
respect  to  the  fact  just  mentioned,  "  Tlu- 
difference  between  the  lengths  of  UK 
rods  of  two  pendulums,  whose  vibrations 
are  known,  is  a  datum  from  which  may 
be  derived  the  true  lengths  of  pendulums, 
the  spaces  through  which  heavy  bodies 
fall  in  a  given  time,  with  many  other  par- 
ticulars relative  to  the  doctrine  of  gravi- 
tation, the  figure  of  the  earth,"  &c.  Mr. 
"Whitehurst  perceived  from  this  experi- 
ment, that  the  length  of  a  second's  pendu- 
lum, vibrating  in  a  circular  arc  of  3°  20',  is 
very  nearly  39.1 19  ;  but  performing  the 
same  motion  in  the  arc  of  a  cycloid,  the 
result  would  be  39.136  inches ;  conse- 
quently, weighty  substances  will  descend 
in  the  first  second  after  they  are  detached 
from  their  support  nearly  16.094  fact,  01- 
16.1-|-  inch. 


MEASURE. 


Dr.  Young-,  to  whom  we  acknowledge 
ourselves  indebted  for  many  of  the  follow- 
ing particulars,  has  given  an  excellent 
compressed  table  of  measures  and  stand- 
ards, in  his  recent  valuable  work,  "  A 
Course  of  Lectures  on  Natural  Philoso- 
phy," &c.  from  which  we  find,  that  the 
English  yard  is  said  to  have  been  derived 
from  the  lengtii  of  the  arm  of  Henry  I.  in 
the  year  1101  ;  that  Graham  asserts  the 
length  of  the  pendulum  vibrating  seconds 
accurately  is  equal  to  39-13  inches  ;  that 
Bird's  parliamentary  standard  is  admitted 
to  be  of  the  greatest  authority,  and  that 
it  agrees  nearly  with  the  scales  of  Shuck- 
burgh  and  Pictet,  made  by  Troughton. 
The  standard  of  the  Royal  Society  by 
Graham  exceeds  that  of  Bird's  in  length 
about  1000th  part  of  an  inch,  but  it  is  not 
quite  uniform  throughout  its  length.  The 
standard  in  the  Exchequer  is  about  .0075 
inch  shorter  than  the  yard  of  the  Royal 
Society.  General  Roy  used  a  scale  of 
Sisson,  divided  by  Bird,  and  found  it  to 
agree  exactly  with  the  Tower  standard  on 
the  Royal  Society's  scale.  Sir  George 
Shuckburgh,  adopting  Trough  ton's  scales 
for  the  standard,  found  the  original  Tow- 
er standard  36.004  ;  the  yard  E.  on  the 
Royal  Society's  scale  by  Graham  36.0013 
inches ;  the  yard  Exchequer  of  the  same 
scale  35.9933  ;  Roy's  scale  36.00036  ;  the 
Royal  Society's  scale  by  Bird  35.99955 ; 
Bird's  parliamentary  standard  of  1758, 
36.00023.  The  English  have  employed 
and  adjusted  their  standards  at  the  tem- 
perature of  62°  of  Fahrenheit's  thermo- 
meter, and  the  French  at  the  freezing 
point  of  water.  The  French  metre  is 
39.37100  English  inches,  and  the  ten  mil- 
lionth part  of  the  quadrant  of  the  meri- 
dian. The  same  measure  contains  36.9413 
French  inches,  or  three  feet  11.296  lines. 
Hence,  says  the  Doctor,  the  French  toise 
of  72  inches  is  equal  to  76.736  English 
inches.  One  of  Lalande's  standards  mea- 
sured by  Dr.  Maskelyne  was  76.732, 
the  other  76.736.  In  latitude  45°,  a  pen- 
dulum of  the  length  of  a  metre  would 
perform  in  a  vacuum  86116.5  vibrations 
in  a  day.  The  length  of  the  second  pen- 
dulum is  993827  at  Paris. 

The  French  National  Institute  of  Sci- 
ences and  Arts  have  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  this  subject,  and  in  the  month  of 
Nivose,  in  the  year  1801,  a  member  read 
a  report  from  a  committee,  founded  on 
the  comparison  of  the  standard  metre  of 
the  Institute  with  the  English  foot.  And 
M.  Pictet,  professor  of  natural  philosophy 
at  Geneva,  exhibited  to  the  class,  in  the 
month  of  Venderaiaire.  a  collection  of  the 

VOL.  IV. 


most  interesting  objects,  which  he  had 
collected  in  England,  relating  to  arts  and 
sciences.  One  of  the  number  was  a  stan- 
dard of  the  English  linear  measure,  which 
was  of  brass,  49  inches  in  length,  and 
neatly  divided  by  engraved  lines  into 
tenths  of  an  inch.  This  standard  was 
made  for  the  exhibitor  by  Troughton,  a 
resident  in  London,  who  has  deservedly 
acquired  the  reputation  of  dividing  instru- 
ments with  the  utmost  accuracy,,  which, 
was  compared  with  another  made  by  the 
same  artist  for  Sir  George  Shuckburgh, 
when  it  was  ascertained,  satis factorily; 
that  the  variations  between  them  did 
not  amount  to  more  than  the  difference 
between  the  divisions  of  each  ;  in  «-i.iier 
words,  the  variation  was  almost  imper- 
ceptible. Arguing  from  this  circum- 
stance, the  standard  may  be  considered 
as  identical  with  that  described  by  Sir 
George  Shuckburgh  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions  for  1798. 

Another  excellent,  instrument,  con- 
structed by  Mr.  Troughton,  and  shewn 
at  the  same  time  by  M.  Pictet,  was  a  com- 
parer, calculated  to  ascertain  minute  va- 
riations between  measures.  This  instru- 
ment "  consists  of  two  microscopes,  with 
cross  wires,  placed  in  a  vertical  situation, 
the  surface  of  the  scale  being  horizontal, 
and  fixed  at  proper  distances  upon  a  me- 
tallic rod.  One  of  them  remains  stationa- 
ry at  one  end  of  the  scale,  the  other  is  oc- 
casionally fixed  near  to  the  other  end  ; 
and  its  cross  wires  are  moveable  by  means 
of  a  screw,  describing  in  its  revolution  one 
100th  part  of  an  inch,  and  furnished  with 
a  circular  index,  dividing  each  turu  inlo 
100  parts ;  so  that  having  two  lengths, 
which  differ  only  one-tenth  of  an  inc-h 
from  each  other,  we  may  determine  their 
difference  in  ten-thousandths  of  an  inchy 
The  wires  are  placed  obliquely  with  re- 
spect to  the  scale,  so  that  the  line  of  di- 
vision must  bisject  the  acute  angle  which 
they  form,  in  order  to  coincide  with  their 
intersection."  An  instrument  similar  to 
that  thus  described,  and  made  by  Rams- 
den,  for  measuring  the  expansion  of  me- 
tals, was  described  by  General  Roy  in  the 
seventy-fifth  volume  of  the  Royal  Trans- 
actions. 

M.  Pictet,  influenced  by  a  desire  of  ad- 
vancing science,  made  an  offer  to  the  class 
of  the  use  of  the  standard  and  the  micro- 
meter,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the 
comparative  length  of  the  metre  and  the 
English  foot :  the  offer  was  gratefully  ac- 
cepted by  the  Society,  and  Messieurs  Le- 
gendre,  Machain,  and  Prony,  were  ap- 
pointed to  assist  M.  Pictet  in  making  the 

R  r 


MEASURE. 


proposed  comparison  of  their  standard 
metre  of  platina  and  the  measure  just 
mentioned.  The  first  assembling  of  this 
committee  was  on  the  21st  of  October,  of 
the  same  year,  at  the  mansion  of  M.  Le- 
noir.  Upon  commencing  their  operations, 
they  found  some  difficulty  arising  from 
the  different  manner  in  which  the  mea- 
sures were  defined:  the  French  stan- 
dards were  merely  cut  off  to  the  length 
of  a  metre ;  but  the  English  scale  was 
graduated  by  lines  ;  consequently,  the 
length  of  the  former  could  not  readily  be 
taken  by  the  microscopes,  neither  could 
the  English  scale  be  measured  by  the 
usual  method  adopted  for  making  new 
standard  metres,  which  is  accomplished 
by  fixing  one  extremity  against  a  firm 
support,  **  and  bringing  the  other  into 
contact  with  the  face  of  a  cock,  or  slider, 
adjusted  so  as  barely  to  admit  the  original 
standard  between  it  and  the  fixed  sur- 
face." 

M.  Lenoir  endeavoured  to  remove  this 
unfortunate  impediment,  by  taking  a  piece 
of  brass  of  the  length  of  a  metre,  and  re- 
ducing the  terminations  to  a  thin  edge, 
which  was  compared  by  the  committee 
with  the  standard  metre  as  usual ;  when 
placed  on  the  English  scale,  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  brass  made  two  parallel  lines 
to  those  engraved  on  the  scale,  an<J  thus 
the  apparatus  was  capable  of  being  seen 
through  the  microscope  :  by  these  means 
the  standard  metre  of  platina,  and  ano- 
ther belonging  to  the  Institute,  made  of 
iron,  were  compared  with  the  English 
foot ;  the  two  measures  each  being  equal, 
at  the  temperature  of  melting  ice,  to  the 
ten  millionth  part  of  the  quadrant  of  the 
meridian.  "  At  the  temperature  of  15.3° 
of  the  decimal  thermometer,  or  59.5°  of 
Fahrenheit,  the  metre  of  platina  was  equal 
to  39.3775  English  inches,  and  that  of 
iron  to  39.3788,  measured  on  M.  Pictet's 
scale. 

It  was  discovered,  however,  that  the 
manner  employed  produced  results  not 
quite  satisfactory,  as  an  uncertainty  oc- 
curred through  the  difficulty  of  placing 
the  cross  wires  exactly  at  the  extreme  of 
the  brass  plate,  where  a  reflection  of  light 
took  place  which  precluded  a  dislinct  ob- 
servation, whether  the  optical  axis  of  the 
microscope  was  decidedly  a  tangent  to 
the  surface  precisely  at  the  termination. 
M.  Prony,  a  member  of  the  committee, 
suggested  another  arrangement  as  a  reme- 
dy for  this  obstacle,  and  M.  Paul,  of  Gene- 
va, who  was  present,  carried  it  into  execu- 
tion :  this  latter  gentleman  traced  a  per- 
pendicular line  to  its  length,  on  a  small 


metallic  ruler,  the  end  of  which  he  placed 
against  a  firm  resistance,  and  the  cross 
wires  were  made  to  agree  with  the  line  ; 
they  then  interposed  the  standard  metre 
between  the  end  of  the  piece  and  the  re- 
sisting substance,  "  and  the  line  traced  on 
it,  which  had  now  obviously  advanced 
the  length  of  the  metre,  was  subjected  to 
the  other  microscope.  The  microscopes, 
thus  fixed,  were  transferred  to  the  gra- 
duated scale  ;  one  of  them  was  placed  ex- 
actly over  one  of  the  divisions,  and  the 
micrometer  screw  was  turned  in  order  to 
measure  the  fraction,  expressing  the  dis- 
tance of  the  other  microscope  from  ano- 
ther division.*' 

A  second  comparison  took  place  on  the 
26th  of  October,  at  the  residence  of  a 
member  of  the  committee  ;  and  after  se- 
veral satisfactory  experiments,  it  was  dis- 
covered, that  at  the  temperature  12.75°, 
or  55  of  Fahrenheit,  the  standard  of  pla- 
tina was  39.3781,  and  that  of  iron  39.3795 
English  inches.  The  different  metres  be- 
ing intended  to  be  equal  at  the  tempera- 
ture ot  melting  ice,  the  preceding  experi* 
ments  may  be  tried  by  bringing  their  re- 
sults to  the  same  temperature.  To  deter- 
mine this,  we  have  Borda's  accurate  trials, 
and  the  report  of  the  committee  of  weights 
asid  measures  on  the  dilatation  of  platina, 
brass,  and  iron,  whence  it  appears, "  that 
for  each  degree  of  the  decimal  thermo- 
meter, platina  expands  .00000856 ;  iron, 
00001156;  and  brass,  00001783  :  for  Fah- 
renheit's scale  these  quantities  become 
476;  642,  and  990  parts  in  a  hundred 
millions.  From  these  data  we  find,  that, 
at  the  freezing  point,  the  standard  metre 
of  platina  was  equal  to  39.38280,  and  that 
of  iron  to  39,38265  English  inches  of  M. 
Pictet's  scale.  The  difference  is  less  than 
the  500th  of  a  line,  or  the  200,000th  of  the 
whole  metre  " 

The  facts  obtained  by  all  the  compari- 
sons amount  to  this  conclusion,  taking 
each  of  the  measures  at  the  temperature 
of  melting  ice,  the  individual  standard 
metres  are  equal  to  the  10,000,000th  part 
of  the  quadrant  of  the  meridian,  and  to 
39.38272  English  inches  of  M.  Pictet's 
scale. 

It  is  found,  upon  examination  of  the 
reduction  of  the  standards  of  platina  and 
iron  to  the  freezing  point,  that  they  vary 
rather  less  than  is  asserted  in  the  report, 
and  that  they  agree  *'  within  a  unit  in  the 
last  place  of  the  decimals  expressing  their 
magnitudes,  or  one  ten  thousandth  of  an 
inch."  At  the  freezing-  point,  the  standard. 
of  platina  becomes  equal  to  39.37380,  and 
that  of  iron  to  39.37370  English  inches  on 


MEASURE. 


the  scale  of  brass  at  55°,  and  the  mean  of 
these  to  39.37100  English  inches  at  62°, 
the  temperature  constantly  adopted  in 
the  comparison  of  English  standards,  and 
particularly  in  the  recent  trigonometrical 
operations.  This  result  corresponds  in  a 
most  surprising  manner  with  Mr.  Bird's 
determination  of  the  lengths  ot  the  toises 
sent  to  Dr.  Maskelyneby  M.  Lalande,  the 
mean  of  which  was  76.734  inches,  con- 
sequently the  metre  having  been  proved 
to  contain  36.9413  French  inches,  ap- 
pears to  be  equal  to  39.3702  English 
inches,  or  rather  either  39.3694  or  39.3710 ; 
as  either  of  the  two  toises  may  have  been 
more  correct  than  the  other,  it  will  there- 
fore be  perfectly  safe  to  give  the  pre- 
ference to  that  measuring  76.726  inches. 

Admitting  the  French  measurements  of 
the  arc  of  the  meridian  to  be  correct,  the 
complete  circumference  of  the  globe 
amounts  to  24855.43  English  miles,  and 
its  mean  diameter  7911.73. 

The  nineteenth  volume  of  the  Bibliothe- 
que  Britannique  contains  a  description  of 
Lenoir's  comparer,  written  by  M.  Prony. 
"  Its  peculiarity,"  according  to  Dr.  Young, 
"consists  in  the  application  of  a  bent 
lever,  of  which  the  shorter  arm  is  pressed 
against  the  end  of  the  substance  to  be 
measured,  while  the  longer  serves  as  an 
index,  carrying  a  vernier,  and  pointing 
out  on  a  graduated  arch  the  divisions  of 
a  scale,  which  by  this  contrivance  is  con- 
siderably extended  in  magnitude."  It 
does  not  appear,  at  first  sight,  to  be  cer- 
tain, "  that  the  difficulty  of  fixing  the  axis 
of  the  lever  with  perfect  accuracy,  and 
of  forming  a  curve  for  the  surface  of  the 
shorter  arm,  or  of  reducing  the  gradation 
of  the  arc  to  equal  parts  of  the  right  line 
in  the  direction  of  tjie  substance  to  be 
measured,  might  not  in  practice  more 
than  counterbalance  the  advantage  of  this 
mechanical  amplification  of  the  scale  over 
the  simpler  optical  method  employed  in 
the  English  instruments." 

We  shall  conclude  this  article  by  giv- 
ing the  following  useful  tables,  compres- 
sed from  the  work  already  mentioned,  as 
the  most  recent  and  valuable  authority. 

ENGLISH  MEASURES. 

Inches. 

A  foot  is 12 

A  yard  .........         36 

A  pole,  or  rod 198 

A  furlong 7920 

A  mile 63360 

A  link 7  92 

A  chain 792 

A  nail  of  cloth 2i 


Inches* 

A  quarter 9 

A  yard 36 

An  ell 45 

A  hand 4 

Square  yard*. 
An  acre 484-0 

The  wine  gallon  is  fixed  at  23 1  cubic 
inches,  by  an  act  passed  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  consequently, 

Cubic  Indies, 

A  pint  is 28.875 

A  quart 57.75 

A  barrel 7276.5 

A  hogshead 14553. 

A  pint  of  country  ale,  or  beer 

measure,  is  .  . 35.25 

A  quart 70.5 

A  gallon 282. 

A  barrel,  beer  measure,  is  .  .  .  10152. 

ale  ditto 9024. 

country  ditto 9588. 

A  hogshead,  beer  measure,  is  .  15228. 

ale  ditto    .....  13336. 

country  ditto  .  .  .  14382. 

A  pint,  dry  measure,  is  ....        33.6 

A  quart 67.2 

A  pottle 134.4 

A  gallon 268  £ 

A  peck   . 537.6 

A  Winchester  bushel 2150.42 

A  heaped  bushel  is  one-third  more. 

A  quarter 17203.36 

A  wey,  or  load,  is  five  quarters ;  and 
two  loads  make  a  last  of  wheat. 

Sixty  pounds  is  the  mean  weight  of  a 
bushel  of  wheat,  50  of  barley,  and  38  of 
oats. 

Thirty-six  heaped  bushels  make  a  chal- 
dron of  coals,  which  generally  weigh 
about  2988  pounds. 

An  inch  pipe,  ten  yards  in  length,  con- 
tains precisely  an  ale  gallon,  weighing 
101  pounds. 

The  ancient  standard  wine  gallon  of 
Guildhall  contains  224  cubic  inches. 

It  is  imagined,  that  previous  to  the 
•*  Conquest,  a  cubic  foot  of  water  weighed 
1000  ounces  ;  82  cubic  feet  weighed  2006 
pounds,  or  a  tun  ;  that  the  same  quantity 
was  a  tun  of  liquids;  and  a  hogshead  8 
cubic  feet,  or  13824  cubic  inches,  one  63d 
of  which  was  219.4  inches,  or  a  gallon." 

A  quarter  of  a  ton  was  a  quarter  of 
wheat,  which  weighed  about  500  pounds ; 
one  eighth  of  this,  or  a  bushel,  was  equi- 
valent to  a  cubic  foot  of  water.  A  chal- 
dron of  coals  weighed  2000  pounds,  and 
was  a  ton. 

The  French,  acting  upon  a  general  sys- 


MEASURE. 


tern  of  innovation  during  the  late  Revolu- 
tion in  that  country,  formed  new  mea- 
sures, the  nomenclature  of  which  is  gene- 
rally disapproved  of  by  the  learned  of 
England,  and  Dr.  Young  ventures  to  give 
them,  in  some  degree  amended,  as  follow  : 


Millometre  .  .  . 
Centimetre  .  .  . 
Decimetre  .  .  . 

Metre 

Decametre  .  .  . 
Hecatometre  .  . 
Chiliometre  .  . 
My rio metre  .  . 


English  inches. 

.03937 

.39371 

3.93710 

3937100 

393.71000 

3937.10000 

39371.00000 

393710.00000 


The'  metre  is  1.09364  yards,  or  nearly 
1  yard,  H  nail,  or  443.2959  lines  French, 
or  .513074  toises. 

A  decametre  is  10  yards,  2  feet,  9.7 
inches. 

A  hecatometre,  109  yards,  1  foot,  1 
inch. 

A  chiliometre,  4  furlongs,  213  yards,  1 
foot,  10.2  inches. 

A  micrometre,  6  miles,  1  furlong,  156 
yards,  6  inches. 

Eight  chiliometres  are  nearly  5  miles. 

An  inch  is  .0254  metre  ;  2441  inches, 
62  metres  ;  1000  feet,  nearly  305  metres. 

An  arc,  a  square  decametre,  is  3,95 
perches. 

A  hecatre,  2  acres,  1  rood,  35.4  perches. 

Cubic  inches  English. 

Millilitre .06103 

Centilitre .61028 

Decilitre  . 6.10280 

Litre,  a  cubic  decimitre         61  02800 

Decalitre 610.28000 

Hecatotitre 6102.80000 

Chiliolitre 61028.00000 

Myriolitre 610280.00000 

Two  and  1th  wine  pints  are  about  a 
litre ;  3  wine  pints  are  nearly  14  decili- 
tres ;  a  chiliolitre  is  one  tun,  12-75  wine 
gallons. 

3.5317  cubic  feet  make  a  decistere,  a 
measure  for  fire-wood. 

A  sterc,  a  cubic  metre,  35.3171. 

We  shall  now  present  the  reader  of  this 
article  with  various  ancient  and  modern 
measures,  which  were  selected  from  the 
best  authorities. 

ANCIENT  MEASURES. 

Arabian  foot 1.095 

Egyptian  foot .          1.421 

Egyptian  stadium 730.8 


Greek  foot ..;.;.. 

phyletarian  foot 

Hebrew  foot 

cubit     .  .  .  . 

sacred  cubit 


1.0G.9 
1.167 
1.212 
1.817 
2.002 


Natural  loot 
Roman  foot 


great  cubit=six  common  cubits- 


.  .  (after  Titus) 

.  .  (from  rules) 

(from  buildings) 

.  (from  a  stone) 

Roman  mile  of  Pliny 

of'Strabo    .... 

Sicilian  foot  of  Archimedes  .  . 


.814 

.970 

.965 

.9672 

.9681 

.9696 

4840.5 

4903. 
.730 


MODERN  MEASURES. 


Amsterdam  foot 

ell 

Antwerp  foot 

Barcelona  foot 

Basle  foot 

Bavarian  foot 

Berlin  foot 

Bologna  foot. 

Brabant  ell  in  Germany  . 

Brescia  foot 

Brescian  braccio 

Brussels  foot 

greater  ell  ... 

—     • lesser  ell   .... 

China  mathematical  foot  . 
Imperial  foot .... 


Chinese  li 

Constantinople  foot  . 
Copenhagen  foot  .  . 
Dresden  foot  .... 

Florence  foot  .... 

braccio  .  . 

Genoa  palm 

canna 

Geneva  foot 

Hamburgh  foot  .  .  . 

Lisbon  foot , 

Madrid  foot 

1  vara  

Malta  palm 

Moscow  foot ..... 
Naples  palm ..... 

canna   .... 

Paris  foot 

Paris  metre 

Rome  palm 

foot 

deto  . 

oncio 

palmo 

palmo  di  architettura 

•  canna  di  architettura 


Cfcfoot) 


.927 

2.233 

.940 

.992 

.944 

.968 

.992 

1.244 

2.268 

1.560 

2.092 

.902 

2.278 

2.245 

1.127 

1.051 

606. 

2.195 

1.049 

.929 

1.857 

.995 

1.900 

.812 

7.300 

1.919 

.933 

.952 

.915 

3.263 

.915 

.928 

.861 

6.908 

1.066 

3.281 

.733 

.966 

.0604 

.0805 

.2515 
•7325 
7.325 


MEA 


MEG 


Rome  staiolo .  4.212 

— cannadei  mericanti  (8  palms)  6.5365 

braccio  dei  mercanti(4palms)2.7876 

braccio  di  tessitor  di  tela  2.0868 

braccio  di  architettura .  2.561 

Russian  archine 2.3625 

ai*scliin 2.3333 

verschock,  ^g  arschin  .1458 

Stockholm  foot 1.073 

Turin  foot 1.676 

ras 1.958 

trabuco 10.085 

Tyrol  foot 1.096 

ell 2.639 

Venice  foot 1.137 

braccio  of  silk    ....  2.108 

ell 2.089 

braccio  of  cloth  ....  •     2.250 

Vienna  foot 1.036 

ell 2.557 

post  mile 24888. 

Warsaw  foot 1.169 

The  yoke  of  land,  a  description  of 
measure  in  Austria,  contains  1600  square 
fathoms  :  "  1  metz,  or  bushel,  1.9471 
cubic  feet.  1  eimer  =  40  kannen  = 
1.792  cubic  feet  of  Vienna  ;  1  fass  =  10 
eimer." 

In  Sweden,  a  kanne  contains  106  cubic 
Swedish  inches. 

MEASURE,  in  geometry,  denotes  any 
quantity  assumed  as  one,  or  unity,  to 
which  the  ratio  of  other  homogeneous  or 
similar  quantities  is  expressed.  This  de- 
finition is  somewhat  more  agreeable  to 
practice  than  that  of  Euclid,  who  defines 
measure,  a  quantity  which,  being  repeat- 
ed any  number  of  times,  becomes  equal  to 
another.  This  latter  definition  answers 
only  to  the  idea  of  an  arithmetical  mea- 
sure, or  quota-part. 

MEASURE  of  an  angle,  is  an  arch  de- 
scribed from  the  vertex  in  any  place  be- 
tween its  leg's.  Hence  angles  are  distin- 
guished by  the  ratio  of  the  arches,  de- 
scribed from  the  vertex  between  the  legs 
to  the  peripheries.  Angles  then  are  dis- 
tinguished by  those  arches;  and  the  arch- 
es are  distinguished  by  their  ratio  to  the 
periphery :  thus  an  angle  is  said  to  be  of 
so  many  degrees  as  there  are  in  the  said 
arch.  See  ANGLE. 

MEASURE  of  a  Jigure,  or  plane  sur- 
face, is  a  square  whose  side  is  one  inch, 
foot,  yard,  or  some  other  determinate 
length.  Among  geometricians,  it  is 
usually  a  rod  called  a  square  rod,  divid- 
ed into  ten  square  feet,  and  the  square 
feet  into  ten  square  digits :  hence  square 
measures. 

MEASURE  of  a  line,  any  right  line  taken 


at  pleasure,  and  considered  as  unity. 
The  modern  geometricians  use  a  decem- 
peda,  or  perch,  divided  into  ten  equal 
parts,  called  feet;  the  feet  they  subdivide 
into  ten  digits,  and  the  digit  into  ten 
lines,  &c. 

MEASURE  of  the  mass,  or  quantity  ofmdt~ 
ter,  in  mechanics,  is  its  weight ;  it  being- 
apparent  that  all  the  matter  which  co- 
heres and  move  with  a  body,  gravitates 
with  it,  and  it  being  found  by  experiment 
that  the  gravities  of  homogeneal  bo- 
dies are  in  proportion  to  their  bulks, 
hence,  while  the  mass  continues  the 
same,  the  weight  will  be  the  same,  what- 
ever figure  it  put  on;  by  which  is  meant 
its  absolute  weight,  for  as  to  its  specific, 
that  varies  as  the  quantity  of  the  surface 
varies. 

MEASURE  of  a  number,  in  arithmetic, 
sucli  a  number  as  divides  another  without 
leaving  any  fraction  :  thus  9  is  a  measure 
of  27. 

MEASURE  of  a  solid,  is  a  cube  whose 
side  is  one  inch,  foot,  yard,  or  any  other 
determinate  length.  In  geometry,  it  is  a 
cubic  perch,  divided  into  cubic  feet,  di- 
gits, &c. :  hence  cubic  measures,  or  mea- 
sures of  capacity. 

MEASURE  of  -velocity,  in  mechanics, 
the  space  passed  over  by  a  moving  body 
in  a  given  time.  To  measure  a  velocity, 
therefore,  the  space  must  be  divided 
into  as  many  equal  parts  as  the  time 
is  conceived  to  be  divided  into ;  the 
quantity  of  space  answering  to  such  an 
article  of  time  is  the  measure  of  the 
velocity. 

MEASURE  for  horses,  is  the  hand,  which, 
by  statute,  contains  four  inches. 

MEASURE  is  also  used  to  signify  the  ca- 
dence and  time  observed  in  poetry,  danc- 
ing, and  music,  to  render  them  regular 
and  agreeable.  See  METRE. 

MEASURE,  in  music,  the  interval  or 
space  of  time  which  the  person  who 
beats  time  takes  between  the  rising1  and 
falling  of  his  hand,  in  order  to  conduct 
the  movement  sometimes  quicker  and 
sometimes  slower,  according  to  the  music 
or  subject  that  is  to  be  sung  or  played. 
See  TIME. 

MECHANICAL,  in  mathematics,  de- 
notes a  construction  of  some  problem,  by 
the  assistance  of  instruments,  as  the  du- 
plicature  of  the  cube  and  quadrature  oi 
the  circle,  \\  contradistinction  to  that 
which  is  done  in  an  accurate  and  geome- 
trical manner. 

MECHANICAL  curve,  is  a  curve,  accord- 
ing to  Des  Cartes,  which  cannot  be  defin  • 


MECHANICS. 


ed  by  any  algebraic  equation ;  and  so 
stands  contra-distinguished  from  algebraic 
or  geometrical  curves. 

Leibnitz  and  others  call  these  me- 
chanical curves  transcendental,  and  dis- 
sent from  DCS  Cartes  in  excluding"  them 
out  of  geometry.  Leibnitz  found  a  new 
kind  of  transcendental  equations,  where- 
by these  curves  are  defined  ;  but  they 
do  not  continue  constantly  the  same 
in  all  points  of  the  curve,  as  algebraic 
ones  do. 

MECHANICS,  is  the  science  which 
treats  of  the  laws  of  the  equilibrium  and 
motion  of  solid  bodies ;  oi  the  forces  by 
•which  bodies,  whether  animate  or  inani- 
mate, may  be  made  to  act  upon  one  ano- 
ther; and  of  the  means  by  which  these 
may  be  increased,  so  as  to  overcome  such 
as  are  most  powerful.  As  this  science  is 
closely  connected  with  the  arts  of  life, 
and  particularly  with  those  which  existed 
even  in  the  rudest  ages  of  society,  the 
construction  of  machines  must  have  been 
practised  long  before  the  theory  upon 
which  their  principles  depend  could  have 
been  understood.  Hence  we  find  in  use 
among  the  ancients,  the  lever,  the  pulley, 
the  crane,  the  capstan,  and  many  other 
simple  machines,  at  a  period  when  mq- 
chanics,  as  a  science,  were  unknown.  In 
the  remains  of  Egyptian  architecture  are 
beheld  the  most  "surprising  marks  of  me- 
chanical genius.  The  elevation  of  im- 
mense and  ponderous  masses  of  stone  to 
the  tops  of  their  stupendous  fabrics,  must 
have  required  an  accumulation  of  me- 
chanical power,  which  is  not  in  the  pos- 
session of  modern  architects.  We  are  in- 
debted to  Archimedes  for  the  foundation 
of  this  science  :  he  demonstrated,  that 
M  hen  a  balance  with  unequal  arms  is  in 
equilibrio,  by  means  of  two  weights  in  its 
opposite  scales,  these  weights  must  be 
reciprocally  proportional  to  the  arms  of 
the  balance.  From  this  general  princi- 
ple the  mathematician  might  have  deduc- 
ed all  the  other  properties  of  the  lever, 
but  he  did  not  follow  the  discovery 
through  all  its  consequences.  In  demon- 
strating the  leading  property  of  the  lever, 
he  lays  it  down  as  an  axiom,  that  if  the 
two  arms  of  the  balance  are  equal,  the 
weights  must  be  equal,  to  give  an  equi- 
librium. Reflecting  on  the  construction 
of  the  balance,  which  moved  upon  a  ful- 
crum, he  perceived  that  the  two  weights 
exerted  the  same  pressure  on  the  ful- 
crum as  if  they  had  both  rested  on  it.  He 
then  advanced  another  step,  and  consid- 
ered the  sum  of  these  two  weights  as 
combined  with  a  third,  and  then  the  sum 


of  the  three  with  a  iburth,  and  so  <"• 
perceived  that  in  every  such  combination 
the  fulcrum  must  support  their  united 
weight ;  and,  therefore,  that  there  is  in 
every  combination  of  bodies,  and  in  every 
single  body  which  may  be  considered  as 
made  up  of  a  number  of  lesser  bodies,  a 
centre  of  pressure  or  gravity.  This  disco- 
very Archimedes  applied  to  particular 
cases,  and  pointed  out  the  method  of 
finding  the  centre  of  gravity  of  plane  sur- 
faces, whether  bounded  by  a  parallelo- 
gram, a  triangle,  a  trapesium,  or  a  para- 
bola.  See  CENTRE  of  gravity. 

Galileo,  towards  the  close  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  made  many  important 
discoveries  on  this  subject.  In  a  small 
treatise  on  statics,  he  proved  that  it  re- 
quired an  equal  power  to  raise  two  dif- 
ferent bodies  to  altitudes,  in  the  inverse 
ratio  of  their  weights,  or  that  the  same 
power  is  requisite  to  raise  ten  pounds  to 
the  height  of  one  hundred  feet,  and 
twenty  pounds  fifty  feet.  It  is  impossible 
for  us  to  follow  this  great  man  in  all  his 
discoveries.  In  his  works,  which  were 
published  early  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, he  discussess  the  doctrine  of  equa- 
ble motions  in  various  theorems,  contain- 
ing the  different  relations  between  the 
velocity  of  the  moving  body,  the  space 
which  "it  describes,  and  the  time  employ- 
ed in  its  description.  He  treats  also  of 
accelerated  motion,  considers  all  bodies  as 
heavy,  and  composed  of  heavy  parts,  and 
infers  that  the  total  weight  of  the  body  is 
proportional  to  the  number  of  the  parti- 
cles of  which  it  is  Composed.  On  this 
subject  he  reasons  in  the  following  man- 
ner:  "  As  the  weight  of  a  body  is  a  power 
always  the  same  in  quantity,  and  as  it 
constantly  acts  without  interruption,  the 
body  must  be  continually  receiving  from 
it  equal  impulses  in  equal  and  successive 
instants  of  time.  When  the  body  is  pre- 
vented from  falling,  by  being  placed  on  a 
table,  its  weight  is  incessantly  impelling 
it  downwards  ;  but  these  impulses  are  de- 
stroyed by  the  resistance  of  the  table, 
which  prevents  it  from  yielding  to  them. 
But  where  the  body  falls  freely,  the  im- 
pulses which  it  perpetually  receives  are 
perpetually  accumulating,  and  remain  in 
the  body  unchanged  in  every  respect, 
except  the  diminution  which  they  expe- 
rience from  the  resistance  of  the  air : 
hence  it  follows,  that  a  body  falling  free- 
ly is  uniformly  accelerated,  or  receives 
equal  increments  of  velocity  in  equal 
times.  He  then  demonstrated  that  the 
time  in  which  any  space  is  described  by 
a  motion  uniformly  accelerated  from  rest. 


MECHANICS. 


is  eqftal  to  the  time  in  which  the  same 
Space  would  be  described  by  an  uniform 
equable  motion,  with  half  the  final  velo- 
city of  the  accelerated  motion,  and  that 
in  every  motion  uniformly  accelerated 
from  rest,  the  spaces  described  are  in  the 
duplicate  ratio  of  the  times  of  description : 
after  this  he  applied  the  doctrine  to  the 
ascent  and  descent  of  bodies  on  inclined 
planes.  For  a  more  particular  account 
we  may  refer  to  Dr.  KeiPs  "  Physics." — 
Under  the  articles  CENTRE  of  gravity, 
DYNAMICS,  ELASTICITY,  FORCE,  GRAVITA- 
TION^ MOTIOX,  &c.  will  be  found  much 
relating  to  the  doctrine  of  mechanics  ;  we 
shall  therefore  in  this  place  chiefly  treat 
of  the  mechanical  powers,  which  are 
usually  reckoned  six  in  number :  viz.  thfr 
lever;  the  wheel  and  axis,  or,  as  it  is  fre- 
quently called,  "  the  axis  in  peritrochi  o ;" 
the  pulley ;  the  inclined  plane ;  the 
wedge;  and  the  screw.  Some  writers  on 
this  subject  reduce  the  six  to  two,  viz.  the 
lever,  and  the  inclined  plane;  the  pulley, 
and  wheel  and  axis  being,  in  their  estima- 
tion, assemblages  of  the  lever ;  and  the 
wedge  and  the  screw  being  modifications 
of  the  inclined  plane. 

When  two  forces  act  against  each 
other,  by  the  intervention  of  a  machine, 
the  one  is  denominated  the  power,  and 
the  other  the  weight.  The  weight  is 
the  resistance  to  be  overcome,  or  the  ef- 
fect to  be  produced.  The  power  is  the 
force,  whether  animate  or  inanimate, 
which  is  employd  to  overcome  that  resist- 
ance, or  to  produce  the  required  effect. 
The  power  and  weight  are  said  to  ba- 
lance each  other,  or  to  be  in  equilibrio, 
when  the  eftbrt  of  the  one  to  produce 
motion  in  one  direction,  is  equal  to  the 
effort  of  the  other  to  produce  it  in  the 
opposite  direction;  or  when  the  weight 
opposes  that  degree  of  resistance  which 
is  precisely  required  to  destroy  the  action 
of  the  power.  The  power  of  a  machine  is 
calculated  when  it  is  in  a  state  of  equilibri- 
um. Having  discovered  what  quantity  of 
power  will  be  requisite  for  this  purpose, 
it  will  then  be  necessary  to  add  so  much 
more,  viss.  one-fourth,  or,  perhaps,  one- 
third,  to  overcome  the  friction  of  the  ma- 
chine,  and  give  it  motion. 

The  lever  is  the  simplest  of  all  ma- 
Chines,  and  is  a  straight  bar  of  iron,  wood, 
or  other  material,  supported  on,  and 
moveable  about  a  prop  called  the  fulcrum, 
in  the  lever,  there  are  three  circum- 
stances to  be  principally  attended  to  :  1. 
The  fulcrum,  or  prop,  by  which  it  is  sup- 
ported, or  on  which  it  turns  as  a  centre  of 
•notion  :  2.  The  power  to  raise  and  sup- 
porf  ('->.-  "-^  in-lit  •  -j,  The  resistance  or 


weight  to  be  raised  or  sustained  The 
points  of  suspension  are  those  points 
where  the  weights  really  are,  or  from 
which  they  hang  freely.  The  power  and 
the  weight  are  always  supposed  to  act  at 
right  angles  to  the  lever,  except  it  be 
otherwise  expressed.  The  lever  is  distin- 
guished into  three  sorts,  according  to  the 
different  situations  of  the  fulcrum,  or 
prop,  and  the  power,  with  respect  to 
each  other.  1.  When  the  prop  is  placed 
between  the  power  and  the  weight,  as 
in  steel-yards,  scissars,  pincers,  &c.  2. 
When  the  prop  is  at  one  end  of  the  lever, 
the  power  at  the  other,  and  the  weight 
between  them,  as  in  cutting  knives,  fast- 
ened at,  or  near  the  point  of  the  blade  ; 
also  in  oars  moving  a  boat,  the  water  be- 
ing the  fulcrum.  3.  When  the  prop  is  at 
one  end,  the  weight  at  the  other,  ami 
the  power  applied  between  them,  as  in 
tongs,  sheers,  &c. 

The  lever  of  the  first  kind  is  principally 
used  for  loosening  large  stones;  or  to  raise 
great  weights  to  small  heights,  in  order 
to  get  ropes  under  them,  or  other  means 
of  raising  them  to  still  greater  heights  :  it 
is  the  most  common  species  of  lever. 
ABC  (Plate  I.  Mechanics,  fig.  1.)  is  a. 
lever  of  this  kind,  in  which  F  is  the  ful- 
crum, A  the  end  at  which  the  power  is 
applied,  and  C  the  end  where  the  weight 
acts.  To  find  when  an  equilibrium  will 
take  place  between  the  power  and  the 
weight,  in  this  as  well  as  in  every  other 
species  of  lever,  we  must  observe,  that, 
when  the  momenta,  or  quantities  of  force, 
in  two  bodies  are  equal,  they  will  balance 
each  other.  No\v,  let  us  consider  when 
this  will  take  place  in  the  lever.  Suppose 
the  lever  AB,  fig.  2,  to  be  turned  on  its 
axis,  or  fulcrum,  so  as  to  come  into  the 
situation  DC ;  as  the  end  D  is  farthest 
from  the  centre  of  motion,  and  as  it  has 
moved  through  the  arch  AD  in  the  same 
time  as  the  endB  moved  through  the  arch 
BC,  it  is  evident  that  the  velocity  of  AB 
must  have  been  greater  than  that  of  B. 
But  the  momenta  being  the  products  of 
the  quantities  of  matter  multiplied  into  the 
velocities,  the  greater  the  velocity,  the 
less  the  quantity  of  matter  to  obtain  the 
same  product.  Therefore,-  as  the  velocity 
of  A  is  the  greatest,  it  will  require  less 
matter  to  produce  an  equilibrium  than  B. 
Let  us  now  examine  how  much  more 
weight  B  will  require  than  A,  to  balance. 
As  the  radii  of  circles  are  in  proportion 
to  their  circumferences,  they  are  also  pro- 
portionate to  similar  parts  of  them ;  there- 
fore, as  the  arches,  AD,  CB,  are  similar, 
the  radius,  or  arm,  DE,  bears  the  same 
proportion  to  EG  that  the  arch  AD 


MECHANICS. 


to  CB.  But  the  arches  AD  and  CB  repre- 
sent the  velocities  of  the  ends  of  the  lever, 
because  they  are  the  spaces  which  they 
moved  over  in  the  same  time  ;  therefore 
the  arms  DE  and  EC  may  also  represent 
these  velocities.  Hence,  an  equilibrium 
will  take  place,  when  the  length  of  the 
arm  AE,  multiplied  into  the  power  A, 
shall  equal  EB,  multiplied  into  the  weight 
B;  and,  consequently,  that  the  shorter  EB 
is,  the  greater  mus't  be  the  weight  B  ; 
that  is,  the  power  and  the  weight  must 
be  to  each  other  inversely,  as  their  dis- 
tances from  the  fulcrum.  Thus,  suppose 
AE,  the  distance  of  the  power  from  the 
prop,  to  be  twenty  inches,  and  EB,  the 
distance  of  the  weight  from  the  prop,  to 
be  eight  inches,  also  the  weight  to  be 
raised  at  B  to  be  five  pounds  ;  then  the 
power  to  be  applied  at  A,  must  be  two 
pounds;  because  the  distance  of  the 
weight  from  the  fulcrum  eig'ht,  multipli- 
ed into  the  weight  five,  makes  forty ; 
therefore  twenty,  the  distance  of  the 
power  from  the  prop,  must  be  multiplied 
by  two,  to  get  an  equal  product ;  which 
will  produce  an  equilibrium. 

The  second  kind  of  lever,  when  the 
weight  is  between  the  fulcrum  and  the 
power,  is  represented  by  fig.  3,  in  which 
A  is  the  fulcrum,  B  the  weight,  and  C  the 
power.  The  advantage  gained  by  this 
lever,  as  in  the  first,  is  as  great  as  the  dis- 
tance of  the  power  from  the  prop  ex- 
ceeds the  distance  of  the  weight  from  it. 
Thus,  if  the  point  a,  on  which  the  power 
acts,  be  seven  times  as  far  from  A  as  the 
point  £,  on  which  the  weight  acts,  then 
one  pound  applied  at  C  will  raise  seven 
pounds  at  B.  This  lever  shews  the  rea- 
son why  two  men  carrying  a  burden  upon 
a  stick  between  them,  bear  shares  of  the 
burden,  which  are  to  one  another  in  the 
inverse  proportion  of  their  distances  from 
it. 

It  is  likewise  applicable  to  the  case  of 
two  horses  of  unequal  strength  to  be  so 
yoked,  as  that  each  horse  may  draw  a 
part  proportionable  to  his  strength ; 
which  is  done  by  so  dividing  the  beam 
they  pull,  that  the  point  of  traction  may 
be  as  much  nearer  to  the  stronger  horse 
than  to  the  weaker,  as  the  strength  of 
the  former  exceeds  that  of  the  latter.  To 
this  kind  of  lever  may  be  reduced  rud- 
ders of  ships,  doors  turning  upon  hinges, 
Sec.  The  hinges  being  the  centre  of 
motion,  the  hand  applied  to  the  lock  is 
the  power,  while  the  door  is  the  weight 
to  be  moved. 

If  in  this  lever  we  suppose  the  power 
and  weight  to  change  places,  so  that  the 
power  may  be  between  the  weight  and 


the  prop,  it  will  become  a  lever  of  the 
third  kind ;  in  which,  that  there  maybe 
a  balance  between  the  power  and' the 
weight,  the  intensity  of  the  power  must 
exceed  the  intensity  of  the  weight  just 
as  much  as  the  distance  of  the  weight 
from  the  prop  exceeds  the  distance  of 
the  power.  Thus,  let  E,  fig  4,  be  the 
prop  of  the  lever  EF,  and  W  a  weight  of 
one  pound,  placed  three  times  as  far  from 
the  prop  as  the  power  P  acts  at  F,  by  the 
cord  going  over  the  fixed  pulley  D  ;  in 
this  case,  the  power  must  be  equal  to 
three  pounds,  in  order  to  support  the 
weight  of  one  pound.  To  this  sort  of 
lever  are  generally  referred  the  bones  of 
a  man's  arm  ;  for  when  he  lifts  a  weight 
by  the  hand,  the  muscle  that  exerts  its 
force  to  raise  that  weight,  is  fixed  to  the 
bone  about  one  tenth  part  as  far  below 
the  elbow  as  the  hand  is.  And  the  elhow 
being  the  centre  round  which  the  lower 
part  of  the  arm  turns,  the  muscle  must 
therefore  exert  a  force  ten  times  as  gi*eat 
as  the  weight  that  is  raised.  As  this  kind 
of  lever  is  a  disadvantage  to  the  moving- 
power,  it  is  used  as  little  as  possible  ;  but 
in  some  cases  it  cannot  be  avoided ;  such 
as  that  of  a  ladder,  which  being  fixed 
at  one  end,  is  by  the  strength  of  a  man's 
arms  reared  against  a  wall. 

What  is  called  the  hammer-lever,  dif- 
fers in  nothing  but  its  form  from  a  lever 
of  the  first  kind.  Its  name  is  derived 
from  its  use,  that  of  drawing  a  nail  out  of 
wood  by  a  hammer.  Suppose  the  shaft 
of  a  hammer  to  be  five  times  as  long  as 
the  iron  part  which  draws  the  nail,  the 
lower  part  resting  on  the  board  as  a  ful- 
crum ;  then,  by  pulling  backwards  the 
end  of  the  shaft,  a  man  will  draw  a  nail 
with  one-fifth  part  of  the  power  that  he 
must  use  to  pull  it  out  with  a  pair  of  pin- 
cers ;  in  which  case,  the  nail  would  move 
as  fast  as  his  hand ;  but  with  the  hammer, 
the  hand  moves  five  times  as  much  as  the 
nail  by  the  time  that  the  nail  is  drawn  out. 
Hence  it  is  evident,  that  in  every  species  of 
lever  there  will  be  an  equilibrium,  when 
the  power  is  to  the  weight  as  the  distance 
of  the  weight  from  the  fulcrum  is  to  the 
distance  of  the  power  from  the  fulcrum. 
In  experiments  with  the  lever  we  take 
care  that  the  parts  are  perfectly  balanced 
before  the  weights  and  powers  are  applied. 
The  bar,  therefore,  has  the  short  end  so 
much  thicker  than  the  long  arm,  as  will 
be  sufficient  to  balance  it  on  the  prop. 

If  several  levers  be  combined  tog-ether 
in  such  a  manner,  as  that  a  weight  being 
appended  to  the  first  lever  may  be  sup- 
ported by  a  power  applied  to  the  last, 
as  in  fig.  5,  which  consists  of  three  levers 


MECHANICS. 


of  the  first  kind,  and  is  so  contrived, 
that  a  power  applied  at  the  point  JL  of  the 
lever  C,  may  sustain  a  weight  at  the  point 
S  of  the  lever  A,  the  power  must  here  be 
to  tiie  weight,  in  a  ratio,  or  proportion, 
compounded  of  the  several  ratios,  which 
those  powers  that  can  sustain  the  weight 
by  the  help  of  each  lever,  when  used 
singly  and  apart  from  the  rest,  have  to  the 
weight.  For  instance,  if  the  power 
which  can  sustain  the  weight  W  by  the 
help  of  the  lever  A,  be  to  the  weight  as 
1  to  5  ;  and  if  the  power  which  can  sus- 
tain the  same  weight,  by  the  lever  B 
alone,  be  to  the  weight  as  1  to  4;  and  if  the 
power  which  could  sustain  the  same 
weight  by  the  lever  C,  be  to  the  weight 
as  1  to  5  ;  then  the  power  which  will  sus- 
tain the  weight  by  help  of  the  three  le- 
vers joined  together,  will  be  to  the 
weight  in  a  proportion  consisting  of  the 
several  proportions  multiplied  together, 
of  1  to  5, 1  to  4,  and  1  to  5 ;  that  is  as  1  : 
3  X4  X  5,  or  of  1  :  100.  For  since,  in 
the  lever  A,  a  power  equal  to  one-fifth  of 
the  weight  W,  pressing  down  the  lever  at 
L,  is  sufficient  to  balance  the  weight,  and 
since  it  is  the  same  thing  whether  that 
power  be  applied  to  the  lever  A  at  L,  or 
the  lever  B  at  S,  the  point  S  bearing  on 
the  point  L,  a  power  equal  to  one-fifth  of 
the  weight  P,  being  applied  to  the  point 
S  of  the  lever  B,  will  support  the  weight ; 
but  one-fourth  of  the  same  power  being 
applied  to  the  point  L  of  the  lever  B, 
and  pushing  the  same  upward,  will  as  ef- 
fectually depress  the  point  S  of  the  same 
Jever,  as  if  the  whole  power  were  ap- 
plied at  S  ;  consequently  a  power  equal 
to  one-fourth  of  one-fifth,  that  is  one-twen- 
tieth of  the  weight  P,  being  applied  to 
the  point  L  of  the  lever  B,  and  pushing 
up  the  same,  will  support  the  weight :  in 
like  manner,  it  matters  not  whether  that 
force  be  applied  to  the  point  L  of  the  le- 
ver B,  or  to  the  point  S  of  the  lever  C, 
since,  if  S  be  raised,  L,  which  rests  on  it, 
must  be  raised  also ;  but  one-fifth  of  the 
power  applied  at  the  point  L  of  the  lever 
C,  and  pressing  it  downwards,  will  as  ef- 
fectually raise  the  point  S  of  the  same 
lever,  as  if  the  whole  power  were  appli- 
ed at  S,  and  pushed  up  the  same;  conse- 
quently a  power  equal  to  one-fifth  of  one- 
twentieth,  that  is,  one  hundredth  part  of 
the  weight  P,  being  applied  to  the  point 
L  of  the  lever  C,  will  balance  the  weight 
at  the  point  S  of  the  lever  A.  This  me- 
thod of  combining  levers  is  frequently 
used  in  machines  and  instruments,  and  is 
of  great  service,  either  in  obtaining  a 
VOL.  IV. 


greater  power,  or  in  applying  it  with 
more  convenience. 

The  balance,  an  instrument  of  very 
extensive  use  in  comparing  the  weights 
of  bodies,  is  a  lever  of  the  first  kind, 
whose  arms  are  of  equal  length.  The 
points  from  which  the  weights  are  suspen- 
ded being  equally  distant  from  the  cen- 
tre of  motion,  will  move  witli  equal  velo- 
city ;  consequently  if  equal  weights  be 
applied,  their  momenta  will  be  equal,  and 
the  balance  will  remain  in  equilibrio.  In 
order  to  have  a  balance  as  perfect  as  possi- 
ble, it  is  necessary  to  attend  to  the  follow- 
ing circumstances :  1.  The  arms  of  the 
beam  ought  to  be  exactly  equal,  both  as 
to  weight  and  length.  2.  The  points  from 
which  the  scales  are  suspended,  should 
be  in  a  right  line,  passing  through  the 
centre  of  gravity  of  the  beam ;  for  by  this, 
the  weights  will  act  directly  against  each 
other,  and  no  part  of  either  will  be  lost, 
on  account  of  any  oblique  direction.  3. 
If  the  fulcrum  be  placed  in  the  centre  of 
gravity  of  the  beam,  and  if  the  fulcrum 
and  the  points  of  suspension  be  in  the 
same  right  line,  the  balance  will  have  no 
tendency  to  one  position  more  than  ano- 
ther, but  will  rest  in  any  position  it  may  be 
placed  in,  whether  the  scales  be  on  or  off, 
empty  or  loaded.  If  the  centre  of  gravi- 
ty of  the  beam,  when  level,  be  immedi- 
ately above  the  fulcrum,  it  will  overset  by 
the  smallest  action  ;  that  is,  the  end  which 
is  lowest  will  descend  ;  and  it  will  do  this 
with  more  swiftness,  the  higher  the  cen- 
tre of  gravity  be,  and  the  less  the  points 
of  suspension  be  loaded.  But  if  the  cen- 
tre of  gravity  of  the  beam  be'immediate- 
ly  below  the  fulcrum,  the  beam  will  not 
rest  in  any  position  but  when  level ;  and 
if  disturbed  from  that  position  and  then 
left  at  liberty,  it  will  vibrate,  and  at  last 
come  to  rest  on  the  level.  In  a  balance, 
therefore,  the  fulcrum  ought  always  to  be 
placed  a  little  above  the  centre  of  gravity. 
Its  vibrations  will  be  quicker,  and  its  ho- 
rizontal tendency  stronger,  the  lower  the 
centre  of  gravity,  and  the  less  the  weight 
upon  the  points  of  suspension.  4.  The 
friction  of  the  beam  upon  the  axis  ought 
to  be  as  little  as  possible  ;  because,  should 
the  friction  be  great,  it  will  require  a  con- 
siderable force  to  overcome  it;  upon 
which  account,  though  one  weight  should 
a  little  exceed  the  other,  it  will  not  pre- 
ponderate, the  excess  not  being  sufficient 
to  overcome  the  friction,  and  bear  down 
the  beam.  5.  The  pivots,  which  form 
the  axis  or  fulcrum,  should  be  in  a  straight 
line,  and  at  right  angles  to  the  beam.  6, 

S   s 


MECHANICS. 


The  arms  should  be  as  long  as  possible, 
relatively  to  their  thickness,  and  the  pur- 
poses  for  which  they  are  intended,  as  the 
longer  they  are  the  more  sensible  is  the 
balance.  They  should  also  be  made  as 
stiff  and  inflexible  as  possible  ;  for  if  the 
beam  be  too  weak,  it  will  bend,  and  be- 
come untrue.  7.  The  ring's,  or  the  piece 
on  which  the  axis  bears,  should  be  hard 
and  well  polished,  parallel  1o  each  other, 
and  of  an  oval  form,  that  the  axis  may 
always  keep  its  proper  bearing1,  or  remain 
always  at  the  lowest  point.  8.  If  the 
arms  of  a  balance  be  unequal,  the  weights 
in  equipoise  will  be  unequal  in  the  same 
proportion.  The  equality  of  the  arms  is 
of  use,  in  scientific  pursuits,  chiefly  in  the 
making  of  weights  by  bisection.  A  ba- 
lance with  unequal  arms  will  weigh  as  ac- 
curately as  another  of  the  same  work- 
manship with  equal  arms,  provided  the 
standard  weight  itself  be  first  counter- 
poised, then  taken  out  of  the  scale,  and 
the  thing  to  be  weighed  be  put  into  the 
scale,  and  adjusted  against  the  counter- 
poise. Or,  when  proportional  quantities 
only  are  considered,  the  bodies  under  ex- 
amination may  be  weighed  against  the 
weights,  taking  care  always  to  put  the 
weights  in  the  same  scale ;  for  then, 
though  the  bodies  may  not  be  really  equal 
to  the  weights,  yet  their  proportions 
amongst  each  other  will  be  the  same  as  if 
they  had  been  accurately  so.  9.  Very 
delicate  balances  are  not  only  useful  in 
nice  experiments,  but  are  likewise  much 
more  expeditious  than  others  in  common 
weighing.  If  a  pair  of  scales,  with  a  cer- 
tain load,  be  barely  sensible  to  one-tenth 
of  a  grain,  it  will  require  a  considerable 
time  to  ascertain  the  weight  to  that  de- 
gree of  accuracy,  because  the  turn  must 
be  observed  several  times  over,  and  is  ve- 
ry small.  But  if  no  greater  accuracy 
were  required,  and  scales  were  used, 
which  would  turn  with  one-hundredth  of 
a  grain,  a  tenth  of  a  grain  more  or  less 
would  make  so  great  a  difference  in  the 
turn,  that  it  would  be  seen  immediately. 
The  statera,  or  Roman  steel-yard,  is  a 
lever  of  the  first  kind,  and  is  used  for 
finding  the  weights  of  different  bodies,  by 
one  single  weight  placed  at  dhTerent  dis- 
tances from  the  prop  or  centre  of  motion 
D,  fig.  6.  _  For,  the  shorter  arm  D  (i  is  of 
such  a  weight  as  exactly  to  counterpoise 
the  longer  arm  D  X.  If  this  arm  be  divid- 
ed into  as  many  equal  parts  as  it  will 
contain,  each  equal  to  G  D,  the  single 
weight  P  (which  we  may  suppose  to  be 
one  pound)  will  serve  for  weighing  any 
thing  as  heavy  as  itself,  or  as  many  times 


heavier  as  there  are  divisions  in  the  arm 
1)X,  or  any  quantity  between  its  own 
weight  and  that  quantity.  As  for  example, 
if  IJ  be  one  pound,  and  placed  at  the  first 
division  1  in  the  arm  I)  X,  it  will  balance 
one  pound  in  the  scale  at  W  ;  if  it  be  re- 
moved to  the  second  di vision  at  2,  it  will 
balance  two  pounds  in  the  scale  ;  if  to 
the  third,  three  pounds  ;  and  so  on  to  the 
end  of  the  arm  D  X.  If  any  of  these  in- 
tegral divisions  be  subdividedinto  as  many 
equal  pans  as  a  pound  contains  ounces, 
and  the  weight  P  be  placed  at  any  of 
ihcse  subdivisions,  so  as  to  counterpoise 
what  is  in  the  scale,  the  pounds  and  odd 
ounces  therein  will  by  that  means  be  as- 
certained. In  the  Danish  arid  Swedish 
steel-\ard,  the  body  to  be  weighed,  and 
the  constant  weight,  are  fixed  at  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  steel-yard,  but  the  point 
oi  suspension  or  centre  of  motion  moves 
along  ihe  lever  till  the  equilibrium  takes 
place  The  centre  of  motion  therefore 
shews  the  weight  of  the  body. 

The  wheel  and  axle,  or  axis  in  peritro- 
chio,  is  a  machine  much  used,  and  is  made 
in  a  variety  of  forms.  It  consists  of  a 
wheel  witii  an  axle  fixed  to  it,  so  as  to 
turn  round  with  it;  the  power  being  ap- 
plied at  the  circumference  of  the  wheel, 
the  weig-Jit  to  be  raised  is  fastened  to  a. 
rope  which  coils  round  the  axle. 

A  B  (fig.  7.)  is  a  wheel,  and  C  D  an  ax- 
le fixed  to  it,  and  which  moves  round  with 
it.  If  the  rope  which  goes  round  the 
wheel  be  pulled,  and  the  wheel  turned 
once  round,  it  is  evident  that  as  much  rope 
will  be  drawn  olV  as  the  circumference 
of  the  wheel ;  but  while  the  wheel  turns 
once  round,  the  axle  turns  once  round; 
and  consequent]}  the  rope  by  which  the 
weight  is  suspended  will  wind  once  round 
the  axis,  and  the  weight  will  be  raised 
through  a  space  equal  to  the  circumfer- 
ence of  the  axis.  The  velocity  of  the 
power,  therefore,  will  be  to  thut  of  th-.- 
weight,  as  the  circumference  of  the  wheel 
to  that  of  the  axis.  In  order,  there-fore. 
that  the  power  and  tlie  weight  may  be  in 
equiiibrio,  the  power  must  be  to  the 
weight  as  the  circumference  of  the  wheel 
to  that  of  the  axis.  Circles  being  to- 
each  other  as  their  respective  diameters, 
the  power  is  to  the  weight,  as  the  diame- 
ter also  of  the  axis  to  that  of  the  wheel. 
Thus,  suppose  the  diameter  of  ilie  wheel 
to  be  eight  inches,  and  the  diameter  of 
the  axis  to  be  one  inch  ;  then  one  ounce- 
acting  as  tiie  power  P,  w7ill  balance  eight 
ounces  ;is  a  weight  W  ;  and  a  small  a 
tional  force  will  cause  the  wheel  to  turn 
with  its  axis,  and  raise  the  weight  -. 


MECHANICS. 


fbr  every  inch  which  the  weight  rises  the 
power  will  increase  eight  inches. 

The  wheel  and  axis  may  be  considered 
as  a  kind  of  perpetual  lever,  (fig1.  8.)  of" 
which  the  fulcrum  is  the  centre  of  the 
axis,  and  the  long  and  short  arms  the  di- 
ameter of  the  wheel  and  the  diameter  of 
the  axis.  From  this  it  is  evident,  that 
the  longer  the  wheel,  and  the  smaller  the 
axis,  the  stronger  is  the  power  of  this 
machine;  but  then  the  weight  must  rise 
slower  in  proportion.  A  capstan  is  a  cy- 
linder of  wood,  with  holes  in  it,  into 
which  are  put  bars,  or  levers,  to  turn  it 
round  ;  these  av-e  like  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel  without  the  rim.  Sometimes  the 
axis  is  turned  by  a  winch  fastened 
to  it,  which,  in  this  respect,  serves  for 
a  wheel,  and  is  more  powerful,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  largeness  of  the  circle  it 
describes,  compared  with  the  diameter 
of  the  axle.  When  the  parts  of  the  axis 
differ  in  thickness,  and  weights  are  sus- 
pended at  the  different  parts,  they  may 
be  sustained  by  one  and  the  same  power 
applied  to  the  circumference  of  the 
wheel,  provided  the  product  arising  from 
the  multiplication  of  the  power  into  the 
diameter  of  the  wheel,  be  equal  to  the 
sum  of  the  products  arising  from  the 
multiplication  of  the  several  weights  into 
the  diameters  of  those  parts  of  the  axis 
from  which  they  are  suspended.  In  con- 
sidering the  theory  of  the  wheel  and 
axle,  we  have  supposed  the  rope  that 
goes  round  the  axis  to  have  no  sensible 
thickness  ;  but  as  in  practice  this  cannot 
be  the  case,  if  it  is  a  thick  rope,  or  if 
there  be  several  folds  of  it  round  the  axis, 
you  must  measure  to  the  middle  of  the 
outside  rope  to  obtain  the  diameter  of  the 
axis,  for  the  distance  of  the  weight  from 
the  centre  is  increased  by  the  coiling  up 
of  the  rope. 

If  teeth  are  cnt  in  the  circumference 
of  a  wheel,  and  if  they  work  in  the  teeth 
of  another  wheel  of  the  same  size  as  fig. 
9.  it  is  evident  that  both  the  wheels  will 
revolve  in  the  same  time  ;  and  the  weight 
appended  to  the  axle  of  the  wheel  B,  will 
be  raised  in  the  same  time  as  if  the  axle 
had  been  fixed  to  the  wheel  A.  But  if 
the  teeth  of  the  second  wheel  be  made 
to  work  in  teeth  made  in  the  axle  of  the 
first,  as  at  fig.  10.  as  every  part  oi  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  second  wheel  is  ap- 
plied successively  to  the  circumference 
of  the  axle  of  the  first,  and  as  the  former 
is  much  greater  than  the  latter,  it  is  evi- 
dent, that  the  first  wheel  must  go  round 
as  many  times  more  than  the  second,  as 
the  circumference  of  the  second  wheel 
exceeds  that  of  the  first  axle.  In  order 


to  a  balance  here,  the  power  must  be  to 
the  weight,  as  the  product  of  the  circum- 
ferences, or  diameters  of  the  two  axles 
multiplied  together,  is  to  the  circumfe- 
rences or  diameters  of  the  two  wheels. 
This  will  become  sufficiently  clear,  if  it 
be  considered  as  a  compound  lever, 
which  was  explained  above.  Instead  of 
a  combination  of  two  wheels,  three  or 
four  wheels  may  work  in  each  other,  or 
any  number  ;  and  by  thus  increasing  the 
number  of  wheels,  or  by  proportioning 
the  wheels  to  the  axis,  any  degree  of  pow- 
er may  be  acquired.  To  this  sort  of  en- 
gine belong  all  cranes  for  raising  great 
weights  ;  and  in  this  case  the  wheel  may 
have  cogs  ail  round  it,  instead  of  handles  ; 
and  a  small  lanthorn,  or  trundle,  may  be 
made  to  work  in  the  cogs,  and  be  turned 
by  a  winch  ;  which  will  make  the  power 
of  the  engine  to  exceed  the  power  of  the 
man  who  works  it,  as  much  as  t3ie  num- 
ber of  revolutions  of  the  winch  exceeds 
those  of  the  axle,  when  multiplied  by  the 
excess  of  the  length  of  the  winch  above 
the  length  of  the  semi-diameter  of  the 
axle,  added  to  the  semi-diameter  or  half 
thickness  of  the  rope,  by  which  the 
weight  is  drawn  up.  See  CRANK. 

The  construction  of  the  main-spring- 
box  of  the  fusee  of  a  watch,  round  which 
the  chain  is  coiled,  will  illustrate  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  wheel  and  axis.  The  box 
may  be  considered  as  the  wheel,  and  the 
fusee  the  axle  or  pinion,  to  which  the 
chain  communicates  the  motion  of  the 
box.  The  power  resides  in  the  spring 
wound  round  an  axis  in  the  centre  of  the 
box,  and  the  weight  is  applied  to  the  low- 
er circumference  of  the  fusee.  As  the 
force  of  the  spring  is  greatest  when 
newlv  wound  up,  a?id  gradually  decreases 
as  it  unwinds  itself,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
fusee  should  have  different  radii,  so  that 
the  chain  may  act  upon  the  smallest  part 
of  the  fusee  when  its  force  is  greatest, 
and  upon  the  largest  part  of  the  fusee 
when  its  force  is  least ;  for  the  equable 
motion  of  the  watch  requires,  that  the 
inequality  in  the  action  of  the  spring* 
should  be  counteracted  so  as  to  produce 
an  uniform  effect. 

The  pulley  is  a  small  wheel  turning  on 
an  axis,  with  a  drawing  rope  passing  over 
it;  the  small  wheel  is  usually  called  a 
sheeve,  and  is  so  fixed  in  a  box,  or  block, 
as  to  be  moveable  round  a  pin  passing 
through  its  centre.  Pullies  are  of  two 
kinds';  fixed,  which  do  not  move  out  of 
their  places ;  and  moveable,  which  rise 
and  fall  with  the  weight. 

When  a  pulley  is  fixed,  as  Plate  II 
Mechanics,  fig-.  11.  two  equal  weights 


MECHANICS. 


suspended  to  the  ends  of  a  rope  passing1 
over  it  will  balance  each  other,  for  tl*ey 
stretch  the  rope  equally,  and  if  either  ot 
them  be  pulled  down  through  any  given 
space,  tiie  other  will  rise  through  an 
equal  space  in  the  same  time  ;  and  con- 
sequently, as  the  velocities  of  'both  are 
equal,  they  must  balance  each  other. 
Tiiis  kind  of  pulley,  therefore,  gives  no 
mechanical  advantage  ;  but  its  use  con- 
sists in  changing  the  direction  of  the  pow- 
er, and  sometimes  enabling  it  to  be  ap- 
plied with  more  convenience.  By  it,  a 
man  may  raise  a  weight  to  any  point,  as 
the  top  of  a  building,  without  moving 
fr)-n  the  place  he  is  in  ;  whereas,  other- 
wise, he  would  have  been  obliged  to  as- 
cend with  the  weight ;  it  also  enables  se- 
veral men  together  to  apply  their  strength 
to  the  weight  by  means  of  the  rope. 
The  moveable  pulley  represented  at  A 
(fig.  12.)  is  fixed  to  the  weight  W,  and 
rises  and  falls  with  it.  In  comparing  this 
to  a  lever,  the  fulcrum  must  be  consider- 
ed as  at  A,  the  weight  acts  upon  the  cen- 
tre c,  and  the  power  is  applied  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  lever  D.  The  power, 
therefore,  being  twice  as  far  from  the 
fulcrum  as  the  weight  is,  the  proportion 
,.  between  the  power  and  weight,  in  order 
to  balance  each  other,  must  be  as  1  to  2. 
Whence  it  appears,  that  the  use  of  this 
pulley  doubles  the  power,  and  that  a  man 
may  raise  twice  as  much  by  it  as  by  his 
strength  alone.  Again,  every  moveable 
pulley  hangs  by  two  ropes  equally  stretch- 
ed, and  which  must,  consequently,  bear 
equal  parts  of  the  weight  ;  but  the  rope 
A  B  being  made  fast  at  B,  half  the  weight 
is  sustained  by  it,  and  the  other  part  of  the 
rope,  to  which  the  power  is  applied,  lias 
but  half  the  weight  to  support ;  conse- 
quently, the  advantage  gained  by  this  pul- 
ley is  as  2  to  1.  When  the  upper  and 
fixed  block  contains  two  pullies,  which 
only  turn  upon  their  axis,  and  the  lower 
moveable  block  contains  also  two,  which 
not  only  turn  on  their  axis,  but  rise  with 
the  weight  F  (fig.  13.)  the  advantage 
gained  is  as  4  to  1.  For  each  lower  pulley 
will  be  acted  upon  by  an  equal  part  of 
the  weight ;  and  because  in  each  pulley 
that  moves  with  the  weight  a  double  in- 
crease of  power  is  gained,  the  force  by 
which  F  may  be  sustained  will  be  equal 
to  half  the  weight  divided  by  the  number 
of  lower  pullies  ;  that  is,  as  twice  the 
number  of  lower  pullies  is  to  1,  so  is  the 
weight  suspended  to  the  power.  But  if 
the  extremity  C  (fig.  14.)  be  fixed  to  the 
lower  block,  it  will  sustain  half  as  much 
as  a  pulley ;  consequently,  here  tke  rule 
will  bej  as  twice  the  number  of  pullies 


adding  unity  is  to  1,  so  is  the  weig'ht  to 
the  power.  These  rules  hold  good,  what- 
ever may  be  the  number  of  pullies  in  the 
blocks.  If,  instead  of  one  rope  going 
round  all  the  pullies,  the  rope  belonging 
to  each  pulley  be  made  fast  at  top,  as  in 
fig.  15,  a  different  proportion  between 
the  power  and  the  weight  will  take  place. 
Here  it  is  evident,  that  each  pulley  dou- 
bles the  power ;  thus,  if  there  are  two 
pullies,  the  power  will  sustain  four  times 
tiie  weight;  if  three  pullies,  eight  times 
the  weight ;  if  four  pullies,  sixteen  times; 
and  so  on  :  that  is,  the  power  P,  of  lib, 
will  sustain  a  weight  W  of  16/6. 

When  puilies  in  blocks  are  placed  per- 
pendicularly under  each  other,  on  sepa- 
rate pins,  they  occupy  considerable  space, 
and  would  not  in  general  answer  ;  it  is, 
therefore,  common  to  place  all  the  pul- 
lies in  each  block  on  the  same  pin,  by  the 
side  of  each  other,  as  in  fig.  16.  but  the 
advantage  and  rule  for  the  power  are  the 
same  here  us  in  fig.  13  and  14.  A  pair 
of  blocks  with  the  rope  fastened  round 
it,  is  commonly  called  a  tackle. 

To  avoid,  in  a  great  measure,  the  fric- 
tion of  several  puilies  running  on  differ- 
ent pivots,  Mr.  James  White,  a  very  able 
mechanic,  invented  the  concentric  pulley, 
(fig.  17.)  for  which  lie  obtained  a  patent, 
O  and  R  are  two  brass  pullies  in  which 
grooves  are  cut ;  round  these  a  cord  is 
passed,  by  which  means  the  Iwo  answer 
the  same  purpose  of  so  many  distinct 
pullies  as  there  are  grooves ;  and  the  ad- 
vantage gained  is  found  by  doubling  the 
number  of  grooves  in  the  lower  block. 
In  this  case  the  advantage  gained  is  12, 
that  is,  a  power  of  12/£.  will  balance  a 
weight  of  144.  The  concentric  pulley 
removes  very  considerably  the  shaking 
motion  of  the  common  pulley,  as  well  as 
the  friction. 

The  inclined  plane  is  of  very  great  use 
in  rolling  up  heavy  bodies,  such  as  casks, 
wheel-barrows,  &c.  It  is  formed  by  plac- 
ing boards,  or  earth,  in  a  sloping  direc- 
tion. •  The  force  with  which  a  body  de- 
scends upon  an  inclined  plane  is  to  the 
force  of  its  absolute  gravity,  by  which  it 
would  descend  perpendicularly  in  free 
space,  as  the  height  of  the  plane  is  to  its 
length.  For  suppose  the  plane  A  B  (fig. 
18.)  to  be  parallel  to  the  horizon,  the  cy- 
linder C  will  keep  at  rest  on  any  pai't  of 
the  plane  where  it  is  laid.  If  the  plane 
be  placed  perpendicularly,  as  A  B.  (fig. 
19.)  the  cylinder  C  will  descend  with  its 
whole  force  of  gravity,  because  the  plane 
contributes  nothing  to  its  support  or  hin- 
drance ;  and  therefore  it  would  require 
a  power  equal  to  its  whole  weight  to  keep 


MECHANICS. 


it  from  descending.  Let  A  B  (fig-.  10.) 
be  a  plane  parallel  to  the  horizon,  and  A 
1)  a  plane  inclined  to  it  ;  and  suppose  the 
whole  length  A  D  to  be  four  times  as 
great  as  the  perpendicular  1)  B.  In  this 
case  the  cylinder  E  will  be  supported  up- 
on the  plane  I)  A;  and  kept  from  rolling1, 
by  a  power  equal  to  a  fourth  part  of  tlie 
weight  of  the  cylinder  ;  therefore  a 
weight  may  be  rolled  up  this  inclined 
plane,  by  a  third  part  of  the  power  which 
would  be  sufficient  to  draw  it  up  by  the 
side  of  an  upright  wall.  It  must  also  be 
evident,  that  the  less  the  angle  of  eleva- 
tion, or  the  gentler  the  ascent  is,  the 
greater  will  be  the  weight  which  a  given 
power  can  draw  up  ;  for  the  steeper  the 
inclined  plane  is,  the  less  does  it  support 
of  the  weight;  and  the  greater  the  ten- 
dency which  the  weight  has  to  roll ;  con- 
sequently, the  more  difficult  for  the  pow- 
er to  support  it :  the  advantage  gained  by 
this  mechanical  power,  therefore,  is  as 
great  as  its  length  exceeds  its  perpendi- 
cular height.  To  the  inclined  plane  may 
be  reduced  all  hatchets,  chisels,  and  other 
edge-to 

The  inclined  plane,  when  combined 
with  other  machinery,  is  often  of  great 
use  in  the  elevation  of  weights:  it  has 
been  likewise  made  use  of  in  the  late  Uuke 
of  Bridge  water's  canal.  After  Ihis  canal 
has  extended  about  40  miles  on  the  same 
level,  it  is  joined  to  a  subterraneous  na- 
vigation about  12  miles  long,  by  means  of 
an  inclined  plane,  and  this  subterraneous 
portion  is  again  connected  by  an  inclined 
plane  with  another  portion  100  feet  above 
jt.  This  plane  is  a  stratum  of  stone  which 
slopes  one  foot  in  four,  and  is  about  450 
feet  long.  The  boats  are  conveyed  from 
one  level  to  another  by  means  of  a  wind- 
lass, so  that  a  loaded  boat  descending 
along  the  plane  turns  the  axis  of  the  wind- 
lass,  and  raises  an  empty  boat. 

The  fifth  mechanical  power  or  machine 
is  the  wedge ;  which  mav  be  considered 
as  two  equally  inclined  planes,  joined  to- 
gether at  their  bases ;  then  D  G  (fig.  21.) 
is  the  whole  thickness  of  the  wedge  at  its 
back  ABGD,  where  the  power  is  applied  ; 
KF  is  the  depth  or  height  of  the  wedge  ; 
BF  the  length  of  one  of  its  sides  ;  and  OF 
is  its  sharp  eclg-e,  which  is  entered  into 
the  wood  intended  to  be  split,  by  the 
force  of  a  hammer  or  mallet  striking  per- 
pendicularly on  its  back.  Thus,  AB  (fig. 
22.)  is  a  wedge  driven  into  the  cleft  CED 
of  the  wood  FG.  When  the  wood  does 
not  cleave  at  any  distance  before  the 
wedge,  there  will  be  an  equilibrium  be- 
tween the  power  impelling  the  wedge 
downward  and  the  resistance  of  the  wood 


acting  against  the  two  sides  of  the  wedge, 
when  the  power  is  to  the  resistance  as 
half  the  thickness  of  the  wedge  at  ii:>  back 
is  to  the  length  of  either  of  its  sides  ;  be- 
cause the  resistance  then  acts  perpendi- 
cularly to  the  sides  of  the  wedge.  But 
when  the  resistance  on  each  side  acts  pa- 
rallel to  the  back,  the  power  that  balances 
the  resistances  on  both  sides  will  be,  as 
the  length  of  the  whole  back  of  the  wedge 
is  to  double  its  perpendicular  height. 

When  the  wood  cleaves  at  any  distance 
before  the  wedge  (as  it  generally  does) 
the  power  impelling  the  wedge  will  not 
be  to  the  resistance  of  the  wood  as  the 
length  on  the  back  of  the  wedge  is  to  the 
length  of  both  its  sides,  but  as  half  the 
length  of  the  back  is  to  the  length  of  ei- 
ther side  of  the  cleft,  estimated  from  the 
top  or  acting  part  of  the  wedge.  For,  if 
we  suppose  the  wedge  to  be  lengthened 
down  from  the  top  CE,  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cleft  at  D,  the  same  proportion  will  hold  ; 
namely,  that  the  power  will  be  to  the  re- 
sistance as  half  the  length  of  the  back  of 
the  wedge  is  to  the  length  of  either  of  its 
sides :  or,  which  amounts  to  the  same 
thing,  as  the  whole  length  of  the  back  is 
to  the  length  of  both  the  sides.  The 
wedge  is  a  very  great  mechanical  power, 
since  not  only  wood,  but  even  rocks,  can 
be  split  by  it ;  which  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  efVect  by  the  lever,  wheel,  and 
axle,  or  pulley  ;  for  the  force  of  the  blow, 
or  stroke,  shakes  the  cohering  parts,  and 
thereby  makes  them  separate  more  ea- 
sily. 

The  sixth  and  last  mechanical  power  is 
the  screw ;  which  cannot  properly  be 
called  a  simple  machine,  because  it  is  ne- 
ver used  without  the  application  of  a  le- 
ver or  winch  to  assist  in  turning  it ;  and 
then  it  becomes  a  compound  engine  of  a 
very  great  force,  either  in  pressing  the 
parts  of  bodies  closer  together,  or  in  rais- 
ing great  weights.  It  may  be  conceived 
to  be  made  by  cutting  a  piece  of  paper, 
AUC  (fig.  23.)  into  the  form  of  an  inclin- 
ed plane  or  half  wedge  ;  and  then  wrap- 
ping  it  round  a  cylinder  (fig.  24.)  the  edge 
of  the  paper  AC  will  form  a  spiral  line 
round  the  cylinder,  which  will  give  the 
thread  of  the  screw.  It  being  evident 
that  the  winch  must  turn  the  cylinder 
once  round,  before  the  weight  of  resist- 
ance can  be  moved  from  one  spiral  wind- 
ing to  another,  as  from  d  to  c  ;  therefore, 
as  much  as  the  circumference  of  a  circle 
described  by  the  handle  of  the  winch  is 
greater  than  the  interval  or  distance  be- 
tween the  spirals,  so  much  is  the  force  of 
the  screw.  Thus,  supposing  the  distance 
of  the  spirals  to  be  half"  an  inch,  and  the 


MKC 


MED 


length  of  the  winch  twelve  inches,  the 
circle  described  by  the  handle  of  the 
winch  where  the  power  acts,  will  be  76 
inches  nearly,  or  about  152  half  inches  ; 
and  consequently  152  times  as  great  as 
the  distance  between  the  spirals  ;  and 
therefore  a  power  at  the  handle,  whose 
intensity  is  equal  to  no  more  than  a  single 
pound,  will  balance  152  pounds  acting 
against  the  screw  ;  and  as  much  additional 
force  as  is  sufficient  to  overcome  the 
friction,  will  raise  the  152  pounds;  and 
the  velocity  of  the  power  will  be  to  the 
velocity  of  the  weight  as  152  to  1.  Hence 
it  appears,  that  the  longer  the  winch  is, 
and  the  nearer  the  spirals  are  to  one  ano- 
ther, so  much  the  greater  is  the  force  of 
the  screw. 

A  machine  for  shewing  the  force  or 
power,  of  the  screw  may  be  contrived  in 
the  following  manner :  let  the  wheel  C 
have  a  screw  (fig.  25.)  on  its  axis,  work- 
ing in  the  teeth  of  the  wheel  D,  which 
suppose  to  be  48  in  number,  tt  is  plain, 
that  for  every  time  the  wheel  C  and  screw 
are  turned  round  by  the  winch  A,  the 
wheel  D  will  be  moved  one  tooth  by  the 
screw ;  and  therefore,  in  48  revolutions 
of  the  winch,  the  wheel  D  will  be  turned 
once  round.  Then,  if  the  circumference 
of  a  circle,  described  by  the  handle  of  the 
winch  A,  be  equal  to  the  circumference 
of  a  groove  round  the  wheel  D,  the  velo- 
city of  the  handle  will  be  48  times  as  great 
as  the  velocity  of  any  given  point  in  the 
groove.  Consequently,  if  a  line  G  goes 
round  the  groove,  and" has  a  weight  of  48 
pounds  hung  to  it,  a  power  equal  to  1 
pound  at  the  handle  will  balance  and  sup- 
port the  weight.  To  prove  this  by  expe- 
riment, let  the  circumferences  of  the 
grooves  of  the  wheels  C  and  D  be  equal 
to  one  another  ;  and  then  if  a  weight  H, 
of  one  pound,  be  suspended  by  a  line  go- 
ing round  the  groove  of  the  wheel  C,  it 
will  balance  a  weight  of  48  pounds  hang- 
ing by  the  line  G  ;  and  a  small  addition 
to  the  weight  II  will  cause  it  to  descend, 
and  so  raise  up  the  other  weight. 

If  a  line  G,  instead  of  going  round  the 
groove  of  the  wheel  I),  goes  round  its 
axle  I,  the  power  of  the  machine  will  be 
as  much  increased  as  the  circumference  of 
the  groove  exceeds  the  circumference  of 
the  axle  :  which  supposing  it  to  be  sis 
times,  then  one  pound  at  H  will  balance 
six  times  48,  or  288  pounds,  hung  to  the 
line  on  the  axle  :  and  hence  the  power  or 
advantage  of  this  machine  will  be  as  288 
to  1.  That  is  to  say,  a  man,  who  by  his 
natural  strength  could  lift  an  hundred 
weight,  will  be  able  to  raise  288  cwts.  by 
this  engine.  If  a  system  of  pullies  were 


applied  to  the  cord  H,  the  power  would 
be  increased  to  an  amazing  degree.  When 
a  screw  acts  in  a  wheel  in  this  manner,  it 
is  called  an  endless  screw.  When  it  is  not 
employed  in  turning  a  wheel,  it  consists 
of  two  parts  :  the  first  is  called  the  male, 
or  outside  screw,  being  cut  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  have  a  prominent  part  going 
round  the  cylinder  in  a  spiral  manner  ; 
which  prominent  part  is  called  the  thread 
of  the  screw  ;  the  other,  part,  which  is 
called  the  female,  or  inside  screw,  is  a  so- 
lid body,  containing  a  hollow  cylinder, 
whose  concave  surface  is  cut  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  convex  surface  of  the  male 
screw,  so  that  the  prominent  parts  of  the 
one  may  fit  the  concave  parts  of  'the 
other.  A  very  considerable  degree  of 
friction  always  acts  against  the  power  in 
a  screw  ;  but  this  is  fully  compensated  by 
other  advantages  ;  for  on  this  account  the 
screw  continues  to  sustain  a  weight,  even 
after  the  power  is  removed,  or  ceases  to 
act,  and  presses  upon  the  body  against 
which  it  is  driven.  Hence  the  scre\v  will 
sustain  very  great  weights,  insomuch,  that 
several  screws,  properly  applied,  would 
support  a  large  building,  whilst  the  foun- 
dation was  mending,  or  renewed. 

The  screw  is  of  extensive  use  in  the 
printing  press,  and  in  the  press  for  coin- 
ing money,  and  in  a  great  variety  of  other 
purposes.  It  has  lately  been  employed 
in  the  flour-mills  in  America,  for  pushing 
the  flour  which  comes  from  the  mill- 
stones to  the  end  of  a  long  trough,  from 
which  it  is  conveyed  to  other  parts  of  the 
machinery,  in  order  to  undergo  the  re- 
maining processes.  In  this  case,  the  spi- 
ral threads  are  very  large  in  proportion  to 
the  cylinder  on  which  they  are  fixed.  As 
the  lever  used  with  the  screw  moves 
through  a  large  space,  when  compared 
with  the  velocity  of  its  other  extremity, 
or  of  any  body  which  it  puts  in  motion  ; 
the  screw  is  of  very  great  use  in  subdivid- 
ing any  space  into  a  great  number  of 
minute  parts.  Hence  it  is  employed  in 
the  engines  for  dividing1  mathematical  in- 
struments, Sec.  See  OSCILLATION, 

SlOS,   &C. 


MEDAL.  This  word  has  generally 
been  supposed  to  be  derived  from  Metal- 
lum,  from  which  we  have  the  English  term 
metal  ;  but  it  may  admit  of  some  doubt 
whether  the  derivation  is  correct,  as  the 
word  appears  to  have  too  comprehensive 
a  sense  to  particularize  a  piece  of  gold, 
silver,  brass,  or  copper,  impressed  with 
figures  to  convey  to  posterity  some  great 
historical  occurrence,  or  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  a  person  who  had  rendered  the 


MEDAL. 


state  in  which  he  lived  an  essential  ser- 
vice. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  very  ancient  in- 
habitants  of  the  world  for  this  method  of 
j-rrirriortalifcing  their  most  important  acts 
and  most  exulted  characters  ;  a  method, 
the  discovery  or  invention  of'which,  would 
do  honour  to  an  age  enlightened  by  arts 
and  literature,  then  unknown.  Had  the 
same  inclination  to  preserve  those  indeli- 
ble mementos  prevailed  throughout  the 
countries  which  prompted  the  making  of 
them,  we  should  have  possessed  a  series 
of  valuable  information  now  for  ever  inter- 
rupted, to  the  constant  regret  of  the  his- 
torian, who  is  compelled  to  wander  in  a 
maze  of  conjecture,  caused  by  allusions  in 
the  works  of  ancient  writers,  that  were 
well  known  to  the  public  at  the  time  when 
they  were  made,  but  all  clue  to  which  is 
entirely  lost.  The  satisfaction  demon- 
strated by  the  learned  of  every  nation  on 
the  accidental  discovery  of  an  unknown 
medal,  sufficiently  evinces  their  import- 
ance; if  the  relief  is  tolerably  perfect,  or 
the  inscription  nearly  or  quite  legible, 
every  individual  becomes  an  enthusiast  in 
research,  and  it  has  frequently  happened 
that  an  important  blank  in  chronology, 
history,  or  geography,  has  been  unexpect- 
edly and  satisfactorily  filled  by  this 
means.  One  very  material  circumstance 
contributes  to  render  ancient  medals  va- 
luable, which  is  their  undoubted  authen- 
ticity ;  in  short,  they  are  the  historical  acts 
of  kings  and  states,  the  durable  gazettes 
of  antiquity  ;  they  inform  the  world,  that 
at  such  a  period  a  monarch  ascended  a 
throne,  a  victory  was  achieved,  the  foun- 
dations of  a  city  were  laid,  or  a  temple 
erected,  and  they  sometimes  introduce  to 
our  notice  persons,  towns,  and  buildings, 
which  have  not  been  mentioned  by  any  of 
the  ancient  writers  extant. 

Viewing  medals  in  this  light,  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  some  surprise  that  collections  have 
not  been  formed  in  every  age  and  country ; 
that  they  have  not,  may  be  inferred  from 
the  extreme  rarity  of  some  particular  de- 
scriptions ;  had  collections  been  univer- 
sal, surely  a  much  greater  number  of  me- 
dals must  have  reached  us,  making  due 
allowance  for  decay,  violence,  melting,  and 
losses  during  foreign  and  civil  wars.  Mr. 
Pinkerton  inclines  to  think  the  world  en- 
tertained but  little  regard  for  the  medals 
made  by  the  numerous  small  states  using 
the  Greek  characters  and  language,  sup- 
posing that  their  numbers  rendered  them 
of  little  value  ;  this  idea  is  extremely  pro- 
bable, if  extt:nded  to  the  mass  of  mankind ; 
but  as  there  ever  has  been  individuals  of 


superior  taste  and  acquirements  scattered 
in  every  soil,  we  might  have  imagined  the 
aggregate  of  those  persons  sufficiently 
great  to  preserve  a  larger  number  than  is 
now  to  be  found. 

Many  ingenious  speculations  might  be 
formed  as  to  the  origin  of  medals  ;  it  is 
not,  however,  safe  or  pleasant  to  wander 
in  the  shades  of  antiquity  without  guides, 
or  a  ray  of  light ;  we  must  therefore  be 
contented  with  the  few  facts  which  have 
been  gleaned  by  writers  on  this  subject. 
From  those  it  appears,  that  we  are  prin- 
cipally indebted  to  the  Romans  for  the 
preservation  of  the  most  valuable  Greek 
medals ;  indeed,  that  ambitious  people 
did  themselves  more  honour  by  their  suc- 
cessful study  of  the  arts  of  Greece,  than 
by  the  conquests  they  achieved  in  every 
part  of  the  globe  then  known;  with  minds 
elevated  beyond  the  paltry  consideration 
of  envy,  they  not  only  collected  the  medals 
of  that  country,  but  directed  their  artists 
to  imitate  the  beauty  of  their  reliefs,  and 
the  gracefulness  of  their  outlines.  The 
encouragement  thus  afforded  by  the  vari- 
ous governments  of  Rome,  created  a  spirit 
of  emulation  amongst  the  higher  orders 
of  the  public,  and  collections  were  form- 
ed, to  which  every  subsequent  cabinet 
has  been  more  or  less  indebted.  Whether 
the  medals  possessed  by  the  curious  at 
that  period  were  methodically  arranged, 
so  as  to  preserve  the  chronology  of  facts, 
cannot  now  be  ascertained;  but  we  are 
very  certain  that  numbers  of  great  value 
and  importance  must  have  been  irreco- 
verably lost  since  the  time  alluded  to,  and 
that  the  series,  in  many  cases,  has  been 
interrupted  by  the  havock  committed  at 
each  conquest  of  the  mistress  of  the  world. 
The  philosopher  and  the  historian  will 
ever  dwell  with  regret  on  that  long  men- 
tal night  which  enveloped  those  happy 
regions,  where  science  and  the  arts  had 
flourished,  and  whence  their  influence  had 
diverged  to  surrounding  nations  ;  but  they 
must  exult  in  the  recollection  of  the  gra- 
dual return  of  day,  which  at  length  reach- 
ed its  meridian,  and  exhibited  a  grand 
picture  of  learning  and  the  liberal  arts. 
Upon  their  revival  the  study  of  medals 
became  an  object  of  primary  importance, 
and  Petrarch  appears  at  the  head  of  those 
who  justly  appreciated  their  value;  sen- 
sible of  the  spirit  of  emulation  they  were 
calculated  to  inspire,  he  sent  the  Emperor 
Charles  IV.  several,  made  in  honour  of 
great  and  good  men,  with  an  invitation  to 
imitate  their  conduct. 

Alphonso,  King  of  Arragon,  acted  upon 
the  principle  recommended  by  Petrarch, 


MEDAL. 


and  carried  a  collection  he  had  ordered 
to  be  made  constantly  with  him,  in  order 
that  he  might  remember  the  qualities 
which  caused  their  being  struck.  Exam- 
ples like  those  were  not  without  imitation 
in  succeeding  periods,  but  the  most  noble 
and  magnificent  consequence  was  the  Ca- 
binet of  Cosmo  de  Medici,  which  was  for 
a  long  time  the  admiration  of  Europe. 
Keysler,  who  saw  this  collection  in  1730, 
asserts,  that  "  with  regard  to  the  number 
of  old  coins,  they  reckon  at  present  three 
hundred  and  twelve  medallions,  among 
which  are  forty,  five  of  silver.  The  largest 
copper  medallion  is  a  Julia,  the  consort  of 
Septimus  Severus.  The  copper  coins  of 
the  smaller  size  amount  to  about  eight 
hundred,  and  those  of  the  larger  size  to 
one  thosand  eight  hundred  The  middle 
sort,  by  the  French  called  Jfoycn  lironze, 
are  two  thousand  two  hundred,  and  this 
collection  is  the  most  valuable  and  curi- 
ous, containing  a  great  number  of  Greek 
coins.  Among  the  silver  pieces  are  eight 
hundred  consular  ones,  and  upwards  of 
two  thousand  others.  Here  are  six  hun- 
dred pieces  of  gold,  and  sixteen  medal- 
lions of  the  same  metal.  I  was  assured 
by  Bianchi,  that  the  largest  gold  medal 
weighs  one  hundred  and  sixteen  Louis 
d'ors,  and  represents  the  Emperor  John 
Palaeologus  VI.,  who  assisted  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  Florence." 

The  number  of  medals  in  gold,  silver, 
and  copper,  struck  in  honour  of  cities  and 
countries,  amounts  to  fifteen  hundred. 
The  gold  and  copper  ones  of  this  assort- 
ment are  the  most  curious.  The  whole 
collection  consists  of  fourteen  thousand 
ancient,  and  eight  thou&and  modern  me- 
dals. Of  the  latter  there  are  nine  hundred 
of  gold,  and  two  thousand  of  silver, 
amongst  which  the  largest  is  that  of  Cos- 
mo III.,  and  upwards  of  three  thousand  in 
copper. 

This  collection  eclipsed  every  other, 
though  there  were  many  of  very  great  ex- 
tent in  different  parts  of  the  continent ; 
nor  have  the  learned  of  England  been  de- 
ficient in  their  exertions  to  procure  those 
useful  evidences  of  past  transactions. 
Camden,  who  first  engraved  medals  for 
his  valuable  works,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  one  of  the  first  collectors  :  to  whom 
may  be  added,  Sir  Robert  Cotton.  Henry, 
Prince  of  Wales,  son  of  James  I.  possessed 
thirty  thousand  coins  and  medals.  Arch- 
bishop Laud  gave  five  thousand  five  hun- 
dred coins  to  the  Bodleian  library.  The 
Earl  of  Arundel,  celebrated  for  his  taste 
in  selecting  specimens  of  antiquity,  had 
an  excellent  collection  of  medals ;  and 


Evelyn  enumerates  the  Dukes  oF  Hamil- 
ton and  Buckingham,  Sir  Thomas  Fan- 
shaw,  Sir  William  Fasten,  Sir  Thomas 
Hammer,  Messrs.  Sheldon,  Selden,  and 
many  others,  as  having  in  their  possession 
cabinets  of  medals  Charles  I.,  a  monarch 
who  would  have  done  more  to  improve  the 
state  of  the  arts  in  England  than  all  his 
predecessors,  had  his  reign  been  happy, 
collected  a  vast  number,  which  were  lost 
after  his  dethronement ;  and  his  historian, 
Lord  Clarendon,  endeavoured  to  rival  his 
royal  master  in  this  interesting  pursuit, 
which  appears  to  have  been  in  some  de- 
gree a  favourite  one  with  Oliver  Cromwell. 

Charles  II.  entertained  a  similar  parti- 
ality for  medals,  but  his  successors  have 
entirely  neglected  them,  and  suffered 
their  subjects  to  set  them  an  example, 
which  it  is  much  to  be  wished  they  had 
followed.  Amongst  those  were  Sir  Hans 
Sloane,  the  Earls  of  Pembroke  and  Win- 
chelsea,  and  several  others,  mentioned  by 
Haym,  who  wrote  about  1720.  Since  the 
above  period  our  general  knowledge  of 
medals  has  been  considerably  increased, 
and  the  skill  with  which  the  most  recent 
collections  were  made,  does  infinite  honour 
to  the  penetration  and  acumen  of  our  me- 
dallists, who  are  frequently  enabled  to 
detect  fictitious  pieces,  which  have  been 
made  with  sufficient  art  to  impose  upon 
foreigners.  Several  noblemen  and  gen- 
tlemen now  possess  rich  cabinets,  and  the 
British  Museum  contains  a  superb  collec- 
tion, derived  from  numerous  sources. 

Medals  have  from  necessity  been  uni- 
formly struck  on  copper,  variously  mixed 
with  other  substances,  silver,  and  gold  ; 
the  most  ancient  of  the  latter  metal  are 
evidently  in  its  native  state,  neither  puri- 
fied or  combined  with  copper,  though 
there  are  some  which  are  supposed  to  be 
of  gold  and  silver.  Philip  of  Macedon 
caused  the  gold  used  for  coining  in  his 
dominions  to  be  made  of  the  utmost  puri- 
ty, and  in  this  particular  he  was  imitated 
by  Alexander  the  Great,  and  others  near- 
ly his  contemporaries.  The  Romans,  pro- 
fiting by  the  experience  of  ages,  and  per- 
ceiving that  the  purity  of  the  metal  im- 
proved  the  beauty  of  the  impression,  de- 
termined to  use  it  in  as  perfect  a  state  as 
possible ;  the  silver  coins  of  that  people 
were  less  pure,  and  became  at  length 
greatly  debased. 

The  pure  brass  medals,  and  the  red,  or 
copper,  called  by  the  ancients  Cyprian 
brass,  were  generally  covered  by  platina 
The  best  mixture  was  electrum,  compos- 
ed of  one  fifth  of  silver,  and  the  remainder 
of  gold  :  in  some  instances  this  was  a  na- 


MEDAL. 


tural  combination,  in  others  artificial.  Pin- 
kerton  says,  the  earliest  Lydian  coins, 
and  those  of  particular  states  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor, are  of  this  description,  as  are  those 
of  the  Kings  of  the  Bosphorus  Cimmerius, 
during  the  imperial  ages  of  Rome.  The 
Egyptian  coins,  made  when  ihat  country 
was  under  the  dominion  of  Rome,  were  at 
first  of  good  silver,  but  degenerated  af- 
terwards ;  indeed  lead,  and  even  tin,  have 
been  used  for  the  purposes  of  money. 

The  shapeless  coins  of  very  great  anti- 
quity were  mere  fragments  of  metal,  the 
value  of  which  was  regulated  entirely  by 
weight,  and  this  method  extended  to  the 
comparatively  worthless  substance,  brass. 
The  silver  coins  of  Greece,  first  known  as 
bearing  marks,  are  those  with  a  tortoise 
on  one  side,  and  indented  on  the  other ; 
it  is  extremely  doubtful  when  these  coins 
were  made,  but  they  are  supposed  to  have 
been  from  the  celebrated  mint  of  JEgina, 
where,  according  to  some  writers,  the 
first  coinage  of  money  took  place  by  com- 
mand of  Phidon,  King  of  the  Argives. 
Herodotus  asserts,  that  the  Lydians  in- 
vented the  art  of  impressing  figures  on 
their  coins,  whether  correctly  or  not,  can- 
not now  be  decided.  Phidon  is  said  to 
have  lived  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty 
years  before  the  Christian  <era,  and  the 
tortoise  is  known  to  be  the  badge  of  the 
Peloponnesus. 

The  drachma,  or  eighth  part  of  an  ounce, 
was  the  leading  denomination  of  the  Gre- 
cian money,  and  their  coins  were  gene- 
rally named  from  their  weights,  though 
sometimes  the  case  was  reversed  ;  the  sil- 
ver drachma  was  equivalent  on  a  medi- 
um to  nine-pence  sterling,  and  the  Ro- 
mans considered  their  denarius  as  of  the 
same  value  with  the  drachma.  The  di- 
drachm  of  silver  was  double  the  amount 
of  the  drachma  ;  the  tridrachm  was  three 
drachmas ;  and  the  tetradrachm,  the 
largest  of  Greek  silvev  coins,  except  the 
tetradrachm  of  the  Eginean  standard, 
•  is  equivalent  to  five  shillings  of  our  mo- 
ney. 

The  silver  drachma  was  divided  into 
several  denominations,  as  the  tetrobolion, 
worth  a  modern  sixpence;  the  hemi- 
drachm,  or  triobolion,  the  diobolion,  the 
ubulus,  the  herniobolion,  the  tetartoboikm, 
and  the  dichalcos  ;  the  latter  was  worth 
about  a  farthing  and  a  half.  Very  few  of 
those  minute  silver  coins  have  reached  us, 
and  others  are  mentioned  by  Greek  wri- 
ters, which  were  still  less,  and  are  con- 
sequently entirely  decayed,  or  have  been 
overlooked  or  neglected  for  the  larger 
species. 

VOL.  IV 


It  may  be  proper  in  noticing  these  coins, 
to  mention  the  figures  impressed  on  some 
of  them,  for  instance,  Pallas  and  Proser- 
pine on  the  tetradrachm,  and  thetroizene; 
the  cistophori  had  the  mystic  chest  of 
Bacchus,  with  a  serpent  rising  out  of  it ; 
but  the  Athenian  coins  were  the  most  nu- 
merous, though  the  execution  of  them 
was  indifferent.  The  first  copper  coins 
extant  are  Syracusan  ;  those  of  Greece 
are  the  chalcos,  originally  of  very  incon- 
siderable value.  It  does  not  appear  that 
gold  was  used  for  this  purpose  in  Greece 
before  the  reign  of  Philip  of  Macedon, 
and  Athens  was  destitute  of  this  descrip- 
tion of  money  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Peloponnesian  war;  Sicily  had  set  the 
example  in  this  respect,  the  government 
of  which  island  had  issued  gold  coins  four 
hundred  and  ninety-one  years  belbre  Christ. 
The  Xpvtros,  or  Philippus,  was  a  didrachm , 
the  common  form  of  gold  coins  of  very 
remote  times,  and  was  equal  in  value  to 
one  pound  sterling.  The  Philippus  was 
divided  into  four  parts,  and  there  were  still 
smaller  coins  of  this  precious  metal.  The 
Ai%f>vs-o$,  of  Alexander  and  Lysimachus, 
was  of  greater  value  than  the  Philippus, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  worth  forty  shil- 
lings of  our  money.  Some  of  the  Egyp- 
tian monarchs  quadrupled  the  X^y<ro§, 
consequently  their  coins  equalled  four 
pounds. 

The  Romans  estimated  their  money  by 
weight,  as  the  Greeks  had  done  before, 
but  they  differed  from  that  people  in  a- 
dopting  silver  for  their  coins,  as  they  used 
copper,  not  in  preference,  but  from  neces- 
sity. The  Roman  pound  was  twelve 
ounces,  consisting  of  four  hundred  and  fif- 
ty-eight grains,  though  the  money-ounce 
appears  to  have  been  four  hundred  and 
twenty  troy  grains,  or  five  thousand  and 
forty  to  the  pound ;  this  was  the  standard 
of  copper.  After  silver  was  introduced, 
the  ounce  consisted  of  seven  denarii,  and 
gold  was  estimated  by  the  scruple,  the 
third  part  of  a  denarius,  and  the  preced- 
ing weights.  The  sestertius,  or  half  the 
third,  a  division  of  the  number  ten  equal- 
ly improper,  and  subsequently  unusual, 
was  chosen  by  the  Romans  as  the  princi- 
pal estimate  of  their  money.  Servius  Tul- 
lus  introduced  the  practice  of  impressing 
figures  on  their  copper  or  aes,  which  were 
those  of  pecus,  or  small  cattle,  from  which 
circumstance  the  word  pecunia  vyas  de- 
rived. This  manner  of  distinguishing  the 
coin  was  afterwards  changed,  and  Janus 
on  one  side,  and  the  prow  of  a  galley  cm 
the  other,  became  the  marks  or  the 
T  * 


MEDAL. 


aes  ;  this,  with  the  triens,  the  quadrans, 
and  sextans,  impressed  with  the  form  of  a 
vessel,  were  for  a  very  long  period  the  on- 
}y  medium  ;  but  five  years  before  the  first 
Punic  war,  circumstances  had  enabled 
the  Romans  to  use  silver,  which  they  coin- 
ed into  denarii,  bearing  the  head  of  the 
genius  of  Rome,  with  a  helmet  on  one 
side,  and  on  the  other  chariots  drawn  by 
two  or  four  horses.  The  coin  called  vic- 
toriati  received  the  figures  of  Victory  and 
of  Rome  ;  and  the  sestertii  generally  had 
the  protectress  of  the  city,  with  Castor 
and  Pollux. 

The  emperors  usually  ordered  their 
own  busts  to  be  placed  on  their  coins,  ex- 
cept Augustus,  who  had  Capricorn.  Sixty- 
two  years  elapsed  between  the  introduc- 
tion of  silver  and  that  of  gold,  which  oc- 
curred in  the  consulship  of  M.  Livius  Sa- 
linator.  The  as,  derived  from  aes,  brass, 
originally  consisted  of  one  pound  weight, 
but  the  difficulties  experienced  during 
the  first  Punic  war,  compelled  the  public 
to  reduce  the  value  of  the  as,  and  to  con- 
vert one  into  six  ases.  The  success  of 
Hannibal  in  the  second  contest,  under  the 
above  term,  produced  still  greater  dis- 
tress in  the  state,  and  another  reduction 
in  their  value  took  place,  when  the  as  be- 
came but  one  ounce  in  weight ;  this  was 
again  reduced,  by  a  law  of  Papyrius,  to 
half  an  ounce,  in  which  state  it  afterwards 
remained.  The  as,  supposed  by  Rennet 
to  be  equal  in  value  to  a  farthing  and  a 
half  sterling,  was  the  tenth  part  of  the 
denarius,  and  the  semi-aes,  or  semissis, 
was  the  half;  the  trieus,  as  the  word  im- 
plies, was  the  third  part  of  the  as,  and  the 
quadrens  the  fourth,  which  was  some- 
times  called  triuncis  and  teruncius,  as 
it  weighed  three  ounces  previous  to 
the  diminution  of  its  value.  The  sex- 
tans, or  sixth  part,  were  not  sufficiently 
numerous,  and  other  divisions  were  made 
to  answer  the  public  convenience,  such 
as  the  uncia,  or  twelfth  part  of  the  pound, 
the  semi-uncia,  and  the  sextula,  or  sixth 
part  of  an  ounce;  besides  these  there  were 
the  decussus,  valued  at  ten  ases,  or  one 
denarius  ;  the  vicessus,  the  value  of  two 
denarii ;  and  the  centussis  was  the  largest 
coin  of  this  metal,  which  was  worth  ten 
denarii,  or  one  hundred  ases,  and  may  be 
said  to  be  equivalent  to  six  shillings  and 
three-pence  sterling. 

The  ancient  denarius  seems  to  have  de- 
rived its  name  from  the  fact  of  its  contain- 
ing denos-«eris  or  ases,  or  ten  ases,  though 
the  weight  varied  ;  during  the  time  of  the 
Commonwealth  it  was  the  seventh  part 
of  an  ounce.  In  that  of  Claudius  the 


weight  was  precisely  an  attic-drachm;  the 
former  equalled  eight-pence  of  our  mo- 
ney, and  the  latter  seven-pence,  without 
entering  into  fractions  in  either  case.  Bi- 
gutiis  and  quadrigatus  were  terms  appli- 
ed to  the  denarius,  alluding  to  the  bigx 
or  chariot  with  two  horses  impressed  tip- 
on  it,  and  the  quadrigx  or  chariot  with, 
four  horses.  Clodius  introduced  the  vic- 
toriatus  mentioned  before,  which  was 
equal  in  value  to  the  half  of  a  denarius  ; 
it  also  bore  the  name  of  quinarius,  from 
its  containing  the  value  of  five  ases.  The 
celebrated  sestertius,  so  called  from  ses- 
quitertius,  as  consisting  of  two  ases  and 
a  half,  was  half  the  victoriatus,  and  a 
fourth  part  of  the  denarius;  exclusive  of 
the  above  name,  it  was  frequently  calk-d 
nummus  and  sestertius  nummus,  the  va- 
lue of  which,  in  modern  money,  was  ex- 
tremely small,  being  little  more  than  one 
penny.  The  obulus,  or  the  sixth  part  of 
the  denarius,  was  nearly  of  the  same  a- 
mount.  The  libella,  the  tenth  of  the  de- 
narius, equalled  the  as,  or  the  supposed 
pound  of  copper  or  brass.  The  semi-H- 
bella  explains  itself,  and  the  teruncius,  or 
fortieth  part  of  the  denarius,  was  worth 
three  ounces  of  the  metal  just  mentioned. 
The  most  remarkable  Roman  coins  of 
gold  were  the  aurei  denarii,  which  were 
thus  termed  probably  from  their  resem- 
blance in  size,  or  the  similarity  of  the 
figures  they  bore  on  their  surfaces  to  the 
denarii.  Those  coined  under  the  Com- 
monwealth weighed  two  silver  denarii, 
and  were  worth  seventeen  shillings,  one 
penny,  and  something  more  than  a  far- 
thing sterling ;  the  aureas,  made  after  the 
change  in  the  government,  weighed  two 
drachms,  and  was  equal  to  no  more  than 
fifteen  shillings  of  our  money  :  during  the 
time  of  the  five  first  Cxsars  they  continu- 
ed didrachmi ;  but  the  avarice  of  suc- 
ceeding emperors  induced  them  to  re- 
duce their  weight  considerably,  which 
was  restored  by  Domitian  and  Aurelian. 
It  was  under  Philip  that  aurei  of  several 
sifces  first  appeared,  those  bear  the  bust 
of  the  genius  of  Rome  on  one  side,  and 
different  objects  on  their  reverses ;  the  in- 
elegance of  the  workmanship  induces  a 
supposition  that  they  were  made  far  from 
the  seat  of  the  arts.  Mr.  Pinkerton  is  in- 
clined to  think,  the  only  alteration  made 
in  the  Roman  money  by  Aurelian  was  con- 
fined  to  the  gold.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  coinage  of  gold,  the  aureus  was 
divided  into  the  semissis  of  sixty  sestertii; 
the  tremissis,  or  third,  of  forty  ;  another 
division  of  thirty  ;  and  a  sixth  or  scrupu- 
lum  of  twenty;  all  of  which  werediscon- 


MEDAL. 


tcnued,  except  the  semissis  or  half  of  the 
aureus. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  study  of  medals 
and  coins  more  interesting  than  that  of 
the  class  bearing1  portraits  or  busts  of  emi- 
nent persons;  of  those,  the  Macedonian  are 
the  first  so  distinguished  ;  and  it  has  been 
usual  to  begin  the  series  with  Alexander 
f.,  who  reigned  500  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  or  2,308  years  past ;  as  his 
coin  is  the  most  ancient  yet  discovered. 
Next  to  the  monarchs  of  Macedon,  follow 
the  kings  and  queens  of  Sicily,  Caria,  Cy- 
prus, Heraclia  and  Pontus  ;  to  which  suc- 
ceed the  kings  of  Egypt,  Syria,  the  Cim- 
merian Bosphorus,  Thrace,  Bythinia,  Par- 
thia,  Armenia,  Damascus,  Cappadocia, 
Paphlagonia,  Pergamus,  Galatia,  Cilicia, 
Sparta,  Pseonia,  Epirus,  Illyricum,  Gaul, 
and  the  Alps,  including  a  period  of  near- 
ly 330  years,  or  from  the  time  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great  to  the  birth  of  Christ.  Ac- 
cording to  Pinkerton,  **  the  last  series  of 
ancient  kings  goes  down  to  the  fourth 
century,  and  includes  some  of  Thrace, 
the  Bosphorus,  and  Parlhia;  those  of  Com- 
magene,  Edossa,  or  Osrhsene,  Mauritania, 
and  Judaea."  The  above  are  the  series  of 
portraits  of  kings  impressed  on  medals 
which  have  Greek  characters;  many  are 
extant  of  eminent  men,  on  coins  of  Greek 
origin. 

The  series  of  Roman  emperors  is  com- 
plete, from  Julius  to  the  destruction  of 
Rome  by  the  Goths ;  after  the  latter  pe- 
riod the  execution  of  the  heads  became 
very  barbarous.  The  Greek  coins,  bear- 
ing their  kings,  generally  exhibit  them 
with  diadems,  and  no  other  ornament ; 
and  they  invariably  present  the  profile ; 
those  of  Grecian  cities  of  high  antiquity, 
and  Roman  consular  coins,  on  the  contra- 
ry, have  specimens  of  full  faces  ;  and  there 
are  instances  of  others,  on  which  several 
busts  have  been  introduced,  particularly 
a  beautiful  gold  one  of  Ptolemy  Philadel- 
phus,  who  introduced  the  heads  of  him- 
self and  Arsinoe  on  one  side,  and  those 
of  Ptolemy  I.  and  Berenice,  his  parents, 
on  the  other.  Two  or  more  heads 
have  been  impressed,  in  some  cases 
grouped  and  looking  the  same  way,  and 
in  others  they  are  placed  face  to  face ; 
the  reverses  on  those  having  nothing  re- 
markable to  distinguish  them;  but  the 
most  rare  and  valuable  coins  contain  three 
heads. 

The  vitta,  or  diadem,  which  resembles 
a  modern  riband  tied  round  the  head  by 
a  graceful  knot,  with  the  extremities 
floating  in  the  air,  is  the  distinctive  em- 
blem of  a  prince  throughout  the  Greek 
medals ;  and  it  was  imitated  by  some  of 


the  Roman  magistrates ;  but  the  popular 
prejudice  was  so  great  against  this  badge 
of  supreme  authority,  that  their  empe- 
rors thought  proper  to  wear  the  radiated 
crown  full  200  years  before  they  ventur- 
ed to  resume  it.  "  In  the  family  of  Con- 
stantine,"  says  Pinkerton,  "  the  diadem 
becomes  common,  though  not  with  the 
ancient  simplicity  ;  being  ornamented  on 
either  edge  with  a  row  of  pearls  and  va- 
rious other  decorations."  The  crown, 
composed  of  branches  of  laurel,  was  an 
emblem  of  conquest  when  first  adopted, 
as  was  the  radiated  crown  a  mark  of  dei- 
fication originally ;  but  each  were  after- 
wards assumed  on  their  medals  by  ambi- 
tious and  presumptuous  emperors ;  in 
those  of  the  lower  empire,  a  hand  is 
shewn  holding  the  laurel  above  the  head, 
which  disposition  of  it  was  considered  a 
mark  of  piety. 

The  rostral  crown,  made  of  gold,  and 
resembling  the  prows  of  gallies  connect- 
ed, was  exhibited  by  Agrippa  on  hi.s 
coins,  who  also  appears  in  the  mural,  as- 
signed to  those  that  distinguished  them- 
selves in  first  scaling  the  walls  of  a  besieg- 
ed city ;  the  crown  of  oak  branches,  con- 
sidered as  a  civic  one,  was  adjudged  to 
him  who  saved  the  life  or  lives  of  citi- 
zens ;  this  frequently  appeared  on  re- 
verses, and  particularly  on  the  coins  of 
Galba.  Grecian  princes  adopted  the 
crown  of  laurel,  and  added  it  to  the  dia- 
dem; and  the  kings  of  Parthia  wore  dra- 
pery folded  round  the  head,  and  over 
their  hair,  curled  in  several  ranges.  The 
kings  of  Armenia  had  the  tiara,  the  an- 
cient eastern  badge  of  imperial  power ; 
and  Juba,  the  father,  is  shown  in  a  conic 
cap  set  with  pearls. 

The  vanity  of  the  successors  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great  was  conspicuous  in  each  of 
their  emblems,  which  induced  them  to 
take  the  lion's  skin  of  Hercules;  the  horn, 
as  a  badge  of  their  power,  or  probably  as 
an  intimation  that  they  were  the  succes- 
sors of  the  pretended  son  of  Jupiter  Am- 
mon ;  and  the  wing,  as  a  symbol  of  the 
rapidity  of  their  military  successes,  or 
their  descent  from  Mercury  ;  the  helmet 
is  besides  sometimes  perceived  on  the 
heads  of  coins,  particularly  in  the  instan- 
ces of  Alexander  and  Constantine  I. 

The  Grecian  queens  have  the  diadem, 
and  the  generality  of  those  of  Egypt  the 
sceptre ;  in  some  cases  placed  near  the 
upper  part  of  the  head,  and  in  others 
transversely  behind  the  neck ;  but  the 
Roman  empresses  never  had  the  diadem  : 
the  most  remarkable  part  of  the  head- 
dress of  the  ladies  of  the  latter  nation, 
was  the  golden  ornament  called  the 


MEDAL. 


sphendona,  worn  on  the  crown  of  the 
head,  and  sufficiently  large  to  be  noticed 
on  u  medal;  the  haa-  was  dressed  as  tush- 
ion  dictated,  and  the  emblematic  figure 
of  a  crescent  sometimes  accompanied  the 
bust  of  an  empress. 

When  the  toga  is  exhibited  drawn  over 
the  head,  the  person  so  represented  bore 
the  pontificate  or  the  augurship  ;  the  veil, 
the  sign  of  consecration,  is  common  on 
the  coins  of  empresses ;  but  those  coins 
are  rare  and  valuable  on  which  emperors 
are  presented  in  this  manner.  The  more 
modern  saints  have  now  usurped  the 
nimbus  or  glory  with  which  ancient  mo- 
narchs  adorned  their  heads.  "  Haver- 
camp  gives  a  singular  coin,  which  has 
upon  the  reverse  of  the  common  piece, 
with  the  head  of  Rome,  TUBS-ROMA,  in 
large  brass,  Constant! ne  I.  sitting  amid 
victories,  and  genii,  with  a  triple  crown 
upon  his  head,  for  Europe,  Asia,  and  Afri- 
ca :  legend  SECVIIITAS  HOMJE." 

The  most  usual  method  of  exhibiting- 
portraits  on  ancient  coins  was  by  the  bust; 
^but  there  are  instances  of  half  lengths, 
and  even  more,  of  the  person,  in  which 
case  the  hands  are  frequently  introduced 
holding  emblems  of  power. 

The  reverses  of  medals  present  an  in- 
finite variety  of  subjects  ;  consequently 
they  afford  a  proportionate  degree  of 
pleasure  in  the  study  of  them ;  indeed 
there  is  scarcely  any  peculiarity  in  the 
manners,  dresses,  or  religion  of  the  an- 
ients,  which  they  do  not  serve  to  illus- 
trate and  explain;  the  habits  and  symbols 
of  their  deities,  the  allegorical  allusions 
common  to  their  time,  their  religious 
ceremonies,  the  insignia  of  their  magis- 
trates, are  given  with  so  much  truth,  that, 
added  to  the  historical  events  they  were 
intended  to  record,  it  is  impossible  to 
feel  indifferent  when  viewing  them  ;  ex- 
clusive of  these,  they  furnish  matter  for 
curiosity,  as  sketches  of  various  brandies 
of  natural  history,  by  the  representations 
of  animals  and  plants. 

A  sufficient  number  of  medals  has  been 
preserved,  of  each  age,  to  observe  the 
progress  of  taste  in  decorating  them,  and 
it  appears  that  the  most  ancient  arc  with- 
out any  other  mark  on  the  reverse,  be- 
yond the  indenting  of  the  instrument  on 
which  the  metal  was  supported  when  im- 
pressing the  obverse ;  those  are  four 
points  calculated  to  secure  it  firmly  :  the 
deformity  thus  occasioned  did  not  pass 
unnoticed  by  the  artist  and  his  employer, 
and  invention  suggested  the  insertion  of 
small  fish  or  animals  between  the  points, 
which  were  gradually  improved  upon, 


till  the  difficulty  was  entirely  removed, 
and  the  figures  became  beautiful,  correct, 
and  highly-finished  performances,  that 
will  bear  critical  examination,  even  fur- 
nishing studies  for  the  proportions  and 
muscles  of  men  and  animals.  The  re- 
verses of  some  Greek  medals  of  great  an- 
tiquity are  concave,  and  the  obverses  in 
a  few  instances  are  convex,  and  the  time 
at  which  the  engravers  of  their  dies  be- 
came adepts  in  their  art,  and  capable  of 
making  a  complete  reverse,  was  about 
500  vears  before  Christ.  The  Romans, 
sensible  of  their  inferiority  to  the  Greeks 
in  this  particular,  had  the  good  sense  to 
invite  skilful  persons  to  Rome,  where 
they  executed  the  best  Roman  medals, 
and  taught  the  artists  of  that  nation  to 
emulate  their  excellence.  None  of  the 
above,  or  Etruscan  coins,  have  been  dis- 
covered, which  are  globular,  or  with  an 
indented  reverse  similar  to  those  al- 
ready mentioned ;  the  earliest  Greek 
specimens  are  universally  of  silver, 
whereas  the  Roman  are  of  copper,  cast 
in  moulds,  and  large,  in  which  they  great- 
ly differ  from  the  diminutive  size  of  the 
Greek. 

The  Romans  seem  at  first  to  have  been 
very  deficient  in  composing  their  re- 
verses, and  by  no  means  profited  by  the 
rich  examples  before  them  :  it  is,  indeed, 
difficult  to  account  for  the  constant  uni- 
formity and  repetition  of  cars,  and  prows 
of  gallies,  that  prevailed  till  very  nearly 
the  Christian  era,  after  which  period  a 
variety  occurs ;  and  during  the  reign  of 
the  emperors  they  made  ample  amends 
for  their  previous  neglect  of  this  side  of 
the  medal.  Mr.  Pinkerton  observe* 
very  justly,  "that  the  medallist  much 
values  those  which  have  a  number  of  fi- 
gures, as  the  puellae  faustinianae  of  Fausti- 
na, a  gold  coin  no  larger  than  a  sixpence, 
which  has  twelve  figures;  that  of  Trajan, 
regna  adsignata,  has  four;  the  congiarium 
of  Nerva,  five;  the  allocution  of  Trajan, 
seven  -,  of  Hadrian,  ten ;  of  Probus, 
twelve."  There  was  a  felicity  of  thought, 
and  a  happy  mode  of  conveying  a  com- 
pliment, adopted  by  those  who  struck 
medals  at  the  time  now  under  notice, 
which  was  accomplished  by  giving  the 
representation  of  a  virtue,  and  calling1  it 
that  of  the  person  commemorated  ;  in 
this  particular,  the  Romans  differed  great- 
ly from  the  Greeks;  the  latter  people 
uniformly  pointed  out  the  effigies  of  their 
gods  and  genii  by  their  generally  receiv- 
ed emblems;  but  the  former  inscribed 
their  names.  It  is  entirely  useless  to  par- 
ticularize the  deities  and  their  insignia ; 


MEDAL. 


but,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  study  of  me- 
dals, it  may  be  proper  to  mention  some 
of  the  symbols  which  are  not  commonly 
known  ;  branches  of  plants  issuing1  from 
vases,  for  instance,  imply  a  reference  to  re- 
ligious games ;  the  serpent  springing1  from 
a  coffer  denotes  tiie  mystic  rites  of  JJac- 
chus  ;  the  anchor  on  medals  infers  that 
they  are  Seleuciun,  and  struck  at  An- 
tioch  ;  the  tripod  was  placed,  by  the  Sy- 
rian princes,  covered  and  uncovered,  un- 
der the  fig-tires  of  their  deities  ;  to  which 
may  be  added  others,  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Pinkerton :  "  the  flowers  of  pomegra- 
nates, for  Rhodes ;  owl,  for  Athens  ;  pe- 
gasus,  for  Corinth  ;  wolf's  head,  for  Ar- 
gos  ;  bull's  head,  for  Bceotia ;  minotaur's 
head,  and  the  labyrinth,  for  Crete,"  &c. 
£c.  Were  we  to  pursue  this  part  of  the 
subject,  it  would  lead  to  an  incredible 
length  of  investigation,  and  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  many  mistakes  might 
not  be  created  through  the  obvious  ob- 
scurity involving  it. 

The  legends  on  coins  and  medals  are 
of  too  much  importance  to  require  a  re- 
commendation of  their  study  ;  the  ear- 
liest coins  of  Grecian  cities  have  either 
the  initials,  or  their  names  at  length  ;  and 
those  of  the  princes  of  that  country,  their 
names,  initials,  or  monograms.  The  im- 
perial medals  of  Greece  and  Rome  are 
distinguished  by  methods  far  more  ex- 
planatory, as  they  have  words  round  the 
face,  the  reverse,  and  even  in  the  centre 
of  the  latter  in  some  cases.  Medallists 
have  divided  the  inscriptions  into  three 
terms,  suited  to  the  place  of  the  words  ; 
when  they  encircle  the  margin  they  are 
called  the  legend;  when  they  occupy  the 
centre  of  the  medal  they  are  called  the 
inscription  :  and  when  they  are  separat- 
ed from  the  figure  by  a  line  near  the  bot- 
tom, they  are  on  the  exergue.  The  va- 
rieties and  abundance  of  legends,  &c. 
precludes  a  possibility  of  entering  into 
their  merits  and  peculiarities ;  some,  be- 
ing merely  explanatory,  cannot  be  sub- 
ject either  to  censure  or  criticism  ;  others 
impute  virtues,  and  convey  compliments 
well  deserved ;  but  it  may  justly  be 
doubted,  whether  the  majority  do  not 
speak  every  language  except  that  of 
truth.  One  specimen  may  serve  to  con- 
vince the  most  incredulous  on  this  head  : 
Julia,  the  consort  of  Severus,  was  termed 

MAT.  AVGG.  MAT.  SEXAT.  MAT.  PAT.,  Or,    the 

parent  of  Augustus,  the  senate,  and  of 
her  country  ;  but  Tiberius  became  blas- 
phemous, as  far  as  blasphemy  could  be 
said  to  exist  in  the  heathen  mythology, 
by  calling  himself  the  divi  fiius.  How- 
ever wanting  these  legends  and  inscrip- 


tions might  be  in  verity,  they  must  be  al- 
lowed the  merit  of  beautiful  simplicity  in 
their  construction,  and  the  most  elegant 
compression. 

We  have  hitherto  treated  the  subject 
of  coins  and  medals  conjointly,  which 
was  in  a  great  degree  unavoidable, 
through  the  similarity  of  each  to  the 
other  ;  for  though  a  coin  may  be  said  to 
be  merely  intended  as  a  circulating  me- 
dium, calculated  to  prevent  the  difficul- 
ties attending  the  bartering  of  commodi- 
ties, yet  it  has  been  customary  from  time 
immemorial  to  impress  figures  on  the  pie- 
ces of  metal  used  for  this  purpose,  of 
equal  import  with  those  stamped  on  me- 
dals intended  solely  as  historical  records, 
01-  as  adulatory  offerings  to  supreme 
power. 

Medallions  were  made  of  dimensions  far 
too  large  for  circulation  as  money,  which 
was  necessary  in  order  to  give  due  effect 
to  the  design,  and  to  render  it  intelligible 
at  first  view  ;  some  were  struck  as  pat- 
terns of  proposed  coins  ;  others  were  is- 
sued at  the  commencement  of  a  new 
reign,  and  on  remarkable  occasions ;  and 
in  some  instances  they  may  have  been  the 
effects  of  caprice  of  men  in  high  authority; 
and,  in  a  few  cases,  of  gratitude.  It  is  usual 
to  consider  as  medals,  all  those  Roman 
pieces  which  exceed  the  denarius  aureus 
in  size  ;  those  of  silver  larger  than  the 
denarius  ;  and  those  of  brass,  which  are 
of  greater  diameter  than  the  sestertius  ; 
but  Mr.  Pinkerton  is  of  opinion,  "  that 
the  go  Id  medallions,  weighing  two,  three, 
or  four  aurei  only,  passed  in  currency,  as 
the  Greek  gold  didrachms,  tridrachms, 
or  tetradrachms,  according  to  their  size. 
The  like  may  be  said  of  the  silver,  which 
are  commonly  of  the  value  of  a  Greek 
tetradrachm  :  they,  I  have  little  doubt, 
went  in  currency  for  four  denarii."  The 
brass  medallions  have  the  greatest  varie- 
ty of  devices  on  their  surfaces,  and  are 
executed  in  a  style  of  superior  excel- 
lence. Greek  pieces  of  the  above  de- 
scription, made  before  the  Roman  em- 
pire, are  extremely  rare  ;  but  Greek  me- 
dallions of  Roman  emperors  are  far  more 
numerous  than  the  Roman.  After  the 
reign  of  Hadrian,  the  medallions  of  that 
country  are  seldom  found  to.  be  of  fine 
workmanship,  yet  they  are  invaluable  for 
their  rarity,  variety,  and  the  intelligence 
of  their  devices ;  these  circumstances  ren- 
der them  very  high  priced. 

Besides  the  superior  class  of  medal- 
lions, there  are  others,  particularly  of  a 
size  between  the  first  and  second  brass, 
which  the  Italians  call  medaglioncini,  and 
Mr.  Pinkerton,  medulets,  and  tokens,  and 


MEDAL. 


counters,  each  proceeding  from  a  variety 
of  causes  occurring  in  the  Roman  domi- 
nions. The  contorniatii,  another  kind, 
are  so  termed  from  the  hollow  circle 
round  them ;  those  are  large  as  medal- 
lions, thin,  and  of  inferior  execution,  and 
have  afforded  much  latitude  for  conjec- 
ture as  to  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  intended. 

We  are  under  the  necessity  of  dwell- 
ing on  the  foreign  coins  and  medals  of 
antiquity  to  a  considerable  extent,  that 
the  subject  might  be  fully  understood,  as 
we  are  wholly  indebted  to  the  ancients 
for  the  invention  of  money,  and  even  for 
our  designs  in  many  instances.  It  ap- 
peals, from  the  account  of  Britain  writ- 
ten by  Caesar,  that  the  inhabitants  at  that 
period  h  td  brass  and  iron  money,  the  use 
and  coinage  of  which  was  probably  de- 
rived from  our  Gallic  neighbours.  Cuno- 
belin,  to  whom  many  ancient  coins  found 
in  England  have  been  ascribed,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  court  of  Augustus,  and  King 
x-of  the  Trinobantes :  those  are  supposed 
to  be  the  only  extant,  purely  English,  of 
which  there  is  an  admirable  collection  in 
our  national  museum;  the  legends  of  them 
are  generally  cvxo,  and  TASCIA,  and  CATCV  ; 
the  first  seems  to  apply  to  Cunobelin,  the 
second  has  never  been  explained,  and  the 
third  ma)'  be  Camudolanum ;  the  devices 
are  a  horse,  an  ear  of  wheat,  and  a  bust, 
accompanied  by  the  abbreviation  Cuno, 
on  one  side,  with  a  variety  of  emblems  on 
the  other,  and  Camu. 

English  medals,  intended  entirely  as 
such,  were  never  struck  in  the  ancient 
periods  of  our  history,  and  the  first  known 
to  have  been  made  by  order  of  an  Eng- 
lishman, and  stamped  on  brass,  most  pro- 
bably in  Italy,  was  one  found  in  Knares- 
borough  forest,  in  the  seventeenth  centu- 
ry, which  bears  a  bust  \vith  the  legend 

10.        KENDAL        RHODI         TVRCVPELLE1UVS. 

MCCCCLXXX.  on  the  obverse,  and  on  the 
reverse  his  family  arms,  and  TEMPO  RE  o»- 
simoxis  TVRCORVM.  MCCCCLXXX.  It  is  sin- 
gular, that  the  vast  variety  of  important 
events  which  have  occurred  in  England, 
should  have  passed  away  without  sug- 
gesting this  method  of  perpetuating  their 
remembrance,  and  that  an  example  should 
have  been  set  to  ourmonarchs  by  a  knight 
of  Rhodes,  who  was  more  affected  by  the 
raising  of  the  siege  of  that  island  by  the 
Turks,  than  Edward  III.  was  by  his  deeds 
in  France.  Henry  VIII.,  one  of  the  least 
worthy  of  the  kings  of  England,  caused  a 
rnedal  to  be  struck  in  1545,  which  is  of 
considerable  diameter,  and  of  gold  ;  the 
legends  of  this  second  British  medal  are 
three  in  number,  and  are  inserted  one 


within  the  other  on  the  obverse,  inclos- 
ing his  head  and  face  in  front ;  the  re- 
verse has  two  inscriptions,  in  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  languages,  which  signify  his 
being  the  defender  of  the  faith,  head  of 
the  church.  &c.  The  first  coronation  me- 
dal was  that  made  by  order  of  Edward 
VI.,  the  son  and  successor  of  Henry, 
whose  medal  just  described  served  in 
every  respect  for  a  model.  Very  little 
can  be  said  in  commendation  of  the  exe- 
cution of  these  pieces  ;  neither  are  those 
of  Elizabeth  much  better,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  or  two.  Though  earlier 
in  point-  of  time,  Philip  and  Mary  were 
more  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  their 
artists,  particularly  Trozzo,  who  did  two 
in  silver  for  those  monarchs,  of  high  re- 
lief. Richard  Shelly,  Prior  of  the  order 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  in  England,  one 
of  the  last  who  presided  at  Clerkenwell, 
caused  one  to  be  struck  in  the  reign  last 
mentioned,  which  deserves  praise. 

Charles  I.  a  good  judge  of  the  arts,  ex- 
ceeded his  father,  James  I.  in  the  excel- 
lence of  his  medals ;  that  dated  1636,  re- 
presenting the  King  and  Henrietta  Ma- 
ria, is  finely  executed,  particularly  the 
heads.  "  The  reverse,"  observes  Mr. 
Pinkerton,  "  represents  Justice  and  Peace 
kissing,  awkwardly  enough."  "  The  tout 
ensemble  of  the  piece,  however,  is  bad, 
and  quite  unlike  the  antique,  the  stand- 
ard of  perfection  in  this  way,  owing  to 
the  field  of  the  medal  not  being  above  a 
line  thick,  while  the  relievos  are  a  full 
half  inch  in  thickness  :  whereas,  in  the 
best  and  boldest  ancient  medallions,  the 
edge  of  the  piece  is  two  or  three  lines 
thick,  where  the  relief  is  three  or  four. 
A  hollowness  is,  indeed,  given  in  the  an- 
cient to  the  inner  field  around  the  relief, 
both  to  give  more  elevation  and  boldness, 
and  that  the  edge  may  something  protect 
the  subjects  of  the  field."  The  medals 
of  Charles  would,  without  doubt,  have 
exceeded  all  others  made  by  his  prede- 
cessors, in  a  very  great  proportion,  had 
his  politics  been  more  successful :  still 
they  deserve  approbation  ;  though  Simon, 
employed  by  the  Commonwealth  and 
Cromwell,  soon  after  his  death,  surpassed 
them.  Had  this  celebrated  artist  receiv- 
ed the  patronage  of  the  dethroned  mo- 
narch, in  a  state  of  peace,  the  correctness 
of  his  judgment  and  experience  must 
have  produced  most  superb  pieces,  which 
would  probably  have  rivalled  those  of  the 
Greeks  when  in  the  zenith  of  their  fame. 

Charles  II.  had  several  good  medals, 
particularly  the  three  struck  on  his  leav- 
ing Holland,  at  the  Restoration,  and  at 
his  Coronation.  Catherine  of  Portugal, 


MEDAL. 


his  consort,  decorates  some,  one  of  which 
has  her  bead,  and  on  the  reverse  Pietate 
Insitr?ii,\  Mr.  Walpole  communicated  to 
Mr.  Pinktn  ton,  from  Vertue's  manuscripts, 
an  account  of  a  rare  and  singular  medal, 
made  by  command  of  tin's  licentious  mo- 
narch, representing-  the  Duchess  of  Ports- 
mouth on  the  obverse,  and  Cupid  on  a 
wool-pack  on  the  reverse ;  besides  the 
above  there  are  the  Fa-vente  Deo  ,•  the  Pro 
talibus  ausis  ;  and  the  Felicitas  Britannia. 
The  same  author  adds,  "  The  short  reign 
of  James  II.  has  several  medals.  The 
most  remarkable  are  the  Nemo  me  impune 
lacesset ,-  that  with  his  queen,  Fortes  Radii 
sed  Benigni  ,•  those  on  the  Pretender's 
birth,  Fdicitas  Publica.  Others  have 
Orbata  luce  lucidum  obacurat ;  J\fugnis  in- 
terdum  parva  nocent ,-  Pro  glandibus  Jlurca 
poma" 

The  Pretender,  though  unsuccessful  in 
his  attempts  to  regain  the  throne  of  his 
fore-fathers,  and  an  exile  to  the  hour  of 
his  death,  was  still  so  much  of  an  En- 
glishman as  to  require  notice  in  this  arti- 
cle, particularly  as  his  history  is  a  colla- 
teral branch  of  that  of  England  :  this 
Prince  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck  by 
the  Papal  medallist,  Hamerani,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  intended  consort's  escape 
from  the  arrest  procured  by  the  English 
minister  at  Vienna,  and  which  took  place 
in  the  Tyrol,  on  her  way  to  the  Pretender. 
The  lady  was  represented  on  the  obverse 
by  her  bust,  with  the  legend  Clementina 
M.  Briton.  Fr.  &  Hib.  Regina  /  and  on  the 
reverse  she  is  shewn  seated  in  a  chariot, 
giving  the  rein  to  two  horses  which  are 
drawing  it  at  full  speed,  the  legend  For- 
tunam  Causdmque  sequor ;  and  on  the 
exergue,  Deceptis  Cuslodibus,  MDCCXIX. 
Another  medal  was  struck  by  him  on  the 
birth  of  his  eldest  son  ;  this  exhibits  the 
busts  of  the  Prince  and  Princess,  with  the 
legend  Jacob.  III.  R.  Clementina  R. ;  and 
the  reverse  has  the  lady  supporting  the 
child  on  her  left  arm,  which  rests  on  a 
pillar,  an  emblem  of  constancy,  the  right 
hand  extended  points  to  a  globe,  present- 
ing England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  with 
the  legend  Providentia  Obstetrix  ,-  the 
exergue,  Carolo  Princ.  Vallice.  Nat.  Die 
ultima,  Jl.  M.DCC.XX. 

To  return  from  this  digression  to  the 
time  of  James  II.  That  weak  and  unpo- 
pular king  either  caused  or  permitted 
malignant  medals  to  be  circulated,  satiriz- 
ing Monmouth's  rebellion,  and  exulting 
in  his  death  ;  the  legends  on  those  were 
Parum  successit  fed  sedulo  ;  superi  risere  ; 
Caput  inter  nubila  ;  Providentia  improvi- 
dentia,  &c.  The  reign  of  William  III.  was 


productive  of  a  series  of  most  uncommon 
events,  each  of  which  made  admirable 
subjects  for  medals  ;  indeed  his  birth  was 
celebrated  by  the  striking  of  one,  repre- 
senting his  mother  on  the  obverse,  and 
himself  in  childhood  on  the  reverse.  Af- 
ter his  accession  to  the  throne  of  England, 
he  had  his  own  bust  and  that  of  Queen 
Mary,  almost  universally,  placed  on  the 
obverses  of  his  medals,  particularly  in 
those  known  by  the  following  legends: 
the  Status  par  nobile  ,•  Alarum  pro  liber- 
tate  ;  J\*ec  l*ex  est  justior  ulla  ,•  Nisi  tu  quis 
tempwit  ignes,  &c. :  others,  which  have 
the  king's  bust  alone,  are  the  Jlppamit  et 
dissipavit  ,•  the  Gid.  Nass.  in  Torbay,  6fc.  ,- 
the  Victis  ac  fugatis  Hibernis ;  the  Im- 
perium  pelugi  nobis  ,•  the  Nunquam  impune 
lacessitus,  &c. 

Equally  fortunate  and  prolific  in  great 
events  was  the  reign  of  Anne  This 
Queen,  illustrious  in  virtue,  perpetuated 
the  victories  achieved  by  her  armies,  un- 
der the  incomparable  Duke  of  Marl--' 
borough,  in  a  regular  series  of  medals  ; 
but  here  we  are  compelled  to  cease. 
Although  the  subsequent  history  of  this 
country  furnishes  repeated  occasions  for 
a  rich  display  of  medallions,  they  have 
nearly  been  passed  unnoticed  in  tins  par- 
ticular ;  and  most  of  the  medals  we  pos- 
sess, of  modern  execution,  have  been 
struck  by  private  persons,  sometimes  to 
honour  the  memory  of  worthy  men,  but 
generally  to  procure  present  emolument : 
in  the  latter  class  may  be  included,  Das- 
sier,  who  engraved  and  struck  a  series  of 
all  the  kings  of  England,  then  thirty-six 
in  number,  which  were  executed  with 
great  spirit,  and  are  of  copper.  Dassier 
was  a  native  of  Geneva,  and  made  this 
addition  to  English  medals  about  1740. 

The  reader  will  perceive  that  we  have 
been  principally  indebted  to  Mr.  Pinker- 
ton's  excellent  essay  on  medals  lor  the 
preceding  facts,  nor  do  we  hesitate  to 
acknowledge,  that  we  shall  be  equally  so 
for  the  following  sketch  of  the  history  of 
British  coins,  except  some  few  particulars 
towards  the  close  of  the  article.  That 
gentleman  observes,  the  heptarchic  coins 
were  of  two  descriptions;  one,  the  silver 
skeata,  or  penny,  and  the  copper,  or 
billon  styca ;  the  latter  was  confined  to 
Northumbria,  and  in  the  later  period  of 
that  kingdom  the  size  was  diminutive, 
and  the  value  not  more  than  half  a  far- 
thing of  our  money;  it  is  the  silver  penny 
therefore  which  is  to  be  considered  as  the 
general  coin  of  the  heptarchy,  for  neither 
gold  or  any  other  kind  of  silver  was  issued 
for  a  long  time  after.  The  admirers  of 


MEDAL. 


i 


Ihis  study  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Combe  for 
their  present  knowledge  of  the  skeata, 
who  caused  several  of  them  to  be  en- 
graved;  the  most  ancient  have  figures  of 
serpents  impressed  on  them,  sometimes 
with  the  addition  of  one  or  two  letters, 
but  legends  were  subsequently  intro- 
duced :  it  is  obvious,  from  the  symbols, 
they  all  belong  to  the  period  when  the 
Pagan  rm  tholoiry  prevailed.  The  hep- 
tarchic  pennies  do  not  occur  till  after  the 
year  700,  though  there  are  skeatas  of 
Ethelbert  I.  King  of  Kent,  between  560 
and  616  ;  and  of  Egbert,  monarch  of  the 
same  district,  anno  664.  It  is  by  no  means 
necessary  to  trace  all  the  coins  of  the  hep- 
tarchy, it  will  be  sufficient  to  say,  that 
those  of  the  principal  sovereigns  exist, 
-  almost  in  a  complete  series,  from  Egbert 
in  832  to  Edgar  959  ;  the  generality  of 
them  -have  badly  executed  portraits  on 
-  the  obverse,  but  the  reverses  are  far  more 
"interesting,  presenting  elevations  of  cathe- 
c  drals  and  other  structures,  particularly 
.  -  York  Minster,  on  one  of  Edward,  senior, 

A.  D.  900. 

The  coins  of  Anlaf.  King  of  Northum- 
bria,  bear  a  raven ;  Egbert's  have  the 
legend  Saxoimm  instead  of  Anglomm  ,- 
and  the  pennies  of  Athelstan  have  Rex 
tot.  Jlrit.  Exclusive  of  these  royal  coins, 
there  were  others  purely  ecclesiastic, 
which  are  exlant  between  804  and  889, 
and  were  struck  by  several  archbishops 
of  Canterbury.  Except  on  the  money  of 
Alfred  and  Edward  I.  that  has  towns  ad- 
ded, only  the  names  of  the  moneyers 
were  introduced  ;  from  the  time  of  Athel- 
stan, anno  925,  the  conjunction  became 
general.  Neglect  or  policy  prevented 
William  of  Normandy  from  making  any 
alteration  in  the  English  penny,  and  in 
some  instances  he  adopted  the  same  re- 
verses used  by  his  predecessor,  Harold 
the  usurper.  This  penny  possessed  many 
intrinsic  qualities,  which  rendered  it  more 
acceptable  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  north- 
ern kingdoms,  Italy  and  France,  than 
their  own  ;  hence  it  may  be  concluded, 
that  the  commerce  of  England  was  ex- 
tensive even  at  that  remote  period,  par- 
ticularly as  the  first  mentioned  nations 
had  scarcely  any  other  medium.  It  is  a 
singular  circumstance,  and  much  to  the 
credit  of  our  native  land,  that  it  furnishes 
a  complete  series  of  pennies  from  the 
reign  of  Egbert  to  the  present  moment, 
with  the  exception  of  those  of  John  and 
llichard  I.  whose  coins  were  in  the  first 
case  Irish,  and  in  the  last  French  ;  if  these 
monarchs  had  any  struck  in  England, 
they  have  not  yet  been  discovered :  in 


this  particular  we  exceed  every  nation  on 
the  globe.  The  earliest  pennies  weigh 
22j  grains,  troy  ;  at  the  close  of  the  reign 
of  Edward  III.  they  weigh  18  grains,  they 
then  fell  to  15  ;  and  in  that  of  Edward  IV. 
they  are  12  ;  Edward  VI.  reduced  the 
penny  to  8  grains  ;  and  Elizabeth  to  7-21. 
The  next  coins  of  antiquity  are  the  half- 
pennies and  farthings,  of  silver,  which 
were  first  made  permanently  by  order  of 
Edward  I.  and  continued  till  the  revolu- 
tion in  the  time  of  Charles  I. ;  but  the 
farthings  were  discontinued  after  the 
death  of  Edward  VI.  Those  were  suc- 
ceeded by  the  groat  piece,  introduced  by 
Edward  III.  and  the  testoon,  or  shilling, 
by  Henry  VII.;  the  former  term  is  said  to 
be  derived  from  teste,  or  tete,  the  head 
of  the  king  impressed  upon  it ;  the  latter 
evidently  comes  from  the  German  word 
schelling.  The  crown  piece,  of  silver, 
was  first  issued  by  Henry  VIII.;  and 
Elizabeth  coined  three-halfpenny  and 
three-farthing  pieces,  which  were  not 
continued  by  her  successors. 

Henry  VIII.  was  the  first  of  our  mo- 
narchs who  ventured  to  debase  the  money 
of  his  realm  ;  and  Mr.  Pinkerton  justly 
exclaims  "  it  was  a  debasement  indeed  ' 
for  it  extended  to  66.|  per  cent :"  that 
issued  by  him,  bearing  his  profile,  is  of 
the  ancient  standard  ;  but  that  with  his 
portrait  in  front,  is  of  the  description 
alluded  to.  Edward  VI.  who  was  the  last 
monarch  that  had  his  bust  thus  repre- 
sented, exactly  reversed  his  father's  ex- 
ample, as  his  coin,  with  the  side  face,  is 
bad,  and  the  full  face  good.  The  base 
coin  of  this  king  is  the  first  which  is 
dated;  the  silver  coin  was  restored  to 
the  original  standard  in  1552 ;  and  since 
1601,  18  pennyweights  of  alloy  has  been 
used  in  the  pound  weight- 

Henry  III.  introduced  the  coinage  of 
gold :  his  attempt  appears,  however,  to 
have  been  unsuccessful,  as  only  two  spe- 
cimens have  reached  our  time,  and  are 
called  the  gold  penny  ;  they  are  larger 
than  that  of  silver,  and  tolerably  execut- 
ed :  it  is  to  Edward  III.  therefore,  we  are 
indebted  for  the  establishment  of  the  sys- 
tem still  prevailing,  which  the  last  named 
prince  commenced  in  1344  with  the  flo- 
rens,  then  worth  six  shillings,  but  now 
greatly  increased  in  value,  and  thus  call- 
ed from  Florence,  where  the  best  gold 
was  coined  at  that  period.  Half  and  quar- 
ter florens  were  made  at  the  same  time, 
though  none  of  the  former  have  descend- 
ed to  us.  The  floren  being  found  incon- 
venient, from  the  value  not  according 


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