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AMERICAN EDITION
OF THE
BRITISH ENCYCLOPEDIA,
OR
DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS AND SCIENCES.
COMPRISING
AN ACCURATE AND POPULAR VIEW
OF THE PRESENT
IMPROVED STATE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.
BF WILLMM JViCffOLSOJV,
Author and Pcoprietur of the Phiioiopbical Journal, and variout other Chemical, Philosophical, aiv^
Mathematical Works.
ILLUSTRATED WITH
UPWARDS OF 180 ELEGANT ENGRAVINGS.
VOL. I. A ARE.
PHILADELPHIA :
PUBLISHED BY MITCHELL, AMES, AND WHITE.
W. Brown, Printer, Prune Street.
1818.
PREFACE.
J. HE experience of more than a century has eminently
proved the advantages of such works as exhibit, under
an alphabetical arrangement, the complete circle of hnninn
knowledge. Dictionaries of language, of general terras,
and of particular brandies of science and art, have been
multiplied by the labours of men fully qualified to display
the subjects they have undertaken to discuss ; and the
first characters in the various nations of Europe have
been proud to rank their names and unite their exertions
in the production of immense works, containing every
subject which can engage the intellectual research or ac-
tive occupation of man. The order of the alphabet has
been so skilfully combined with that order which is in-
dicated by the natural relations of the materials, that
works of this description have been received with the
most striking approbation ; and, notwithstanding the
great labour and expense required to keep pace with
the rapid improvements and discoveries of modern times,
the number of Dictionaries of all descriptions have been
so great, that it would be difficult, and perhaps useless,
even to name them, and point out their i-espective merits.
From the great Encyclopedias, each of which may be
said to constitute an entire library, to those smaller com-
positions intended for mere reference : — from the hurried
compilations of book-makers to those elaborate and lu-
minons works in which men of the highe«t reputation
iV PREFACE.
have recorded their comprehensive views, and their most
striking discoveries, it is not difficult to observe and de-
duce the distinct and separate utilities of each, and the
duties to be expected from the editors and proprietors of
such undertakings. Among the most obvious of these it
is indispensable that a new work should be called for,
by circumstances which point out advantages of size,
plan, and materials, not before adopted, and that the
means to be employed, in the actual performance, should
be such as must determine its worth and authority with
every description of readers.
We are already in possession of the large Cyclopedia
of Dr. Rees, which has advanced to its twelfth volume,
by a progress that insures its regular completion, and in
a style of execution which is truly honourable to the
skill and diligence of those who have undertaken it ; to
the activity and enterprize of the proprietors, and to a
nation which has ever taken the lead in science and the
arts. On the smaller Dictionaries it is needless to en-
large. After various deliberate consultations between
the Proprietors, the Editor, and the principal gentle-
men engaged in the different departments, it was con-
cluded, that a new Dictionary , appropriated exclusively
to the Arts and Sciences, and containing a dense, ac-
curate, and ample exhibition of our whole knowledge
respecting them, might with the greatest advantage he
comprehended in the limits of six large octavo volumes.
It was accordingly decided, that the undertaking should
be entered upon with vigour and activity, at the same
time that the utmost attention should be paid to the
means by which alone it was possible to insure the value
of the intended work. The year preceding its appear-
PREFACE. V
ance was employed iu digesting the plan, establishing
correspondences, investigating the various sources of
information, and settling the order and disposition of
the materials ; and it was not until after those materials
were in considerable forwardness, and the whole ar-
rangement was before the Editor, that the Proprietors
thought themselves enabled to disclose their views, and
express their confidence in the public support
If the value of a composition of the magnitude and
extent of the British Encyclopedia could be seen at once
by a cursory or even by a diligent examination; or if the
variety of su1)jects it comprehends would admit of the
supposition, that a decision on its merits could be made,
in a reasonable time, by general readers, it might then
be consistent with the becoming reserve of men, speak-
ing of their own labours, to submit them wholly to the
ultimate voice of a discerning public. But when, by
compilation from the works of authors, standing high in
celebrity for knowledge and for talents ; by the occa-
sional abridgment and elucidation of the products of
these researches : and by the insertion, in almost every
sheet, of treatises or disquisitions composed expressly
for the purpose, the whole composition of a Dictionary
of Science shall bear the marks of originality, it be-
comes a duty in the Editor, with regard to himself and
the other writers, that he should, to a certain extent,
point out what has been done in this respect.
It would be truly gratifying to the Editor if he might
attempt in this place to express his sentiments of the
treatises which have passed under his view in the con-
duct and disposition of the present work, and declare
his obligations individually to each of the writers who
VI PREFACE.
have honoured him with their assistauce in the com-
pletion of the undertaking ; but he fears that the lan-
guage of approbation which he Avould in justice feel him-
self compelled to use, might be misconstrued into an
unbecoming endeavour to enhance, beyond its merits,
the value of the publication. Some of the authors of the
British Encyclopedia have chosen to reserve their
names. Tiie Editor has written and composed upwards
of two hundred articles on Chemistry, Natural Philo-
sophy, and Mechanics, and practical subjects relating
to them, besides several of the lives of great men. The
Mathematical Articles, including the mixed subjects of
Astronomy, Optics, Phonics, Statics, and many others,
Avere drawn up by a popular author, who is well known
for his writings on those subjects. The article Conic
Sections was written by James Ivory, Esq. of the Royal
Military College of Marlow. To the Rev. Dr. Car-
PENTEB, of Exeter, our readers are indebted for tlie ar-
ticles Grammar, Language, Mental and Moral Philo-
sophy, Understanding, the Origin of Writing, and many
others connected with the philosophy of the mind. For
the articles Criticism, History, Poetry, and Rlietoric,
our obligations are due to the Rev. Wm. Shepherd,
author of the life of Poggio Bracciolini. To J. J. Grel-
LiER, Esq. of the Royal Exchange Insurance Company,
are to be ascribed many valuable articles on Political
Economy, the Doctrine of Annuities, Reversions, Assur-
ance, &c.
In our Medical Department, the articles Dietetics,
Diseases and Treatment of Infancy, Materia Medica,
Medicine, Midwifery, and Pharmacy, were written by
J. M. Good, Esq. the learned translator of " Lucretius,'*
PREFACE. V!i
and author of many works in medicine, and the sciences
connected with it. Those on Anatomy, Comparative
Anatomy, the Natural History of Man, Physiologj',
Surgery, &c. were drawn up by W. Lawrence, Esq.
of St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
To a very ingenious pupil of Dr. Smith, the celebra-
ted President of the Linnean Society, we are indebted
for the introductory treatise on Botany. Dynamics, Hy-
draulics, Music, Fortification, Perspective, and many
other articles in Mathematics and Experimental Philo-
sophy; and also those on Farriery and Gardening, were
composed by Capt. Williamson, a gentleman well
known to the literary and philosophical world. The ar-
ticles Distillery and Galvanism were written by Mr.
Sylvester of Derby, whose discoveries in the latter
new and promising department of experimental research
are well known to philosophers. To W. Y. Ottley,
Esq. we acknowledge ourselves indebted for the article
Painting. And to Mr. J. P. Malcolm, author of" The
Antiquities of London," are to be ascribed those on
Heraldry, Topography, and other articles connected
with the Arts.
James Parkinson, Esq. author of an elaborate and
extensive work on the " Organic Remains of a former
AVorld," composed the articles Geology, Oryctolog^',
Rocks, and Shells, which appear in this Dictionary.
Those on Dyeing, and on the Manufacture of Cotton,
deduced from actual observation, with several others
relating to practical Mechanics, and subjects of a mixed
nature, were furnished by W. Boswell, Esq. ; and
those on Weaving and Short-hand by Mr. Nightin-
gale. Mr. Peter Nicholson is the author of the
VIU PREFACE.
treatises on Arcliitecture and Building ; and the pro-
cesses of particular Arts and Manufactures were either
communicated by professional men, or in various in-
stances diawn up under their inspection.
When the reader shall have directed his attention to
the ample quantity of original and excellent matter con-
tained in the articles here pointed out, besides others
more concise, and interspersed through the work, he
will be enabled to form some judgment of its utility and
comparative cheapness.
It is now a year since the Proprietors and Conduc-
tors of this work solicited the public encouragement,
with a full determination to spare no exertions in per-
forming the duties required in their arduous undertak-
ing. The event, they trust, has gratified their expecta-
tion. The British Encyclopedia was commenced, has
been regularly continued, and is now completed in six
handsome volumes, agreeably to the Prospectus. In the
typographical execution of this Dictionary, and in the
engravings with which it is illustrated, they feel confi-
dent they may claim a superiority over every other work
of the same kind. An extensive sale has already given
proof of the approbation they have laboured to deserve ;
and they trust, that as the British Encyclopedia conti-
nues to increase in circulation, it will maintain the repu-
tation it has already acquired.
TUB
BRITISH ENCYCi.OPEDIA
ABA
A The first letter of the alphabet, and
•i** one of the five vowels, is pronounc-
ed variously ; sometimes open, as in the
wonls talk, wulh ,- and at others close, as
in take, icake
A is also used, on many occ.isions, as a
eharacter, mark, or abbreviation. Thus,
in the calendar, it is the first of the domi-
nical letters ; among' lo^cians, it denotes
an universal affirmative proposition ; as a
numeral, A signified 1 among the dreelcs;
but among the Romans, it denoted 500,
and \vith a dash over it, thus A, 5U00. A,
o, or aa, among physicians, denote ana, or
an equal weight, or quantity, of several
ingredients.
AAM, or H\AM, a liquid measure used
by the Dutch, ec^ual to 288 pints English
mciisure.
ABACK, in sea language, Bignifies the
situation of tiie sails when their surfaces
are flatted against the mast. They may
be brought aback, eitlier by a sudden
change of wind, or an alteration in the
ship's course. They are laid aback, to
oflfect an Inunediate retreat, without turn-
ing eitlier to the right or left, to avoid
some immediate danger in a narrow
channel, or when she lias advanced be-
yond her station in the line of battle.
ABACUS, in architecture, the upper-
aao.st member of the capital of a column.
\n the Greek Doric, it is a plane square
fillet. In the Ionic, and Curintiiian,
moulded and enriched.
Abaci s, among ancient mathemati-
cians, Wits a table strewed over with. dust,
•r sand, on which they drew their figures
«r schemes.
Abaci-s, in avitlimetic, an instilment
for facilitating operations by means of
counters. Its form is variou^t ; hut that
vol. fe
ABA
chiefly used in Europe is made by draw-
ing parallel lines, distiint from cacli other
at least twice the diatneter of a coiinter ;
which, placed on the lowennost line, sig-
nifies 1 ; on the second, 10; on the third,
100 ; on the fourth, 1000; and so on. A-
gain, a coimter, placed in the spaces be-
tween the lines, signifies only tjie half of
what it would do on the nextsupei'ior line.
Anxci s, pj/thaffoticus, a multiplicfdion-
table, or a table of numbers ready ca.st up,
to faciiitatf; operations in Arithmetic.
Abaci's, lo^slinis, is also a kind of mul-
tiplication-table, in foiTii of a right-angled
triangle.
AuACts, /larmonictiSy among musicians^,
denotes the arrangement of the keys of a
musical instrument.
AnAtis, Grei ill/I, an oblong fn«me, ovea-
which are stretched several bn««s vvire.Sj
strung with little ivory balls, by the vari-
ous arrangements of which all kinds of
computat^ions are easily nja<.le.
Abacus, Chinese, or Schwanpan, coasists
of several series of beads stnuig on brass
wires, stretched from the top to the bot-
tom of the instniment, an<l divided in the
middle by a cross piece from side to side.
In the upper space every string hsis two
beads, which are each coimted for five;
and in the lowest .space every string hay
five beads, of different values, tl>e first
being covmted as 1, the second as 10, the
third as luO, and so on.
ABAFT, in sea-language, a term appli-
ed to any thing situated towards the stern
of a vessel : thus a thing is said to be abid"t
the fore-mast, or main-mast, when placed
between tlic fore-mast, or main-niast, and
the stem.
Abaft Me bfom, denotes tlie relative
situation of any object wilh the ship, when
the object is placed in any part of that
A
ABE
ABE
arcil of the horizon, which is contained
between a line at rig'ht ang-les with tlie
keel and that point of the compass which
is directly opposite tlie ship's course.
ABAS, a weig-ht used in Persia for
weighing pear's, being one eighth part
lighter than the European carat.
ABASED, in heraldry, is said of the
wings of eagles, &c. when the tip looks
downwards to the point of the shield, or
when the wings are shut ; the natural way
of bearing them being spread.
ABATE, in law, signifiesto breakdown
or.destroy, as to abate a nuisance, and to
aliate a castle. It means to defeat and
o\'erthrow, on account of some error or
exception.
ABATEMENT, in heraldry, something
added to a coat of arms, in order to lessen
its true dignity, and point out some imper-
fedion or stain in the character of the
person who bears it.
An.vTr.MEXT, in law, signifies the re-
jecting a suit, on account of some fault
eitherin the matter or proceeding. Hence,
plea in abatement is some exception al-
leged, and proved, against the plaintiff's
writ, declaration, &c. and praying that the
plaint may abate or cease ; which being
granted, all writs in the process must be-
gin de novo.
ABATOR, in law, one who enters into a
house orlands,void by the death of the last
possessor, before the true heir ; and there-
fore keeps him out, till he brings the writ
intnisiov.e.
ABDOMEN, in anatomy, the lowerpail
of tire trunk of the body, reaching from
tlie thorax to the bottom of the pelvis.
See AvATOMT.
ABDOMINAI.es, in natural history, an
onler of fishes, having ventral fins placed
behind the pectoral in the abdomen, and
the branchia osslcidated. This order
comprehends si.\teen genera, viz.
Amia Cobitis Atherina
Clupea Esox Cyprimis
Elops Loricai'ia Exocoetus
Fistularia Salmo Mngil
Polynemas Teuthis Silurus
Argentina
ABDUCTOR, or AamrcEXT, in anato-
my, a name given to several muscles, on
accoxmtoftheirservingto withdraw, open,
or pull back the parts to which they are
affixed. See Anatomy.
ABERRATION, in a.stronomy, an ap-
parent motion of the heavenly bodies, pro-
diiced by the progressive motion of light
and the earth's annual motion in herorbit.
Since light proceeds always in right lines,
when its motion is perfectly undisturbed,
if a fine tube wei'e placed so as to receive
a ray of light passing exactly thi-ougli its
axis when at re.st, and then, remaining in
the same direction, were moved trans-
versely with great velocity, it is evident
that the side of the tube would strike
against the i-ay of light in its passage, and
that, in order to retain it in the axis, the
tube must be inclined, in the same man-
ner as if the hght, instead of cominginits
actual direction, had also a transverse
motion, in a direction contrary to tliat of
the tube. The axis of a telescope, or even
of the eye, may be considered as resem-
bling such a tube, the passage of the light
through the refracting substances not al-
tcringthe necessary inclination of the axis.
In various parts of the earth's orbit, the
aberi-ation of any one star must be differ-
ent in quantity and in direction ; it never
exceeds 20" each way, and therefore in-
sensible in common observations. If AB
and AC ( Plate Acoustics, &c. fig. 1,) re-
present the comparative velocity of light
and of the eai-th, in their respective direc-
tions, a telescope must be placed in the
direction BC in order to see the star D,
and the star will appear at E. This dis-
covery was made by Dr. Bradley, in his
observations to detennine the annual pa-
rallax of the fixed stare, or that which
arises from the motion of the earth in its
orbit round the sun.
Abehratiotv of the planeta, is equal to
the geocentric motion of the planet, the
space which it appears to move, as seen
from the earth, daring the time that light
employs in jjassingfrom the planet to the
earth. Thu.s, with regard to the sun, the
aberration in longitude is constantly 20",
which is the space moved by the earth in
the time 8' 7", which is the time that light
takes to pass from the sun to the earths
IJence, the distance of the planet from the
earth being known, it will be, as the dis-
tance of the sun is to the distance of the
planet, so is 8' 7" to the time of light pass-
ing from the planet to the earth; then
computingthe planet's geocentric motion
in this time, will give the aberration of the
planet, whether it be in longitude, lati-
tude, right Jiscension, or declination. The
aberration will be greatest in longitude,
and but verysmallin latitude, because the
planets deviate very little from the plane
of the ecliptic. In Mercuiyit is only 44'
and much less in the otiier planets. The
aberration in declination and right ascen-
sion depends on the situation of the pla-
net in the zodiac. The abenation in lon-
gitude, being equal to the geocentric mo-
tion, will be more or le^s, according as
ABO
ABR
thftt motion may be. It will be least wlien
the planet is stationarj'; and greatest in
the superior i)lanets, when tliey are in
opposition; but in the inferior planet-s,
the aberration is greatest at the time of
their superior eon junction.
Ahehbatius, ill optics, a deviation of
the rays of light, when reflected, whereby
they ai"e prevented fi-um meeting in the
same point. Aberrations are of two kinds;
one arising from llie hgiii-e of the reflect-
ing' body, the other from the different re-
frangibility of the mvs themselves: this
last is called tlie Newtonian aberration,
from the name of tlie disco^ei-cr.
ABETTOR, or Abbettoi:, in law, the
pei-son who promotes or procures a crime
to be committed : thus, an abettor of mur-
der is one who commands or counsels an-
other to commit it.^ An abettor, accoixl-
Jng as he is present or absent at the time
of committing the fact, is punishable as a
principal or accessary. See Accessaht.
An abettor is the same with one who is
deemed art and part, by the law of Scotland.
ABEYANCE, in law, is that which is in
expectation, i*emembrance, and intend-
ment of Jaw. By a principle of law, in
every land tliere is a fee simple in some-
body, or it is in abeyance ; that is, though
at present it be in no man, yet it is in ex-
pectancy, belonging to him that is next to
enjoy the land. Where no person is seen
or known, in whom the inheritance can
vest, it may be in abeyance, as in limita-
tion to several persons, and the survivor,
and the heirs of such survivor, because it
is uncertain who will be the survivor, yet
the freehold cannot, because there must
be a tenant to tlie praecipe always.
ABJURATION, in law, is used for re-
nouncing, disclaiming, and denying tlie
Pretender to have any manner of right to
the throne of tliese kingdoms: and tliat
upon oath, which is required to be taken
upon divers pains and penalties by many
statutes, particularly 1 W. and M. 13 W.
m. 1 Anne, 1 Geo. 1.
ABOLITION, in law, denotes the re-
pealing any law or statute, and prohibit-
ing some custom, ceremony, &c. Some-
times also it signifies leave granted by the
king, or a judge, to a criminal accuser, to
forbear any fartlier j)i"Osecution.
Abolition is also used by ancient civi-
lians and lawyers, for desisting from, or
annulling, a legal prosecution ; for i-emit-
ting the punishment of a crime ; and for
cancelling or discharging a public debt.
ABOMASUS, Abumasi'm, or Abu.masi-
us, in comparative anatomy, names used
for the fourth stomach of ruminating
bca.sts, or such as chew the cud. These
have four stomachs, tlie first of which is
called rr.i.Vr,- tlie second, reftCT</Km ,• the
third, o;na»ir<; and the fourlli, aboinumu.
This last is the place where the chyle is
formed, and fi-om which the food descends
immediately into the intestines.
ABORTION, in medicine, an untimely
or premature birth of a foetus, otherwise
called a miscarriage ; but if this happen
before the second montii of pregpiancy,
it is only called a false conception. Sec
MbDICIXE, MiDWIFEKlf, SiC.
Abobtiox, in law, if caused by giving
a potion to, or striking, a pre^ant wo-
man, was murder, but now is said to be a
great mi.sprision only, and not murder, un-
less the child be born alive, and die there-
of.
ABOUT, in military affairs, a word to
express the movement, by which a body
of troops changes its front, by facing ac-
cording to any given woi"d of command.
ABRA, a silver coin of Poland, nearly
equivalent to tlie English shilling. Sec
Coi.x.
ABREAST, a sea term, expressing the
situation of two or more ships, that lie
with tlieir sides parallel to each other, and
their heads advanced. When the line of
battle at sea is formed abreunt, the whole
squadi*on advances unifonnly. .^breast
\dthin the skip, denotes on a line with the
b eam, or by tlie side of any obj ect aboard.
ABRIDGEMENT, in law, the shorten-
ing a count, or declaration : thus, in as-
size, a man is said to abridge his plaint,
and a woman her demand in action of
dower, if any land is put therein, whichls
not in the tenure of tlie defendant s for, on
a plea of non-tenure, in abatement of the
writ, the plaintiff may leave out those
lands, and pray that the tenant may an-
swer to the remainder. The reason is,
that these writs run in general, and there-
fore shall be good for the rest
ABROJLV, in botany, a word signifying
not Jit for food, is used in opposition to
Theobroma, as a genus of plants belong-
ing to the natural oixler of Columnifera:,
and the eighteenth class of Polyadelphia
Dotlecandria. There ai'e two species, viz.
the maple-leaved abroma, which is a tree
with astral gilt tnink, yielding a giun when
cut, and filled with a white pith like tlie
elder; it flowers from June to October,
and its fruit ripens in September and Oc-
tober; it is a native of New South M ales
and the Pliilippinc islands, wasinti-oduced
into Kew gai-dens about 1770, and is a
hot-house plant, requiring great heat, and
raufb water: — and Wlifli i-V Abroma, so
ABS
ACA
called by Koenig-, in compliment td Ed-
ward Wheler, Escj. of the Supreme Coun-
cil in Beng^al ; this is a shrub with a lirown
bark, a native of the Eiust Indies, and is
not known in Europe. There is but one
of the species known in Europe, which is
propagated with us by cutting-s. The
plant requires a strong- heat, and abun-
dance of water. The seeds rarely arrive
at a state fit for propagation.
ABRUS, in botany, from a Greek word
signifying soft or delicate, so called from
the extreme tenderness of the leaves, is
a genus of the natural order of Legumino-
sae, and the seventeenth class of Diadel-
phia Decandria. There is one species,
viz. the Abnis prec^itoi-ivis. It grows na-
turally in both Indies, Guinea, and Egypt.
It is a perennial plant, rising to the height
of eight or ten feet. Its leaflets have the
taste of liquorice, whence it is called, in
the West Indies, Jamaica luild liquorice,
and used for the same purpose. There
are two varieties, one with a white, and
the other with a yellow seed. The seeds
are commonly strung, and worn as orna-
ments in the countries where the plant
grows wild; and they are frequently
brought to Europe from Guinea, and the
East and West Indies, and wrought into
various forms with other hard seeds and
shells. They are also used for weighing
precious commodities, and strung as beads
for rosaries, whence the epithet precato-
rius. They arc frequently thrown, with
other West India seeds, on the coast of
Scotland. This plant was cultivated by
Bishop Compton, at FuIham,bcfore 1680.
It is propagated by seeds, sown on a good
hot-bed in spring, and previously soaked
for twelve or fourteen hours in water.
When the plants are two inches, each of
them should be transplanted into a sepa-
rate pot of light earth, and plunged into
hot-beds of tanner's bark, and shaded
from the sun. They will flower the se-
cond year, and sometimes ripen their
seeds In England.
ABSCESS, in medicine and surgerj',
an inflammatory tumour, containing pu-
rulent matter. See ScRCEHr.
ABSCISSE, in conic sections, the part
of the diameterof a curve line intei-cept-
ed between the vertex of that diameter
and the point where any ordinate, or
semi-ordinate, to that diameter falls. From
this definition it is evident, that there ai*e
an infinite number of variable abscisses
in the same curve, as well as an infinite
number of ordinatcs.
In the parabola, one ordinate has but
one abscisse ; in an ellipsis, it has two; in
an hj-perbola, consisting of two parts, it
h:is also two ; and in curves of the second
and third order, it may have three and
four. See Covic Skitioxs.
ABSCISSION, in rhetoric, a figure of
speech, whereby the speaker stops short
in the middle of his discourse : c. g. one
of her age and beauty, to be seen alone, *
at such an hour, with a man of his cha- •*
racter. I need say no more.
ABSINTHIUM. See Artemisia.
ABSORBENTS, in the materia medica,
such medicines as have the powei\ofdr>--
ing up redundant humours, whether ap-
plied to ulcers, or taken inwardly. See
Materia Meiuca and Phar-mact.
Absorbent vessels, in anatomy, are
those which take up any fluid fi-om the
surface of the body, or of any cavity in it,
and carry it into the blood. They are de-
nominated according to the liquids which
they convey, as Lacteah, or Lymphatics t
the fonner conveying chyle, a milky
fluid, from the intestines ; the latter a
lymph, a thin pelhicid liquor, from the
places whence they take their origin.
The h'mphatics also take up any fluids
that arc extravasated, and likewise sub-
stances rubbed on the skin, as niercury,
and convey them into the circulation.
ABSTRACT ?Vfeff, among logicians, the
idea of some general quality or property,
considered simply in itself, without any
respect to a particular subject : thus, mag-
nitude, equity, &c. are abstract ideas,
when we consider them as detached from
any particular body or person. Various
controversies have been maintained re-
specting the existence of abstract ideas;
but all these disputes seem to be merely
verbal. It is certainly impossible to pos-
sess an idea of an animal, which shall have
no precise colour, figure, magnitude, or
the like ; but it is an useful artifice of the
imderstanding, to leave these out in our
general reasonings, llius it is that the
a, h, c, &.C. of the algebraists are usefully
applied to denote numbers, though un-
doubtedly they are only general signs.
ABUCCO, Aboito, or Abocchi, a
weight used in the kingdom of Pegu.
ABUND-\NT numbers, those whose
pai'ts added together make more than the
whole number : thus, the aliquot parts of
20, viz. 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, make 22. ^ '
ACACIA, in botany, a species of mi-
mosa. See Mimosa.
Acacia, in the materia medica of the
ancients, a gum made from the Egyptian
acacia-tree, and thought to be the same
with our gum-arabic.
ACADEMICS, a sect of philosophers.
ACA
ACA
who followed the doctrine of Socrates and
Plato, as to the uncertainty of knowledge,
and the incomprehensibility of truth.
Academic, in this sense, simounts to
much the same with Platonlst ; the differ^
ence between them being only in point of
time. They who embraced the system of
PUto, among the ancients, were called
Acadcmici ; whereas those who have done
the .same, since the restoration of learn-
ing, have assumed the denomination of
Platonists. We usually reckon three sects
of Academics; though some make five.
The ancient Academy was that which was
founded by Plato ; and consisted of those
followera of tliis eminent philosopher,who
taught the doctrine of their master with-
out mixture or coiTuption. The first of
tliese was Speusippus ; he was succeeded
by Xenocrates. After his death the direc-
tion of tlie academy devolved upon Pole-
mo, and tlien upon Crates, and terminated
with Crantor. After the death of Crates,
a new tribe of pliilosophers arose, who, on
account of certain innovations in their
manner of philosophising, which in some
measure receded from the Platonic sys-
tem, without entirely deserting it, have
been distinguished by the appellation of
the Second, or Middle Academy. The
first preceptor who appears in this chus.s,
and who, in consequence of the innova-
tions which he introduced into the Pla-
tonic school, has been commonly consi-
dered as the founder of this a<"adcmy, is
Arcesilaus. IJcfore the time of Arcesi-
laus, it Was never denied, that useful opi-
nions may be deduced from the senses.
Two sects arose about this time, which
threatened tlie destruction of the Platonic
system ; one was founded by Pyrrho,
which held the doctrine of universal scep-
ticism, and the other by Zeno, which main-
tained the certainty of human knowledge,
and taught with great confidence a doc-
trine essentially different from tl»at of
Plato. In tliis situation, Arcesilaus thought
it necessju-y to exercise a cautious reserve
withregaixl to the doctrine of hisma.ster,
and to conceal his opinions from the vul-
giU", under tlie appearance of doubt and
uncertainty. Professing to derive his doc-
trine concerning the uncertainty of know-
ledge from Socrates, Plato, iuid other
philosophei-s, he maintained, thattliough
there is a real certainty in the nature of
tilings, evciy thing is uncertain to the hu-
man understanding, and consequently that
all confident assertions arc unreasonable.
He thought it disgi-acefid to assent to any
proposition, the tratli of which is not fully
estabUshed, and maintained, that in uH
questions, oppo.site opinions may be sup-
ported by arguments of equal weight.
lie disputed against the testunony of the
senses, and the authority of rca.son ; ac-
knowledging, at the same time, that they
furnish probable opinions sufficientfor the
conduct of life. However, his secret de-
sign seems to have been to establish the
doctrine of Plato, that the knowledge de-
rived from sensible objects is uncertain,
and that tlic only true science istliat which
is employed upon the immutable objects
of intelhgence, or ideas.
After the death of Arcesilaus, the Pla-
tonic school was succes.sively under the
care of Lacydes, who is said to have found-
ed a new school, merely because he
changed the ])hice of instruction, and held
it in the gaitlen of Attahis, within the li-
mits of the Academic grove, andofEvan-
dcrand Kgesinus. Arcesilaus, however,
had opposed the Stoics, and other dogma-
tical plulosophere,\vith such violence, and
extended his doctrine of uncertainty so
far, as to alarm not only the general body
ofphilosophers, who treated him as a com-
mon enemy to philosophy, but even the
governors of the state, who apprehended
that his opinions would dissolve all the
bonds of social virtue and of religion. Ills
.successors, therefore, found it difficultto
support the credit of the academy ; and
Carneades, one of the disciples of this
.school, relinquished, at least in words,
some of the more obno.\ious tenets of Ai-
cesilaus.
From this period the Platonic school
assumed the appellation of the New Aca-
demy, which may be reckoned the third
in order from its first establishment. It
was the doctrine of this academy, that the
senses, the undei-standing, and the imagi-
nation, frequently deceive ns, and there-
fore cannot be infallible judges of tnith;
but that, from the impressions produced
on the mind, by means of the senses, call-
ed by Carneades phantasies, or images, we
infer appeaninccs of truth.orprobabilities.
These nnages do not always coiTCspond
to the real nature of things, and there is
no infallible method of determining when
they are true or false ; and consequently
they afford no certain criterion of truth.
But, with respect to the conduct of life,
and the pursuit of happiness, probable
appeai-ances are a sufficient guide, be-
cause it is unreasonable not to allow some
dcgivc of cretlit to those witnesses who
commonly give a true report.
AC.VDEMY, in Cirorian antiquity, a
lacge villa in one of the suburbs of Athens,
where the sect ofphilosophers csdlcd Aca-
ACA
ACA
demies held their assemblies. It took its
name from one Academus, or Ecademus,
a citizen of Athens; as our modern acade-
mies takes tlieirs from it. This term was
also used metaphorically, to denote the
sect of Academic philosophers. See Aca-
demics.
Acaukmt, in a modern sense, signifies
a society of leaj*ned men, estabhshed for
the improvement of arts or sciences.
See SociKTY.
AC JEN A, in botany, a genus of the Te-
trandria Monogynia class and order of
plants. Thei'e is but a single species,
which is a Mexican plant.
ACALYFHA, in botany, a genus of
plants belonging to the Monoccia Mono-
delphja class, and the natural order of
Tricoccae, called the Tick-fruit. There
are fourteen species: the A. virginic^^
gTows naturally in Vir^nia, and in Cey-
lon : the A. virgata is a native of the warm-
est countries, and grows plentifully in Ja-
maica ; its leaves resemble those of the
annual nettle, and sting as much. Most
of the other species are natives of the
West Indies, The plants have no beauty
to recommend them, and are preserved
in some botanic gai-dens mei'ely on ac-
count of variety.
ACANTHA, among botanists, a name
given to the prickles of thorny plants.
Acantha is also used by zoologists for
the spines of certain fishes, as those of the
echinus marinus, &c.
ACANTHACEOUS, among botanists,
an epithet given to all the plants of the
thistle kincl, on account of tlie prickles
with which they are beset.
ACANlHOlviOTUS, in natural history,
a genus of fishes of the order Abdomina-
les : the generic character is, body elon-
gated, without dorsal fin : spines several,
on the back and abdomen. There is but
one species, the nasus, about 30 inches
long, a native of the East Indies. The
eyes are large, and the nostrils conspicu-
ous : tlie body, which is of a moderate
width for about the tliird of its length,
gradually decreases or tapers towards the
extremity : both head and body are cover-
ed with small scales, and are of a bluish
tinge, with a silvery cast on the abdomen :
the pectoral fins are brown, and of a mo-
derate size : the ventral ratlier small, and
of a similar colour: tlie lateral line is
straight, and situ:itcd nearer to tlie back
than to the abdomen : along the lower part
of tlie back are ten sti-ong but short spines,
and beneath the abdomen twelve or thir-
teen othei-s, which are followed by a small
anal fin . (See plate I . Ichthyology, fig. 1 . )
ACANTHURUS, in natural history, a
genus of fisiies, of the order Thoracici, of
which the gen. character is, teeth small,
in most species lobated: tallaculcatedon
each side : genei-al habit and appearance
like the genus Chaetodon, which see. This
genus consists of such species of the Lin-
nsan genus Chxtodon, as, in contracUction
to tlie principal character of that genus,
have moderately broad and strong teeth,
rather than slender and setaceous ones :
they are also furnished on each side the
tail with a strong spine. There are twelve
species, of which the principal is A. uni-
cornis ; this is the largest of the genus,
gi-owjng to the lengthof three feet or more.
It is a native of the Indian and Arabian
seas, in the latter of which it is generally
seen in large shoals of two or tliree hun-
dred each, swimming with great strength,
and feeding principally on different kinds
of sea-weed. This fish was described by
Grew, in his Museum of the Royal Socie-
ty, under the name of the Lesser Unicorn
fish. Fine specimens are to be found in
the British and Leverian museums.
ACANTHUS, Bkae'.s Brekch, or
BnANK-URsiNE, in botany, agenus of the
Didynamia An^ospermia class, and be-
longing to the natural oi"der of Pei-sonatae.
There are ten species : 1. The smooth
acanthus, with white flowers, proceeding
from about the middle to the top of the
stalk, is the species used in medicine un-
der the name of Branca ursina, or Bi-ank-
ursine. It is a native of Italy, about Na-
ples, of Sicily, Provence, and the islands
of the Archipelago, and is cultivated in
our gaixiens, and flowers in June and July.
Turner (in his Herbal in Hort. Kew.) in-
forms us, that it M as cultivated in Sion
gai'dens so long ago as the year 1551. The
leaves, and paiticularly the roots, abound
with a soft, insipid mucilage, which may
be readily extracted, either by boiling or
by infusion. Rectified spirit digested on
the leaves, extracts from tliem a fine deep
green tincture, which is more durable
than that which is communicated to spirit
by other herbs. Brank-ursine is seldom
or ever used medicinally in 1:his country.
But where it is common, it is employed for
the same purposes to which the Altha;a,
or marsh-mallow, and other mucilaginous
vegetables, are applied among us. In fo-
reign countries the cow-parsnip is said to
be substituted for it, though it possesses
very diflerent properties. The leaves of
this speciesof acanthus accidentally gi-ow-
ing round a basket covered with a tile,
gave occasion to CalUmachus to invent the
Corinthian capital in architecture. 2. The
ACA
ACA
thistle -leaved acanthus was fotind by
Sparrman at the Cape of Good Hope, and
has many leaves, procct-ding' immediately
from the root, resembling' those of the
thistle. 3. The prickly acanthus grows
wild in Italy and Provence, and flowers
from July to September. Its leaves are
divided into segments, terminated with a
sharp spine, which renders this plant trou -
blesome to those who handle it. 4. The
acanthus of Dioscorides, as Linnxus sup-
poses it to be, grows naturally in the East,
on Lebanon, &c. 5. The holly-leaved
acanthus is an evergreen shrub, about
four feet high, and separating into many
branches, with leaves resembling those
of the common holly, and bearing white
flowers, similar to those of the common
acanthus, but smaller. 6, 7, 8, 9. These
specie.s, viz. the entire-leaved, procum-
bent, forked, and Cape acanthi, are na-
tives of the Cape of Good Hope. 10. The
Madi-as acanthus is a native of the East
Indies.
The smooth and prickly acanthi are pe-
rennial plants, and may be propagated ei-
ther by seeds, which should be sown in a
light dry soil towards the end of March,
and left to grow, about six inches asunder,
till autumn, when they shoiUd be trans-
planted where they are to remain : or by
roots, which may be planted either in
spring or autumn for the third sort; but the
otliers must only be removed in the spring,
because, if they are transplanted m au-
tumn, they may be in danger of being de-
stroyed by a cold winter. These plants
take deep root, and when they are once
established in a garden, they cannot be
easily eradicated. The 5th and lUth spe-
cies are too tender to thrive out of a stove
in England, and cannot be propagated,
except by seeds, which do not ripen in
Europe. The other sorts must be treat-
ed in the same manner with Cape plants.
Acanthus, in architecture, an oi"na-
ment representing tlie leaves of the herb
acanthus, and u.sed in the capitals of the
Corinthian and Composite orders. See
Architecture.
ACARNA, in botany, a genus belong-
ing to the Syngcnesia .tqualis cUlss and
order : receptacle chafly, down feathery :
calyx imbricate, invested with scales, co-
rol. floscidar. There are seven species.
ACAKUS, the tick or mite, in natural
history, so called, because it is deemed so
small that it cannot be cut, is a genus of
insects belonging to the ortler of Aptcra,
in Uie Unnncan system. Gmelin, in the
last edition of Linnxus's system, has
eighty -two species ; of which, some are
inhabitants of the earth, others of watel*;
some live on trees and plants, other*
among .stones, and others on the bodies
of other animals, and even under their
skin. The generic character is, legs eight",
eyes two, situated on each side the head :
feelers two, jointed ; egg-shaped. The
most familiar species are, 1. the A. siro,
or common cheese-mite, which is a fa-
vourite subject for microscopic observa-
tions. This insect is covered w ith hairs
or bristles, w hich resemble in their struc-
ture the awns of barley, being barbed on
each side with numerous sharp-pointed
processes. The mite is oviparous : from
the eggs proceed the j oung animals, re-
sembling the parents m all respects, ex-
cept in the number of legs, which at first
amount only to six, the pair from the head
not making their appearance till after
casting their first skin. The eggs in warm
weather hatch in about a week, and thr
young animal may sometimes be seen for
a day together struggling to get rid of its
egg-shell. The mite is a very voracious
animal, feasting equally upon animal and
vegetable stibstances. It is also extremely
tenacious of life ; for, upon tlie authority
of Leewenhoek, though highly discredi-
table to his sense of humanity, we are as-
sured that a mite lived elevenweeks glued
to a pin, in order for him to make obsen'a-
tions on. 2. The A. exculcerans, or itch
mite, is a species of considerable curiosity,
on account of the structure of its limbs : it
is slightly rounded, and of a flattened
shape, with the thighs of the two upper
pair of legs extremely thick and short :
the two Tower pair of legs have thick
thighs, proceeding from a very slender
base, and are extended into along, stout,
curved, and sharp-pointed bristle. Dr.
Bononio, an Italian physician, was the
first who contended that the itch was oc-
casioned by this insect, an account of
which may be found in the Philosophical
Transactions, No. 283. Dr. Baker is in-
clined to think that it constitutes the pso-
ra., a species of itch distinct from others
confounded with it. 3. A. autumnalis, or
harvest-bug, of a bright red colour, with
the abdomen beset on its hind p.irt with
numerous white bristles. It attaches itself
to the skin, and is with difficulty disen-
gaged. On the part where it fixes, it
causes a tumour, about the size of a small
bead, accompanied by a severe itching'.
The tick is of tJiis s]3ecies, which is to be
found on dogs and other animals. Many
of tlie acari attach themselves to insects
of a larger kind, and hence they take their
names, as A. coleopterous, found on the
ACC
ACC
black bectJp. (See plate I. Entomology,
fig-. 1. and 2.)
These insects, which are often veiy
*rovibleson>e on plants, and in hot-houses,
may be cH'ectually deslroyed by the fol-
lowing mixture. Take two ounces of soft
green soap, one ounce of common turjien-
tine, and one ovuice of flour of sulphur ;
pour upon these ingredients a gallon of
boiling water, work the whole together
with a whisk, and let the mixture be used
warm. This mixture may also be of use
for preventing the mildew on the peach
and apricot ; but it shoidd never be used
on fruit-trees near the time when their
fruits are ripening. A strong ley made of
wood-ashes will likewise destroy the aca-
ri ; but plants are greatly injured by this,
and by briny and spirituous compositions.
ACAULOSE, or Acaulois, among bo-
tanists, aterni used for such plants as have
no cauHs or stem. See Cauiis.
ACCEDAS ad airiam, in law, a writ ly-
ing where a man hath received, or fears
false judgment, in a hundred-court, or
court baron. It is issued out of the Chan-
cery, and directed to the sheriff, but re-
turnable in the King's-bench or Common-
pleas. It lies also for justice delayed, and
is said to be a species of the writ Recor-
dare.
ACCELERATION, in mechanics, de-
notes tlie augmentation or increase of mo-
tion in accelerated bodies.
The term acceleration is chiefly used in
speaking of falhng bodies, or the tenden-
cy of heavy bodies towards the centi-e of
the earth produced by the power of gravi-
ty ; which, acting constantly and uniform-
ly upon them, they must necessarily ac-
quire every instant a new increase of mo-
tion. See Ghavitatiok.
ACCELERATOR. See Anatomy.
ACCENT, among grammarians, is the
raising or lowering of the voice in pro-
nouncing certain syllables of words.
We have three kinds of accents, viz.
the acute, the g^ave, and circumflex. The
acute accent, marked thus('), shews that
the voice is to be raised in pronouncing
the syllables over which it is placed. The
grave accent is marked thus ("), and
points out when the voice ought to be
lowered. The circimiflex accent is com-
pounded of tiie other two, and marked
thus (" or ") ; it denotes a quavering of
the voice between high and low. Some
call the long and short quantities of sylla-
l)les accents ; but ciToneously.
Accent, in music, a tenn applicable to
every modulation of the voice, both in
speaking and in singing. Jt is to tlie stu-
tly of this that tlie composer and pertbrm-
er should imceasingly apply ; since, with-
out accent, there can be no music, because
there can be no expression.
ACCEPTANCE, in common law, the
tacitly agreeing to some act befoi-e done
by another, which might have been de-
feated without such acceptance. Thus, if
a Inusband and wile, seized of land in right
of the wife, make a joint lease or feoff-
ment, reserving rent, and the husband
dies ; after which the widow receives, or
accepts the rent ; such receipt is deemed
an acceptance, confirms the lease of feoff-
ment, and bars her from bringing the
writ ad in vita.
AccEPTAjfCE, among merchants, is tlie
signing or subscribing' a bill of exchange,
by which the acceptor obUges himself to
pay the contents of the bill.
Bills pajable at sight are not accepted,
because they must either be paid on being
presented, or else protested for want of
payment.
The acceptance of bills payable at &
fixed day, at us.^nce, or double usance,
&c. need not be dated : because the time
is reckoned from the date of the bill ; but
it is necessary to date the acceptance of
bills payable at a certain number of days
after sight, because the time does not be-
gin to run till the next day after that ac-
ceptance : this kind of acceptance is made
thus, Accepted such a day and year, and
signed. See Exchange.
ACCESSARY, or Accessory, in com-
mon law, is chiefly used for a person
guilty of a felonious offence, not princi-
pally, but by participation ; as, by advice,
command, or concealment. There are two
kinds of accessaries; before the fact, and
after it. The first is he who commands, or
procures, another to commit felony, and
is not present himself; for if he be pre-
sent, he is a principal.
The second is he who receives, assists,
or comforts any man that has done mur-
der, or felony, whereof he has knowledge.
A man may also be accessary toanacces-
sarj', by aiding, receiving, &c. an accessa-
ry in felony. An accessary in felony shall
have judgment of life and member, as
well a.s the principal, who did the felony :
but not till the principal be first attainted,
and convicted, or outlawed thereon.
Where the principal is pardoned without
attainder, the accessary cannot be arraign-
ed; it being a ma.xim in law, Ubi non est
principalis, non potest esse accessorius.
But if the principal be paixloned, or have
his clergy after attainder, the accessaiy
shall be aiTaigned. 4 and 5 W. and M
ACC
ACE
cap. 4; and by stat. 1 Anne, cap. 9, it is
enacted, that where the principal is con-
victed of felony, or stiinds mute, or chal-
lengfes above twenty of the jury, it shall
be lawful to proceed against the accessa-
ry in the same manner as if the principal
had been attainted ; and notwithstanding
such i)rincipal shall be admitted to his
clergy, pardoned, or delivered, before
attainder. In some cases, also, if the prin-
cipal cannot be taken, then the accessaiy
may be prosecuted for a misdemeanor,
and punished by fine, imprisonment, &c.
stat. lb. sec stat. 5 Anne, cap. 31. In the
lowest and highest offences there are no
accessaries, but all are principals; as in
riots, routs, forcible entries, and other
trespasses, which are the lowest offences.
So also in the highest offence, which is,
according to our law, high treason, there
are no accessaiies. Cok. Littlet 71.
ACCfDEN r. See I.qgic.
ACCIPITRES, or rapacious birds, in
the Linnjcn system of ornithology, the
first order of birds ; the charactei-s of
which are, that the bill bends downwards,
that the upper mandible is dilated a little
on both sides towards the point, or armed
with a tooth-like process, and that the
nostrils are wide ; the legs are short and
strong; the feet are oftlie perching kind,
having three toes forwards ahd one back-
wards ; the toes are warty tmder the
joints, with claws hooked, and sharp at tlie
points. The body, head, and neck, are
musculous, and the skin very tough. The
birds of this order subsist by preying on
other animals, and on dead carcases, and
they are unfit for food. They live in pairs,
and are monogamous ; and build their
nests in lofty situations. The female is
generally larger and stronger than tlie
male, and usually lays four eggs at a time.
This order con-esponds to thajL of Ferse,
and comprehends fwir generas, viz. Yrt-
•frn, Falco, Stbix, and I.,A.\irs, which
see.
ACCOMPANIMENT, in hcniklry, de-
notes any thing added to a shield by way
of ornament, as the belt, mantling, sup-
porters, &c.
Accompaniment is also used for several
bearings about a principal one, as a saltier,
bend, fess, &c.
ACCOMPl.TCE, in law, a person who
was pri\'j' to, or aiding in, the pei-petra-
tion of some crime. See Accr..ssAiir.
ACCORD, in law, a verbal agreement
between two or more, where any one is
injured by a tresspass, or other offence
committed, to make satisfaction to the in-
jured partv ; who. aft( r the accord i'» per-
VOL. L
formed, will be barred in law- from bring-
ing any new action against the aggres.sor
for the same tresspa.ss. It is .safest, how-
ever, in pleading, to allege satisfaction,
and not accord alone ; because, in tliis
hi.st case, a preci.se execution in every
part tluereof must be alleged ; whereas,
m the former, the defendant needs only
.say, that he paid the plaintiff such a sum
in full satisfiiction oftlie accord, which he
received.
ACCOUNTANT-5-^7i<?/-rt/ in the court
of Chancerj', an officer appointed by act '
of parliament to receive all monies lodged
in court, and convey the same to the bank
of England for better securit}'. The sa-
lary of this officer and his clerks is to be
paid out oftlie interest made of pai-t of the
money, it not being allowable to take
fees in this office. Counterfeiting the hand
oftlie accountant-general is felony, witli-
out clergy, by 12 Geo. I. c. 32.
ACCOUTREMENTS, in a military
sense, signify the furniture of a soldier,
such as puff's, belts, pouches, cai-tiidge-
bo.xes, &c.
ACCROCHE', in henddrv', denotes a
thing's being hooked into another.
ACER, maple, in botany, a genus of the
Monoecia onler and Pohgiunia class of
plants, and belonging to the natural order
ofTrihilata. There are 25 species. See
Mapi.e.
ACETATES, in chemistry, a genus of
.salts formed by the acetic acid. They
may be distinguished by the following
properties: they are decomposed by heat;
the acid being partly driven off, partly
destTOved : — they are very soluble in w a-
ter: — when mixed with sulphuric acid,
and distilled in a moderate heat, acptic
acid is disengaged : — when they are dis-
solved in water, and exposed to the open
air, their acid is gradually decomposed.
ACETIC aci(l,'in chemistry. This acid
is employed in different states, which have
been distinguished fi-om each other !)>■ pe-
culiar names. AVhen first prepared, it is
called vini'ffar; .when ijurifiedby distilla-
tion, it assumes the n:une of distilled vi-
negar, usually cidled actous Jvcid : when
concentrated as much as possible by cer-
tain jn'oce.sse.s, it is called in the shops ra-
dical vinegar ; but by chemists it is deno-
minated acetic acid. One hundred parts
of acetic acid arc comjiosed of
50.19 oxygen
].>.y4 hydrogen
35.87 carbon
100.00
ACH
A€H
ACETiTES, a genus of salts formed by
the acetous acid.
ACETOUS acid. See Acetic Acin.
ACHANIA, in botany, a gemis of the
Monadeljjhia Polyandria class, and the
natural (M^erof Columnifcrac There are
three species, \iz. the A. maUaviscus,
scarlet achania, orbastanl hibiscus, which
is a native of Mexico and Jamaica; culti-
vated bene in 1714 by the Dutchess of
Beaufort, and floweringthroughthc great-
est part of the year: the mollis, or woolly
achania, a native of Soxith America and the
AVest India islands, found in Jamaica b\'
Iloustoun, in 1730, and introduced in 1780
by B. Bewick, Esq. and flowering' in Au-
gust and September: and the pilosa, or
hairy achania, a native of Jamaica; intro-
duced in 1780 by Mr. G. Alexander, and
flowering in November. Achania is gene-
rally propagated by cuttings, which are
planted in pots of light earth, plunged in-
to ^ gentle hot-bed, and kept from the air
till they take root, when they should be
gi'ttduaily inured to the open air. They
mustbeprescr\edin winter in a moderate
stove ; and, kept warm in summer, they
will flower, and sometimes ripen fruit.
ACHEKNEIl, in astronomy, a star of
the first magnitude in the southern extre-
mity of the constellation Eridanus. See
the article Emn.vsrs.
ACHII.l-EA, milfoil, in botany, so call-
ed fi-om Achilles, who is supposed to have
acquired some knowledge of botany from,
his master Chiron, and to have used this
plant for the cure of wounds and ulcers ;
a g«-mis'of the Syngenesia Polyganiia Sii-
perflua class of plants, and of the natural
order of Ccmpositae Dlscoideae. There are
27 species, of which tlie most remarkable
are the ptamiica, or sneezewort, M. gi-ow-
ing wild in all the temperate parts of Eu-
rope, found in Britain, not uncommonly in
meadows, by the sides of ditches, on the
balks of corn fields, in moist woods and
shady places. The shoots are put into
salads, and the roots, b^inghot and biting,
are used for the tooth-ache, whence the
plant has been called bastai-d pelhtory,
and, on account of the form of tlie leaf,
goose-tongue : the powder of the dried
leaves, used as snuft', provokes sneezing,
whence the name : in Siberia, a decoction
of the whole herb is said to be successf illy
used in internal hemorrhages: of this plant
there is a variety with double flowers, call-
ed bat chelor's buttons ; it flowers in July
and August, and makes a tolerable ap-
pearance ; and the millefolium, common
M. or yarrow ; abundant in pastures and
by the sides of roads, floweringfrora June
to September : mixed instead of hops by
the inhabitants of Dalecarlia in their ale,
in order to give it an inebriating quality :
recommended by Anderson, in his Essuy.s
on Agriculture, for cidtivation, though
thought to be a noxious weed in pastures :
the bruised herb, fresh, is recommended
by Linna;us as an excellent vulnerary and
styptic, and by foreign physicians in he-
morrhages, and thought by Dr. Hill to be
excellent in d}'senteries, when adminis-
tered in the form of a strong decoction.
An ointment is made of it for the piles,
and for the scab in sheep ; and an essen-
tial oil is extracted from the flowers; but
it is not used in the present pnictice.
ACHRAS, or Sapota-Plvm, in botany,
a genus of the Hcxandria Monogynia
class, and of the natural order of Dumo-
sx. There are four species, viz. The
mammosa, or mamme sapota, otherwise
called nippled S. or -\merican marme-
lade ; growing in America to the height
of thirty or forty feet, with leaves a foot
long, and three inches broad in the mid-
dle, cream-coloured flowei-s, and large
oval fruit, containing a thick, luscious
pulp, called natural mamielade. This tree
is planted for the fnut in Jamaica, Rarba-
does, Cuba, and most of the West India is-
lands, and was cultivated here by Mr. Mil-
ler in 1739. Of this there is a variety call-
ed the bully, or nisberry bully-tree, be-
cause it is the tallest of all the trees in the
woods : it is esteemed one of the best
timber trees in Jamaica. 2. The sapota,
which grows to the height of sixty or se-
venty feet, without knots or branches, and
bears around, yellow fruit, bigger than a
quincC;^ which smells well, and is of an a-
greeable taste. It is common at Panamp,
and some other places in the Spanish
West Indies, but not to be found in many
of the English settlements. Jt was culti-
vated here by Mr. Miller in 1 759. 3. The
dissecta, or cloven-flowered S. cultivated
in Malabar for the fruit, which is of tlie
foi-m and size of an olive, having a pulp
of a sweetish acid flavour. Its leaves are
used for cataplasms to tumours, bruised
and boiled with the root of curcuma and
the leaves of ginger; supposed to be a
native of the Philippine islands, and pro-
bably growing in China, and found by
Forster flowering in September, in the
island of Tongatabu. 4. The .salicifolia,
or white willow S. called in Jamaica the
white -bully-tree, orgalimcta wood, which
supplies good timber. The bark of the
sapota and mammosa is verj' astringent,
and is called cortex Jammcen.tis. This was
once supposed to be the true Jesuits bark^
ACI
AGO
but its effects on the negroeis has be^n
pernicious. These trees cannot be pre-
ser\e(i in Enf^land but with great care
and much heat.
ACHR05IATIC, an epithet expressing
a want of colour, introduced into astro-
nomy by I)e la I.ande.
AcHHOMATic telesopeg, are telescopes
contrived to remedy the abeirations in
coloure. They were invented by Mr.
John Holland, optician. See Optics, Tk-
LESCUPK.
AC;HVWANTHES, in botany, a genus
of the Pentandria MonogAiiia class of
plants, belonging to the natui-al order of
Misccllanex. There are eleven species,
but they have but little beauty, and are
only preserved in botanic gui-dens.
ACHYItONTA, in botany, a genus of the
Diadelphia Decandria class and order, ca-
lyx five-toothed; ttie lower tooth elongsi-
ted and cloven : legume compressed, ma-
ny-seeded; one species, viz. A. villosa, a
shrul) found in New Holland, with long
.silky haips : leaves lanceolate, acute, en-
tire, with silky hair round the margin.
ACIA, in bo'iany, a genus of the Mono-
delphia Dodecandria class and order: ca-
lyx five-parted, five petals, drupe dry, co-
riaceous, fibrous, one-seeded. 'I'wo spe-
cies, trees sixty feet high, found in Guiana.
ACH'AHPHA, in botany, agenusof the
PolygiimiaNecessariaclassand oixler: re-
ceptacle chaffy, the chaff uniting with the
seeds after flowerings seeds naked; flo-
rets tubular; calyx five-parted. One spe-
cies, found in Buenos Ayres.
ACID, in chemi.stry, a term originally
synonj'mous with sour, and applied only
to bodies distinguished by that ta.ste ; but
it now comprehends under it all substan-
ces possessed of the following properties.
Acids, when applied to the tongue, excite
the sensation of sour, they change the
blue colours of vegetables to a red ; they
unite wnth water in almost any pn)portion ;
rtiey combine with all the alkalies, and
most of the mettUIic oxides and earths, and
form with them those compounds called
in chemistry salts. Every acid does not
possess all these properties, but they all
possess a suflScient number to distinguish
them fi-om other substances. See Che-
xisTiir.
ACiniriABI-E ba?e, or RAnrrAi., any
substance capable ofiuiiting, without de-
composition, with such aquantit)' of oxy-
gen as to become pos.sessed of acid pi-o-
perties. Almost all the acids agree with
each other in containing oxygen, but they
differ in their bases, which determine tlie
species of the acid. Sulphur CTHnbincd
with certain portions of oxygen fortns sul-
phurous or sulphuric acid, according to
the quantity ot oxjgen absorbed.
ACIDOfON, in botany, a genus of the
Monoecia Polyandria class and order ; it
has male and female flowcra on the same,
or a diffcrcnttree. There isbutone spe-
cies, viz. A. urens, a native of Jam:uca,
which grows to the height of eig-ht or
nine feet.
ACIPENSER, a genus of fi.sfies of the
order Oartilagenei : the chai-acters are,
that the head Is obtuse, the mouth is un-
<ler the head, retractile, and withoutteeth;
that the four ceiTi arc below the front,
and before the mouth; the :iperttiTe of
the gills is at the side, the body is elonga-
ted, and angulated with manj- series of
scuta, or scaly protuberances. These may
be milked among the larger fish ; are in-
lial)itants of the sea, !)ut ascend rivers an-
nually ; the flesh of all of them isdelicious;
from the roe is matlc caviar, andfi-omthe
sounds and muscular parts is made isin-
glass; they feed on worms, and other
fishes ; the females are larger than the
male.s. There are five species: A. sturio,
or common sturgeon, inhabits Eui*opean,
MediteiTanean, Red, Black, and Caspian
seas, and annually ascends rivers fh the
spring. (See plate I. Ichthyology, fig. 2.)
A. schypa, inhabits the Casjjian sea, and
large lakes of Siberia. A. rutheniis, and
A. stellatus, both inhabit the Caspian sea.
A. hufo, inhabits the Danube, Wolga, and
other Russian rivers, and also theCa.spian.
The skin of this species is so hard and
tough, as to be used for ciuTiage traces,
See Sminuoy.
ACNIDA, Virginia hemp, Iti botanr, a
genus of the Pentandria Pentagv'nlacla.ss
and order. There is but a single species,
viz. A. cannabina, which is a native of \'ir-
ginia, and some other parts of America ;
it is seldom cultivated in Europe.
ACONITUM, .aconite, wolf's-bane, or
monk's-hood, in bot.any, a genus of plants
of the Trigynia order and Polyandria
ela.ss, and pertaining to the natural order
of Multisiliqux. In the Lust edition of
I.,innxus, by Gmelin, this genus compre-
hends fourteen species; most of the spe-
cies of aconite h:ivc been deemed poison-
ous. The ancients were so surprised at
their pernicious effects, that they were
afi-aid to touch tlie plants ; and hence
sprung many superstitious precautions
about the manner of gathering them.
Theophrastus rel:itcs that there was a
mode of i>feparing the aconite in his days,
so that it should only destroy at the end
ot* one or two years. But some hKV^
AGO
ACO
questioned whether the aconite ol' Theo-
phi-astus, Dioscorides, Pliny, and othei*
ancient writere, be the same with ours, or
should be i-efeired to the g^nus of Ranun-
cuhis. It is confidently aftiimed that the
huntsmen on the Alps, who hunt the
wolves and other wld animals, dip their
arrows into the juice of tliese plants, which
rendei-s tlie wounds occasioned by tliem
mortal. A decoction of the roots has been
used to kill bugs ; and the powder, dis-
guised in bread, or some other palatable
vehicle, has been employed to desti-oy rats
and mice. The A. napellus, or common
monk's-hood, has beenlong known as one
of the most virulent of all vegetable poi-
sons. Unnjeus says that it is fatal to
swine and goats, but does no injury to
horses, w ho cat it dr}'. He also informs
us, from the Stockholm Acts, that an ig-
norant surgeon died in consequence of
taking the fresh leaves, which he pre-
scribed to a patient. The effluvia of the
herb in full flow er have produced swoon-
ing fits, and a temporary loss of sight.
I'he leaves and shoots of this plant, used
Jis salad, instead of celerj, have proved
fatal in several instances. But the most
powerful part of the plant is the root.
Matthiolus relates, that it was given by-
way of experiment to four condemned cn-
minaLsjtwo at Rome, in 1524, and twf) at
Prague, in 1561, two of whom soon died,
and the other two, with great difiRculty,
were recovered. The juice apphed to the
wound of a finger, not only produced pain
in the arm and hand, but cardialgia, anxi-
ety, sense of suffocation, syncope, &c. and
the wounded part ^hacelated before it
came to suppuration. Dodonaeus says
that five persons at Antwerp died in con-
sequence of eating it by mistake. The
effects of this plant are, convulsions, gid-
diness, insanity, violent evacuations, both
upwards and downwards, faintings, cold
sweat, and even death itself. Neverthe-
less it has been used for medical purpo-
ses. The Indians are .said to use aconite,
corrected in cow's urine, with good suc-
cess against fevei-s. There is one species
of it which has been deemed an antidote
to those tliat are poisonous, called antho-
n, and those that are poisonous are called
thora Tile taste of the root of the species
denominatedanthoi-a is sweet, with amix-
Iwre of bitterness and acrimony, and the
bmell is pleasant. It purges violently
when fresh, but loses its qualities when
dried. Tliis is poisonous as well as the
others, though in a shghter degree, and
is disused in the present practice. The
fifst perbon who ventured to introdsce the
ccftnmon iinonk'.s-hood into medicine waa
Dr. Stoerck. Stoerck recommends two
gntins of the extract to be rubbed into a
powder, with two drams of sugar, and to
begin with ten grains of this powder two
or three times a-day. The extract is often
given from one grain to ten for a dose ;
and some have considerably increased the
quantity. Instead of the extract, a tinc-
ture has been miule of the dried leaves,
macerated in six times their weight of
spirits of wine, and forty drops g^ven for
a dose.
ACORN, an ornamental piece of wood,
in tlie shape of a cone, fixed to the top of
the spindle of a mast-head, above the
vane, to keep it from comingoffthe spin-
dle.
ACORUS, in botany, the sM^eet flag, or
sweet i*ush, a genus of the Monogjnia or-
der, and Hexandria -class of plants, and
belongingtothe natural order of Piperitse.
There ai-e two species, viz. tlie A. cala-
mus, or common sweet rush, of w liich
there are two varieties, the vulgaris, or
European sweet rush, or calamus aroma-
ticus, and the Asiaticus or Indian caliunus
aromaticus. The common calamus aro-
maticus grows natui-ally on the banks of
the rivei-s, and in shallow standing w atei-s ;
and is found in many parts of Engl ami,
but is much more plentiful in the stand-
ing waters of Holland, and is connnon in
many other parts of Eui*ope. The Indian
calamus, which gi-ows not only in mareh
ditches, but in more elevated and displa-
ces, in Malabar, Ceylon, Amboj na, and
other parts of the East Indies, differs but
little from the European, except tliat it is
more tender and naiTow, and of a more
hot and pungent taste ; and A.gi-amineus,
or Chinese sweet-grass, has the roots in
tufts, with a few thready fibres. The
whole herb has an aromatic smell when
bruised, resembhng the English sweet-
flag, from which it is distinguished by the
shortness of that portion of its stalk which
is above tlie spadix, as well as by all its
pails, except the florets, being five times
smaller than in that plant. It is probably
a native of China, and cultivated, for the
sake of its smell, in pots near the habita-
tions of the Chinese. The sweet flag will
succeed very well in moist gai-den gi-ound,
but never produce* its spikes, unless it
grows in water. The dried roots of the
calamus aromaticus are commonly import-
ed from the I>evant, though those grown
in England are equally good. They have
a strong aromatic smell, and a warm pun-
gent taste ; the flavour is much improved
by drying. The powdered root might
ACOUSTICS
perhaps supply the place of foreign spices ;
and in«leetl it is the only native aromatic
plant of northern climates. It is carmina-
tive and stomachic, and often used as an
ingredient in bitter infusions.
ACOTYLEDONES, in botany, plants so
called, because their seedsare not furnish-
ed witlt lobes, and of course put forth n«)
seminal leaves. All mosses arc of. this
kind. See CoTTLEnoxEs.
ACOUSTICS, in physics, islhatsclencc
which instructs us in the nature of sound.
It is divided by some writers into diacous-
tics, which explai us tlie properties of those
sounds that come distinctly from the so-
norous body to the ear; and catacoustics,
which treats of reflected sounds; but this
distinction isnotnecessaiy. Intheinfau-
cy of philosophy, sound was held to be a
separate existence : it was conceived to
be wafted throug-h the air to our orsfans
of hearing, which it was supposed to affect
in a manner resembling that in which our
nostrils are affected when they give us the
sensation of smell. Yet, even in those
early years of science, there were some,
and, in particular, the celebrated founder
of the Stoic school, who held tliat sound,
tliat is, the cause of sound, was only the
particular motion of external gross matter,
prt)i):igatetl tothe ear, and there produc-
ingthat agitation of the org:m, by which
the soul is immediately affected with the
sensation of soimd. Zeno says, " Hearing
is proiluced by the air which intervenes
between the thing sotmding and the ear.
The air is :igitated in aspherical form, and
moves off in wa\es, and fidls on the ear,
in the same manner iis water undulates in
circles when a stone has been thrown into
it." The ancients were not remarkable
for preci.sioii, either of conception or ar-
gument, in their discussions, and they
were contented with agenei-al :uh1 vague
view of tilings. Some followed the opinion
of Zeno, without any farther attemjjts to
give a di.stinct conception of the explana-
tion, or to compare it with experiment.
Bnt, in latter timev, duringthe ardent re-
searches into the phenomena of nature,
this became an interesting subject of in-
quiry. The invention of the air-pump
gave the first opportunity of deciding, by
experiment, whether the elastic undida-
tions of air were the causes of sound ; and
the trial fully established tlie point ; for a
bell rung in v:icuo gave no sound, and one
rung in condensed air gave a vciy loud
one. It was therefore received as a doc-
trine in general physics, th.it air was the
v«lui,le of sound. The celebrated Galileo,
the [)arcnt of mathematical philosophy.
discovered the natiu^ of that connection
between the lengths of musical chords and
the notes which they pi-oduced, wliich hatl
been observed by Pythagora-s, or learned
by him in his travels in the East, and wliich
he made the foundation of a refined and
beautiful science, the theory of music.
Galileo shewed, that the real connection
subsisted between the tones and the vibra-
tions of these chords, and that their dif-
ferent degrees ofacutenesscon-espondcd
to the different frequency of their vibra-
tions. The very elementary and familiar
demonstration which he gave of this con-
nection did not satisfy the curioDs mathe-
maticians of that inquisitive age, and the
mechanical theory of mu.sical chords was
prosecuted to a great degree of rcfiTie-
ment. In the course of this investigation,
it appeared that the chord vibrated in a
manner precisely similar to a pendulum
vibrating in a cycloid. It must therefore
agitate the air contiguous to it in tlie same
manner : and thus there is a particular
kind of a^tation that the air can receive
and maintain, which is very interesting.
Sir Issac Newton took up tliis question
as worUiy of his notice ; and endeavoured
to ascertain witli mathematical precision
the mechanism of this particular class of
undulations, and gave us the principal
theorems concerning the undulations of
elastic fluids, which make the 47, &.C. Pro-
positions of Book II. of his Principles of
Natural Philosophy. They have been
coiisidwred as giving the doctrines con-
cerning the propagation of sound Most
sounds, we ail know, are conveyed to us
by means of the air. In whatever manner
they either float upon it, or arc propelled
forwanl in it, certain it is, that, without
tlie vehicle of this or some other fluid, we
should have no sounds at id!. Let the air
be exh:ui.sted from a i^ceiver, and a bell
will emit no sound ; for, as the air conti-
nues to grow less dense, the smmd dies
away in proportion, so that at last its
strongest vibrations are almost totally si-
lent. Thus air is a vehicle for sound.
However, wc must not, with some philo-
sophers, assert, tliat it is the only vehicle;
that, if there were no air, we should have
no .soiuids wliatsocver : for it is found, by
experiment, tliat sounds are conveyed
through water with the sjuno facility witli
which tliey move through air. A bell ning
in water returns a tone as distinct as if
rung in air. This was obsened by Dr.
Derhiun, who also remarked, that the tone
came a quarter deeper. It appears from
the experiments ofnaturalis's, that lishe.'<
have a strong perception of sounds, eiren
ACOUSTICS.
St tlie bottom of deep rivers. From hence
!t would seem not to be very material in
the propagation of sounds, whetlier the
fluid w hicb conveys tliem be elastic or
othe^^vise. Water, which, of all aibslan-
ces that we know, has the least elasticity,
jet serves to carry them foi-ward : and if
we make allowance for the difference of
its density, perhaps the sounds move in it
with a proportionable nipidity to what
they are found to do in tlie elasiic fluid of
air. But though air and water are botli ve-
hicles of sound, yet neither of them, ac-
cording to some philosophei-s, seems to be
so by itself, but only as it contains an ex-
ceedinglj' subtle fluid, capable of penetrat-
ing tlie most solid bodies. One thing, how-
ever, is certain, that whatever sound we
hear is produced by a stroke, which the
Sounding' body makes agtunst the fluid,
whether air or water, i'he fluid, being
struck upon, carries the impression for-
ward to the ear, and there produces its
Sensation. Philosophers arc so far agreed,
that they all allow that sound is nothing
moi"e than the impression made by an
elastic body upon the air or water, and
this impression carried along by either
fluid to the organ of hearing. But the
manner in which this conveyance is made
is still disputed : whetlier the sound is
diffused into tlie air, in circle beyond cir-
cle, like the wa%es of water when we dis-
turfj the smoothness of its surface by
dropping in a stone ; or whetlier it travels
along, like rays diffiised from a centre,
somewltat in the swift manner that elec-
tricity runs along a rod of iron ; these are
the questions which have divided Hie
learned. Newton was of the first opinion.
He has explained the progression of soimd
by an undulatorj-, or rather a vermiculai-,
motion in the parts of the air. If we have
an exact idea of tlie crawling of some in-
sects, we shall have a tolerable notion of
the progression of sound upon tliis h}-po-
thesis. The insect, for instance, in its
motion, first carries its contractions from
the hinder part, in order to throw its fore
part to the proper distance, then it carries
its contractions from the fore part to the
hinder, to bring that forward. Something
similarto this is the motionoftlie air when
struck upon by a sounding body. All who
have remarked the tone of a bell, while
its sounds are decaying away, must have
an idea of the ptUses of sound, which, ac-
cordingto Newton, are formedby the air's
alternate progression and recession. And
it must be observed, that as each of these
poises is formed by a single vibration of
Ae string, they must b^ eq«al to each
other ; for the vibrations of the strings arft'
known to be so. Agjun, as to the veloci-
ty with which sounds travel, this Newton
determines, by the most difficuit calcula-
tion that can be imagined, to be in pro-
portion to the thickness of the parts of
the air, and the distance of these parts
from each other. From hence he goes on
to prove, that each little part moves back-
ward and forward like a pendulum ; and
from thence he proceeds to demonstrate,
that if the atmosphere were of the same
density every whei'e as at the surface of
the earth, in such acase, a pendulum, that
reached from its highest surface down to
the surface of the earth, would, by its vi-
brations, discover to us the proportion of
the velocity with which sounds travel.
'Ihe velocity with which each pulse would
move, he shows, would be as much great-
er than the velocity of .such a pendulum
swinging with one complete vibration, as
the circumference of a circle is greater
than the diameter. From hence he calcu-
lates that the motion of sound will be 979
feet in one secoml. But this not being
consonant to experience, he takes in ano-
ther consideration, wliich destroys entire-
ly the rigour of his former demonstration,
namely, vapours in tJie air, and then finds
the motion of sound to be 1 142 feet in
one second, or near 13 miles in a minute,
a proportion wliich experience had esta-
blislied nearly before. Many other theo-
ries on this subject have been advanced
by ingenious men, but our limits do not
allow to enter farther into them.
Since by experimentsithasbeen proved
that sound travels at about the rate of 1142
feet in a second, and that no obstacles hin-
der its progTcs.s, a contrary wind only a
small matter diminishing its velocity, the
method of calculating its progress is easily
made known. When a gun is discharged
at a distance, we see the fire long before
we hear the soimd. If then we know the
distance of the place, and know tlie time
of the intenal between ourfirst seeing the
fire and hearing the report, this will shew
us exactly the time that the soimd has
been travelling to us. For instance, if
the gun is discharged a mile oft", the mo-
ment the flash is seen you take a watch,
and count the seconds till you hear the
sound, the number of seconds is the time
the sound has been travelling a mile.
Me are also enabled to find the distance
between objects that would be othenvisc
immeasureable. For example ; suppose
you see the flash of a g^m in the night at
sea, and tell seven ijeconds before you hear
the report, it folKsws therefore that the
ACOUSTICS;
distance is seven times 1142 feet. In like
manner, if you observe the number of se-
conds between the lig'htningf and the re-
port of the thunder, yon know the distance
of the cloud from whence it proceeds.
But, accorflinj^to another philosopher, Dr.
Thomas Yount^, the velocity of sound is
not quite so great. " It hxs been demon-
stnited," he observes, " by M. De La
Grange and others, that any impression
whatever, communicated toone particle of
kn ela.stic fluid, will be transmitted through
that fluid with an uniform velocity, de-
pending' on the constitution of the fluid,
without reference to any supposed laws
of the continuation of that impres.sion.
Their theorem for ascertaining this velo-
city is the same as Newton has dcduce<l
from the hypothesis of a particidar law of
continuation : b\it it must be confessed,
that the result differs somewhat too wide-
ly from experiment to give iis full con-
fidence in the perfection of the theoiy.
Corrected by the experiments of various
observers, the velocitv of any impression
trmsmitted by the common air may, at
an averagfe, be reckoned 1130 feet in a
second." Phil. Trans, vol. XC.
Dr. Derham has proved by experiment,
that all sounds what* verti-avel at the siime
rete. The sound of a gnm, and the strik-
ing of ahiuniner, are equally swift in their
motions ; Xhf wjftest whisper fiic-s as s%vift-
ly, as far as it goes, as the loudest thtm-
der. To these we may add, that smooth
and clear sounds proceed from bodies
that are homogeneous, and of an uniform
figure; and harsh or obtuse sounds, from
such a.s are of a mixed matter and irregu-
lar figure. The velocity of sounds is to
that of a brisk wind as fifty to one. The
strength of .sotmds is greatest in cold and
dense air, and least in that which is wann
and rarefied. Every point against, which
thepulsesof soundstrike, becomes a cen-
tre, from which a new series of pulses are
propag-ated in every direction. Soimd
describes equal spaces in equal times.
There is probably no stibstance which
is not in some measure a condtictor of
so<md; but sound is much enfeebled bv
passing from one medium to another. If
a man, stopping one of his ears with his
fmger, stops the other al.so by pressing it
agiiinstthe endofalongstirk, and a watch
be applied tothe opposite end tff the stick,
or of a piece of timber, be it ever so long,
the beating of the watch will be di.stinctly
heard j whereas, in the usual way, it can
sc.ircely be heartl at the di.stance of 1 5 or
18 feet. The same effect will take plar-
if hft stops both his ears with his hanil
and restshis teeth, his temple, orthf car-
tilaginous part of one of his ears, ai^,; ,i-
the end of the stick. Instead of a h ii( h.
a gentle scratch may be matle at one end
of a pole or rod, and the person who keeps
the ear in close contact with the otlicr
end of the pole will hear it very plainly.
Thus, persons who are (?■■" - ♦' '"~.u"ing
may, by applying their i ■ part
of an harpsichord, or oth > ■ ^;; body,
hear the sound much better tUaii other-
wise.
Ifapcrsontieapokcrorany '
of metal on to the middle of a
nel about a yard long, tlv
thumbs or fingers the t I
into his eai*s. while he s\', .., . , ', :•
against any obstacle, as :m iron or steel
fender, he will hear a sound very like that
of a large chi irch bell .
Sound, like hght, after ithas'be^ re-
flected from several plai !)e col-
lected in one point, as i ^ ; and
it will be tlieremoreaud...,. > "iv
other part, even that at the i
whence it proceeded. On tii
it is that a whispering gallery '
ed. The fonn of a whisper
must be that of aconcave hemisplieiv, ;vs
.\R<', plate Acoustics, fig. 2. ; and if a low
sound or whisper be uttered at A, the vi-
brations expanding themselves every way
will impinge on the points D, D, D, &c.
and from thence be reflected to E, E, F!,
and from thence to the points Pand G, till
at l.-Lst they all meet in < '. sounti
will be the most distin The
augment :ition ofso»md, by nu :ins<it spcal'-
ing-tnimpet.s, is usually ilhistratcd in tiic
following manner : I-et ,\BC, fig. .1. be the
tube, BD the avis, and B the mouth-piece
for conveying the voice to the tube. Then
it is evident, when a person speakslit B in
the tnimpet, the vrhole force of Ins voice
is spent upon the aircontained in tlie tube,
which will bo agitated thrt)Ugh its whole
length, an<l,bvvariot IS rcfloctjonsfrom the
side ofthe tube to tlui axis, the air along
the middle p:ul ofthe tube will be greatly
condensed, and its momentum propor-
tionably increased, so that when it comes
to agitate the air at the orifice ofthe tube
AC, its force will be as much greaterthan
what it would have been without the
•as the surface of a sphere, whose radius
is equal tothe length of the tube,isgTv:at-
cr than the surface of thesegment of such
sphere, whose base is the orifice of the
tube. For a persojj speaking at B, with-
out the tube, will i>ave the force of his
tube V
rthan \
t.-.be, \
ACOUSTICS.
those superficies or pulses of aif are dif-
fused as far as D every way, it is plain the
force of the voice will there be diffused
through the whole supei-ficiesofasphei-e
whose radius is BD ; but in the trumpet
it Mill be so confined, that at its exit it
will be diffused throug-h so much of that
spherical surface of air as con-esponds to
tne orifice of the tube. But since the
force is g'iven, its intensity will be alwajs
inversely as the number of particles it has
to move ; and therefore in the tube it will
be to that without, as the superficies of
such a sphere to the areaof tlie large end
of the tube neai-ly. But it is obvious, Dr.
M. Young' observes, tliat the confinement
of the voice can have little effect in in-
creasing the strength of the sound, as this
strength depends on the velocity with
which the particles move. Were this rea-
soning conclusive, the voice should issue
through the smallest possible orifice ; cy-
lindrical tubes would be preferable to any
that increased in diameter; and the less
the diameter, the greater would be the
effect of the instrument ; because the plate
or mass of air to be moved would, in that
case, be less, and consequently the effect
of the voice the greater; all which is con-
tradicted b)' experience. The cause of
the increase of sound in these tubes must
therefore be derived from some other
principles : and among these we shall pro-
bably find, that what the ingenious Kircher
has suggested is the most deserving of our
attention. He tells us, that " the augmen-
tation of the sound depends on its reflec-
tion from the tremulous sides of the tube ;
which reflections, con.spiriiig in propa-
gating the pulses in the same direction,
must increase its intensity." Newton also
seems to have considered this as the prin-
cipal cause, in the scholium of Prop. 50,
B. IT. Frincip. when he says, " We hence
see why sounds are so much increased in
stentorophonic tubes, for every reciprocal
motion is, in each return, increased by tlie
generating cause." Farther, when we
speak in the open air, the effect on the
tympanum of a distant auditor is jiroduced
merely by a single pulse. But when we
use a tube, all the pulses propagated from
the mouth, except those in the direction
of the axis, strike against the sides of the
tube, and every point of impulse becoming
a new centre, from whence the pulses are
propagated in all directions, a pulse will
arrive at the ear from each of those points.
Thus, by the use of a tube, a gi-eater num-
ber of pulses are propagated to the ear,
and consequently the sound increased.
The confinement too of the voice may have
a little effect, though not such as is ascrib-
ed to it by some ; for the condensed pul-
ses produced by the naked voice freely
expand every way; but in tubes, the late-
rid expansion being diminished, the direct
expansion will be inci-eased, and conse-
quently the velocity of the particles, and
the intensity of the sound. The substance
also of the tube has its effect; for it is
found, by experiment, that the more elas-
tic the substance of the tube, and conse-
quently the more susceptible it is of tliese
tremulous motions, the stronger is the
sound. If the tube be laid on any non-
elastic substance, it deadens tlie sound,
because it prevents the vibratorj' motion
of the parts. The sound is increased in
speaking-trumpets, if the tube be suspend-
ed in the air; because the agitations are
tlien carried on without interruption.
These tubes should increase in diameter
from the mouth-piece, because the parts
vibrating in directions perpendicular to
the surface will conspire in impelling for-
ward the pai-ticlesof air, and consequent-
ly, by increasing their velocity, will in-
crease the intensity of the sound : and the
surface also increasing, the number of
points of impidse and of new propaga-
tion will increase proportionably. The se-
veral causes, therefore, ofthe increase of
sound in these tubes, Dr. Young concludes
to be, 1. The diminution of the lateral,
and consequently the increase of the di-
rect expansion and velocity ofthe included
air. 2. The increase of the number of
pulses by increasing the points of new
propagation. 3. The reflections of the
pulses from the tremulous sides of the
tube, which impel the particles of jur for-
wai'd, and thus increase their velocity.
An umbrella, held in a proper position
over the head, may serve to collect the
force of a distant sound by reflection, in
tlie manner of a heai-ing-trumpet ; but its
substance is too slight to reflect any sound
perfectly, unless the sound fall on it in a
very oblique direction. The exhibition
ofthe Invisible Girl is said to depend on
the reflection of sound ; but the deception
is really performedbvconveyingthe sound
through pipes artAdly concealed, and
opening opposite to the mouth of the
tmmpet, from which it seems to proceed.
When a portion of a pulse of a sound
is separated by any means from the rest
ofthe spherical or hemispherical surface
to which it belongs, and proceeds through
a wide space, without being supported on
either side, there is a certain degi-ee of
divergence, by means of which it some-
times becomes audible in every part ofthe
ACOUSTICS.
Jnuciiiuii tronsmitting it: br.t the sound
thus (liverginffis rompanitively vcrvfuiiit.
Hence, in oj-dcr that a 9peaking"-triinipet
may produce its full ettect, it must be di-
rected in a njrlit line towards the hearer;
and the sound collected into the focus of
a concave iniiTor is fur more powi-i-fid
than at a little distance from it, which
could not lia|)pcn, if sonml, in all oases,
tended to spread equally in all directions .
It is said that the report of a cannon ap-
pears many times louder to a person to-
war«ls whom it is tired, than to one placed
in a contnir\' direction. It must, saj's Dr.
Young', have occurred to every one's ob-
servation, that a sound, such as that of a
mill, or a fall of water, has appeared much
louder after turning a corner, when the
house or other obstacle no longer inter-
vened. Indeed, the whole theory of the
speaking-trumpet wouldfall to the ground,
if it weit demonstrable that sound spreads
equally in all directions. In windy wea-
ther, it may he often observed, that the
sound of a distant bell varies almost in-
stantaneously in its strengtii, so as to ap-
pear twice as remote at one time as an-
other. Now, if sound diverged equally in
all direction.s, the variation produced by
the wind would not exceed one-tenth of
the apparent distance ; but on the suppo-
«tion of a motion nearlj rectilinear, it may
easily happen that a slight change in the
direction of the wind shall convey a sound,
either directly or after reflection, in ver)'
flifl'erent degrees, to the same spot.
The tlecay of soimd is the natural con-
sequence of its distribution throughout a
larger and larger quantity of matter, as it
proceeds to diverge cvcr\' way from its
centre. The actual velocity of the parti-
cles oftheme<Uum transmitting it, appears
to diminish, simply, in the sjime proportion
as the distance fixim the centre increases ;
consequently, their energy, which is to be
considered ;is the me:Lsure oftlu- strength
of sound, must vary as the square of the
distance; so that, ut the distance of ten
feet from the sounding I>ody, the velocity
of the particles of the metlium becomes
one-tenth as great as at the distance of one
foot, and their energy, or the stn-ngth of
the sotnul, only one-lumdredthas great.
An echo is a reflection of .sound strik-
ing against some object, as an image is
reflected in a glass : hut it h;ts been dis-
puted, what are the proper (pialities in a
body for thus reflecting sounds. It is in
general known, that caverns, grottoes,
mountains, and ruined buikUngs, rtniini
this reflection of soimd. We have heard
of a very extraordinary e«ho, at a ruined
VOL I.
fortress near Lou vain, in Flanders. If a
pei-son sung, he only heanl his own voice,
without any repetition ; on the contrary,
those who stood at some distance heard
the echo, but not the voice ; but then they
heard it with surprising variations, some-
times louder, sometimessofter, now more
near, then more distant. There is an ac-
count, in the Memoire of the French aca-
demy, of a similar echo near Rouen. It
has been alreaxly obser>'ed, that every
point against which the pulses of soimd
strike becomesthe centre of a new series
of pulses, and sound describes equal dis-
tances in equal times ; therefore, when
any sound is pr<;pag:ite(l from a centre,
and its pulses slnke against a variety of
obstacles, if the sum of the right lines
drawn from that point to each of the ob-
stacles, and from each ob.stacle to a second
point, be equal, then will the latter be a
point in which an echo will be heard.
Thus, let A, fig. 4, be the point from which
the sound is propagated in all directions,
and let the pulses strike against the ob-
stacles C, D, E, F, G, H, 1, &c. each of
these points becomes a new centre of pul-
ses by the fii*st principles, and therefore
from each of them one series of pulses will
pass through the point B. Now, if the
several sums of the right lines A C 4- C B,
A n + D"Bl AE -f E B, A G + G B,
A H f H B, A I -f- 1 B, &c. be all equal
to each other, it is obvious tliat the pulses
propagated from A to these points, and
again from these points to H, will all ar-
rive at B at the same instant, according to
the second principle ; and, therefore, if
the hearer be in that point, his ear will at
the same instant be struck by all these
pulses. Now it appcai-s, from experiment,
that the ear of an exercised musician can
alone distinguish such sounds as follow
one another at the rate of 9 or 10 in a se-
couil, or any slower rate ; and therefore,
for a distinct pereeption of the direct and
reflected sound, tliere should intervene
the intcrv:il of ' of a second; but in this
time sound dtscribes —g~ or 127 feet
nearly. And tlu-refore, unless the sum of
the lines drawn from each of the obstacles
to tlie points .\ and U exceeds the interval
AH by lir feet, no echo will be he:u\l at.
n. Since the several sums of the lines
drawn from the obstacles to the points A
and B are of the same m:ignitude, it ;ip-
pcars that the curve passing through all
the points, C, 1), E, F, G, H, I, &c. will be
an ellipse. Hence all the points of the
obstacles which produce ao echo qkuiI
ACOUSTICS.
lie in tlie suiface of the oblong spheroid,
generated by tlie revolution of this ellipse
I'ound its major axis. See Coj^rc Sec-
Tiovs. As there may be several sphe-
roids of different magmitudcs, so there
may be several different echoes of the
same original sound. And as there may
happen lobe a greater number of reflecting
points in tlie surface of an exterior sphe-
roid than in tliut of an interior, a second or
athii-d echo may be much more powerful
than the first, jirovided that the superior
number of reflecting points, that is, the
superior number of reflecting pulses pro-
pagated to the ear, be more than suflScicnt
to compensate for the decay of sound
which arises from its being propagated
through a gi-eater space. This is finely
illustrated in the celebrated echoes at the
lake of Killarney, in Kerry, where the fii-st
return of the sound is much inferior in
strength to those which immediately suc-
ceed it. From what has been laid down
it appears, that, for the most powerful
echo, tlie sounding body should be in one
focus of the eUipse, which is the section
of tile echoing spheroid, and the hearer in
the other. However, an echo may be
heard in oLher situations, though not so
favourably ; as s.ich a number of reflect-
ed pulses may arrive at the same time at
the ear, as may be sufficJent to excite a
distinct perception. ) hus a person often
hears the echo of his own voice ; but for
this pui-pose he should stand at least 63
or 64 feet from the reflecting obstacle,
according to what has been said before.
If a bell, a, fig. 5, be struck, and the
undulations of tlie air strike the wall c d
in a pei-penrlicular direction, they will be
reflected back in the same Ime ; and if a
person be situated between a and c, as at
J?, he would hear the sound of the bell by
means of the undulations as they went to
the wall, and he would hear it again as
they came back, after the reflection,which
would be the echo of the sound. So a
person standing at x might, in speaking in
the direction oi'the wall c d, hear the echo
of his ow n voice. But in both cases the
distance c x must be 63 or 64 feet. If the
undulations strike against the wall oblique-
ly, they will be reflected off' obliquely on
tl\e other side ; if, for instance, a person
stand at m, and there be any obstacle be-
tween that place and the bell, so as to pre-
vent him hearing the direct sound, he may
iievertheless liear the echo from the wall
c </, provided tlie direct sound fall in that
sort of oblique direction, so as to force the
reflected undulations along the lime c m.
At the common rate of speaking, we do
not pronounce above three syllables and a
half, tljat is, seven half syllables in a se-
cond ; Hierefore,thatthe echo may return
just as soon as three syllables are ex-
pressed, twice the distance of the speaker
from the reflecting object must be equal
to 1000 feet; for as sound describes 1142
feet in a second, 6-7ths of that space, that
is, lOOu feet nearly,will be described while
six hidf, or three whole, syllables are pro-
nounced ; that is, the speaker must stand
near 500 feet from the obstacle. And, in
general, the distance of the speaker from
the echoing sui-face, for any number of
syllables, must be equal to the seventh
part of the product of 11 42 feet multiplied
by that number. In churches we never
hear a distinct echo of the voice, but a
confused sound, when the speaker utters
his words too rapidly ; because the great-
est diff'erence of chstance between the di-
rect and reflected courses of such a num-
ber of pulses as would produce a distinct
sound is never in any chiirch equal to 127
feet, the limit of echoes. But though the
first reflected pulses may produce no echo,
both on account of their being too few in
number, and too rapid in their return to
the ear, yet it is evident, that the reflect-
ing surface may be so formed, as that the
pulses which come to the ear, after two
reflections or more, may, after having de-
scribed 127 feet or more, arrive at the ear
in sufficient number.s, and also so nearly
at the same instant, as to produce an echo,
though the chstance of the reflecting sur-
face from the ear be less than the limit of
echoes. This is confiniied by a singular
echo in a grotto on the banks of the little
brook called the Dinan, about two miles
from Castleconiber, in the county of Kil-
kenny. As you enter the cave, and con-
tinue speaking loud, no return of the voice
is perceived ; but on your amving at a
certain point, wliidi is not above 14 or 15
feet from the reflecting surface, a very
chstinct echo is heard. Now this echo
cannot arise from th^ first course of pul-
ses that are reflected to the ear, because
the breadth of tlie cave is so small, that
they would return too quickly to produce
a distinct sensation from that of the origi-
nal sound: it therefore is produced by
those pulses, which, after having been re-
flected several times from one side of the
grotto to the other, and having iim over
a greater space than 127 feet, arrived at
the eai- in considerable numbers, and not
more distant from each other in point of
time than the ninth part of a second. M,
De la Grange demonstrated, that all im-
pressions are reflected by lui obstaclje ter^
ACOUSTICS.
minatin^nn elastic fluid, with the same ve-
locity with which they arrived at that ob-
stacle. When the walls of a passag'e, or
of an unfurnished room, are smooth, and
perfectly pandlel, any explosion, or a
stampint^ with the foot, communicates an
impression to the air, which is reflected
from one wall to the other, and from the
second again towards the ear, neai'iy in
the same direction with the primitive im-
pulse : this takes place as frequently in
a second, as double the breadth of the pas-
sage is contained in 1130 feet; and the
ear receives a perception of a musical
sound, thus determining its pitch by the
breadth of the passage. On making
the experiment, tlie result will be foimd
accurately to agree with this explanation.
If the sound is predetermined, and the fre-
quency of vibrations such, as that each
pulse, when doubly reflected, may coin-
cide with the subsequent impulse, pro-
ceeding directly from the sounding body,
the intensity o^ the sound will be much
increased by the reflection ; and also, in
a less degree, if the reflected pulse coin-
cides with the next but one, the next but
two, or more of the direct pulses. The ap-
propriate notes of a room may readily be
discovered by singing the scale in it; and
they will be found to depend on the pro-
portion of its length or brejidth to llSOieet.
By altering our situation in a room, and
expressing a sound, or hearing the soimd
of another person, in difi'erent situations,
or when diilerent objects arc alternateV
E laced in the room, that sound ma^ be
eard louder or weaker, and more »>r less
distinct. Hence it is, that blind persons,
who are under the necessity of paying
yreat attention to the perceptions of their
sense of hearing, acquire the habit of dis-
tinguishing, from the sound even of their
own voices, whether a room is empty or
fiirnished ; wheUierthe windows are open
or shut ; and sometimes they can even dis-
tinguish whetlier any person be in the
room or not A great deal of furniture in
a room checks, in a great meas'.ire, the
sounds that are produced in it, for they
hinder the free communication of the vi-
brations of tlie air from one piu-t of the
room to tlie other. The fittest rooms for
declamation, or for music, are such as
contain few ornaments that obstruct the
sound, and at the same time have the least
echo po.ssiblc.
A strong and continued sound fatigues
the ear. The strokes of heavy hanuners,
•f artillerj-, &c. are apt to make people
deaf for a time : and it has been known
th.it persons who have been long exposed
to the continued and confused noise of cer-
tain manufactories, or oi' water-falls, or
other noisy places, can hear what 's spo-
ken to them much better in the midst of
Uiat noise than elsewhere.
We shall conclude this article with an
experiment or two. for the amusement of
the younger part of our readere.
Experiment 1. Place a concave mir-
ror, AB, fig-. 6, of two feet in diameter, in
a perpendicular direction, and at the dis-
tance of iibout five or six feet from a par-
tition EF, in which there is an ojjening
equal in size to the miiTor ; against this
opening must be placed a picture, painted
in water-colours, on a thin cloth, that the
sound may exsily pass through it. Be-
hind the partition, at the distance of a few
feet, place anotlier mirror GH, of the same
size as the former, and directly opposite
to it. At the point C is to be placed the
figure of a man, se.ited on a pedestal, with
his ear exactly in the focus of the first
mirror; his lower jaw must be made to
open by a wire, and shut by a spring.
The wire must pass through the figure,
and under the floor, to come up beltind
the partition. Let a person, properly in-
structed, be pl«ced behind tlie partition,
neai'the mirror; any one may now whisper
into the ear of the image, with the assur-
ance of being answered. The deception is
managed by giving a sign:d to the pei-son
beJund the partition, who, by phicing his
eartothefocus i of the min'orGH,willhcar
distinctly what the other sjiid, and moving
the jaw of the statue by tlie concealed wire,
will return tlie answer directly, which
will be heartl distinctly by thefirst speaker.
Ex. 2. Let two heads of pla.ster of Pa-
ris be placed on pedestals, on opposite
sides of a room. A tin tube of an inch in
(hameter must pass from the ear of one
head tlirough the pedestal under tlie floor,
and g^ up to the mouth of the other.
When a person speaks low into the ear
of one bust, the sound is reverberated
tlirough tlie length of the tube, and will be
distinctly heard by any one who shall
place his ear to the mouth of the other.
The end of the tube which is next the ear
of tlie one head should be considerably
larger than that end which comes to the
mouth of tlie other. If there be two tubes,
one g^oing to the car, and tlie other to the
mouth of each head, two persons may
converse together, by ap|)lying their
mouth and ear reciprocally to the moutb
and ear of the busts, while otlicr people,
standing in the middle of the room, be-
tw cen the heads, will not hear juiy part of
the ponvcrsation.
ACR
ACR
Ex. 3. Fig'. 7 is a representation of the
Eolian liarp, which wa.s pi-obahly invented
by Kirclier I'his instrument may be
made by almost any caipenter; it con-
sists of a h)ng naiTOW box of very thin deal,
about five or six inches broad, and two
mchcs deep, with a circle in the middle
of thte upper side, of an inch at\d a half in
diameter, in wliich is drilled small holes.
On tliis side seven, ten, or more strings
of very fine gut are stretched over bridg-
es at each end, 'ike the bridge of a fiddle,
and screwed up or relaxed with screw-
pins. The strings are all tuned to one
and the same note ; and the instrument is
placed in some current of air, wliere the
wind can pass over its strings with free-
dom. A window, of which the width is
exactly equal to the length of the hai'p,
with the sash just raised to give the air
admission, is a proper situation. When
the air blows upon these strings with dif-
ferent degrees offeree, it will excite dif-
ferent tones of sound ; sometimes the
blast brings out all the tones in fidl con-
ceit, and sometimes it sinks thera to the
softest munnurs.
There are difterent kinds of these in-
striunents; one, invented by the Rev. W.
Jones, has the strings fixed to a sounding-
board, or belly, within a wooden case,
and the wind is admitted to them through
an horizontal aperture. Jn this foiiv) the
instrument is jjortable, and may be used
any where in the open air. The tension
of tlie strings must not be great, as the
air, if gentle, has not sufficient power to
make them vibrate, and if it blows fresh,
the instnmfient does not sing, but scream.
See Hahmonics.
ACQUITTAL, in law, is a deliverance
or settingfree from the suspicion of guilt ;
as one who is discharged of a felony is
said to be acquitted thereof.
Acquittal is either in fact, or in law ; in
fact, it is whei-e a person, on a verdict of
the jury, is found not guilty ; in law, it is
when two persons are indicted, one as a
principal, &c. the other as accessary : here,
if the fonner be dischai-ged, tlie latter of
consequence is acquitted.
ACQUITTANCE, a discharge in wrl-
ting for a sum of money, witnessing tliat
the party is paid the same.
A man is obliged to give an acquittance
on receiving money : and a servant's ac-
quittance for money received for the use
of his master shall bind him, provided the
senant used to receive his master's rents.
An acquittance is a full dischaige, and
bars all actions, &c.
ACRIDiE, in entomology, the name by
which Linuscus has distinguished the firet
family of the gryllus, or the cricket, pro-
perly so called : the charactei-s of which
are, that the head is conical and longer
tlian the thorax, and the antenme ensiform,
or sword-shaped. Of this family there are
eight species, none of which are found ii>
Britain. The insects of this family feed
on other insects. See Gryllts.
ACROCHOWDUS, in natvual histoiy, a
genus of the class Amphibia, and of the
order Serpents. There are but three spe-
cies, viz. A. javanicus, warted snake,
brown, beneath paler ; the sides obscurely
variegated with whitish. It inhabits Java,
chiefly among the pepjier plantations ;
grows sometimes to seven feet long. The
warts, by means of a magnifying glass,
appear to be convex carinate scales, and
tlie smaller ones are furnished with two
smaller prominences, one each side the
hu-ger. Head somewliat flattened, hardly
wider than the neck, body gradually
thicker towanls tlie middle, and suddenly
contracting near the tail, wliich is short,
and slightly acuminate. A. dubius,
which very nearly resembles the javani-
cus, except that the head is covei*ed with
very minute, rough and warted scales,
differing in size alone from those on the
otlier part of the animal. The dubius
measures only about three feet in length.
A specimen is to be seen in the British
Museum. Its native place is not ascer-
tained. A. fasciatus, resembles the du-
bius so much, that some naturalists sup-
pose them both to be of the same species,
and dWcring only in age and cast of co-
lours. The specimea in the British Mu-
seum is about eighteen inches long. Sec
plate Serpentes, fig. 1.
ACRONICHAL, or Achroj^ycai., in as-
tronomy, an apjieiktion given to the ris-
ing of a star above the horizon, at sunset ;
or to its setting when tl»e sun rises. A-
cronichal is one of the three poetical ris-
ings of a star : the other two being called
cosmicaJ and helical.
This term is also applied to tlie superi-
or planets, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mai-s.
when they are come to the meritUan of
midnight.
ACIIOSTERMUM, in botany, a genu?
of the Cryptogamla Fungi class and or-
der; fungus quite simple, nearly erect,
emitting the seeds exterioriy from the
top. I'here are four species,
ACROSTICUM, ntity-huck^ ■wv/f-rve, or
forked-ffm, in botanj', a g-cnus of the Cr) p-
togamia Filices ; the character of wliich
is, that the fructifications cover tlie whol*
inferior suriiice of tjie leaf. There aj*e
ACT
ACT
4S species, diBtributed into different c!as»-
<;». Few of the species have been intro-
duced into gardens. Those of Europe
may be preserved in pots, filled with gra-
vel and lime-rubbish, or planted on walls
and artificial rocks; but most of them,
being natives of very hot climates, must
be planted in pots, and plunged into the
bark pit.
ACTiEA, in botany, a genus of plants
of the Polyandria Monogynia class and
order. Gen. chai-.icter : calyx periantli,
fouHeaved; leaflets roundish, obtuse,
concave, caducous ; cor. petals four, acu-
minate at botJi ends, larger tlian tlie ca-
lyx ; filaments about JO ; germ superi-
or ovate ; no style ; stigma tiiickisli, ob-
liquely depressed ; pericarp a berry, oval-
globose, smooth, one-fiiiTowed, one cell-
ed ; seech) very man}', semi-orbicular, lying
over each other in two rows. There are
four species, viz. tlie spicata ; racemosa ;
japonica ; and aspera. Of the first there
are varieties, of tlie black-berried herb
Christopher, or bane-beiTy, found in the
nortlieni parts of Englaml; the <;hristo-
pher, with white berries, a native of Ame-
rica; and that with red berries. The
racemosa, or black snake-root, found also
in America, of whicli tlie root is much
used in many disorders, and is supposed
to be an antidote against the bite of the
rattle-snake, Tliis species i» now more
properly refcired to the genus Cimifiiga,
and is called by Pursli Cimifuga Serpen-
taria. Sec Ci.mifcoa. The leaves of the
A. aspera, beingertremely i-ough, the Chi-
nese use them in poUsfiing their tin ware.
ACTINIA, in natural historj', a genus
of the Moilusca order of worms ; the cha-
racters of which are, body oblong, cylin-
drical, fleshy, contractile, fixed by the
base ; mouth terminal, expansile, sur-
rounded with numerous cirri, and witliout
any aperture. There are 36 species. These
marine animals are vi%-iparoiifi, and have
no aperture but the mouth. They feed
on shell-fish and other marine animals,
which they draw in with their ft^elers, in a
short time rejecting through the same
aperture the shells and indigestible parts.
They assume various forms, and where
the tcntacula or feelers are all expanded,
have the ap|>earance of full-blov n flow-
ers. Many of them are eatable, and some
of them very sapid.
ACTINOLI'IE, in mineralogy, a family,
comprehending six species, viz. the acti-
nolite,8maragdite, tremolite, cyanite, sya-
litc, ami schalstone. The actinolite or-
curs cliicfly in be<ls in primitive moun-
tains, and is divided into tiiree sub-species.
viz. the asbestos, common and glas«y
The asbestos colours greenish grey, moun-
tain gi-een, smelt bine, olive green, yel-
k)\vish, and Uver-brown. Massive, and in
capillary crjstals. Soft ; brittle ; specific
gravity 2.5 to 2.9. Melts before tlie blow-
pipe. The usual colour of the common
is leek green, but its specific gravity is
between o.U and 3.3. The principal co-
lour of the glassy is mountain green, pass-
ing to tlie emerald gi-een. Specific gra-
vity 2.9 to 3.9.
-"VC TION, in meclianics and physics, is
the influence of one body upon another,
in generating or destroying its motion.
It is one of the laws of nature, that ac-
tion and reaction are equal, that is, tlic
resistance of the body moved is always
equal to tlie force communicated to it : oi^
which is the same tiling, the moving body
loses as much of its force as it commu-
nicates to the bod} moved.
If a body be urged by equal and oon-
trarv' actions or pressures, it will remain
at rest. But if one of these pressures be
greater than its ojjposite, motion will en-
sue toward die parts least pressed.
It is to be observed, that the j.ctions of
bodies on each other, in a space that is
carried uniformly forward, are the same
as if die space were at rest; aiul any
powers or motions that act upon all bodies,
so iis to produce equal velocities in them
in the same, or in parallel right hnes, have
no efl'ect on their mutual actions, or rela-
tive motions. Thus the motion of bodies
aboard a ship, that is carried steadily and
uniformly forward, are performed in the
same manner as if the ship was at rest.
The motion of the earth round its axis
has no eflcct on the actions of bodies and
ag'ents at its surface, but so far as it is not
uiiifomi aiul rectilineal. In general, the
actions of bodies upon each other depend
not on tlieir abaolute^ but rtlative motion.
AcTies, in law, denotes either the right
of demanding, in a legal manner, what is
any man's due, or the process brought for
the recovering the same.
Actions are either ciimhial or civil.
Criminal actions arc to have judgment
of death, asappeaJs of death, robber}-, &c»
or only judgment for damage to the in-
jured part}-, fine to the king, and impri-
sonment.
Underthe head of criming actions mu}
likewise be ranked penal actions, wiiicU
lie for some penalty orpunishment on the
party sued, whetlier it be corporal or pe-
cuniary.
Also actions upon the statute, brought
en breMch of «ny Hiitute., or act of parlia-
ACT
ADA
ttient, by which an action is given that did
not he before ; as where a jierson com-
mits perjiin to the prejudice of anotlier,
the injured party shaiiliavean action up-
on the statute. And histly, popular ac-
tions, so called, because any person may
bring- them on behalf of himself and the
crown, by information, &c. fortlie breach
of some penal statute.
Civil actions are divided into real, per-
sonal, and mixed.
Real action, is tliat whereby a man
claims a title, lands, tenements, &c. in fee,
orfor hfe, and this action is either posses-
soiy, or ancestral; possessory, where the
lands are a person's own possession or
seisin; ancestral, when they were of the
possession or seisin of hisancestore.
Personal action, is one brought by one
man against anotlier, upon any conti-act
for money or goods, or on account of tres-
piiss, or other offence committed ; and
thereby the debt, goods, chattels, 8tc.
claimed.
Mixt action, one lying as well for the
thingdemanded as against the pei-son who
has it ; and on which the thing is recover-
ed, with damages forthe wrong sustained ;
such is an action of waste, sued against a
tenant for life, the place wasted being re-
coverable, with treble damages for the
wrong done.
ACTS of parliament, statutes, acts,
edicts, made by the king, with the advice
and consent of the lords spiritual and tem-
poral, and commons, in parliament ass^ m-
bled. An act of parliament is the highest
possible authority, and hath powertobind
not only every subject, but tlie king him-
self, if particularly named therein, and
cannot be altered or repealed out by the
same authority. Where the common law
and the statute law differ, the common
law gives place to the statute, and an old
statute gives place to a new one. Penal
statutes must be construed strictly ; thus
a statute of Edw. I. having enacted, that
those convicted of stealing hoi-ses shouki
not have the benefit of clergy, the judges
conceived that this did not extend to him
that should steal but one horse, and a new
act for that purpose was passed in the fol-
lowing year. Statutes against frauds are
tobehberally and beneficially expounded.
One part of a statute must be constnied
by another, that the whole may, if possi-
ble, stand ; — a saving clause totally repug-
nant to the body of the act. If a statute
that repeals another is itself repealed af-
terwards, the first statute is hereby re-
vived. Acts of parliament derog-atoiy
from the powerof subsequent parliaments
bind not. Acts of parhament, that are
impossible to be performed, are of no va-
lidity.
ACULEATE, or Aculbated, an ap-
pellation given to any thing tliat has acu-
iei, or prickles : thus fishes are divided
into those with aculeated and not aculea-
te d fins.
The .same term is applied, in botany, to
tlie stems and bi-anches of those plants
that are furnished with prickles, as the
rose, the nispberry, and barberry trees.
The prickle differs from the thorn, which
is another species of armature, or defence,
against animals, in being only a prolonga-
tion of tlie cortex or outer bark of the
plant, and not connected witli nor protiu-
ded from the wood. This is appai-ent,
from the ease with which such prickles
are detached from the stem with the bark,
while the other and more rigid species of
weapon, being an expansion of the ligne-
ous body, cannot be detached, without ren-
dering and tearing tlie substance of the
wood. Prickles are either straight, as in
the solanum indicum ; or bent inwards, as
inthe mimosa cineraria; or bent outwards;
or downy, that is, covered with a sort of
wool. See Towentum.
ACUMINATE, in natural historj', a
term applied to fishes whose tails end in a
sharp point.
AD. a Latin preposition, expressing the
relation of one thing to another.
It is frequently prefixed to other words :
thus,
Ai) hondnem, among logicians, an argu-
ment drawn from the professed belief or
principles of those with whom we argue.
An valorem, among the oflScei-s of the
king's revenue, a term used for such du-
ties, or customs, as are paid acconhng to
the value of the goods sworn to by the
owner
ADAGIO, in music, signifiesthe second
degree of music from slow to quick. It
is applied to nmsic not only meant to be
performed in slow time, but also with grace
and embelUshnient.
ADAMANTINE spar, in mineralogy,
one of the species of the ruby family,
found only in China. Colour dark, hair
brown. Massive, crystallized in six-sided
prism.s, and six-sided pyramids, having
their apex truncated. Specific gravity
3.98. SeeRrsy.
ADAMBEA, in botany, a genus of the
Polyandria Monogynia class and order,
of which there is but a single species,
which grows on the coast of Malabar, in
sandy and stony places ; rises to about
seven feet, andscnds forth branches, whicU
ADD
ADH
are terminated by panicles of fine purple
Howers, larg-e, and resembling roses.
AD ANSONI A, in botany, a f^enus of the
Mona<le!phia order, and Folyamhia class,
named after Michael Adanson, an inde-
fatif^able French naturalist. The A. dipi-
t'it;i, Kthiopcan sour-gX)urd, or monkies'
bread, Cidled also abavo, is the only spe-
cies known of this genus.
AUDKR. See Colvbeh.
ADDITION, in arithmetic, the first of
tlie foiir fundamental rules of that art,
whereby we find a sum equal to several
smaller ones. See Algkbra and Arith-
metic.
Adiiitioxs, in law, denote all manner
of designations ^ven to a man, over and
above his proper name and surname, to
shew of what estate, degree, myster)",
place of abode, &c. he is.
Additions of degree are the same with
titles of honour or dignity, as knight, lord,
carl, duke, &c.
Additions of estate are yeoman, gentle-
man, esquire, and the like.
Additions of myster}', or trade, are, car-
penter, mason, painter, engraver, and the
like.
Additions of place, or residence, are,
London, Edinburgh, Bristol, York, Glas-
gow, Aberdeen, Stc.
These additions were ordained, to pre-
vent one man's being grieved, or molest-
ed, for anotlier; and that every person
might be certainly known, so as to bear his
own bunlen.
If a man is of diflTcrcnt degrees, as duke,
earl, &c. he shall have the most wortliy ;
and the title of knight, or baronet, is part
of the party's name, and therefore ought
to be rightly used ; wherea-s lliat of es-
quire, or gentleman, being as people
please to call them, may be used, or not,
or varied at pleasure.
A Peer of Ireland is no addition of ho-
nour here ; nay, the law-addition to the
chiUlren of British noblemen is only that
of esquire, commonly called lord.
W rits without tlie proper additions, if
excepted to, .shall al>ate ; only, where the
process of out'awn.- doth not lie, additions
are not necessary. The addition of a pa-
rish, not in any city, must mention the
county, otherwise it is not good.
AnniTioN, in heraldry, sometliing
added to a coat of anns, as a mark of ho-
nour; and therefore directly opposite to
abatement.
ADDUCTOR, in anatomy, a genei^
name for all such muscles as serve to draw
one part of the bodv towarxis ajioUier. Sec
Anatomt
ADELTA, in botany, a genus of the
Dioecia Gy nandria class and order. Male :
calyx three-parted; no corolla; stamina
numerous; muted atthe base. Female .'
caly.v five-parted; no coi-olla; styles three,
lacerated. Capsule three-grained.
ADEN ANTH ERA, in botany, a genus
of the Decandria Monogynia class of
plants, the calyx of which isasingie-Ieaved
perianlliium, verv' small, and cut into five
segments: the corolla consists of five lan-
ceolated bell-shaped petals ; the fruit is a
long meinbmnaceous compressed pod,
containing several round seeds. There
arc three species: A. pai*onin:i, which is
one of the largest trees in the East Indies.
Its duration- is 2uO years, and its timber is
much used on account of its solidity : the
powder of the leaves is used in their reli-
gious ceremonies ; the seeds are eaten,
and also valued as weights, being each of
them four grains. This species must be
raised on a hot-bed from seeds. It has
never flowered in England : it is of very-
slow growth. The other species, viz. the
A. falcata, and A. scandens, have not been
cultivated in this countn.
ADENI.X, in botany, a genus of the
Ilexandria Monogynia class and order,
that grows in Arabia, 'i'here is but one
species, which is mentioned by Forskal,
in his Flor. vtgjpt. He says, that the pow-
der of the young branches mixed in any
kind of liquor is a strong poison, and
that the capparis spinosa is an antidote
to it.
ADFECTED<*<7Kar<oH4-,inalgebra,those
wherein the unknown quantity is found
in two or more different powers : such is
.r^ — a.r^-i-hj--=a^ d.
A DH ESION, in philosophy and chcmis-
tr}', is a term generally m:ule use of to ex-
press the piT>j)erty which certain bodies
have, of attracting to themselves other
bodie-sorthe force by which they adhere
togetlicr : thus, water adheres to the fin-
ger, mercury to g-old, &c. Hence arises
an important distinction between two
wonls, that in a loose and popuhir sense
are often comfounded. Adhesion, denotes
an union to a certain point between two
dissiniihu" substances ; and cohesion, that
which retains together the component
particles of the s:ime mass. See Cohe.
siox.
Adhesion may take place either be-
tween two soHds, as two hemispheres of
glass, which, according to an experiment
of Desaguliers, atlhere to each other with
a foife equal to 19 ounces on a surface of
contact one-tentli of an inch in diameter;
or between solids and fltiids, as the bus-
ADH
ADI
pension of water in cajpillarv bibes; t)r, precisely parallel to tlie plane of the hori-
fcwtly, between two fluids, as oil and wa- zon. Each of these plates was in turn
ter. About the same time Mr. Hauksbee suspended to the arm of an assay balance,
proved, experimentally, the error wliich and exactly coiuiterpoised by weiglits
Bernoulli had fidien into, in attributing placed in the scale attached to the oppo-
the adhesir.n of surfaces and capillary at- site ami; the plate, thus balanced, was
traction to the pressure of the atmo- applied to the surface of some mercury
sphere. Nevertheless, in 1772, M. M. in a cup, about two lines beneath it, by
I.a Grange and Cigna, takingfor granted a sliding the plate over the mercury, as in
natural repulsion between water and oily the silvering of mirroi-s, so as to exchide
substances, imagined, if there was an ad- every bubble of air; weights were then
■ hesion between water and oil, or tallow, successively added, till the adlicsion be-
that it must be occasioned by a cause dif- tween the plate and the mercurv- was
ferent from attraction : and having asccr- broken. Fresh mercury was used for
tained the reahty of the adhesion, they each experiment. The following is the
concluded that it was occasioned by the table of results:
pressure of the air, and that l>r. Taylor's tiold adheres to mercury with
method was not well founded. a force equal to . . . 446 grains.
Such was the state of opinions on the Silver . . 429
subject, when, in 1773, Guyton Mor\eau Tin 418
made his celebrated experiments on afl- T^ead 397
hesion, in presence of the Dijon Academy, IJismuth . • ^72
demonstrating, as indeed Hauksbee had Zinc 204
dotie before him, not only that water as- Copper 142
cends between two parallel plates of tal- Antimony (reguUis) . . . 126
low, separated fnini each other 1.8 of a Iron .115
line, but also tliat the atmospheric pres- Cobalt . 8
sure is not in the least degreethe cause of The .striking differences in the above
the phenomenon, which is solely attribut- t^ihle .shew that tiie pressure of tlie at-
able to attraction ; in proof of this, a po- mosphere has no share in them, since in
lisheddisk of glass, 3u lines in diameter, this respect the circumstances of each
was suspended to the arm of a balance, were precisely similar; nor do they de-
and brought into contact with the surface pend on the respective specific gravities ;
of mercur}-: the counterpoise required for if so, silver should rank after lead,
to separate it was equivalent to 9 gi-os cobalt before zinc, and iron before tin. —
and a few grain.s, and upon moving the The only order which agrees \vith the
apparatxis into the receiver of an air- above is that of the chemical affinity of
pump, and foi^ning as perfisct a vaciuim these metals, or the re.spective degrees of
as possible, precisely the same counter- their solubility in mercury. It is highly
poise was required as before. probable, therefore, that at least the prin-
Inthe prosecution of his inquiries on cipal part of the adhesive force thus found
this subject, he observed, that the same by experiment is owing to chemical affi-
<iisk of glass, which, when in contact with nity ; and that the above numerical series,
pure water, adhered to it with a force 446, 429, 418, 397, &.c. is an approxima-
equal to 258 grains, required a coimter- tion towards tlie ratio of the relative af-
Eoiseof only 210, in order to separate it finities of gold, silver, tin, lead^ &c. for
■om a solution of potash, not withstanding mercuiy .
the superior density of this la.st. This AUIANTHUM, Maidenhair, in botany^
inequality of effects on equal di-ameters, the name of a genus of plants of the
and in an inverse order to th.'it of the CrAptogamia Filices class and oi-der, the
Tespective specific gravities of the two characters of which .ire, that the fructifi-
fluids, appeared not only to be decisive in cations are collected in oval spots at the
favour of Dr. Taylor's method, but to en- ends of the leaves, which are folded back,
■courage the hope of applying it to the There are forty-four species, of which one
calculation of chemical affinities. onlybelongs to Great Britain, viz. the A.
In order to verify this proposition, capilhis veneris, which is found rarely in
plates of the different metals in their Scotland and Wales, on rocks and moist
highest state of purity were procured, walls, and which is a native of the south
perfectly round, an inch in diameter, of of Europe and the Levant. From this
the same thickness, well pohshed, and the syrup of capillaire is made. Another
furnished with a small ring in the centre species, the Adianthum pedatum, was
of each, so a.s to keep them suspended formerly esteemed as a valuable article
ADIPOCIRE.
of the Materia Medica. It has, however,
Allien iiitodisi-cpute.
ADIFOCIRK, isatermfoi-medofadeps,
fat, ai»d cera, wax, and denotes a sub-
stance, tlie nature and ori^n of whicli are
thus explained. The changes which ani-
nuU matter undergx)es in its progress to-
wards total decomposition have been, for
many obvious reasons, but little attended
to. But an opportunity of this kind was
offered at Paris in 1786 and 1787, when
the old burial groiind of the Innocens
was laid out for building upon, in conse-
quence of which, the surface soil, and the
animal remains contained therein, were
removed. This cemetry having been
for ages appropriated to the reception of
the dead, in one of the most populous
districts of Paris, was eminently well
calculated to exhibit the various process-
es of animal decomposition ; another fa-
vourable circumstance was, that it con-
tained several of those large pits (fosses
communes) in which tlie bodies of the
poor are deposited by hundreds. These
pits are cavities 30 feet deep, with an area
of 20 feet square, in which the shells con-
taining the bodies are closely packed in
rows over each other, without any inter-
mediate eailli, and with only a slight su-
perficial covering of soil, not more than a
foot thick : each pit contained from 1200
to 1500 bodies, and may be considered as
a mass of animal matter of the dimensions
above mentioned. M. M. Foui-croy and
Thourct were present at the opening of
several of these receptacles; and it is
from a memoir by the former of these,
that the principal part of this article is
composed. The first jjlt that was exam-
ined had been filled and closed up fifteen
yeai-s before ; on opening some of the
coffins (forthe wood w:is still quite sound,
only tinged of u yellow colour) the bodies
were found within shnuik, so as to leave
a considerable vacant space in the upper
part of the coffin, and flattened, as if tncy
hiid been subject to a strong compression ;
the linen which covered them adhered
irmly, and upon being removed, present-
ed to view only irregular masses of a
soft, ductile, greyish-white matter, appa-
rently intermediate between fat and wax;
the bones were enveloped in this, and
were found to be ver}' brittle. The bo-
dies, thus changed, being but little offen-
sive to the smell, a great number were
dug up and minutely examined : in some
this altenition had, as yet, only partially
taken place, the remains of muscular fi-
bres being still visible ; hut where the
VOL I
conversion had been complete, the bones
throughout tlie whole body were found co-
vered widi this grey substance, generally
soft and ductile, sometimes dry, but always
readily separating into porous cavernous
fragments, without the slightest trace of
nuLscles, membranes, vessels, tendons, or
nerves: the ligaments of the articulations
had been in like manner changed ; the
conne.vionbetween tlie bones was desti-oy-
ed, and these last had become so yielding,
that the grave -diggers, in oixler to remove
the bodies more conveniently, rolled each
upon itself from head to heels, without
any difficidty. Accoi-ding to the testi-
mony of these men, to whom the facts
just mentioned had been long famihar,
this conversion of animal matter is never
obserNcd in those bodies that are interred
singly, but always takes place in the foss-
es communes: to effect this change,
nearly three years are required. The
soapy matter of latest formation Is soft,
very ductile, fight, and spongj, and con-
tains water ; in 30 or 40 years it becomes
much drier, more brittle, and assumes
the appearance of dense laminx, and
where the suiTounding earth has been
drier than usual, it is sometimes semi-
transpiu-ent, of a granidated texture,
brittle, and bears a considei-able resem-
blance to wax. Animal matter, having
once passed into this stage of decomp<j«-
tion, appears to resist for a long time any
further alteration: some of these pit*
tliat had been closed above 40 years were,
upon examination, found to be little else
than a solid mass of soapy matter ; nor
is it yet ascertained, how long in common
circumstances it would contin uc unchang-
ed, tlie burial ground of the Innocens be-
ing so small, in compaiison to the ponula-
tion of the district, as to require each pit
in 30 or 40 years to be emptied of its
contents, in order to receive anew suc-
cession of bodies : it appears, however,
tliat the ulterior changes depend in a
great measure on the quantity of moistiu«
draining through tlie mass. From the
history of tliis singular substance, we
proceed to an examination of its chemical
properties. It was first, however, puri-
fied by gently heating in an earthen ves-
sel, till it became of a pastv consistence,
and then rubbed Uirough a fine haii;
sieve, by which means the hair, small
bones, and remains of the muscular fibre,
were separated with tolerable exactness.
In tills state, beingexposedin an earthen
vessel to the naked fire, it readily became
soft, but did not liquify \vithout consider-
ADI
ADJ
able difficulty, rather frying as a piece of
soap would do, and diseng-.iging at the
same time ammoniacal vapoui-s. Four
pounds beings put into a glass retort, and
submitted to slow distillation in a water
bath, afforded in the space of three weeks
eight ounces of a clear watery fluid, with
a fetid odour, turning syrup of violets
^recn, and manifestly containing ammonia
in solution ; the soapy matter remaining
in the retort had acquired a greater con-
sistence, was become less fusible, of a
deeper brown colour, and, upon cooling,
was evidently drier than before, though
not admitting of being broken. Eight
ounces of soapy matter, white and puri-
fied, were mixed with an equal weight of
powdered qiuck lime ; on the addition of
a little water, the mass heated, swelled,
and disengaged a very sti-ongly ammoni-
acal vapour, accompanied by a peculiar
putrescent smell; a sufficiency of water
being then added, to bring the whole to
tlie state of an emulsion, it was heated to
ebullition, much ammoniacal vapour es-
caping at tlie same time ; the liquor being
thrown on a filter, passed perfectly clear
and colourless, and appeared to be only
lime-water, with a very small quantity of
«oap in solution : tlie matter remaining
on the filter, being well washed, was beat-
en up with water, but shewed no tenden-
cy to unite with it, subsiding after a time
in the form of a white mass; this, by dry-
ing for a few days in the open air, became
grey, and much reduced in volume : it
was then mixed with diluted muriatic
acid, which immediately decomposed it,
and a number of white clots rose to tlie
surface of the liquor. This last being
obtainedclear by fihration,yielded crystals
of muriat of lime, and a sUght trace of
phosphoric salt; the white clots being
washed and dried, and afterwards melted
in a water bath, cooled into a dry, com-
bustible, oily matter, brittle, waxy, cr\s-
talhzable, and perfectly insoluble in wa-
ter, to which the name of adipocire has
been appropriated. From this series of
experiments with Ume, it appears that
the soapy matter is a true ammoniacal
soap, with a base of adipocire, to whicli
lime has a stronger affinity than ammo-
nia ; but which last composition is again
in its turn decomposed by all the acids,
leavingthe adipocire in a state of purity.
Potash and soda produce effects perfectly
analogous to these of lime. To the fore-
going experiments of Fourcroy, a few
facts have since been added by Dr. Gib-
hes. The receptacle at Oxford for those
bodies, which have been used by the ana-
tomical professor there for his demonstra-
tions, is a hole dug in the ground to the
depth of thiiteen or fourteen feet, and a
little stream is turned through it, in or-
der to remove all offensive smell: the
flesh contained in tliis was found, on ex-
amination, to be quite white, and for the
most part changed into the soapy matter
above mentioned. Fi-om this hint, pieces
of lean beef were enclosed in a perforated
box, and placed in running water, and at
the end of a month were found converted
into a mass of fatty matter; this change
was observed to take place much sooner,
and more completely, in running than in
stagnant water: in order to get rid of the
foetid smell, nitrous acid was had recourse
to, which immediately had the desired
effect; a waxy smell was perceived, and
by melting the matter it was obtained
nearly pm-e; the yellow colour, which
had been given to it by the nitrous acid,
was wholly discharged by the oxymuriatic
acid. A similar conversion of muscular
fibre takes place by maceration in very
diluted nitrous acid. Dr. Gibbes has not
mentioned whether the fatty matter pro-
duced by ninning water is pure adipocire,.
or ammoniacal soap : it appears proba-
ble, however, that it is in the former
state; where nitrous acid is the men-
struum employed, it is obviously impossi-
ble that the adipocire should be combined
witli an alkali.
ADIT of a Mine, the hole or aperture
whereby it is entered and dug, and by
which the water and ores are carried
away; it is distinguished fi-om the air-
shaft. The adit is usually made on the
side of a hill, towards the bottom, about
four or six feet high, and eight wide, in
form of an arch ; sometimes cut into the
rock, and sometimes supported with tim-
ber, so conducted, as that the sole or
bottom of the adit may answer to the bot-
tom of the shaft, only somewhat lower,
that the water may have a sufficient cur-
itnt to pass away without the use of the
pump.
ADJUTAGE, or Ajutage, in hydrau-
lics, the tube fitted to the mouth of a pipe
through which a fountain plays. See
HrDRAULICS.
ADJUTANT, in the niilitarj' art, an
officer whose business is to assist the
major, and therefore sometimes called the
md-major.
Avu.TAST-o'em'ml, an officer of dis-
tinction, who assists the general in his la-
borious duty: he forms the several dc-
\
ADM
ADO
tails of the duty of the array with the hri.
^ado majors, aiul ketjisanarcoimtof tiie
state of each bri^judc ami rcj^inenL In
tlie day of battle he sees the infantry
drawn up, after which he places liiniself
by tlie side of tlic {ceneral, to receive or-
ders. In a siege he visits tlie several
posts, gives and signs all oi-ders, ami has
a Serjeant from each brigade to carrj' any
enlers wliich he may have to send.
AU.MEASUREMENT, inlaw.awritfor
adjusting tlie shares of something to be
divided. Thus, admeasurement of dower
takes place, when the widqw of the de-
ceased claims more as her dower than
what of right belongs to her. And ad-
measurement of pasture may be obtained,
w hen any of tlie persons who have right
in a common pasture puts more cattle to
feed on it than he ought.
ADmMSTRATOR, in law, the per-
son to wliom the goo<ls, effects, or estate
of one who died intestate are entrusted ;
for wliich lie is to be accountable when
required.
'i'he bishop of the diocese, whore tlie
party dies, is regularly to grant adminis-
tration ; but if the intestate has gootls in
several dioceses, administration must be
granted by tiie archbishop in the preroga-
tive court. The persons to whom admin-
istration is gr.»nted are, a husband, wife,
children, whether sons or daughters, tlie
father or motlier, brother or sister, and,
in general, to the next of kin, as uncle,
aunt, cousin ; tlien to a creditor.
An action lies for and against an adnu-
nistrator, as for anil against an executor ;
only that he is accountable no farther
than to tlie value of the goods.
AI)M1KAI>, in maritime affairs, ag^eat
officer, w ho commands tlie naval forces of
a kingdom or state, and decides all mari-
time causes. For tlie latter purposes a
commission has been instituted in Eng-
land, w ho, by a statute of W. and M. have
the same autliority as the Lord High Ad-
miral. Tiie admirals of England are
merely naval commanders. Ever}' other
business it'lalive to the navy at large is
directed by the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiridty. See PntcEUKXtK, Ad.*!-
HALTV OUIIT, &.C.
AD.MIUAL'I'Y, properly signifies the
office of Lortl High .\tlniiral, whetiier dis-
charged by one or several joint commis>
sioners, called Lords of the Adniirshv.
Ai).MiHALTT-Coj/rr,or Court of Admiral,
ty, in the British polity, a sovereign court
lield by the Lord High Admiral, or the
C«mmis^oners of tlic Admindiv
TJiis court has cognizance in :ill mari-
time affairs, civil as well as criminal. All
crimes committe<l on the high-seas, or in
great rivers, beneath the bridge next the
sea, are cognizable only in this court ;
which, by statute, is obliged to try^the
same by judge and jur>'. But in civil
causes it is otherwise, tliese being all de-
termined according to the civil law ; the
reason whereof is, because the sea is
without tlie jurisdiction of the common
law.
In case any person be sued in the ad-
miralty-court, contrary to the statutes, he
may have the writ of supersedeas, to stop
farther proceedings, and also an action
for double damages against tlie person
suing.
Subortlinate to this court, there is ano-
ther of equity, called Court-merchant-,
wherein all causesbetween merchants are
decided, agreeable to the ndes of the
civil law.
ADOLIA, in botany, a genus of plants
found among the trees at Malabar, which
bear a near relation to the rahmnus. —
There are two species, viz. A. alba, with
white flow ers, which g^ws to the height
of seven or eight feet, and bears fruit
twice a year: the berries, when ripe, are
of a purplish black colour : and A. rubra,
with red flow ers : but the berries, when
ripe, are of an orange colour, and of an
acid taste.
ADONIS, Pheasant's Eye, or Red
Jtfiuths, in botany, a genus of the Polyan-
dria Polyg)'nia class of plants, tlie calyx of
which is a perianthium, composed of five
obtuse, hollow, somewhat coloured and
deciduous leaves'; the corolb consists of
five oblong obtuse beautiful petals, and
sometimes there are more than five ;
there is no pericarpium ; the receptacle
is oblong, spicated, and holds five series
of seeds; the seeds are numerous, irre-
gular, and angular, gibbous at the ba.se,
and their apex reflex and prominent. —
There are six species, viz. the A. xstivalis,
or tall, which is a native of the southern
countries of Europe, where it grows
among corn : tlie A. autumnalis, or com-
mon, which ai'e found in Kent, near the
Medway, in fields sown with wheat: the
flowei-s are brought in great quantities
to London, where they are sold un<ler
tlie name of lied Morocco : this is an-
nual, and flow ers from May to October:
A. vernalis, or spring adonis, is found in
Switzerland, Prussia, and some parts of
Germany : A. apennina is found wild in
Siberia: A. ve.scatoria, or blister adonis.
ADV
tEGI
and the A. capensis, are used by the Af-
ricans for raising blisters. To these have
been added two other species, viz. the
miniata and the flammea.
ADOXA, in botany, a genus of the Oc-
tandria Teti-agj'nia class of plants, the
corolla of which is plain, and consists of
a single petal, divided into four oval acute
segments, longer than the cup ; the fmit
is a globose berry, situated between tlie
calyx and corolla ; the calyx adheres to
its under part; the berry is umbilicated,
and contains four cells; the seeds are
angle and compressed. There is but a
single species, vii. the A. moschatcllina,
bulbous fumitoi-y, which grows natni-ally
in shady places and woods, as . in Hamp-
Stead and Charlton woods ; it is peren-
nial; flowers in April and Maj-. The
leaves soon after decay, and the flowers
smell like musk, on which account it has
sometimes been called musk-crowfoot.
AD QUOD DAMNUM, in law, a writ
which ought to be issued before the king
grants ct rtain liberties, as a fair, market,
or the like ; ordering the sheriff to in-
quire by the country what damage such
a grant is like to be attended with.
ADRIFT, in naval aflfairs, the state of
a vessel broken loose from her moorings,
and dnven to and fro by the winds or
waves.
ADVERB, adverbium, in grammar, a
word joined to verbs, expressing the man-
ner, time, &c. of an action; thus, in the
phrase, it is conducive to health to rise
early ; the word early is an adverb ; and
so of others.
ADVERSARIA, among the ancients,
was a book of accounts, not unlike our
journals or daj- books.
Abversahia is more particularly used,
among men of letters, for a kind of com-
mon-place book, whereinthey enterwhat-
ever occurs to them worthy of notice,
whether in readingorconvei-sation, inthe
order in which it occui-s : a method which
Morbof prefers to that of digesting them
under certain heads.
ADVOCATE, Lord, one of the officers
of state in Scotland, who pleads in all
causes of tlie crown, or wherein the king
is concerned.
The lord advocate sometimes happens
to be one of the lords of session ; in
which case, he only pleads in the king^s
causes.
ADVOWSON, in law, is the right of
patronage, or presenting to a vacant be-
nefice.
Advowsons are either appendant, or
in gross. Appendant adTowsons ur«
those which depend on a manor, or lands,
and pass as appurtenances of the same :
whereas advowson in gross is a right of
presentation subsisting by itself, belong-
ing to a person, and not to lands.
In eitlier case, advowsons arc? no less
the property of the patrons than their
landed estate : accordingly, they may be
gi-anted away by deed or will, and are
assets in the hands of executors. How-
ever, Papists and Jews, seized of any ad-
vowsons, are disabled from presenting ;
the right of presentation being in this
case transferred to the chancellors of the
universities, or the bishop of the diocese.
Advowsons are also presentative, colla-
tive, or donative. Presentative, where
the patron hath* right of presentation to
the bi.shop or ordinary ; collative, where
the bishop is patron; and donative, where
the king, or any subject. This license
founds a church or chapel, and ordains
that it shall be merely in the gift of the
patron.
ADZE, a cutting tool, of the axe kind,
having its blade thin and arching, and it»
edge at i-ight angle to the handle ; chiefly
used for taking thin cMps off timber, &c.
It is used by caipenters, but more fre-
quently by coopers.
.S;CIDIUM, in botany, a genus of the
Criptogamia Fungi class and order. Its
charactei-s are, that it has a membranace-
ous sheath, smooth on both sides, and full
of naked separate sides. There are 18
species, of which several aj-e found on
the leaves of other plants, and one of them
is known to agriculturalists by the name
ofred qiim. .This species usually grows
upon the inside of the glumes of the
calyx, and of the exterior valvule of the
corolla, under tlieir epideimes, which,
when the plant is ripe, bursts, and emits
a powder of a bright orange colour. —
Other species grow on decaying wood and
mosses, and in the leaves of tussilago,
farfara, &c.
iEGICERAS, a genus of the Pentandria
Monogynia class and order: calyx fi^-e-
cleft ; petals five ; capsule curv ed ; one-
celled ; one-valved ; one-seeded ; two
species found in the Moluccas.
.SGILOPS, Croat's face, in botany, a ge-
nus of the Triandria Digynia class and
order, and of the natural order of grasses :
the characters are, that the hermaphro-
dite calyx is a large bivahoilar glume,
sustaining tlu"ee flowers ; the valves are
ovate, and streaked with various awns :
the nectfiry two-leaved, with very smajl
^GO
AER
leaflets : the stamina have tliree capillary
filaments with oblong' anthers; the piijtil.
lum is a turbinate germen ; no pericardi-
um ; tJie seeds are oblong*, convex on one
side, grooved on llie otlier, with the in-
ner valve of the corolla adhering to it, and
not opening'. There are six species.
jEGINETA, in botany, a genus of the
Didynamia Angiospcmiiaclassand order:
calyx one-leafed, spathaceous; corolla
campanulate, two-lipped ; capsule many
celled: one species, viz. the X.. Indic:i,
found at Malabar.
^GIPIIII-A, qroat's-friend, a genus of
the Tetrandria Monogynia class and or-
der, and the natural order of Vitices : the
calyx is aone-leafed permanent pcrianthi-
um ; the corolla is one-peUJIed, and long-
er than the calyx ; the stamina are capil-
lary filaments, inserted into tlie mouth of
tJie tube ; the pistillum is a roundish su-
perior germ, style capillar}, deeply bifid,
and stigmas simple; tlic pcriciu'pium is a
i-oundish two-celled berry, surrounded
with a permanent calyx; and the seed is
cither in pairs or sohtary. There are se-
ven species, natives of tlie VV. Indies,
chiefly of Jamaica.
JEGLE, in botany, a genusof the Poly-
nndria Monog}-nia class ami order: calyx
five-Iobed; petals five; beiTy globular,
many celled, with numerous seeds in each.
One species, viz. the marmelos, a tree
with thorny branches ; fruit delicious to
the taste, and exquisitely fragrant; seeds
imbedded in an extremely tenaccous
transparent gluten.
JEGOPODUM, in botany, a genus of
the Pentandria Digynia class of plants ;
the general corolla whereof is uniform ;
the single flowers consist each of five,
oval, concave, and nearly equal petals ;
the fruit is naked, ovato-oblong, striated,
and separable into two parts ; the seeds
are two, ovato-oblong, and striated, con-
vex on one side, and plain on the other.
There is but one species, viz. Al. poda-
graria, gout-weed, which is a perennial,
creeping weed, with wliite floMxrs, that
appear in May or June. It has been used
in cases of gout, whence it derives its
name. It is tioilcd for greens, and eaten
in Sweden; cosvs, sheep, :»nd goats, eat it.
It is found amongrubbish in shady places,
and in hedges.
-tGOPKICON, in botany, a genus of
tlie Monandria Trigynia class and order :
the male flowers are small, in an ovate
tunent ; their calyx one-leafed ; no corol-
la, the staminaof one filament longerthan
tlie calyx, with an ovate antlier; the fe-
THale flowers are on tbe same plant, *nd
solitary; the calyx and corolla are the
same as the male ; the pistlllum has ati
ovate superior germ, tliree divaricate
styles, with simple permanent stigma.s ;
the pericardium is a globular herr}- ; the
seeds are solitar)', and angular on one
side. There is but one species, viz. JE.
betulinum, which is a tree veiy much
branched, with wrinkled bark and alter*
nate leaves resembling those of tlie ni\ r-
tlc.
^OLIPILF^ a hollow metalline ball,
in which is inserted a slender neck or pipe;
from whence, after the vessel has been
filled with water, and heated, issues a
blast of wind with great vehemence.
Great care should be taken, that tlie
aperture of the pipe be not stopped when
the instrument is put on the fire, other-
wise the xolipile will burst with a vast
explosion, and may occasion no little mis-
chief. Dr. Plot gives an instance, where
the seolipile is actually used to blow the
fire ; the lord of die manor of Eflington
is bound, by his tenure, to drive a goose
every New-year's day three times round
the hall of the loi-d of Hilton, while Jack
of Hilton (a brazen figure having the
structure of an aeolipile) blows the fire.
In Italy, it is said, that the aelopile is com-
monly made use of to cure smoky chinir
neys; for being hung over the fire, the
blast arising from it carries up the loiter-
ing smoke along with it.
An aeolipile of great antiqiiit}', made of
brass was lately dug up in the site of the
Basingstoke c:inai, and presented to the
Antiquarian Society in London, ft is not
globular, witli a bent tube, but in the
form of a grotesque human figure, and
the blast proceeds from the mouth.
.S;OLUS'S Aarj&, or Eou.^^jr harp, a mu-
sical instrument, so named from its pro-
ducing an agreeable harmony merely by
the action of the wind. See AcousTirs.
.SRA, a fixed point of time, from which
any number of years is begun to be rec-
koned. See Chho>-ologt.
AEROSTATION, in the modcmappli-
cation of the term, signifies the art of na-
^^gation tlirough the air, both in its prin-
ciples and practice. Hence also the ma-
chines which arc employed for tliis pur-
pose are called aerostats, or aerostatic
machines; and on account of tlieir round
figure, air balloons.
The fundamental principles of this art
have beeii long :uidgenendlv known; al-
though tlie application of them to prac-
tice seems to be altogether a mo<lem dis-
coverj-. It will be suflicient, therefore, to
observe, in this place, that any body.
AEROSTATION.
which is specifically, or bulk for bulk,
lighter than the atmospheric air encom-
passing the eartli, will be buoyed up by
it, and ascend; but as the density of the
atmosphere decreases, on account of tlie
tljminished pressure of tl»e superincum-
bent air, and the elastic property which
it possesses at diflerent elevations above
the earth, tliis body can rise only to a
height, in which the surrounding air will
be of the same specific gravity with itself.
In this situation it will cither float, or be
driven in the direction of the wind or cur-
rent of air, t« whiclvit is exposed. An air-
balloon is a body of this kiml, the whole
massof wliich, including its cove^^ng and
contents, and the several weights annexed
to it, is of less specific gravity than that
of tlie air in which it rises. Heat is well
known to rarefy and expand, and conse-
quently to lessen tlie specific gravity of
the air to which it is applied ; and the di-
minution of its weight is proportional to
the heat. One degree of heat, accortling
to tlie scide of Fahrenheit's thennometer,
■seems to expand the air about one four-
liimdredth part ; and about 400, or rather
435, degrees of heat will just double the
btdk of a f|uantity of air. If, therefore,
the air inclosed in any kind of covering
be heated, and consequently dilated to
such a degree, as that the excess of the
weight of an equal bulk of common air,
above the weight of the heated air, is
greater than the weight of the covering
and its appendages, this whole mass will
a-scendin tlie atmosphere, till, by the cool-
ing and condensation of tlie included sur,
or the diminished density of tlie sun-ound-
ing air, it becomes of the same specific
gravity with the air in which it floats; and
without renewed heat it will gnulually
descend. If, instead of heating common
Mr inclosed in any covering, and tlius di-
minishing its weight, the covering be filled
with an elastic fluid, lighter than atmo-
spheric air, so that the excess of the weight
of an equal bulk of the latter, above that
of tlie inclosed ela-stic fluid, be greater
than the weight of the covering and its
appendages, the whole mass will, in this
case, ascend in the atmosphere, and con-
tinue to rise, till it attains aheightat which
the surroundingair is of thesame specific
gravity with itself. Inflammable air, or,
as it is callefl, hydrogen gas, is a fluid of
this kind. For the knowUdge of many of
its properties we are indebted to Mr. lien-
ry Cavendish, who discovered, that if
common air is eight hundred times lighter
than water, inflammable air is seven times
lighter than common air ; but if common
air is eight hundred and fifty limes liglit-
er than water, then inflammable air is 10.8
times fighter than common air. The con-
struction of :iir-balloonsdepends upon the
principles above stated ; and tliey are of
two kinds, as one or tlie otherpf the pre-
ceding methods of prepai-ing them is
adojjted.
In the various schemes that have been
proposed for navigating through the air,
some have had recourse to artificial wings,
which, being constructed like those of
birds, and annexed to tlie human body,
mightbear itup, and by their motion, pro-
duced either by mechanical springs, or
muscular exertion, effect its progress in
any direction at pleasure. This is one of
the methods of artificial flying suggested
by Bishop Wilkins, in the seventh chapter
of his " Dedalus, or Treatise on Mecha-
nical Motions;" but the success of it is
doubtful, and experiments made in this
way have been few and unsatisfactory.
Borelfi, havingcompared the power of the
muscles which act on the wings of a bird
with tliat of the muscles of the breast and
arms of a man, finds the latter altogether
insufficient to produce, by means of any
wings, that motion against the air, which
is necessarv' to raise a man in tlie atmo-
sphere. Soon after Mr. Cavendish's dis-
covery of the specific gravity of inflam-
mable air, itoccuiTed to the ingenious Dr.
Black, of Edinburgh, that if a bladder,
sufticiently fight and thin, were filled with
this air, it would form a mass lighter tlian
the same bulk of atmospheric air, and rise
in it. This thought was suggested in his
lectiu-es in 1767 or 1768; and h^ propos-
ed, by means of tlie alantois of a calf, to
try the experiment. Otlieremployment.'^,
however, prevented the execution of his
design. The possibility of consti-ucting
a vessel, wliich, when filled with inflam-
mable air, woidd ascend in the atmo-
sphere, had occurred also to Air. CavaUo,
about the same time ; and to liim belongs
the honour of having first made experi-
ments on tliis subject, in the beginning
of the year 1782, of which anaccountwas
read to tlie Royal Society, on tlie 20tli of
June in that year. He tried bladders r
but the tliinnest of these, however, scrap-
ed and cleaned, were too heavy. In using
China paper, he found that tlie inflamma-
ble air passed through its pores, hkc wa-
ter tlirough a sieve ; and having failed of
success by blowing this air into a thick
solution of gum, tliick varnishes and oil-
paint, he was under a necessity of being
satisfied with soap-bubbles, which being
inflated with inflammable air, by dipping
AEROSTATION.
the end of asmall j^lass tiibe, connected
with a bladder contaniing air, into a thick
sohition of soiip, and g'ently compressing'
the bladder, ascentled rapidly in the at-
mosphere; and these were the first sort
of intlainmable air-balloons that were
ever made. For balloons formed on a
larfrer scale, and on the principle of rare-
fied air, we must direct our attention to
France, where tlie two brothers, Stephen
and Joseph Montgolfier, paper-manufactu-
rers at Annonay, about 36 miles from Ly-
ons, distinguished themselves, by exhibit-
ing the first of those aerostatic machines,
wliich have since excited so much atten-
tion and astonishment. The first idea of
such a machine was suggested to them
by the natural aacentofuie smoke and
clouds in the atmosphere ; and tlie first
experiment was made at Avignon, by Ste-
phen, the eldest of tlie two brodiers, to-
wanls the middle of November 1782.
Having prepared a bag of fine silk, in the
shape of a paralKlopipedon, an<l in capa-
city about 4i) cubic feet, he applied to its
aperture burning paper, wliich rarefied
the air, and thus formed a kind of cloud
in the bag, andwhenitbecamesufficiently
expanded, it ascended rapidly to tlie ceil-
ing. Soonafterwardsthe experiment was
repeated by the two brothers at Annonay
in the open air, when the machine ascend-
ed to tlie height of about seventy feet.
Encouraged by their success, they con-
structed a macliine, the capacity of which
was about 650 cubic feet, which, in the
experiment, broke the ropes that confined
it, and, after ascending rapidly to the
height of about 600 feet, fell on the adjoin-
ing ground. With another machine, 35
feet in diameter, they repeated the expe-
riment in April 1783, when,breakingloo9e
from its confinement, it rose to tlie height
of above 1000 feet, and being carried by
the wind, it fell at the distance of about
three quarters ofa mile from the place
where it ascended. The capacity of this
machine was equal to about 23,430 cubic
feet : and when inflated, it measured 117
English feet in circumference. The co-
vering of it was formed of linen lii\ed
with paper, its shape w;is nearly spherical,
and Its aperture was fixed to a wooden
frame about 16 feet in surface. When
filled with vapour, which wasconjcctured
to be about half as heavy as common air,
it was capable of lifting up about 490
pounils, besides its own weight, which,
togi-rher with that of the woo<len frame,
w:is equal to 500 pounds. With tliis ma-
chine the next experiment was performed
at Annonay, onriie 5th of June 1783, be-
fore a great multiJudc of spectators. The
flaccic bag was suspended on a pole 35
feet high ; straw and chopped wool were
burnt under the opening at the bottom;
the vapour, or i-ather smoke, soon inflated
the bag, so as to distend it in all its parts;
and this imnien.se mass a.scended in the
air with such a velocity, tliat in less than
ten minutes it reachedtlie height ot about
6000 feet A breeze carried it in an hori-
zontal direction to the distance of 7668
feet; and it then fell gently on the ground.
M. Montgolfier attributed the ascent of
tile machine, not to the rarefaction of the
heatedair, which is the true causC; but to
a certain gas or aeriform fiuid, specifically
lighter than common air, which was sup-
posed to be disengaged from burning
substances, and which has been commonly
called Montgolfier's gas, as balloons of
tliis kind have been denominated Mont-
golfiers. As soon as the news of tliis ex-
periment reached Paris, the philosophers
of die city, conceiving tliat a new sort of
gas, half as heavy as common air, had
been discovered by Messrs. Montgolfier ;
and knowing tliat the weight of inflam-
mable air was not more than the eighth
or tenth part of the weiglit of common
air, justly concluded, that^inflammable air
would answer tlie purpose of this experi-
ment better than the gas of Montgolfier,
and resolved to make trial of it. A sub-
scription was opened by M. Faujas de St
Fond towards defraying the expense of
the experiment. A sufficient sum of mo-
ney having been soon raised, Messrs. Ro-
berts were appointed toconstructthe ma-
chine; and M.Charles, professor of e.vpe-
rimental philosophy, to superintend the
work. After surmounting many difficul-
ties in obtaining a sufficient quantity of
inflammable air, and finding a substance
liglit enough for the covering, they at
length constructed a globe of lutestring,
which was rendered impervious to the in-
closed air by a varnish of elastic gum, or -^
caoutchouc,jdissolved in some kind of '-
spirit or essential oil. The diameter of
this globe, wliich, from its shape, was de-
nominated a balloon, was about thirteen
feet, and it had only one aperture, like a
bladder, to which a stop-cock was adapts
ed : itfiweight, whenempty,togetherwith
that of the stop-cock, wtis 25 pounds.
On the 23d of August 1783, they began
to fill the globe with inflammable air; but
tliis being their first attempt, was attend-
ed witli many hindrances and disappoint-
ments. At last, however, it was prepared
for exhibition; and on the 27tli it was
carried to tKc Champ de Mars, where.
AEROSTATION.
beingclisengagcdfi-omthe cords tbathekl
it down, it rose before a prodigious con-
coiirse of people in less than two minutes
to the height of 3123 feet. It then enter-
ed a cloud, but soon appeared again ; and
at last it w'as lost among other clouds.
This balloon,' after having floated about
tiiree quarters of an hour, fell in a field
about 15 miles distant from the place of
ascent; where, as we may naturally ima-
^ne, it occasioned much astonislunent to
the peasants. Its fall was owing to a rent,
occasioned by tlie expansion of the inflam-
mable air in that part of tlie atmosphere
to which it ascended. When the balloon
wentup, itsspccificgravity was35 pounds
less than that of common air. In conse-
quence of this brilliant experiment, many
balloons were made on a small scale ;
gold-beaters skin Mas used forthe cover-
ing; andtheirsizewasfrom 9 to 18 inches
in diameter.
Mr. Montgolfier repeated an experi-
ment with a machine of his construction
before the commissaries of the Academy
of Sciences, on the 11th andl2th of Sep-
tember. This machine was 74 feet high,
and about 43feetindiameter. When das-
tended, it appeared spheroidical. It was
made of canvass, covered with paper both
within and witho\it, and it weighed 1000
pounds. The operation of filhngit with
rarefied wr, produced by means of the
combustion of 50 pounds of dry straw,
and 12 pounds of chopped wool, was per-
formed in about nine minutes; and its
force of ascension, when inflated, was so
jfreat, that it raised eight men who heldit
some feet from the ground. This ma-
chine was so much damaged by the rain,
that it was found necessary to prepare
another for exliibitionbefore the king and
royal family on the 19th. This new raa-
ehine consisted of cloth, made of linen
and cotton thread, and was painted with
water colours both within and without. Its
height was near 60 feet, and its diameter
about 43 feet. Having made the necessary
preparations for inflating it, the operation
was begun about one o'clock, on the 19th
•f September, before the kingand queen,
the court, and all the Parisians who could
procure a conveyance to Versailles. In
eleven minutes it wassufiiciently distend-
ed, and the ropes being cut, it ascended,
bearing up with it a wicker cage, in which
were a sheep, a cock, and a duck. Its
power of ascension, or the weigljt by
which it was lighter than an equal bulk
»f common air, allowing for the cage and
animals, was 696 pounds. This balloon
i-ose to the height of about 1440 feet ; and
being driven by tlie wind« it descended
gradually, and fell gently into a wood, at
the distance of 10,200 feet from Versailles.
After remaining in the atmosphere eight
minutes, the animals in the cage were
safely landed. The sheep was found
feeding; the cock had received some hurt
on one of iiis wings, probably fi*om a kick
of the sheep ; the duck was perfectly
well. The success of this experiment in-
duced M. Pilatre de Rozier, witli a philo-
sophical intrepidity which will be record-
ed with ai)plause in the histoiy of aeros-
tation, to off'er himself as the first adven-
turer in this aerial navigation. Mr. Mont-
golfier constructed a new machine for
this purpose, in a garden in the Fauxbourg
St. Antoine. Its shape was oval ; its
diameter being about 48 feet, and its
height about 74 feet. To the aperture at
the bottom was annexed a w icker gallery,
about three feet broad, with aballustrade
about three feet high. From the middle
of the aperture was suspended by chains,
which came down from the sides of tlie
machine, an iron gi-ate, or brazier, in
which a fire was lighted for inflating the
machine ; and port-holes were opened in
the gallery, towards tlie aperture, through
which any person, who should venture to
ascend, might feed the fire on the grate
with fuel, and regulate the dilatation of
the inclosed air of the machine at plea-
sure. The weight of the aerostat was
upwards of sixteen hundred pounds.
On the fifteenth of October, the fire being
lighted, and the maclune inflated, M. P.
dc Rozier placed himself in the gallery,
and ascended, to the astonishment of a
multitude of spectators, to the height of
84 feet from the ground, and there kept
the machine afloat during 4' 25", by re-
peatedly throwing straw and woo! upon
the fire : the machine tlien descended
gradually and gently, through a medium
of increasing density, to the ground ;
and the intrepid adventurer assured the
spectators that he had not experienced
the least inconvenience in this aerial ex-
cursion. This experiment was repeated
on the 17th and on the 19th, when M. P.
de Rozier, in his descent, and in order
to avoid danger by re-ascending, evinced,
to a multitude of observers, that the ma-
chine may be made to ascend and de-
scend, at the pleasure of the aeronaut, by
merely increasing or diminishing the-
fire in the grate. The balloon having
been hauled down, M. Giraude de Villiettc
placed himself in the gallery opposite to
M. Rozier: and being suflTered to ascend,
it hover«d for about nine minutes over
AEROSTATION.
Paris, in the sight of all its inhabitants, at
the height of about 330 feet. In anotiier
experiment the Marquis of Ariandes as-
cended with M. Rozicr much in the same
manner. In consequence of the report
of the preceding experiment, signed by
the commissaries of the Academy of
Sciences, it was ordered that the annual
prize of 600 livres should be given to
Messrs. Montgolficr for the year 1783.
In the experiments above recited the ma-
chine was secured by ropes ; but they
were soon succeeded by unconfined aerial
navigation. Accordingly, the balloon of
74 feet in height, above mentioned, was
removed to a ro}'al palace in the Bols de
Boulogne ; and all things being ready,
on the 21st of November, M. P. de Ro-
zier and the Marquis d' Ariandes took
their respective posts in the gallerj', and
at 54 minutes after one the machine was
absolutely abandoned to the element, and
ascended calmly and majesticsdiy in the
atmosphere. The aeronauts,ha\ingreach-
ed the height of about 280 feet, waved
their hats to the astonished multitude ;
but they soon rose too high to be distin-
guished, and are thought to have soared
to an elevation of above 3000 feet. They
were at first driven by a north-west wind
horizontally over the river Seine and over
Paris, taking care to clear the steeples
and high buildings by increasing the fire;
and in rising met with a current of air,
which carried them southward. Having
passed the Boulevard, and desisting from
supplying the fire with fuel, they descend-
cd very gently in a field beyond tlie New
Boulevai"d, about 9000 yartls distant fi-om
the palace, having been in the air about
25 minutes. The weight of the whole
apparatus, including tliat of the travel-
lers, was between 1600 and 1700 pound.s.
Notwithstanding the rapid progress of
aerostation in France, we have no authen-
tic account of the aerostatic experiments
performed in otlier countries till about
tlie close of the year 1783. The first
experiment of this kind, publicly exhibi-
ted in our country, was performed in Lon-
don, on the 25th of November, by Count
Zanibeccari, an ingenious Italian, with a
balloon of oil silk, 10 feet in diameter,
and weighing 11 pounds. It was gilt, in
ortler to render it more beautiful, and
more impermeable to the gas. Tliis bal-
loon, three-fourths of which were filled
with inflammable ;ur, was launched from
the Artillery-Ground, in presence of a
vast concourse of spectators, at one
o'clock in the afternoon, and at half past
tliree was taken up near Petwortl), in
VOL. I.
Sussex, 48 miles distant from London:
so tliat it travelled at the rate of nearly
20 miles an hour. Its descent was occa-
sioned by a rent, which must have been
the effect of the rarefaction of the inflam-
mable air, when the balloon ascended to
the lighter parts of tlie atmosphere.
Aerostatic experiments and aerial voy-
ages became so frequent in the course of
tlie year 1784, that the limits of this arti-
cle will not allow our particularly record-
ing them. We shall, therefore, mention
tliose which were attended witli any pe-
culiar circumstances. Messrs. de Mor-
veau and Bertmnd ascended from Dijon,
in April, to the height of about 13,000
feet, with an inflammable air balloon : tlie
thermometer was observed to stand at 25
degrees. They were in the air during an
hour and 25 minutes, and went to the
distance of about eighteen miles. The
clouds floated beneath them, and seclud-
ed them from tlie earth ; and they jointly
repeated the motto inscribed on tlieir
aerostat : — " Surgit nunc gallus ad aetlie-
ra." In May, four ladies and two gentle-
men ascended with a Montgwlfier at Paris
above the highest buildings : the machine
was confined by ropes. It was 74 feet high,
and 72 in diameter. In a second voyage,
performed by Mr. Blanchai-d from Rquen
in May, it was observed, that his wings
and oars could not carry him in any other
direction than that of the wind. The
mercury in tlie barometer descended as
low as 20.57 inches ; but on the earth, be-
fore he ascended, it .stood at 30.16 inches.
On the 23d of June, a large aerostat, on the
principle ofrarefiedair,91Jfeet high, and
79 feet in diameter, was elevated by Mont-
golficr at Versailles, in the presence of
the royal family and the King of Sweden.
M. Pilatre de Rozier, and M. Proust, as-
cended with it, and continued for 28 mi-
nutes at the height of 11,732 feet, ami
observed the clouds below them, that re-
flected to tlie region which they occupied
the rays of the sun ; the temperature of
the air being 5° below the freezing point;
and in tliree quarters of an hour they
travelled to the distance of 36 miles. In
consequence of this experiment, the king
granted to M. Kozier a pension of 2000
li>Tes. On the 15tli of July the Duke of
Chatres, the two brothers Roberts, and
another person, ascended with an inflam-
mable air balloon, of an oblong form, 55^
feet long, and 34 feet in diameter, from
the Park of St. Cloud: the machine re-
mained in tlie atmosphere about 45 mi-
nutes. This machine contained an inte-
rior smpJl balloon, filled witli common air,
K
AEROSTATION.
by which means it was proposed to make
it ascend or descend without any loss of
inflammable air or ballast. The boat was
furnished with a helm and oars, intended
for guiding it. At the place of departure
the barometer stood at 30.12 inches.
Three minutes after ascending, the bal-
loon was lost in the clouds, and involved
in a dense vapour. An agitation of the
air, resembling a whirlwind, alarmed the
aerial voyagers, and occasioned several
shocks, which prevented their using any
of tlie instilments and contrivances pre-
pared for the direction of the balloon.
Other circumstances concurred to in-
crease their danger ; and when the mer-
cury, standing in the barometer at 24.36
inches, indicated their height to be about
5100 feet, they found it neceasar}' to make
holes in the bottom for discharging the
inflammable air : and having made a rent
of between seven and eight feet, they de-
scended very rapidly, ami at last came
safely to the ground. The first aerial
voyage in England was performed in Lon-
don, on the 15th of September, by Vin-
cent Lunardi, a native of Italy. His bal-
loon was made of oiled silk, painted in
alternate stripes of blue and red. Its di-
ameter was 33 feet. From a net which
went over about two-thirds of the bal-
loon, descended 45 cords to a hoop hang-
ing below the balloon, and to which the
gallery was attached. The balloon had
no valve ; and its neck, which terminated
in the form of a pear, was the aperture
tlirough which the inflammable air was
introduced, and througli which it might
be let out. The £ur for filling the balloon
was produced from zinc, by means of di-
luted vitriolic acid. M. Limai-di depart-
ed from the Artillery Ground at two
o'clock ; and with him were a dog, a cat,
and a pigeon. After throwing out some
sand to clear the houses, he ascended to a
great height. The direction of his mo-
tion was at first north-west by west ;
but as the balloon rose higher, it fell into
anotlier current of air, which carried it
nearly north. About half after three he de-
scended very near the ground, and landed
the cat, which was almost dead with cold :
then rising, he prosecuted his voyage.
He ascribes his tlescent to the action of
an oar ; but as he was under tlie necessi-
ty of throwing out ballast in order tore -
ascend, his descent was probably occa-
sioned by the loss of inflammable air.
At ten minutes past four he descended
on a meadow, near Ware, in Hertford-
shire. The only philosophical instrument
which he carried with him was a ther-
mometer, which in tlie course of his voy-
age stood as low as 29°, and he observed
tliat the drops of water which collected
round tlie balloon were frozen.
The longest and the most interesting
voyage, which was performed about this
time, was that of Messrs. Roberts and M.
Collin. Hullin, at Paris, on the 19th of
September. Their aerostat was filled
with inflammable air. Its diameter was
27^ feet, and its length 46| feet, and it
was made to float with its longest part pa-
rallel to the horizon, with a boat nearly
17 feet long, attached to a net tliat went
over it as far as its middle. To the boat
were annexed wings, or oars, in the form
of an umbrella. At 12 o'clock they as-
cended with 450 pounds of ballast, and,
after various manoeuvres, descended at
40 minutes past six o'clock near Arras, in
Ailois, having still 200 pounds of their
ballast remaining in the boat Havingrisen
about 1400 feet, they perceived stormy
clouds, which they endeavoured to avoid ;
but the current of air was unifonn from
the height of 6O0 to 4200 feet. The ba-
rometer on the coast of the sea was
29.61 inches, and sunk to 23.94 inches.
They found that, by working with their
oars, they accelerated their course. In
the prosecution of their voyage, which
-was 150 miles, they heard two claps of
thunder ; and the cold occasioned by the
approach of stormy clouds made the
tliermometer fall from 7T^ to 59°, and
condensed the inflammable air in the bal-
loon, so as to make it descend very low.
From some experiments they concluded,
that they were able by the use of two
oars to deviate from the direction of the
wind about 22°. But this experiment re-
quires repetition, in order to ascertain
with accuracy the efl^ect here ascribed to
oars. The second aerial voyage in Eng-
land was perfonned by Mr. Blanchard
and Mr. Sheldon, profe.ssor of anatomy
to the Royal Academy, the first English-
man who ascended with an aerostatic ma-
chine. This experiment was performed
at Chelsea, on the 16th of October. The
wings used on this occasion seemed to
have produced no deviation in the ma-
chine's track fipom the direction of the
wind. Mr. Blanchard, having landed his
friend about the distance of 14 miles from
Chelsea, proceeded alone, witli different
currents, and ascended so high as to expe-
rience great difficidty of breathing; a pi-
geon, also, which flew away from the
boat, laboured some time with its wings,
in order to sustain itself in the rarified
jur, and after wandering for a good while.
AEROSTATION.
returned, and rested on one skle of tlie
boat. Mr. Blanc haixl, perceiving' the sea
before him, descended near Rumsey,
about 75 miles from London, having tra-
velled at the rate of nearly 20 miles an
hour.
On the 12th of October, Mr. Sailler, of
Oxfonl, made a voyage of 14 miles from
that place in 17 minutes, with an inflam-
mable air balloon of his own contrivance
and construction. The fate of M. P. de
Uozier, tlie first aerial navigfator, and of
his companion, M. Komain, hasbeen much
lamented. They ascended at Boulogne
on the 1.5th of June, with an intention o<"
crossing the channel to England. Their
machine consisted of a spherical balloon,
)7 feet in diameter, filled with inflam-
mable air, and underthis balloon was sus-
pended a small Montgolfier, or fii'e bal-
loon, ten feet in diameter. This Mont-
golfier was designed for rarefying tlie
atmospheric air, and thus diminishing the
specific gravity of the whole apparatus.
Por the first twenty minutes they seemed
to pursue their proper course ; but the
balloon seemed much inflated, and the
aeronauts appeared anxious to desend.
Sooiii, however, when they were at the
height of about three quarters of a mile,
the whole apparatus was in flames, and
the unfortunate adventurers fell to the
ground, and were killed on the spot
On tlie 19th of July, Mr. Crosbie as-
cended at Dublin, with a view of crossing
the channel to England. To a wicker
basket of a circular form, which he had
substituted for the boat, he had affi.xed
a number of bladders for the purpose of
rendering his gallery buoyant, in case of
a disaster at sea. The height to which
he ascended at one time was such, tliat
by tlie intense cold his ink was frozen,
and tlie mercurj- sunk into the hall of the
thcmiometcr. He himself was sick, and
he felt a strong impression on the tympa-
num of his ears. At his utmost eleva-
tion he thought himself stationary ; but
on discharging some gas, he descended to
a very rougli cun-ent of air blowing to the
north. He then entered a dense cloud,
and experienced strong blasts of winds,
with thunder and lightning, which
brought him with rapidity towards the
surface of tlxe water. The water soon
entei*cd his car; tlie force of the wind
l)lunged him into the ocean, and it was
with difliculty that he put on his cork
jiicket. The bladders which he had pre-
pared were now found of great use. The
water, added to his own weight, serveil
as baUast ; and the balloon, mamtaining its
poise, answered the purpose of a sail, by
means of wliich, and a snatch-block to
his car, he moved before the wind as re-
gidarly as a sailing-boat. He was at
length pvertaken by some vessels that
were crowding sail after him, and con-
veyed to Dunleary witli the balloon On
the 22d of July, Major Money, who as-
cended at Norwich, was driven out to
sea, and after being blown about for about
twohoui-s, hedi"oppedintothe water. Af-
ter much exertion for preserving his life,
and when he was almost dcs;v ■••■ *" re-
lief, he was taken up by a re- r,
in a state of extreme weak: - ng
been struggling to keep himself above
water for about seven hourg,.
The longest voyage, that had been hi-
therto made, was performed by Mr.
Hlaiichard, towartls tlie end of August.
He ascended at Lble, accompanied by
the Chevalier de L'Epinard, andtraversed
a distance of 300 miles before he descend-
ed. On this, as well as on other occa-
sions, Mr. Blanchard made trial of a pa-
rachute, in the form of a large umbrella,
which he contrived for breaking his fall,
in case of any accident. With tliis ma-
chine he let down a dog, which came to
the groimd gfently, and imhurt. On the
8th of September, Mr. Baldwin ascended
from the city of Chester, and performed
an aerial voyage of 25 miles in two hours
and a quarter. His greatest elevation was
about a mile and a naif, and he supposes
that the velocity of his motion was .some-
times at the rate of 20 miles an hour. He
has published a circumstantial account of
his voyage, described the appearances of
the clouds as he passed through them,
and annexed a variety of observations re-
lating to aerostation.
It would be tedious to recount the
aerial expeditions that were pcfonncd in
various parts of our own country, as well
as on tlie continent, in the whole course
of the vear 1785 : more especially as they
have afforded us no cxpenment or disco-
very of any peculiar importance. The
most persevering aerial navigator has
been Mr. Blanchard. In August, 1788,
he ascended at Brunswick for the thirt)-
second time. Within two years from tlie
first discoverj' of this art of navigating the
atmosphere, more than forty difiercnt
persons performed the experiment with-
out any material injur}'; audit may be
justly questioned, says Mr. Cav.illo, whe-
ther the first' forty persons who trusted
themselves to the sea in boats escaped so
safely. The catastrophe tliat befel Rozier,
and the unpleasant circumstances that
AEROSTATION.
have happened to some of the aeronauts
in our own country, have been owing, not
so much to the principle of the art, as to
want of judgment, or imprudent manage-
ment in the conduct of it.
Omitting the various uninteresting,
though not very numerous, aerial voyages
undertaken in various parts of the world,
during the 17 years subsequent to the
above-mentioned dreadful accident of Pi-
latrc de Rozier and Mr. Romain, we shall
only add the account of two aerostatic ex-
periments lately performed in England by
Mr. Garnerin, a French aei-onaut. The
first of these is remarkable for the very
great velocity of its motion ; the second
for the exhibition of a mode of leaving
the balloon, and of descending with safe-
ty to tlie ground. On the 30th of June,
1802, tlie wind being strong, though not
impetuous, Mr. Garnerin and another
gentleman ascended \vith an inflammable
air, or hydrogen gas, balloon, from Rane-
lagh garidens, on the soutli-west of Lon-
don, between four and five o'clock in the
afternoon ; and in exactly three quarters
of an hour they descended near the sea,
at the distance of four miles from Col-
chester. The distance of that place from
Ranelagh is 60 mUes ; therefore they tra-
velled at the astonishing rate of 80 miles
per hour. It seems that the balloon had
power enough to keep them up four or
five hours longer, in which time they
might have gone safely to the continent ;
but prudence induced them to descend
when they discovered the sea not far off.
The- singular experiment of ascending
into the atmosphere with a balloon, and
of descending with a machine called a
parachute, was performed by Mi-. Garne-
rin on the 21st of September, 1802. He
ascended from St. George's parade.
North Audley street, and descended safe
into a field near the small-pox hospital, at
Pancras. The balloon was of tlie usual
sort, viz. of oiled silk, with a net, from
which ropes proceeded, which terminated
in, or were joined to a single rope at afew
feet below the balloon. To this rope the
parachute was fastened in the following
manner. The reader may easily form to
himself an idea of this parachute, by ima-
^nlng a large umbrella of canvas, about
30 feet in diameter, but destitute of tlie
ribs and handle. Several ropes of about 30
feet in leng^i, which proceeded from the
edge of the parachute, terminated in a
common joining, from which shorter
ropes proceeded, to the extremities of
which a circular basket was fastened, and
in this basket Mr. Garnerin placed hun-
self The single rope passed through a
hole in tlie centre of the parachute, also
through certain tin tubes, which were
placed one after the other, in the place of
the handle or stick of an umbrella, and
was lastly fastened to the basket; so that,
when the balloon was in the air, by cut-
ting the end of the rope next to the bas-
ket, the parachute with the basket would
be separated from the balloon, and in
falling downwards would be naturally
opened by the resistance of the air. The
use of the tin tubes was, to let the rope
slip off with greater certainty, and to pre-
vent its being entangled with any of the
other ropes, as also to keep the parachute
at a distance from the basket. The bal-
loon began to be filled about two o'clock.
There wei'e 36 casks filled with iron fihngs,
and diluted sulphuric acid, for the pro-
duction of the hydrogen gas. These
communicated with three other casks, or
general receivers, to each of which was
fixed a tube, that emptied itself into the
main tube attached to the balloon. At
six, the balloon being quite fuU of gas,
and the parachute, &c. being attached to
it, Mr. Garnerin placed himself in the
basket, andascended majestically, amidst
the acclamations of innumerable specta-
tors. The weather was the clearest and
pleasantest imaginable; the wind [was
gentle, and about west by south ; in con-
sequence of which Mr. Garnerin went in
the direction of nearly east by north. In
about eight minutes the balloon and para-
chute had ascended to an immense height,
and Mr. Garnerin, in the basket, could
scarcely be perceived. While CA'cry
spectator was contemplating the grand
sight before them, Mr. Garnerin cut the
rope, and in an instant he was separated
from the balloon, trusting his safety to
the parachute. At first, viz. before the
parachute opened, he fell with great ve-
locity ; but as soon as the parachute was
expanded, which took place a few mo-
ments after, the descent became very
gentle and gradual. A remarkable cir-
cumstance was observed; namely, that
the parachute, with the appendage of
cords and basket, soon began to vibrate
like the pendulum of a clock, and the vi-
brations were so great, that more than
once the parachute, and the basket with
Mr. Garnerin, seemed to be on the same
level, or quite horizontal : however, the
extent of the vibrations diminished as he
descended. On coming to the earth, Mr.
Garnerin experienced some pretty strong
shocks ; but he soon recovered his spirits,
and remained without any material hurt.
AEROSTATION.
As soon as the parachute was separated
from the balloon, the latter ascended with
great mniditv, and, being of an oval form,
turned itself with a longer axis into an
horizontal position.
We now come to the practice of the art.
The shape of the balloon is one of the fii-st
objects of consideration. As a sphere ad-
mits the greatest capacity under the least
surface, tlie spherical figure, or that which
approaches nearest to it, has been gene-
rally preferred. However, since bodies
of this form oppose a gi-eater surface to
the air, and consequently a greater ob-
stniction to the action of the oar or wings
than those of some other form, and there-
fore cannot be so well guided in a calm,
or in a course different from tlie direction
of the wind, it has been proposed to con-
struct balloons of a conical or oblong
figure, and to make them proceed with
their narrow end forward. Next to the
shape, it is necessari" to consider the stuff
that is most proper for forming the enve-
lope of the inflammable or rarefied air.
Silk stuff, especially that which is called
hitestring, properly A'amished, has been
most commonly used for hydrogen gas
balloons ; and common hnen, lined within
and without with paper, varnished, for
those of rarefied air. \amished paper,
or gold-beaters' skin, will answer the
purpose for making small hydrogen gas
balloons ; and the small rarefied dr bal-
loons may be made of paper, without any
varnish or otlier preparation. The stuff
for large balloons of both kinds requires
some previous preparation. The best
mode of prepai-ingthe cloth for amachine,
upon Montgolfier's principle, is, first to
soak it in a solution of sal-ammoniac and
size, using one pound of eaclv to every
gallon of water ; and when the cloth is
quite dry, to paint it over with some
earthy colour, and strong size or glue.
It may be also varnished over, when per-
fectly dry, with some stiff, oily varnish,
or simple drj'ing linseed oil, which would
dry before it penetrates quite through the
cloth. The pieces of which an hydrogen
gas balloon is to be formed must be cut
ofapro])er size, according to the proposed
dimensions of it, when the varnish is suf-
ficiently drj-. The pieces that compose
the surface of tlie biUloon are like those
gores that form tlie superficies of a globe ;
and the best method of cutting them is, to
describe a pattern of wood or stiff card-
paper, and to cut the silk or stuff upon it.
To the upper part of the balloon there
must be sidapted a valve, opening inward,
to which is annexed a string passing
through a hole made in a small round
piece of wood, which is fa-stened to the
lowest part of tlie balloon, opposite to the
valve, to the boat below it ; .so that the
aeronaut may open it as occasion requires,
and let the hydrogen gas out of the bal-
loon. To the lower part of the balloon
are fixed two pipes of the same stuff with
the covering, six inches in diameter tor a
balloon of 30 feet, and much brger for
balloons of greater size, and long enougli
to reach the boat. These pipes are the
apertures through which the hydrogen
gas is introtluced into the balloon. The
boat may be made of wicker work, and
covered with leather, well pjuntcd or var-
nished over. The best metliod of sus-
pending it is by means of ropes, proceed-
ing from the net which goes over the bal-
loon. This net should be formed to the
shape of the balloon, and fall down to the
middle of it, and have various cords pro-
ceeding fi"om it to the circumference of a
circle, about two feet below the balloon ;
and from that circle other ropes should go
to the edge of tJie boat. This circle may be
made of wood, or of several pieces of slen-
der cane bound together. The meshes of
the net may be small at top, against which
part of the balloon the hydrogen gas ex-
erts the greatest force, and increase in
size as they recede from the top. A hoop
has been sometimes put round the middle
of the balloon for fastening the net. This
is not absolutely necessarj' ; but when
used, it is best made of pieces of cane
bound together, and covered with katlier.
AVhen the balloon and its appendages are
constructed, the next object of import.ince
is to procure proper materials for filling it.
Hydrogen gas for balloons may be obtain-
ed in several ways ; but the best methods
are by applying acids to certain metals ;
by exposing animal, vegetable, and some
mineral substances, in a close vessel, to a
strong fire ; or by transmitting the va-
pour of certain fluids dirough red hot
tubes. In the first of these metliods, iron,
zinc, and sulphuric acid, are tlie materia]>
most commonly used. The acid must be
diluted with five or six parts of water.
Iron may be expected to yield in the
common way about 1700 times its own
bulk of gas, or 4A ounces of iron ; tJic
like weight of sulphuric acid, and 22^
ounces of water, will produce one cubic
foot of hydrogen gas ; 6 ounces of zinc,
an equal weight of acid, and 30 ounces
of water, are neccsssirj- for pro<hicing the
same quantity. It is more proper to use
the turnings or chippings of great pieces
of iron, as of cannon, &c. thui the filings
AER
AES
of that metal, because the heat attending
the effervescence will be diminished, and
the diluted acid will pass more readily
through the intei-stices of the turnings,
when they are heaped together, than
through tlie filings, which stick closer to
one anotlier. The weight of the hydro-
gen gas thus obtained by means of sul-
phuric acid is, in the common way of
pi-ocuiing it, generally one-seventh part
of Ithe weight of common air; and with the
necessary precautions for philosophical
experiments, less than one-tenth of the
weight of common air. We shall con-
clude this article with a description of
some figures explanatory of the subject.
Figure 1 (plate Aerostation) represents a
balloon, DF, suspended by means of the
poles G and H, and the cord, for the pur-
pose of being filled with gas. It is kept
steady and held down whilst filling by
ropes, which are readily disengaged. A,
A, are two tubs, about three feet in diam-
eter, and two feet deep, inverted in larger
tubs, B, B, full of water. At the bottom
of each oftheinvertedtubes there isahole,
in which is inserted a tin tube ; to these
the sUken tubes of the balloon are tied.
Each of the tubs, B, is surrounded by se-
veral strong casks, so regulated in num-
ber and capacity, as to be less than half
full when the materials are equally distri-
buted. In the top of these casks there-^
balloon in its ascent, to which is attached
a parachute, in its contracted state, and
below is the car. Figure 4 shews the
manner in which Mr. Gai-nerin descended
in the car by means of the expanded para-
chute, after he had detached it from the
balloon. In figure 5 is represented an ap-
paratus, as described by Mr. Cavallo, for
filling balloons of the size of two or three
feet in diameter with hydrogen gas, after
passing it through water. A is a bottle,
with the ingredients ; BCD a tube fasten-
ed in the neck at B, and passing through
C, the cork of the other bottle, in which
there is a hole made to receive the tube,
and to this the balloon is tied. Thus tlie
hydrogen gas, coming out of the tube D,
will pass first through tlie water of the
bottle E, and then into the balloon. Two
small casks may be used instead of tlie
bottles A and E.
-SSRV A, in botany, a genus of the Mo-
nadelphia Decandria class and order.
The flowers are polygamous ; the calyx
five-leaved and patent .- the stamina are
five ; the pistillum is a globulous ovary,
having a filiform style, terminated by a
bifid stigma : the fruit is an oblong, sin-
gle-seeded capsule, encompassed by a ca-
lyx : there is but one species, viz. IE.
aegyptiaca, or tomentosa, which grows on
the sandy calcareous soil of Arabia.
jESCHYNOMENE, a word from the
are two holes ; to one of M^hich is adapted ^^reek, signifying to be ashamed, because
a tin tube, formed so as to pass over the
edge of the tub B, and through the water,
and to terminate with its aperture under
tlie inverted tub A. The other hole,
which serves for supplying the cask with
materials, is stopped with a wooden plug.
When the balloon is to be filled, the com-
mon air is first to be expelled, then the
sUken tubes are fastened round the tin
ones ; the iron filings are to be put into
the casks, then the water, and lastly the
sulphuric acid. The balloon will speedi-
ly be inflated by the gas, and support it-
self without the aid of tlie rope GH. As
the filling advances, a net is adjusted
about it, the cords proceeding from tlie
net are fxstcned to the hoop MN ; the
boat IK is suspended from the hoop, and
whatever is wanted for the voyage is de-
posited in the boat. When the balloon is
sufliciently full, the silken tubes are sepa-
rated from the tin tubes, their extremities
are tied, and they are placed in the boat.
When the aeronauts are seated in tlie
boat, the ropes that held the balloon down
are slipped off, and tlie machine ascends
in the air, as in figure 2. Ih fig. 3, is a
representation of a part of Mr. Gameriu's
it retreats from the touch : bastard sensi-
tive plant, in botany, a genus of the Dia-
delphia Decandria class and order, and of
the natural order of Papilio Nacese, of
which there are 12 species, found native in
the East Indies, and cultivated in otlier
hot countries. One of the species may be
treated as hemp, and is used for the same
purposes.
AESCULUS, in botany, a genus of the
Heptandria Monogy nia class and onler, of
the natural order of Trihilatx. There
are three species : tiie first, or common
horse-chestnut, was brought from the
northern parts of Asia into Eui-ope about
the year 1550, and sent to Vienna about
the year 1558. From Vienna it was con-
veyed to France and Italy ; but it came to
us from the Levant. It is distinguished
by the beautiful parabolic form of its
branches, the disposition and structure of
its digitate leaves, and by the pyramidal
bunches of its white flowers, variegated
near the centre with yellow or red. Al-
though this tree is now less in esteem for
avenues and walks than it fbiTnerly was,
on account of the early decay of its leaves,
it affords an cscellent shade ; and the
AES
JETN
flowers whicli appeir in May,
uiiii tiic intennixliire of larpe leaves, ex-
hibit a nobic appearance. The most eli-
gible situation for these trees is in lawns
and parks, where they may be planted
sing'iy, and where their fruit will be ser-
viceable to the deer, who are fond of it.
This tree is of quick growth ; and in a
few years it will afford a good shade in
summer, and yield plenty of flowers.
Trees, raised from nuts, have in 12 or 14
years become large enougli to shade two
or three chairs with their branches, which
in tlie season are covered with flowers.
But the trees are of short duration, and
the wood is of little value. It serves,
however, for water-pipes, turners' ware,
and fuel : and for tnese uses it is worth
the charge of planting, and should be
felled in November or December. The
horse-chestnut has been employed in
France and Switzerlan<l for the purpose
of bleaching yarn ; and it is recommend-
edin the Memoirs of the Society of Berne,
Vol. II. part 2, xs capable of extensive
use in whitening not only flax and hemp,
but silk and wool. It contains an astrin-
gent saponaceous juice, which is obtained
by peehng the nuts, and g^nding or rasp-
ing them. They are then mixed with hot
rain or nmning water, in the proportion
of 20 nuts to 10 or 12 quarts of water.
\\'ove caps and stockings were milled in
tliis water, and took the die extremely
well ; and successful trials were made of
it in fulling stuffs and cloths. Linen
washed in this water takes a pleasing
light sky-blue colour; and tlie filaments
of hemp, steeped in it some days, were
easily separated. The author of the me-
moir, above referred to, imagines, that if
the meal of Uie chestnut could be made
into cakes or balls, it would answer the
purposes of soap, in washing and fulling.
The sediment, after infusion, loses itsbit-
ter taste, and becomes good food for fowls
when mixed with bran. The Edinburgh
College have admitted the horse-chestnut
into their Pharmacopoeia of 178o, on the
recommendation of Ur. Gardiner, who
says that tliree or four grains of the pow-
der, snuffed up the nostrils in the evening,
operate next morning as an excellent ster-
nutaton-, and tliereby pi-oves very benefi-
cial in obstinate inflammations of the eyes.
A. patent was granted in 1796, to Lord
W. Murray, for his discovery of a method
of extracting starch from horse-chestnuts.
The second species, orycllow-flowered
horse-chestnut, is a native of North Caro-
lina, was cultivated with us in 1764', and
flowers-in Mav and Juno
The third species, or scarlet horse-
chestnut, rises to the height of twenty
feet, without much extending its branch-
es ; its bark is smooth, and the leaves,
which are opposite, on long, red petioles,
are of a liglit green.
The common horse-chestnut is propa-
gated by sow ing the nuts, after preserv-
mgthem in sand during the winter : but
the scarlet is propagated by grafting it up-
on stocks of the common horse-chestnut.
The American species are : JE. paria ;
JE. flava; JE. macrostachya ; and JE. achi-
nata. Of the last there are two varieties,
.f. the glabra, and B. the pallida.
iETHl'SA, in botany, a genus of the
Pentandria Dig)'nia class and order, and
belonging to the natural order of Umbel-
latae or Umbclliferx : the calj-x is an uni-
versal spreading umbel, and the partial
is also spreading, but small ; having no
universal involucre, and the partial one
placed on the outside, and consisting only
of three very long, linear, pendulous leaf-
lets, and the proper perianthium scarcely
observable : the universal corolla is nearly
uniform, with all the floscules fertile, and
the partial has the petals bent in, heart-
shaped, and unequal : the stamina are
simple filaments, with roundish anthers ;
the pistillum is an inferior germ, and the
styles are reflex, with obtuse stigmas:
it has no pericarpium, and the finiit is
roundish, streaked, and bipartile: the
seeds are two, roundish, streaked, except
on a tliird part of the surface, which is
plain. There are four species, the prin-
cipal is iE.cynapium, common fool's pars-
Icy, or lesser hemlock, which isacommon
weed in fields and kitchen-gardens, and
in a slight degree poisonous. It is easily
distinguished when in flower, in July and
August, from true parsley and chervil,
by the three narrow pendent leaflets of
the involucre, placed on the outer part
only of the imibel, andby its being a much
humbler plant than either of the others.
The leaves also, in an earlier state, arc of
a different form and a dnrker hue, and,
when bruised, emit in a slight degree a
disagreeable venomous smell. The safest
way to avoid doubt or danger is to culti-
vate the curled parsley. Most cattle eat
it, but it is said to be noxious to geese.
iETlOLOGY, that branch of physic
which assigns the causes of diseases ; in
this sense we say the xtiologj of the small
pox, dropsy, &c.
.Stioloot, in rhetoric, is deemed a
figure of speech, whereby, in relating an
event, we, at the same time, unfold the
causes of it .
^TN
AFF
-T.TXA, a famous volcanic or burning
mountain in Sicily, situated on the eastern
coast, not far from Catania. The height
of this mountain is above 10,000 feet above
the surface of the sea, and its circumfe-
rence at tlie base is 180 miles. Over its
sides are 77 cities, towns, and villages,
the number of inhabitants of w hich is
about 115,000. From Catania to the sum-
mit is the distance of 30 miles, and the
traveller must pass through three distinct
climates, which may be denominated the
torrid, the temperate, and the frigid. Ac-
cordingly, the whole mountain is divided
into three distinct regions, called the fer-
tile, the wood)', and the barren. The
first, or lowest region, extends through
an interval of ascent fi-om 12 to 18 miles.
The city of Catania and several villages
are situated in this first zone, and it
abounds in pastures, orchards, and vari-
ous kinds of fi-uit trees. Its great fertili-
ty is ascribed to the decomposition of la-
va, and of those vegetables, which have
been introducedby the artsof agi'iculture,
and the exertions of human industrj.
The figs, and fruit in general, in this re-
gion, are reckoned the finest in Sicily.
Tlie lava in this region flows from a num-
ber of small mountains, which are dis-
persed over the immense decUvity of jEt-
na. The woody region, or temperate
zone, extends from 8 to 10 miles in a di-
rect line, towards the top of the mountain ;
it comprehends a surface of about 40 or
45 square leagues. It forms a zone of
the brightest green all round the moun-
tain, which exhibits a pleasing contrast to
the white and hoary head of the moun-
taui. It is called the woody region, be-
cause it abounds witli oaks, beeches, and
firs. The soil is similar to that of the
lower region. The air here is cool and
refreshing, and every breeze is loaded
%vith a thousand peHumes, the whole
ground beingcovered over with the rich-
est aromatic plants. Many parts of this
region are the most heavenly spots upon
cartli ; and if JEtna resemble hell within,
it may with equal justice be said to re-
semble paratlise witliout. Theupperre-
fion, called the frigidzone, is marked out
y a circle of snow and ice. The surface
of this zone is for the most part flat and
even, and the approach to it is indicated
by the decline of vegetation, by uncover,
cd rocks of lava and heaps of sand, by
near views of an expanse of snow and ice,
and of toiTents of smoke issuing fi-om the
crater of the mountain, and by the diffi-
culty and danger of advancing, amidst
streams of melted snow, sheets of ice, and
gusts of chilling wind. The curious tra-
veller, however, thinks himself amply re-
compensed, upon gaining tlie summit, for
tlie peril which he has encountered. At
night the number of stars seem increased,
and their fight appears brighter than usu-
al. The lustre of the milky way is like a
pure flame tliat shoots across the hea-
vens, and with the naked eye we may ob-
serve clusters of stars totally invisible in
the lower regions. The scoriae of which
the mountain is composed have the same
kind of base, contiuning shorls and felt-
spars.
AFFIDAVIT signifies an oath in writ-
ing, sworn before some person who is au-
thorised to take the same.
In an aflUdavit, the time, phice of habi-
tation, and addition, of the person who
makes it are to be inserted.
Affidavits are chiefly used to certify the
serving of processes or other matters con-
cerning the proceedings in a court; and
tlierefore should set forth the matter of
fact to be proved, without taking any no-
tice of the merits of the cause. They are
read in court upon motions, but are not
admitted in evidence at trials.
By statute, the judges of the courts at
Westminster may commission persons, in
the several coimties in England, to take
affidavits relating to any thing depending
in their several courts.
AFFINITY, among ci\-ilians, denotes
the relation of each of the parties mar-
ried to tlie kindred of the otJier.
Affinity is distingiushed into three kinds.
1. Direct affinity, or that subsisting be-
tween the husband and his wife's rela-
tions, by blood ; or between the wife and
her husband's relations, by blood. 2. Se-
condary affinity, or that which subsists
between the husband and his wife's rela-
tions, by marriage. 3. Collateral affinity,
or that which subsists between the hus-
band and the relations of his wife's rela-
tions. The degrees of affinity are always
the same with those of consanguinity.
Hence, in whatever degree of consangui-
nity the kindred of one of the parties mar-
ried are, they are in the same degree of
affinity to the other.
By the canon law, direct affinity ren-
ders marriage unlawful to the fourth ge-
neration, inclusive ; but the case is other-
wise, with respect to the secondary and
collateral kinds. It is likewise to be ob-
served, that tlie aflfinity contracted by a
criminal commerce is an impediment to
man-iage so far as the second generation;
thus, a man is not allowed to marry the
sister of a woman he has lain with. Nay,
with regard to contracting marriage, affi-
nity is not dissolved by death ; for, though
ASA
AG A
a woman may be admitted ft witness for
the brother of her deceased hiisbund, she
is not ailowedto marry him.
Afpim ry, in chemistiy, the attraction
manifest between tlie parts of bodies in
chemical combination is, by many authors,
distinguished by tliis name. See Che-
Mismr.
AFFIRMATION, an indulgence allow-
ed by law to the people called Quakers,
who, in cases where an oath is required
from others, may make a solemn affirma-
tion that what they siiy is tnie. But their
affinnation is confined to civil cases, and
is not allowed in any criminal cause, nor
with reg:ird to places of profit or trust
under the government.
AFFRAY, or Affkatmext, in law, for-
merly signified the crime of affrighting
other persons, by appearing in unusual ar-
mour, brandishing a weapon, &c. But, at
present, affray denotes a skirmish or
fighting between two or more J and there
must be a stroke pven, otherwise it is no
aflray.
AFFRONTEE, in heraldr}', an appella-
tion given to animals facing one another
on an escutcheon, a kind of bearing,
which is otlierwise called conJroiUte, and
stands opposed to iidoissee.
APT, in tlie sea language, the same
with abaft. See Abaft.
AFZELIA, in botany, a genus of the
Didynamia Angiospermia class and order :
the calyx is quinquepartite, the corolla
campanulatcd,and the capsule i-otundated
with hemispheric receptacles. There is
hvit one species, found in Africa, near the
equinoctial
AGAPANTHUS, in botany, a genus of
the Hexandria Monogjnia class and or-
der, of the natural ortler of Liliacx: the
calyx is a spathe ; the corolla is one pe-
talled; the stamina ai-e six filaments, in-
serted into the throat, sliorter tlian the
corolla; the anthers kidney-shaped and
incumbent ; the pistillum is a superior
germ; the style filiform, of the length of
three stamens ; the stigma simple or tri-
fid; the pericarpium is an oblong capsije;
the seeds numerous, oblong, compressed,
and enlai-ged with a membrane. There is
one species, viz. A.umbcllatus, or African
blue hly. This is the African tube-rose
hyacinth, with a blue umbellated flow-
er. The root of tliis plant is compos-
ed of thick fleshy fibres ; ijjPm the
same head arises a cluster <n rfaves,
which are thick and succulent, and of a
dark g^een colour. Between these issues
the flower stalk, supporting an umbel of
blue flowers in a sheath, and each flower
VOL. L
standing on a pedicle, about an inch long.
The umbel being large, the flowers im-
merous, and of a hght blue colour, make
a fine appearance. They come out at the
end of August, or beginnmg of Septem-
ber, and frequently continue in beauty till
spring. It is a native of the Cape of (Jood
Hope, from whence it was brought to
Holland, and in 1692 it was cultivated at
Hampton court.
This plant is px*opagated by offsets, ta-
ken at the latter end of June, planted iu
separate pots, with hght kitchen-garden
earth, and placed in a shady situation.
In five weeks the offsets will put off" new
ixHJts, and the pots should Uien be re-
moved to a more sunny situation, and have
more water. In September they will put
out tlieir flower-stalks, and towanl tlie
end of the month the flowers will begin
to open, and should be removed under
shelter in bad weather, but in good wea-
ther exposed to the free air. Toward the
end of October they should be removed
to the green-house, and have the benefit
of free air, and be occasionally watered
during winter, in mild weather, but in
frost they should be kept dry.
AGARIC, in botany, a genus of the or-
der of Fungi, and class of Crj ptogamia :
the pileus or cap has gills underneath,
and the gills differ in substance from the
rest of the plant, being composed of two
lamina, and the seeds are \n the gills.
There are nearly 400 species. Dr. Wi-
thering distributes them into three gene-
ral classes, comprehending those which
have central stcm.s, those with lateral
stems, and those which have no stems ;
and he agai n subdivides the tw o former
classes into such as have solid, and such
as have hollow stems, with decurrent,
fixed, and loose gills, respectively. Un-
der these heads, lie arranges the species
by the colour of tlie gills, i nto those whose
gills are white, brown, red, buff", yellow,
grey, gree n, and purple. As tliis ingeni-
ous author has formed a system, that
serves to facilitate tlie investigation and
description of the several species of Aga-
rics, we sh:dl here give a brief sketch of
tlie principles upon which it is founded.
Agarics are composed of a cap or pileus,
witli gills underneatli, and are either with
or without stems. The stems are eitlier
central or lateral. They have also a root,
w hich is more or less apparent, and some
of them, in their unftilded state, wholly
enclosed in a membranaceous or leather-
like case, called a wrapper. Some of
them have also a curtain, or thin mem-
brane, extending from the Btem tn th^
F
AGA
AGA
i
edge of the pileiis, which is rent as the
pileus expands, and soon vanishes ; but
the part attached to the stem often re-
mains, and forms round it a ring, which
is more or less permanent, as its substance
is more or less tender. Of all the species
of Agaric, one only has been selected for
cultivation in our gardens, viz. the A.
campestris, or common mushroom, or
champignon. The gills of this species
are loose, pinky red, changing to a liver
colour, in contact with the stem, but not
umted to it ; very thick set, iiTegidarly
disposed, some forked next the stem,
some next the edge of the pileus, some at
both ends, and in that case generally ex-
cluding the intermediate smaller gills.
The pileus is white, changing to brown
when old, and becoming scurfy ; regular-
ly convex, fleshy, flatter with age, from
two to four inches, and sometimes nine
inches, in diameter, and liqviefying in de-
cay; the flesh white. The stem is so-
lid, white, cylindrical, from two to three
inches high, half an inch in diameter ; the
curta-i. w-hire and delicate. When this
m shroom first makes its appearance, it
is smooth and almost globular ; and in this
stafe it is called a button. This species
is esteemed the best and most savoury of
the genus, and is much in request for the
table in England. It is eaten fresh, either
stewed or boiled, and preserved, eitheras
a pickle or in powder; and it furnishes
the sauce called Catchup. The field
plants are better for eating than those
raised on artificial beds, then* flesh being
more tender; and those wlio are accus-
tomed to them can distinpiish them by
their smell. But the cultivated ones are
more sightly, may be more easily collect-
ed in the proper state for eating, and are
firmer and better for pickhng. The wild
mushrooms are found in parks and other
pastures, where tlie turf has not been
ploughed up for many years, and the best
time for gathering mem is August and
September.
AGATE, a fossil compounded of vari-
ous substances, as chalcedony, cornelian,
jasper, hornstone, quartz, &c. These
different fossils do not all occur in every
agate, commonly only two or three.
There are diflferent kinds of agate, as the
Fortification, the landscape, the nbbon,
the moss, the tube, the clouded, the zoned,
the star, the fragment, the punctuated,
the petrefiiction, the coral, and the jasper
agate. No country affoi-ds finer agate, or
in greater abundance, than Germany : it
is found in great quantity at Oberstein,
\frhere several thousand persons are em-
ployed Jn quarrj'ing, sorting, cutting, anfl
polishing it It is also found in France,
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and very
beautiful in the East Indies, where, how-
ever, it is confounded with onyx. It is cut
into vases, mortars, snuff-boxes, and some-
times into plates for inlaying in tables.
Veiy handsome specimens are made into
seals, and the smaller pieces are used for
gun flints. It was highly valued by tlie
ancients, who executed many fine works
in it: these, however, are onlyto be found
in the cabinets of the rich. The collec-
tions of Brunswick and Drcsdenar are re-
markable for beautiful specimens of this
kind.
AGATHOPHYLLUM, a genus of the
Dodecandria Monogynia class and order :
calyx very minute, truncate ; petals six,
inserted into the calyx ; drupe somewhat
globular ; nut half five-celled, one-seed-
ed ; kernel five-lobed. One species, viz.
A. aromaticum, a tree in Madagascar,
with an aromatic rufous bark.
AGAVE, in botany, a genus of the Hex-
andria Monogynia class and order, of
the natural order of Coronarise: it has no
calyx; the corolla is one-petalled and
funnel-shaped ; the stamina are filiform ;
the anthei-s linear ; the pistillum is an ob-
long germen; the style filiform; the stig-
ma headed and three cornered ; the peri-
carpium is oblong, and the seeds are nu-
merous. There are seven species, of
which we shall notice the A. Americana,
or great American aloe, whose stems,
when vigorous, rise upwards of twenty
feet high, (one in the king of Prussia's
garden rose to forty feet,) and branch
out on every side, so as to form a kind
of pyramid, composed of greenish yel-
low flowers, which stand erect, and come
out in thick clusters at every joifit.
The seeds do not come to maturity in
England. When this plant flowei-s, it
makes a beautiful appearance ; and if it
be protected from the cold in autumn, a
succession of new flowers will be pro-
duced for nearly three months in favour-
able seasons. R has been a common er-
ror, that this plant does not flower till it
is one hundred years old : the tiiith is, that
the flowering depends on its growth ; so
that in hot countries it will flower in a few
years ; but in colder chmates the growth
is slower, and it will be much longer be-
fore it shoots up a stem. The firet that
flowered in England is said to have been
Mr. Cowell'satHoxton, in 1729; but they
have occurred so often since that time,
that they are now scarcely considered as
Tarities. Few of the variety with yellow-
AGE
AGE
edged leaves have yet blossomed. There
arc hedges of the common agave in Spain,
Portugal, Sjcil}, and Calabria; it flourish-
es also about Naples, and in other parts
of Italy. The juice of the leaves, strain-
ed, and reduced to a thick consistence,
by being exposed to the sun, may be
mafle up into balls by means of lye -ashes.
It will lather witli salt water as well as
fresh. The leaves, instead of pas.sing
between the i-ollers of a mill, may be
pounded in a wooden mortar, and the
juice brought to a consistence by the sun,
or by boiling. A gallon of juice will yield
about a pound of soft extract The leaves
are also used for scouring pewter, or
other kitchen \itensils, au'l floors. In Al-
garvia, where pasture is scarce, they are
cut in thin transverse slices, and given to
cattle. The uiward substance of tlje de-
cayed stalk will serve for tinder. The
fibres of the leaves, separated by bruising
and steeping in water, and afterwaixls
beating them, will make a thread forcom-
mon uses. Varieties of the common
American agave, with gold and silver
.striped leaves, are not now uncommon in
tlie English gtirdcns. The Karatto agave
is a vai-ietv brought from St. Christo-
pher's, and the name is given to other
species of this genus, and has leaves from
2^ to 3 feet long, ajid about 3 inches broad,
ending in a black spine, and more erect
Uian those of the others. This sort has
not flowered in Kngland. Linnaeus has
separated this genus from the aloe, be-
cause the stamina and style are extended
much longer than the corolla, and the
corolla rests upon the germ. Resides,
all the agaves have their central leaves
closely folding over each other, and em-
bracing the flower-stem in the centre ; so
that these never flower till all the leaves
are expanded, and when the flower is past,
the plants die. Whereas the flower-stem
of the aloe is produced on one side of the
centre, annually, from the same plant, and
the leaves are more expanded than in tljis
genus.
AGE, in horsemanship, makes a consi-
derable point of knowledge, the horse
being an animal that remarkably shews
ihe progress of his years by correspon-
dent idtcrations in his body. We have
the chief chanicteristics from his teeth.
The first year he hxs only small grinders
and gatlicrcrs, of a brightish colour, which
are called foal's teeth. The second year
he changes his four foremost teeth, viz.
two above and two below, and tlicy ap-
pear browner and bigger than the rest.
The tliird year he changes the teeth next
these, leavingno apparent foal's teeth he-
fore, but two above, and two below, on
each side, which are all bright and small.
The fourth year he changes the teeth next
these, and leaves no more foal's teeth be-
fore, but one above and below, on each
side. The fifth year his foremost teeth
are all changed, and the tushes on each,
side are complete ; and those which suc-
ceed the last foal's teeth are hollow, with
a small bJack speck in the middle, which
is called the mark in the hoi-se's mouth,
and continues till he is eight years old.
The sixth year there appear new tushes,
near which is visible some young flesh, at
the bottom of the tush, the tushes being-
white, small, short, and sharp. The se-
venth year his teeth are at their full
growth, and the mark in his mouth ap-
pears very plain. At eight all his teeth
are full, plain, and smooth, and the black
mark but just discernible, the tushes
looking more yellow than ordinarj'. The
ninth, his foremost teeth shew longer,
broader, yellower, and fouler, than before,
tJie mark quite disappearing, and the
tushes bhmtish. At ten no holes arefelt
on the inside of the upper tushes, which,
till then, are easily felt. At eleven his
teetli are very long, yellow, black, and
foul, and stand directly oppcsite each
other. At twelve the teeth of liis uppef
jaw hang over those of his under. At
thirteen nis tushes are worn almost close
to his chaps, if he has been much ridden;
otherwise they will be long, black, and
foul.
AoK likewise denotes certain periods
of the duration of the world. Thus,
among christian chronologers, we meet
with the age of the law of nature, which
comprehends the whole time betweeft
Adam and Moses; the age of the Jewish
law, which takes in all the time from Mo-
ses to Christ ; and lastly, the age of grace,
or the number of years elapsed since the
birtli of Christ.
Among ancient historians, the duration
of the world is also subdivided into cer-
tain periods, called ages; of which they
reckon three: thefii-st, reachingfromthe
creation to tlie deluge, which happened
in Greece, during the reign of Ogyges, r^
called the obscure or uncertain age ; the
history of mankind, during that period,
beingaltogether uncertain. The second,
called the fabulous or heroic, terminates
at the first oJympia>l; where the third, or
historical, age commences.
The ancient poets also divided the du-
ration of the world into fowr ages, or pe-
riods; the first of which they called tj)<?
AGG
AG!
^Idenage, the second the silver age, the
third the brazen age, the fourth the ii-on
age. Not unhke these are the four ages
of the world, as computed by the East'ln-
dians, who extend them to a monstrous
leng^.
Agb, in law, signifies certain periods
of life, when persons of both sexes are
enabled to do certain acts, which, for want
of yeai-sand discretion, they were incapa-
ble of before. Thus, a man at twelve
years of age ought to take the oathof al-
legiance to the king, inaleet: at four-
teen, which is his age of discretion, he
may consent to marriage, choose his guar-
dian, and claim his lands held in socage.
Twenty-one is called full age, a man
or woman being then capable of acting
for themselves, of managing their affairs,
making contracts, disposing of their es-
tates, and the like ; which before that age
they could not do. A woman is dowable
at nine years of age, may consent to mar-
ly at twelve, and at fourteen choose her
guardian, and at twenty-one may alienate
her lands.
Ace, in military afFaij-s. A young man
must be fourteen years of age, before he
can become an officer in the line, or be
entered as a cadet at Woolwich. Persons
may be enlisted as soldiers from sixteen
to forty -five ; after the latter age, every
inhabitant isexemptedfromservmgin the
militia.
AGENT, in law, a person appointed to
transact the business of another. It is a
principle of law, that whenever aman has
a power, as owner, to do a thing, he may,
as consistent with his right, do it by de-
puty, either as agent, factor, or servant. If
a person be appointed a general agent,
the principal is bound by all his acts.
But an agent, specially appointed, cannot
bind his principal by an act whereby he
exceeds his authority.
AGERATUM, maudlhi, in botany, a
genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia M-
qualis class of plants, with a monopetalous
personated flower, and an oblong mem-
branaceous fruit, divided into two cells,
which contain a number of minute seeds,
affixed to a placenta. There are two
species.
AGGREGATE, in botany, is a term
used to express those flowers which are
composed of parts or florets, so united or
incorporated by means eitherof the recep-
tacle or calyx, that no one of them can be
taken away without destroying the form
of the whole. They are opposed to sim-
ple flowers that have no such common
part, which is eith«r the receptacle or the
calyx, and are usually divided into seven
kinds, viz. the aggregate, properb so call-
ed, whose receptacle is dilated, and whose
florets are supported by foot- stalks; such
are the blue daisy, thrift, orsca-pink, &c. :
the compound, which consist of several
florets, that are placed, without partial
peduncles, on a common dilated recepta-
cle, and withiii a common perianthium;
and where each floret hath its proper ca-
lyx; it is also a perianthium: umbellate,
when the flower consists of many floi-ets
placed on fastigate peduncles, pi-oceeding
from the same stem or receptacle ; and
which, though ofdifferentlengtiis,ri,se to
such a height as to form a regular head
or umbel, flat,*> convex, or concave : cy-
mous, when several fastigate peduncles
proceed from the same centre, like the
umbel, and rise to nearly an even he'ght;
but, unlike the umbel, the secondary or
partial peduncles proceed without any
regular order, as in sambucus, viburnum,
&c. : amentaceous, which have a long
common receptacle ; along these are dis-
posed squanije or scales, which form that
sort of calyx called the Amentum : glu-
mose, which proceed from a common
husky calyx belonging to grasses, called
Gluma, many of which flowers are placed
on a common receptacle, called Rachis,
collecting the florets into the spikes, as
triticum, hordeum, bolium, &c. : and spa-
diceous, which have a common recepta-
cle, protruded from within a common ca-
Ij-x, called Spatha, along which are dis-
posed several florets. Such a receptacle
is called a Spadix, and is either branched,
as in phoenix; or simple, as in narcissus,
&c. In this last case, tlie florets may be
disposed all around it, as in calla, draco-
nitum, &c. ; on the lower part of it, as in
arum, &c.; or on one side, as in zostcra,
&c. These flowers have generally no
partial calyx.
AfiCHEGATE, in the Linnxan system
of botany, is one of the natural methods
of classing plants, and comprehending
those which have aggregate flowers.
AGGREGATION, in chemistry, de-
notes the adhesion of parts of the same
kind. Thus, pieces of sulphur united by
fusion form an aggregate.
AGIO, in commerce, a term chiefly
used in Holland and at Venice, where it
denotesthe difference between the v.ahie
of bank stock and the current coin. Mo-
ney in bank is commonly worth more than
specie: thus, at Amsterdam, they give
103 or 104 florins for every 100 florins in
bank. At Venice, the agio is fixed at
20 per cent See Exchange. Ag^o is
A6R
AGR
a?so uffcd for the profit arising from the
discounting a note, bill, 8ic. Agio of as-
surance, is the same with what wc call
policy of assurance. See Ashukance.
AGRKKMENT, in law, signifies the
consent of several persons to any thing
done, or to be done.
There are three kinds of agreement.
First, an agreement already executed at
the beginning, as when money is paid, or
other satisfaction made for the thing
agreed to. Secondly, an agreement afler
an act done by another, to which a person
agrees : this is also executed. Thirdly,
an agreement executory, ortobe execut-
ed in time to come.
An agreement put in writing does not
change its nature ; but if it be sealed and
delivered, it becomes still stronger; nay,
any writing under hand and seal, or a
proviso amounting to an agreement, is
6<iuiv.ilent to a covenant.
AGRICULTURE, is the science which
explains the means of making the earth
produce, in plenty and perfection, those
vegetiible.s, which are necessary to the
subsistence or convenience of man. Its
practice demands a considerable know-
ledge of the relations subsisting between
the most important objects of nature. It
is eminently conducive to the advantage
of those actively engaged in it, by its
tendency to promote their health, and to
cherish in tliem a manly and ingenuous
character ; and every improvement made
in the art must be considered as of high
utility, as it facilitates the subsistence of a
plater proportion of rational and moral
agents ; or, if we suppose the number to
be unincreascd, furnishes them with
greater opportunities than could be pos-
sessed before, of obtaining that intellec-
tual and moral cnjoymejit, which is the
most honouHible characteristic of their
Ruturc. The strength of nations is in
pnportion to their skilful cultivation of
tlie soil ; and their independence is se-
cured, and their patrotism animated, by
obtaining from their native spot all the
requisites for easy and vigorous subsist-
ence.
Not only to raise vegetables for tlie
use of man, but those animals also which
are used for food, is obviously therefore
part of tile occupation of the husband-
man ; and to assist him in his operations,
other animals are to be rcarc<l and fed by
him, to relieve lys labours by their
strength and endurance of exertion. In
rold and comparatively infertile dimate.s,
the ser>ict s of these creatures are p:u^
ticiUarly important, if not ahsolutely in-
dispensahle, and their health and mtiW-
plication become, conscquenth , objects
of great and unremitted attention.
The period of the introduction of
agriculture into Britain is unknown.
Pliny obsenes that, at the time of the
Roman invasion, the inhabitants were ac-
quainted with certain manures, particu-
larly marl. During the possession of the
isLind by the Romans, great quantities of
grain were exported from it, and it can-
not be doubted that, as in various other
respects, the nide inhabitants derived ad-
vantage from their enlightened conquer-
ors; they were eminently benefited by
their agricultural experience. Amidst the
series ofcontest sand confusions which fol-
lowed the final abandonment of Britain by
the Romans, tlie art and practice of hus-
bandly must be presumed tohave become
retrogra<le. From the Norman concjuest,
however, it derived fresh vigour, as a con-
siderable number of Flemish farmers, by
this revolution, became proprietors of
British estates, and introduced that know-
ledge of the means of cultivation, for
which their own countrj' had been long
disting^iished.
Before the sixteenth century few data
are afforded, with respect to the details of
agricultural practice in this island. At
this period it derived a valuable impulse
from the exertions of Fitzherbert, a judge
of the common plea.s, whose treatises on
the subject were read with avidity, and,
while they abounded in instruction, ex-
cited a taste and emulation for the pur-
suits of husbandry. Sir Hugh Piatt fol-
lowed tliis path of gemiine patrioti.sm
with great assiduity, modpsty, miuI public
advantage, treating particularly on the
subject of manuring. Gabriel Plattcs
held out to his countrymen the light of
genius, guided by experience. Captain
Blyth, in 1652, p>iblished a judicious
treatise, containing directions for water-
ing lands. And Hartlib, the friend of
Millan, in a work called the Legacy, sug-
gested the establishment of a national in-
stitution for the cncotiragement of hus-
bandry, and stimulated to the practice of
it a number of coimtr}- gentlemen, whom
the violence and changes of the times
had reduced to a situation, in which they
found it requisite to avail themselves of
all means and resources to extricate
themselves from comparative impoverish-
ment. EveljTi and .Tethro Tull were, at a
.somewhat later period, of eminent service,
in directing the attention of their '
poraries fi^)m the gros^iioss and p
of voluptuousness, to this most ..%: .c,,;.
AGRICULTURE.
department of art ; the former, by his
treatise on plants ; the latter, by liis re-
commendation of the practice of drill
husbandry. Since their successfid and in-
genious efforts, a series of valuable ex-
perimentalists and writers have performed
to their countrj" very essential service, by
communicating the most useful informa-
tion, and exciting a spirit of acute re-
search and unwearied exertion.
In France, the political expedience of
guarding against that scarcity, which, in
time of war, either necessitated tlie yield-
ing to harsh terms from the enemy, or
exposed to the miseries and hori-ors of
famine, by continued hostihties, induced
the government, in the late reigns, to be-
stow on the subject of agriculture con-
siderable attention, and to hold out nu-
merous encouragements to it. The court
was present at various experiments in
husbandr}'. Prize questions were pro-
posed at Lyons. Bourdeaux, and Amiens,
for its promotion, and no less than fifteen
societies, for the express purpose of ad-
rancing agi'iculture, were established,
with the appix)bation, probably at the sug-
gestion, of the governing powers. But,
notwithstanding all those efforts, which,
however, can by no means be presumed
to have been totally useless, French hus-
bandry continued in a very deplorable
state, ascribable, in agreat degree, to that
tenure of lands, by which, through the
greater part of the kingdom, the land-
lord contributed the stock, and the occu-
pier the labo\u", dividing the profits in
certain proportional shares. This cir-
cumstance, with several others, operated
to keep the cultivation of this countrj' in
an extremely low state, and a compara-
tive estimate of the produce of an Eng-
lish and of a French estate, of precisely
similar natural advantages, at the period
when this practice prevailed, woiddshew
that, in consequence, principally, of so
absurd and penerse a regulation, the su-
periority of the former to the latter was
at least in the ratio of 36 to 25. But the
revolution of France, changing every
thing, has swept away, with many excel-
lent individuals, and some valuable insti-
tutions, a practice so impolitic and injuri-
ous ; and although our mtercourse with
that countr}', since this event, has scarce-
ly been such as to afford accurate and
detailed information of the present state
of its husbandry', it cannot easily be
doubted, that the repeated transfers of
landed property, the annihilation of par-
tial burdens upon cultivation, the re-
searches of ingenious chemists, and the
general view of government to the pro-
ductiveness of its territory, and to the
Eromotion of its ai-ts and sciences, must
e connected with considerable improve-
ment in this most valuable of national
concerns.
In Germany, lectures have for many
years been given on this subject, in va-
rious states of it ; and several princes in
the empire, particulai'ly the present king
of Bavaria, have directed to it their parti-
cular attention and patronage. In Rus-
sia, the late Empress gave it every facili-
ty which could be applied in tlie senu-
barbarous state of her dominions, and
sent gentlemen into this and other coun-
tries, with a view to acquire information
on rural economy, for the benefit of their
own. In the Dutchy of Tuscany, the
Archduke Leopold recently diffused the
active spirit of improvement by wliich he
was himself animated, and an academy
was endowed for the promotion of agn-
ciUture. A society for the same pi'rposc
M'as instituted about the year 1759, at
Berne, in Switzerland, consisting of men
of great political influence, and also of
great personal experience in rural econo-
mics. The Stockholm Memoirs suffi-
ciently evince that Sweden, under the
influence of the great Linnaeus, applied
to this science with extraordinary succesB
and advantage. Even the indolence and
pride of Spain were roused to exertion
on this interesting subject, and the go-
vernment of that country made overturea
to the Swedish philosopher, for the su-
perintendance of a college directed to the
advance of natural history, and the art of
husbandr}'.
In our own countn-, however, from a
happy combination of circumstances, the
exertions of individuals, societies, and
government, have been directed, within
the last thirty yeare, to the subject under
consideration, with more energ\' and effect
than have been displayed in any other
part of Europe. The gentr>' and nobility
have liberally patronized, and many of
them judiciously and successfully prac-
tised it. The Roj'al Society, the Society
of Arts, and various oUiers, have been
of distinguished service in collecting and
diffusing information, and in promoting a
spirit of emulation, with respect to the
management and production* of their
native soil. The names of Kahns and
Hunter, of Andei-son and Marshall, of
Sinclair and Young, are celebrated by
publications, exhibiting a union of philo-
sophical sagacity and patient experiment;
the results of wlvjch have been of incal-
AGRICULTURE.
culable advantage ; and to the efforts of
these and other indhnduals it may be
ascribed, tliat a board of agriculture was
estabUshed l)y the government in 1793,
whose exertions in procuring and pub-
lisliiug intelligence on the objects of its
establishment have entitled it to the high-
est credit. By its agricultural sur^'eys, by
its diffusion of rewards for important dis-
coveries, and of premiums for valuable
treatises; and by its exertions at critical
periods of scarcity, its utility and merit
may be considered not only as decided,
but distinguished. It has tlie power of
directing public attention to any topics
particularly requiring practical research
or illustration, and possesses the means of
most advantageously diffusing its collec-
tions, circumstances of high importance
to the utility of the establishment. It
must be regarded as its privilege, as well
as duty, to suggest, from time to time, to
the legis'ature, means for removing va-
rious impediments, still existing, to the
perfectionof theart, forthe promotion of
which it is expressly instituted.
On Inclosing and Draimng.
Inclosing of lands must be considered
as the grand foundation of all improve-
mf-nts. When remaining open, litigations
between neighbours arc perpetually oc-
curring, and the ingenuity of any indi-
'•I'liial proprietor is of linle use to him,
tis he IS obliged to follow the practice
pursued by the ignorant and obstinate
occupiers of the common property in
which he shares. In connection with
inc!')s';res nijiy he eonsidei-ed the practice
oi" divining lands, which is the next step
in renderin;^ them pro<hictive. ("he su-
pe.rihr.ndance of water is no less injuri-
ous to vfgctat.on than the al solute want
of "t ; and, V hethev arising from rain
siag^aling on the surface, or from springs
in thf* inte or of the earth, it is one of
the irt'ir.^ important objces of the farmer
t'. pit vt ;-.t its pernicio IS consequences.
J'or Uiis purpose, open or visible drains
are in many cases adoptinl ; while in others,
hollow ones, so called from their being
concealed in covered trenches, are pre-
ferred. The width and depth of open
drains must be regulated by the vanety
of soil and situation to which they are
applied. To prevent, however, the sides
from falling in they must at top be three
times the width they have at bottom ;
while their direction must obviouslv, and
of necessity, be descending, it siio ild, at
the s.'une tijne, not be steep, as this would
form inequalities, and bear down their
sidei by the rapid rush of the water. All
open drains should be cleared, at least,
once in every year ; which regular re-
pairs may, in some cases, render them in
the end more expensive than those de-
nominated hollow, which will sometimes
last for several generations unimpaired,
but demand originally a far greater siun
for their completion.
The practice of hollow draining was
known by the Roman writers on agricul-
ture, and is particularly mentioned by
them. In stifl clays it is of little service,
and it is practised with desired effect
only where the soil is of that porous sub-
stance, which easily admits the passage
of the water through it Opinions differ \
with regard to the season for carrjing
these works into execution ; some, wilk
plausible reason, preferring the summer,
and others, having nearly as much to
state in recommendation of winter for the
purpose. The depth of the drain, from
tile surface of the land, should generally
be from twenty-six inches to thirty -two';
and the principal rule for tlieir depth is,
that they should be secured from receiv-
ing injurj- from the feet of horses or cat-
tle ploughing on the spot under which
they are made. It is desirable to consti-
tute the drain in such a manner that the
stones may lean towards each other, so as
to form a triangle, of which the bottom of
the drain forms the base : in which case,
tlie width of a foot may be regarded as
sufficient for them. The ditches con-
structed for these drains must be execut-
ed with great neatness and care ; and
with respect to fiUing them up, whiclr
they should be about ten inches deep, if
stones are plentifully at hand, they should
be applied tor this purpose But in many
places, faggot-wood, horns, bones, sti-aw.
fern, and even turf, laid in like a wedge,
are all used in different situations ; and
drains constrticted of these materials,
thirty years ago, are found in several
places effectually to answerthcir purjnise
still. By many persons, straw, twisted
into a verj' large rope, h;is been success-
fully laid in the bottom of the ditch : an' =
by others, after twenty years experienct-.
the white thorn Iws been recommended
as answering better than all other mate-
rials.
Injurious moisture in land arises often
from springs in tlie bowels of the earth.
'!"lie person who first published the me-
thod of di-aining land, in tliese circum-
stances, was Dr .Tohn Anderson, of Aber-
deen, while Mr. filkington was actually-
AGRICULTURE.
practising upon the same principle, in va-
rious parts of England, with complete
success ; and at length obtained from the
British parliament a thousand pounds, as
the discoverer of so valuable an improve-
ment. In Italy and Germany, however,
it is stated, upon respectable authority,
that the art has been long known and
practised. Some of tlie strata of which the
earth is composed will admit the free pas-
sage of water through them, while others
eflectually resist it. Gravel is obviously
chai'acterised by the foi-mer quality, and
clay by the latter. 1 he upper part of
mountiunsis frequently composed of gi-a-
vel, which extends far into tlieir depth,
a.nd conveys with it the water received
upon theu" surface from tlie clouds.
Ikleeting with layers of clay or rock, how-
ever, tlie water is unable to peinneate
them, and flows upon the upper part of
them obhquely, according to that general
direction of the layers or laminae, which
form the earth towards the plain or val-
ley. After descending for some way,
the layer of gravel along which the water
had passed, and from which it could not
penetrate the clay, flowing only on its
surface, often passes, in consequence of
the obliquity just mentioned, under new
strata of materials, consisting of clay, or
some substance equally difficult to be pe-
netrated by moisture. The water is thus
confined between impervious beds. If
the layer of gravel suddenly stops, in such
circumstances, as it often does, the water
which it had conveyed between these two
beds, deriving fresh accumulation perpe-
tually from its original source, will at
length pemieate the superior layer, as-
cending through its weaker parts, and
arriving at last at the surface, will there
stagnate. The art of draining lands in
this situation (the principle of which, in
whatever research or casualty its disco-
very originated, is of such happy applica-
tion) consists merely of digging or boring
with an auger into the earth, so as to reach
the layer of gravel ; the water in which,
finding an easy and rapid access upwards
by tliis vent,nolongerpressesin itsforaier
diffused manner, to the injury of the su-
perior clay, which will consequently cease
to nourish moss and weeds through re-
dundant moisture, and be fitted for tlie
purposes of useful cultivation. The ap-
plication of this principle to the purposes
of improved husbandry may be consider-
ed at present as in its infancy. It may be
presumed that, in future periods, it may
be carried to an extent of incalculable
utility, and be connected with the supply
of navigable canals, and the movement of
machinery ailapted to various objects of
art and commerce. The manner in which
the various strata are intermingled with
each other must, it is obvious, as nearly
as possible, be ascertained, befoi-e tliis
practice can be applied with certainty of
success ; and the surest way of discover-
ing their direction consists in examining
tlie beds of the nearest rivers, and (he ap-
pearance of their steep and broken banks.
The examination of pits, wcUs, and quar-
ries, in the vicinity, will also contribute
information on the subject. Rushes and
other plants, which grow only in moisture
injurious to other vegetables, will likewise
otten indicate where a collection of water
is impeded in its course below, and con-
sequently presses upward, to the desti-uc-
tion of useful vegetation. In draining a
large bog, it will be generally proper to
dig a trench from one end of it to the
other, with cross trenches at considerable
distances, to allow the water a free dis-
charge, by frequently piercingthe bottom,
at which the springs are to be found, with
an auger. A single perforation will fre-
quently, indeed, complete the object. In-
stances liave occurred, in wliich water thus
i-aised has been made to ascend, by erect-
ing round the perforation a building of
brick, fined botli sides with clay, above
the level of the bog, applicable to a va-
riety of purposes, and conveyed by pipes,
or otherwise, to a considerable distance.
Detailed regulations for the application of
this important principle, so productive a
source of improved cultivation, are pre-
cluded by the assigned Umits of this ar-
ticle.
On Fences.
Without firm and close fences, the hus-
bandman might as well cultivate open
fields as inclosures, which in tliese cir-
cumstances, indeed, are only nominally
such. He is under perpetual and well-
founded apprehensions, lest cattle of his
own orliis neighbours should break into
his corn or hay-fields. To prevent Uiese
painful apprehensions and irreparable
mischiefs, every attention must be be-
stowed on the fences of a farm. Large
and rich pastures may most easily be di-
vided into fields of ten acres each, by
which the land is less liable to be injured
through the restlessness, and wild and
perpetual movements of cattle, which oc-
cur in extensive gi-oimds, where tliey are
collected in considerable numbers. Di-
viding banks being raised, they may be
AGRICULTURE.
connected with the system of draining by
:i ditch on each side, about three feet wide
at top and four deep. The bank or
border should be about tlie width of six
feet at tlie bottom, lessening gradually to
three at the top, at which the height from
the groiuid should be five orsix feet. On
each side of the bank should be planted a
single row of quick thorn. If the thorn
be of the bullace or damson kind, it will
be productive and profitable. On the top
of the border filbert nuts may be planted
at the distance of tliree feet; and, in tlie
middle, apple trees at tlie distance of
five feet. This- fence woidd occupy about
13 feet, and in the neighbourhood of Lon-
don, pailicularly, would be found not only
effectual for its main purpose, but a source
of income, as wejl as the means of defence.
The hawUiom, the black thorn, and the
holly, the willow, tlie black alder, and tlie
birch, have all been recommended byob-
sen'antand experienced men, as admira-
bly calculated to secure fields from the
irruptions of cattle, and will be employed
fbr tlie purpose, according as particular
circumstances of dryness or moisture, or
other considerations recommend their ap-
plication. Where there is an abundance
of flat-stones, fences are frequently com-
posed of them; and, though not so agfi-ee-
able to the eye as the others, and requiring
frequent repair from the stones being dis-
placed by cattle, when kept in order they
are the most effectual defence tliat can
be procured. With respect to hedges,
(which in this country are more usud as
well as more pleasing than walls, and
which, perhaps, cannot in general be
formed of any thing preferable to the
thorn, considering the quickness of its
growth in congenial soU, in which it shoots
six orseven feet in a single season, and
that it is more disposed to lateral shoots
than all other trees, and by its prickles
is especially calculated for the object
in view, in the construction of hedges,)
tlie proper method of repairing them is
unquestionably by plashing. This has
been defined a wattling made of Uving
wood. The old wood must, in tlie first
instance, be all cleared from the hedge,
together witli brambles and irregularly
growing stuff, and along the top of the
bank should be left standing the straight-
cst and best grown stems of thoni, hiizel,
elm, oak, or ash, about the number of six
in a yard. The next step is to repair the
ditch, which, in the driest soil.s, should
never be lesstlian three feet wide at top,
by two and a half deep, and six incites
\» ide at bottom ; and in all \ cry moist
VOL. I.
ones should be at least four feet by three,
and one at bottom. The earth removed
from the ditch should be thrown upon the
bank, after wliichthe repair of the hedge
commences, and those ofthe stems above
mentioned, left in cutting the old hedge,
which grow in the direction in which the
new hedge is to mm, are cut off, to serve
as hedge stakes for it, which being chosen
as mucn as possible of sallow' and willow
readily grow, and effectually preserve the
new part from falling or leaning, i The
remainder of the wood left standing is
then plashed down. One stroke is given
to the stick near the gi-ound, and another
about ten or twelve inches higher, just .
deep enough to sht out a part ofthe wood
between the two, leaving the stem sup-
ported by about a quarter of its original
size ; it is then laid along the top ofthe
bank, and weaved among the hedge-
stakes. Dead thorns are sometimes
woven among them, where there happens
to be a scarcity of living wood. After
this operation the hedge is edderedin tlie
usual manner. The greatest part of the
hedge thus consists of living materials,
and the importance of this circumstance
cannot be too strongly insisted upon, as a
compact and lasting fence is thusformed,
wliile those hedges which are constructed
of dead materials speedily decay, and
cnimble into the ditch. Itwouldbe end-
less todetail all the varieties offence which
peculiar circumstances may have render-
ed expedient, or human ingenuity may
have invented. The most usual and most
generally applicable are those which have
been mentioned.
Irrigation.
Watering of meadows was used in Eng-
land even in the days of Queen Ehzabeth,
and was carried on upon a large scale by
Rowland Vaughan, in the golden vaUey of
Herefordshire. He likewise pubUshed
a treatise on the subject. After this pe-
riod, and about a century since, it was
introduced by Mr. Welladvise into Glou-
cestershire, with abundant proofs of its
efficacy and importance. So slow, how 3
ever, is the progress of improvement, that
it is only of Tate years tliat tliis over-
flowing of grounds in nearly all other
situations as well as in level ones, has
been brought considerably intou.se. It
is a practice by wliich, in mild seasons,
grass is produced in extreme abundance,
even so early as in March ; gross, too,
particularly nutritious as well as plien-
tiful, on which cattle which have win-
AGRICULTURE.
tcred hardly thrive with great rapidity,
and on which young lambs feed with sur-
jmsing advantage. Between March and
May, the feed of meadows, in consequence
of this practice, is estimated at worth one
g-uinea per acre ; after which an acre will
yield two tons of hay in June, while the
after-math may be valued at twenty shil-
lings. In consequence of this manage-
ment, moreover, the land is continually
improving in quality, its herbage advan-
cing in fineness, the soil becoming more
firm and soimd, and the depth of its
mould being augmented. It may be esti-
mated tliatin each county in England and
Wales two thousand acres may be increas-
ed in value one pound per acre, by means
of irrigation ; a national ad vants^e of seri-
ous moment, and drawing after it the great
Improvement of other lands, and tlie em-
ployment of many honest and industrious
poor. The principles on which tlie prac-
tice depends have no portion of difficulty
and complexity whatever. Water will al-
ways rise to the level of the receptacle
from which it is derived. All streams de-
scending in a greater or less degree,
which is indicated by their smooth and
slow or their agitated and noisy pTOgress,
it is obvious that a main or trench may be
taken from a river which will convey wa-
ter over the land by the side of that river
(o a considerable distance below the head
of the main, where the river from which
it is taken flows greatly below it. As
water, however, if left to stag^iate upon
land, does it very considerable injury,
instead of benefiting it, by cheri.sning
flags, ru.shes, and other weeds, it is requi-
site to ascertjun, before it be introduced
upon any spot, that it can be easily and
effectually drained off".
The muddiness of the water applied is
stated by some to be of httle consequence,
and several writers have even laid it down
as a maxim, that the purer or clearer the
w ater is, the more beneficial are its eifects.
These opinions, however, appear to be
directly contradicted by experience ; and
it may be affirmed, that the mud of water,
particularly in some situations, is nearly
of as much consequence in winter water-
ing, as dung is in the improvement of a
poor upland field. Every meadow will
be found productive, proportionally to the
quantity of mud collected from the water.
Those meadows which he next below any
village or town, are uniformly most rapid
and plentifiU in their growth. So well
known is this truth, that disputes are per-
petually arisingconcemingthe first appli-
cation of water to lands i and when mud
is supposed to be collected at the botton)
of a river, or in ditches, many persons will
employ labourers with rakes, for several
days together, to disturb it, that it may
be carried down by the water, and spread
upon tlie meadows. The more tiu-bid and
feculent tlie water, the more beneficially
it acts. Hasty and violent rains, produ-
cing floods, dissolve the salts of the cir-
cumjacent lands, and wash from them con-
siderable portions of the manure, which
naturally or factitiously had been depo-
sited on them. Water from a spring de-
pends in no small degree for Uie quantity
of nutriment it affords to vegetables, on
tlie nature of the strata over which it
passes. If these be metallic, or consisting
of earth partaking of the sulphuric acid,
it may be really injurious. Buttiiat which
passes over fossil chalks, or any tJiing of
a calcareous nature, will highly pi-omote
the process of vegetation. That which
has run along way is, almost always, pre-
ferable to what flows over land immedi-
ately from the spring.
In mid-winter great attention should be
appliedtokeepingwateredlandsheltered
by tiiewaterfrom the rigour of night frosts-,
but during the whole winter it should
be witlidrawn once in every twelve days,
to prevent its rotting and destroying the
roots of tiie grass. Every meadow should
also be attentively inspected, to preserve
the equal distribution of the water over
it, and to remove obstacles arising from
the influx of weeds and sticks, and other
similar causes. In the month of Febru-
ary particular caution is requisite. If the
water be suffered to remain many days
together upon the land, a white scum, ex-
tremely pernicious, is the consequence ;
and if the land be exposed, without dij'-
ing during the course of the day, to one
severe niglit frost, the herbage will often
be completely cut off". Both these causes
of injury must be carefully avoided. A-
bout tile middle of February half the
quantity of water previously used will be
better than more, all that is requisite now
beingto keep the ground moist and warm,
and to hasten the progress of vegetation ,-
and in proportion as the weather becomes
wanner the quantity introduced should
proportionally be diminished. An import-
ant maxim in the application of water is,
to bring it on as plentifully as possible,
but to let it pass off" by a brisk and nim-
ble course, as not only its stagnation is
injurious, but by indolentiy creeping over
the land, it is of much less advantage than
when passing off" quickly. The spring
feeding ought never to be done by heavier
AGRICULTURE.
cattle tkan sheep or calves, as others
would do extreme injury, by poaching'
Uie ground witli tlieir feet, and spoiling-
the trenches. The barer tJ»e meadows
are fed toward* the close of April, tlie
better. After clearing, they should liave
a week's watering, witli a careful atten-
tion to every sluice or drain.
With respect to tJie application of floods,
a general rule, of no sliglit importance, is,
that the fanner should avail himself of
them whenever the grass cannot be used,
as tite sand and mud brought down by
them increase and enrich tlie soil; but that
he should avoid tliem when the g^rass is
long, or soon to be cut, as in flat countries
it is frequently spoiledby tliem, and much
of tlie matter which tiiey bring down,
sticking to the grass, renders it peculiar-
ly unpleasant to cattle, which have been
known in some instances ratlier to starve
than use it.
So preat is the importance of irrigation,
that governments would be fully justified
!) giving facility to undertakings for con-
iucting it on an extensive plan. The fer-
! dity, or, in otlier words, the national
wealth, capable of being derived from
the application of cold water, which is at
present allowed to flow uselessly away, to
the purposes of agriculture, is well wor-
thy the attention of the enlightened and
benevolent statesman. In tlie neighbour-
hood of the cities of Milan and Lodi, Mr.
Young obscr\es, that the exertions in ir-
rigation are truly great and even astouisli-
ing. " (>anals are not only numerous and
uninterrupted, but conducted witli great
skill and expense. Along the public
roads, almost every where, there is one
canal on the side of the i-oad, and some-
timestherearetwo. Crossones are thrown
over these on arches, and pass in trunks
of brick or stone umler tlie road. A very
considerable one, after passing for seve-
ral miles by the side of the highway, sinks
under it, and also under two other canals,
carried in stone trouglis a foot wide. The
variety of directions in which tlie water is
carried, the ease witli which it is made to
flow in opposite directions, and the ob-
stacles which are overcome, are objects
of admiration. The expense thus em-
ployed in tlie twenty miles from Milan to
Lodi is immense ; and meritorious as ma-
ny undertakings in England arc, they sink
to nothing in comparison w ith tliese truly
great and noble works. So well under-
stood is the value of water in tliis country,
that it is brought by the faiTner (who has
the power of conducting it through his
neighbour's t^ound, for a stipulated sum,
and under certain relations, to any dis-
tance tliat may suit lum) from a canal of a
certain sue, at so much an hour per week,
and even from an hour down to a quarter.
The usual price for an hour per wt-ek in
perpetuity is fifteen hundred livrcs."
J^faiture, &c.
Ingenious theories have too often, in
agricultural treatises, usurped the phice
of recitals of attentive and patient exjje-
rience. To the latter, the judicious rea-
der will ever bend liis attention with plea-
sure and advantage, rejoicing tliat, while
the systems of men are seen to vanish,
one after anotlier, in rapid succession, like
the waves of the ocean, the course of na-
ture is constant, and may be depended
upon tlirough all generations and ages.
Of all the expenses incurred by tlie hus-
bandman, none so rarely chsappoints its
object as tliat which he employs in ma-
nures. The use of lime in this connec-
tion has been long decidedly established.
It reduces to mould all the dead roots of
vegetables, with which tlie soil abounds.
Its useful operation depends upon its in-
timate mi.xture with the land; and the
proper time tlierefore to apply it is, when
both are in that pulverized state in which
this union can be best completed. If
left to be slaked by humid air, or casual
rain, it is seldom perfectly reduced to
powder. The proper method is, to place
it in heaps on the ground on which it is
intended to be spread, to slake it tliere
with a due quantity of water, and after-
wards to cover it with sod, to preserv e it
from the rain. If long slaked, however,
before it is spread, it runs into clots, and
becomes less operative for its purpose ;
besides which, it loses in such circimistan-
ces its caustic quaht)', on which account
it should be brought home as short a time
as possible before its intended appUcation.
Lime should not be permitted to lie all
winter on the surface of the ground after
being spread, for a similar reason, as also
because it is washed down into the fiir-
rows ; and on the sides of hills the whole
is apt to be carried oft'by the winter tor-
rents. It should be spread, and mixed
with the soil immediately before sowing.
The quantity to be laid on depends upon
tlie nature of tlie lands, which, if strr)ng,
will easily bear a hundred bolls per acre,
w hile tliin and gravelly ones will require
only thirty or forty, and upon meadow
ones fifty or sixty will be found sufficient.
Marl is valuable as a manure in propor-
tion to tlie quantity of calcareous earth
which it contuus, which in some instan-
AGRICULTURE.
CCS amount to one hall". When of this
quality, it may be regarded as the most
substantial of all manures, converting the
weakest ground nearly into the most pro-
ductive. It is the best of manure for clay
soils, in which all agricultural writers are
perfectly agreed. Before its application,
the land should be cleared of weeds, and
smoothed, that it may be evenly spread ;
after which it should remain all winter on
the surface. Its usefulness depends on
its pulverization and close union with the
soil to which it is applied. Frost, and a fre-
quent alternation of dryness Jtnd humidity,
contribute gi-eatly to reduce it to pow-
der, on which account it should, as much
and as long as possible, be exposed to
their influence. The proper season for
marling land is summer. The best grain
for the first crop after marl is oats. But,
whatever be the crop, the furrow should
be always ebbed, as otherwise the marl,
which is a heavy body, sinks to the bot-
tom of it.
Gypsum, or plaster of Paris, is com-
monly used in Switzerland and North
America as a manure, and has been tried
in this country with stated results of a
very different description. Experiments,
however, respecting its efficacy and ad-
vantages, do not appear yet to have been
made with sufficient accuracy to justify
a final opinion respecting it. In Cornwall
and other counties, sea sand is laid upon
the land in considerable quantities, and
found extremely useful in softening stiff
clays, and rendering them pervious to the
roots of plants. Chalk, or powdered lime-
stone, will also answer this important end;
and sand, together with lime perfectly
extinguished, will, more effectually than
any thing else, open its texture, and pre-
pare it for whatever is intended to be
sown on it
The tme nourishment of vegetables
consists of water, coal, salts, and differ-
ent kinds of earths, which are ascertained
to be the only substances common to ve-
getables, and the soils in which they grow.
In favourable weather, grasses and com
absorb and perspire nearly half their
weight of water every day. The great
problem \\ith respect to manuring or fer-
tilizing a soil appears to be, how to ren-
der coal soluble in water for the purpo-
ses of vegetation, and to discover that
composition of the different earths, which
is best adapted to detain the due pro-
jiortion of moisture. With respect to the
former, the fermentation of dung appears
to be the best method hitlierto discover-
ed ; and as to the different kinds of earths
to be applied for the improvement of
particular soils, the experiments of Mr.
Kirwan, to whom tlie world is indebted
for much elaborate and ingenious analy-
sis on tlie subject, have led him to seve-
ral conclusions, which will be briefly no-
ticed. Clay soils, being defective in con-
stitution and texture, want the calcare-
ous ingredient, and coai'se sand. The
former is supplied by calcareous mai-l,
and both are furnished by limestone gra-
vel. Marl and dung ai'e still more bene-
ficial, as dung supplies the carbonaceous
principle. Sand, chalk, or powdered lime-
stone, will either of them answer tliis pur-
pose, though less advantageously. Coal
ashes, chips of wood, burnt clay, brick-
dust, and even pebbles, may be applied
with tliis view. For clayey loam, if defi-
cient in the calcareous ingredient, chalk
is an excellent manure ; if in the sandy
ingredient, sand is the obvious and easy
remedy ; a deficiency in both will be best
supplied by siliceous marl, limestone gra-
vel, or effete lime with sand. The most
effectual application for tlie chalky soils,
which want both the argillaceous and the
sandy ingredients, is clayey or sandy
loams. For chalky loam, the best ma-
nure is claj', because this soil is chiefly
defective in the argillaceous ingredient.
Calcareous marl is the best manui-e for
sandy soils. For sandy loams, chalk
should be followed by clay ; and for vi-
triolic soils, lime, or limestone gravel, or
calcareous clay, is pecuUarly applicable.
Not only sea-sand, but sea-weeds also,
may be employed to considerable advan-
tage as manure. For lands on the coast
it may be procured, not only in any quan-
tities, but at a trifling expense. The
weeds of rivers are also extremely use-
ful for the same purpose. The refuse of
slaughter-houses and oil cakes are well
adapted to fei-tilize the soil, but in most
situations not easily to be obtained at a
reasonable rate.
In almost all circumstances, the indus-
try and ingenuity of the occupier must be
depended on for raising on the spot an ade-
quate quantity of dung for its manure ;
and for this purpose it is expedient that,
in such circumstances, as little as possi-
ble of the hay and straw raised upon the
premises should be sold from them. This
tenaciousness on the part of the farmer
will prove the constant source of improve,
ment. With a view to turn his means of
manure most advantageously to account,
he should draw into his farm yard, at the
most leisurely season of the year, before
the time of confining his cattle to fodder.
AGRTCtTLttJllE.
as much marl, tvirf, dry rauil, loam, aiul
other applicable articles, as will cover its
1 T'o to tlie depth of twelve inches.
re be many hog-houses, stables, and
. ,v. btuUs, that are cleansed into tlie yard,
on such spots these materials should be
spread more thickly. ^Bog peats, if near
:it hand, should never be neglected,
t'hese peats may be regarded as vegeta-
'>le dunghills, and their eiusy accessibility
III this connection will be regarded as of
' \tr;'me utility and consequence. Before
'ring is begun, the whole yard
>; (Hikl be well littered, for which stub-
ble, fern, and leaves, are well adapted.
No money laid out by the farmer is more
wisely and successfully expended, than
that which he employs in procuring, at a
reasonable rate, great quantities of litter,
by which his cattle are enabled to lie dry
and warm, and the mass of manure which
he raises is much larger and cheaper
than he could procure in any other mode.
Fern abounds m alkaline salts, and must
therefore obviously produce very valua-
ble dung: it requires, however, to be
rotted well, and is more difficult to be so
than straw. In woodlands, leaves may be
collected at slight expence, and will make
admirable litter and dung. In the neigh-
bourhood of marshes, rushes, flags, and
coarse grass, may all be easily procured,
and will be exceedingly serviceable.
After tliese exertions and preparations,
the farmer must strictly confine his cattle
during the winter, not by tying them, as
some have done, bu^ so as completely to
prevent their roaming in the adjoining
pastures. By thus confining all the cat-
tle upon straw, and turnips, and hay, as
may be requisite, tlie necessary quantity
of animal maimre will be obtained to
make the compost of the several ingredi-
ents ferment, rot, and turn to rich ma-
nure, while without these animal materi-
als, the heap might be large, but would
be of little value, 'i'iie draining from the
?'ard should never nin to waste, and, un-
ess in extraordinary cases, such as ex-
tremely violent mins, this may be easily
prevented. An excellent method for this
purpose is the sinking a well in the low-
er part of the yard to fix a pump in ; by
which the water may be conveyed along
a trough to a large heap of marl, turf,
rhalk, and other appropriate materials,
which, by a daily application of this li-
quor, will be of httle less value eventu-
ally than a heap of dung of tlie same
size.
If the dung remains under water, pu-
trefaction is stopped ; this, therefore,
should be carefully guarded against.
Stirring the dung should also be avoided,
as the oils and alkaline salts are thus car-
ried off into the atmosphere, and It is not.
merely rottenness tliat is wanted, and
particularly that dry rottenness thus pro-
duced, but such as exhibits a fat, oily, mu-
cilaginous appeai-ance. It will be advisa-
ble, if practicable, to let it remain in the
yard unmoved, till the ground it is destin-
ed for is completely ready for its recep-
tion. If, for want of i-oom in the yard,
it must be carted off into the field, let
the litter and the marl be well mixed in
filling the cart, and let the whole form,
under the shade of trees, if an opportu-
nity be afforded for it, a heap of about
four feet in thickness.
The dung raised even by a few sheep
in a standing fold, under a shed construct-
ed expressly for the puipose, (for the
trouble and expence of one composed of
hurdles will overbalance its profits, un-
less upon a very large scale) is a consider-
able object, while the sheep under it arc
at the same time warm and comfortable,
instead of being exposed to driving rjuns
and snow.
Animal substances are very far prefer-
able as manures to fossil or vegetable
ones. Moollen rags, hog's hair, horn
shavings, the ofial of butcher's and fish-
monger's stalls, may be obtained in large
cities,and, wheneverreasonably tobe pro-
curecl, should be eagerly caught at. With
regard to the dung of animals, tliat of
sheep is unquestionably the best. That
of horses fed upon corn and hay is justly
preferred to that of fatting cattle, which,
however, is greatly superior to that of lean
cattle, and particularly of cows, though
they may feed upon turnips.
The practice of paring and burning is
pronounced by men of great philosophi-
clU sagacity and research, and who have
justly referred more to practical results
than to theoretical reasonings, to be of
tlie most decided advantage in tlie pre-
paration of land. It may be consi<lered
as a practice safe on any soil, as in some
it is essentially necessarj'. That which
most of all requires it, and which it is
impossible by any other means to pulve-
rize, is what consists of moss, iiishes, and
all kinds of coarse grass. It shoidd be
exercised on moor and heath-fields, on ac-
count of the roots of the grass remaining
in it, which are very stubborn and dura-
ble, and which check Uie gmwtli of corn,
turnips, and otJier vegetables, by depriv-
ing them of a certain portion of nourish-
ment They sene likewise as a harbour
AGRICULTURE.
for worms, the only effectual way to clear
the ground from which is to bum it ; the
did and the young, together with their
eggs, being tJius destroyed or smothered.
The ashes procured by paring and burn-
ing will furnish manure for several crops.
The lessening of the soil by this husband-
ry was long apprehended ; such a conse-
quence, however, may be safely and po-
sitively denied, unless, perhaps, in cases
in which the practice is carried to great
excess. In poor soils, peat and sedgy
bottoms, the process is universally admit-
ted to be a proper one. With respect
even to clay lands, it produces not only
the common manure found in vegetable
ashes, but a substance which acts me-
chanically to the utmost advantage, loos-
ening and opening the stubborn adhesion
of tlie soil. In loam itself, the ploughing of
rough pastures to the depth of eight or
nine inches, and burning the whole fur-
I'ow in heaps of about thirty bushels eacli,
has been attended with most decided and
durable improvement ; and even though
this depth be nearly twenty times tiie
deptli of common paring, the soil has not
been supposed to be wasted eveatually
by the practice. Its texture has been
rendered less stiff"; tlie redundance of
water has been expelled; and the imme-
diate fertility attending this method of
treatment fills it speedily with far more
vegetable particles than it previously pos-
sessed. Sandy grounds are as improve-
able by this method as those of a dif-
ferent description, and chalk lands, in
every part of England, have been so treat-
ed, and most profitably been brought into
culture. In Gloucestershire, Yorkshire,
and Lincolnshire, in Hampshire, Wilt-
shire, and Kent, the consequent crops of
wheat, barley, oats, and sainfoin, have
been of sufficient value to buy the land at
more than forty years purchase, at a fair-
ly estimated rent, before these improve-
ments were apphed. But whatever dif-
ference may exist, with respect to the
practice on such lands as have been just
mentioned, and which is rapidly vanishing
before obvious and impressive facts, no
one, as already observed, doubts the pro-
priety of it on peat. From the fens of
Cambridgesliire to tlie bogs of Ireland,
the moors of the north, or the sedgy bot-
toms abounding in almost every part of
the united kingdom, paring and burning
are universally employed, on their being
broken up, by men of real expejjence and
observation. The method of doing it by
fallow is completely abandoned by all
persons of this description, after the most
regular and decided expeiiments of its
results. In Cambridgeshire the work is
performed by a plough, purposely con-
structed, and admirably adapted for it,
which reduces the expence considerably.
With respect to meadow and pasture
land, it is performed by what is denomi-
nated a breast-plough, which, requiring
great strength and labour in its applica-
tion, much increases tlie cost. With re-
gard to the general practice, it may be
observed, that the heaps should not con-
sist of more than twenty bushels, a.s, if
they are much larger, the turfs will be
too much burnt. Their size must be
regulated, in a great degi-ee, Ijy the na-
ture of the weather and the thickness of
the paring. When the ashes are spread,
which should be completed as soon as
possible, the land, as is usually the case,
should be thinly ploughed. In almost all
circumstances, the ashes should be left
ploughed in for sowingtuniips upon lands
burnt in the months of March and April.
If potatoes are desired, this preparation
is excellently adapted to them, and they
should be planted in April on lands burnt
in March.
TIte Culture of Grasses.
A close and sound turf may be consid-
ered as the best manure yet discovered,
on which account it is justly remarked,
tliat those who have g^ass can at any time
have com, the revei-se of which is by no
means true. Excellent grass lands, there-
fore, are valuable, not only directly, for
the food of cattle, but indirectly, as con-
taining ample means of raising grain,
never failing, upon being broken up, to
{>roduce, for a time, a succesaon of va-
uable crops, whether of grain or roots.
The small degree of labour and hazard
attending the pasture of land recom-
mends it to many ; and also the opportu-
nity it supphes of laying out considerable
property to great advantage in stock.
Lands are preserved by it in good condi-
tion, and large estates may be manag«d
under it with peculiar ease.
Grass lands, designed to be cut for
hay, are to be distinguished from those
on which the herbage is intended to be
consumed by cattle on the spot: In
fields of the latter kind, properly called
pastures, manure is supplied by the cat-
tle ; in the others it must be applied ar-
tificially, as large crops of hay exhaust
the land, and always in proportion to the
maturity which the herbage is suffered
to attain before cropping, wliile nothing is
AGRICULTURE.
returned to the soil, for all that is thus
dttached from it. In consequence, more-
over, of depasturing' lands, the plants,
being unable to pi-opagate themselves
by seed, do it by root, forming a compact
and matted turf, incapable of sending
forth strong and powerfid stems, to form
a good crop of haj, but abounding in
slender and delicate shoots, such as the
closeness of the turf will alone permit to
pxss, and which constitute a most nou-
rishing and pleasing food for cattle. These
two modes of employing land therefore
should not be intermixea. What has for
some time been applied to either pur-
pose should, by all means, be permitted
to remain so ; and to attempt to alternate
the application of grass lands between
pasture and cropping, is an effectual me-
thod of completely defeating' both objects.
The difficulty of restoring^ olil, rich,
and clean i)astures to their orimnal state,
after tlieir being broken up, should ever
prevent their being so, unless in very
extraordinary cases. In common times
they can be applied to no better purpose
than their actual one : whenever it is ex-
pedient to direct them to the raising of
grain, they will be certmn to produce it
in immense abundance.
With respect to the improvement of
which grass lands are generally suscepti-
ble, those, of course, should in the first
instance be applied to them, which are
connected with draining and inclosure,
which happily coincide with each other,
as the ditch serves at once for dividing
and defending the land, and for clearing
ofl' the redundant moisture. Irrigation
also, which, as well indeed as tlie last-
mentioned topics, has been already ad-
verted to, from its obvious and admirable
utility to pasture, will derive every atten-
tion in this connection. In spring a hea\'y
wooden roller shoidd be applied, when
tlie weather is moist, as it will then make
tlie greater impression. The roots of tlie
plants will thus be fixed in the soil. The
mould will be crushed, and the worm-
casts levelled by this practice ; and the
g^und is prepared by it for the applica-
tion of the scythe, which will, in conse-
quence of diis operation, cut deeper, and
with more facility.
The stocking of poor pastures with
sheep, rather than black cattle, is of parti-
cular consequence to their improvement,
and tlie perseverance in this practice for
years, the sheep being folded upon the
spot, has been more recruiting to poor
soils, than any other practice. A habit
of matting its roots is given to tlic grass
by the close bite of these animals, and a
growth of delicate herbage is promoted.
Weeds are likewise cleared by sheep, as
eveiy thing youngs and tender (even
heath and broom) is readily eaten by
them. By means aLso of the dung, neces-
sarily arising, an amelioration of the soil
as well as produce takes place, of extreme
and surpnsing importance. The sweet-
ness of the feed on tlie downs of Wilt-
shire arises, not so much from any natu-
ral and characteristic excellence of the
grass grown on them, as from its being
kept close, and eaten as rapidly as it vege-
tates. It has been remarked, that, on cer-
tain poor soils, it requires much more
time to produce the second inch of vege-
tation than the first, making allowance
for the fuller developement and size ac-
companying the second ; a circumstance
indicating tliat the preference should in
such cases be given to tlie feeding by
sheep rather than by cattle. The for-
mer remarks, however, on this subject,
concerning the inapplicability of land thus
depastured, for rearing crops of hay,
must never be forgotten.
Quicklime, spread in powder over the
surfece of pasture lands, will scarcely fail
to improve, not only the poor, but the
more valuable ones. The moss plants,
which are so particularly pernicious, are
thus destroyed, and converted into valua-
ble manure. Upon impoverished and
worn-out lands, about 270 bushels per
acre, on the sward, in the summer, will
be found of great and durable efficacy in
cleaning and improving them. Mixing
lime with earth taken from ditches or
ponds is superior to using it alone, and,
as a general rule, double the quantity of
earth should be mixed with that of lime.
The requisite proportions vary, however,
with tlie nature of the soils ; but are
easily ascertained by attentive workmen.
Paring and burning may be applied to
pasture with great success in a partial
manner, by grubbing up rushes and bush-
es with which it may be encumbered,
burning them after they are dried, and
before the autumnal rains come on spread-
ing their ashes on the surface. In some
instances this husbandry may be success-
fully exercised on pasture over the whole
surface, as particularly on a poor worn
out ley; whicli, by such a process, attend-
ed with the harrowing in of white clover,
and several other grass seed,s ^* the time
ofspreadingtlieashesjhasbf I d
into a very fine meadow, v ■<-
ble, such a practice may be it gamid as
one of the cheapest of all improvement^.
AGRICULTURE.
Trom whatever cause land may be
overran with moos plants, or covered
vitli fern, rashes, and ant-hills, it should
be subjected for some time to the plough,
as no other method is equally useful to
prepare for permanently ameliorating its
pasture.
To prepare arable land for grass, it
must be cleaned fi-om weeds, and well
manured, just in the same manner as that
w^hich is required for a crop of gi-ain.
Excepting upon stiff" clays, the most eh-
gible preparation for grass is a crop of
turnips, consumed by cattle in the field ;
the ground being thus at once manured
and cleaned. Where lands are broken
up expressly for ,the purpose of improv-
ing the pasture, the turnips scarcely fail
to succeed, through the manure afforded
so abundantly by the fresh turf; and the
cattle deri>'ing, from the abundant crop
consequent on this circumstance, a plen-
tiful food, are thus enabled, the more
extensively, to improve the soil by dung.
On the clay land, the soil should be very
liberally manured in spring or autumn, it
ought to be ploughed once in autumn, and
three or four times more in summer, pre-
viously to the period of sowing the seeds,
which should take place in August. As
to the much a^tated question of sowing
grass seeds with or without a crap of
corn, it may be observed, that it is impos-
sible for lands intended for grass crops,
or meadow, to possess too high a state of
richness, and that, after tlie soil is im-
proved with a view to its permanent fer-
tility in grass, to weaken it by a crop of
corn appears little better than bUnd or
infatuated counteraction. If, however,
the practice be persevered in, which has
so generally been followed in tliis respect,
barley should be the grain preferred, as
springing up with a slight stalk, and not
overshadowing and smothering the
grass plants, and also as being the incum-
brance to those plants more speedily re-
moved than any other.
Whether the grass seeds be sown in
August after a fallow, or with com in
spring, all trampling by horses or cattle
should be effectually prevented. Every
thing, therefore, should be kept out from
it, both during autumn and winter. Not
only is the tender soil, which is extremely
susceptible of injury, thus secured from it,
but the pasturage in ihe spring is of pro-
portionally more value for not having been
eaten off in autumn, and affords a most
valuable early bite for the ewes -and lambs.
The proper treatment of leys during
the first year is, to feed them with sheep.
unless, after a crop of hay be taken from
them, vast quantities of manure be spread
over their surface.
The chief food of cattle consisting of
grasses, their importance is as obvious as
it is great, and the distinguishing and se-
lecting them cannot be too fully attended
to. By this care the best grasses, and in
the greatest abundance tliat the land ad-
mits of, are secured; while, for want of
this attention, pastures are eitlier filled
with weeds, or bad and inappropriate
grasses. The number of grasses fit, or at
least necessary, for the pm-poses of cul-
ture, is but small, scarcely exceeding half
a score, and by the careful separation and
sowing of the seeds of these, the hus-
bandman would soon be enabled to ac-
commodate the varieties of his soil, each
witli the herbage best adapted to it, the
advantage of \\ hich would infinitely ex-
ceed the trouble necessary for its accom-
plislm:ient. Were a great variety of gi'ain
to be sown in the same inclosure, the ab-
surdity would be universally ridicided ;
and scarcely less absurd and ridiculous
is the common practice of indiscrimi-
nately sowing grass seeds from the foul
hayrack, including a mixture of almost
every species of gi-ass seed and rubbish.
The species of gi-ass appropriated to
any particular soil or application being
determined upon, its seedscannot be sown
too plentifully, and no economy less de-
serving the name can possibly exist, than
the being sparing of grass seeds. The
seeds of grain may easily be sown too
thickly ; but with respect to those of
grass, it is scarcely capable of occun-ing.
The smaller the stem, the more accepta-
ble it is to cattle ; and when the seeds,
particularly of some grasses, are thinly
scattered, their stems tend, as it is called,
to wood.
The most valuable grass to be cut
green, for summer's food, is red clover,
which also is an admirable preparation for
wheat. To have it in perfection, the
weeds must be cleared, and the land har-
rowed as finely as possible. The surface
should also be smoothed with alight roll-
er. The seeds should likewise be well
covered with earth, as should all small
seeds, notwithstanding the common opi-
nion to tlie contrary. From the middle
of April to that of May is the proper sea-
son for sowing it. Altliough it will last
three years, if cut down green, the safest
course is to let it .stand but one. It is
luxuriant upon a rich soil, whether of clay,
loam, or gravel, and will grow even upon
a moor. For ' a wet soil it is totally unfit.
AGRICULTURE.
It may be sown with gfrain with les3 im-
propriety tlan perhaps any other grass,
and particularly with flax. When a land,
left unploughed, spontaneously produces
this plant, tlie soil may decidedly be pro-
nounced good.
Those who lay down land permanently
to grass may best depend on wiiite, or
Dutch, clover, for all rich and dry loams
and sands, and for rich clays that have
been properly drained.
Rye gi-ass will flourish on anv land but
stiflT clays. It is well adapted fi)r perma-
nent pasture, and, if pi-operly managed, is
one of the best spring gnusses. There
are few so early, or more palatable and
■utritive to cattle. It is less subject to
injury in critical hay seasons than any
other, and the seeds of none are collected
with greater facility. It should be cut
for hay some time previously to its being
ripe, as the stalks will otherwise be con-
verted into a species of straw, andiKs nu-
tritive qualities be proportionably weak-
ened.
Sainfoin is preferred by many agricid-
turists to clover, as less likely to injure
cattle when tliey eat it green, producing
larger crops, making better hay, and con-
tinuing four times longer in tlie ground.
It is several years in arriving at its fidl
strength. The quantity of milk yielded
by means of it from cows is nearly double
of what is produced by any other green
food, and the quality aiso of the milk is
proportionally better. It is much culti-
vated on chalky soils, and succeeds best
where its roots nm deep. Cold and wet
elay is extremely ill adiipted for it, and
the dryness of land is of more conse-
quence to its growth than even tlie rich-
ness of it. It is best cultivated by the
drill husbandry, after repeated ploughing,
harrowing, and rolling ; and while care is
taken not to leave the seeds uncovered,
they must also not be buried deeper than
about an inch. They should be sowed in
the latter end of Mareh. An acre of very
ordinary land will maintain four cows for
tight months, and aflTord the greatest part
of tlieir food in hay for tlie rest of the
year.
I..uccme fcmains at least above twelve
years producing very large crops, and
yielding tlie most excellent hay, to the
amount of about seven tons per acre. It
has obtained the highest praises from all
agricultural writers. With a view to its
successful cultivation, the soil must be
kept o^en and free from weeds, which is
most etiectually done by horsc-hoeing. It
is transplanted with estrcmc ad^•nnt»8re.
VOL. 1
if the tap root be cut off, by which it i^
fitted for a shallow soil, and its roots
shoot out laterally and near the surface.
The cidture of this plant is a principal dis-
tinction of French husbandry, and is in
that country a soiux:e of almost uniform
profit. The best preparation for it is a
turnip or cabbage crop. No manure
should be allowed afterthe sowing till the
crop is two yeare old. Its improving ef-
fect upon the soil is particularly gi-cat.
BiUTiet is a grass peculiarly adapted to
poor land, and is so hardy as to flourish
when all other vegetation fails. Its cul-
tivation is not hazardous or exj)ensive.
It is best sown in the beginning of July.
It affords rich pleasant milk, and in great
plenty. For moist loams and clays there
cannot be a better grass than the meadow
fox-tail, which is not only early, but re-
mains for nine or ten years, and is little
injured by frost.
To these remarks on a few of the grass-
es it may be ailded, that, in connection
with soils, the principal grass plants have
been thus arranged by one of the most
distinguished agriculturists of the day.
Clay.
Cow grass
Cock's-foot
Dog's-tail
Fescue
Fox-tail
Oat grass
Ti*etoil
York white
Timothy
Loam.
White clover
Rye
York white
Fescue
Fox-tail
Dog's-tail
Poa
Timothy
Yarrow
Lucenie
Sand.
White clover
Rye
York white
Yarrow
Burnet
Trefoil
Rib
C/uill: Peat.
ViUTow White clover
Burnet Dog's tail
'I'refoil Cock's-foot
White clover Rib
Sainfoin York white
R>e
Fox-tail
Fescue
Timothy.
Ingtruvients and Operaiians of Butbandry.
The instruments used in husbandry are
so numerous, and, under the same deno-
mination, oftenlso dillcrently constructed,
with a view to varieties of the same ope-
ration, tliat it would be impossible, in a
sketch like the present, to detail tlieir
structure and application. In tlie process
for wliich they are respectively intend-
ed, everv agriculturist wiH of course avail
H
AGRICULTURE.
himself of those, tlie utility of which is
best decided by experience.
f Plongldng.
In almost all lands there is a fixed
deptlj for the plough to go to, which is the
stratum between the fertile and unfertile
moulds. No soil should be ploughed be-
yond this bottom, or sole, which is the
preservative on which the top layer should
rest, and by which the manure laid np-
on the groimd is prevented from losing
its effect. In fallowing land, therefore,
the plough may go as deep as the fertile
soil will allow, as also in breaking up land
without paring and burning. When land
is pared and burnt, it ought to be plough-
ed in small furrows, and not so deep, as
this depth of furrow would hazard the
I0.SS of the ashes for the immediate, and
indeed for, the subsequent, crops. Where
the socls are burnt in small heaps, and by
slow tires, ai\d the land ploughed shallow
for the fii-st time, and successively deep-
er and deeper, poor land will be more ef-
fectually benefited from itself than by any
other mode ; and in proportion as land can
be made to maintain or improve itself,
the benefit to the farmer is obvious.
Instead of ploughing stubble into the
land, it is far better to move the stubble,
and even to harrow the land before it is
fallowed. In soil of a poor quality, a cer-
t;ain proportion should be observed be-
tween the depth of ploughing and the
quantity of manure usually spread, which
on better soils might be safely disregard-
ed. There are few, which it is not requi-
site to plough to the depth of six inches ;
and for m.any, the depth of ten is by no
means too great. Once in twelve or
eighteen months it is highly desirable to
p!o\igh to the full depth, while in the in-
terval shallower tillage will be preferable
to deep working, for wheat particuhirly,
which is best promoted by a fii-m bottom.
A ploughing before hanestis of extreme
consequence in fallowing, with respect to
which seasonableness is of more conse-
quence than the numbep of earths given.
When fallov/s are called for, they should
be attended with an observant eye, and be
kept clean, whatever other business may
press upon the husbandman's attention.
On a well-managed farm, servants and cat-
tle will be kept sufficient for every neces-
sary operation. The practice of fallows,
however, is now abandoned in a variety
of cases in which they were formerly
deemed absolutely indispensable, and the
well-informed agriculturist will seldom
have recourse to them after his first year.
Harrowing is not only neceSsaiy for c(f
veringthe seed, but also forpreparingthe
land for its reception. The same iustru-
ments, whatever be tlieir foi-m, cannot an-
swer the different purposes of this opera-
tion upon all soils, whether firm or loose,
and rough or smooth. For everypurpose,
however, and of whatever size, they should
be so constiTicted, that no tooth can fol-
low the track of another, and that every-
one should be constantly kept acting.
The practice is best performed by har-
rowing- a square piece of land at once, so
that the instnmient may be lifted at the
corner, and the refuse stuff left there.
The following harrows will tlms have an
opportunity of passing over every part of
the land, and it will be completely cleaned
from couch grass and all noxious weeds.
Till of late yeai*s the practice of rolling
was but little used, or even known, and
it is in many places exercised so slightly,
as to be of little service. Its utility, when
it is exercised as it ought to be, consists
in rendering a loose soil more compact
and solid, which, by making the earth
adhere to the roots of plants, cherishes
their growth. No roller that can be
drawn by two, or even by four, horses,
will carry this effect too far. By rolling,
moreover, the moisture of the earth is
kept more in, and, in a dry season, this
circumstance ma)' reasonably be pre-
sumed sometimes to constitute the differ-
ence between a good and a bad crop.
The common practice of breaking clods
by means of mallets may judiciously be
superseded by the roller, preceded for a
day or two by harrowing. W'hen firm
and tough clay clods are to be broken, a
large and heavy roller will be required
for this purpose, with circles of iron of
the depth of six or seven inches, which
will completely reduce the most stubborn
clods, and, from its decided usefulness,
must by no means be regarded as a refine-
ment in husbandry, productive of expense,
without ample corresponding advantage.
With respect to grass lands, the mowing
for hay is extremely facilitated by the
practice of rolling.
The practice of scarifying grass lands
is used by a vai'iety of persons, and is di-
rectly opposite to that of rolling them in
its principle and effect. For this purpose
a plough, consisting only of four coulters,
or narrow teeth, is employed ; and it is as-
serted that the crops of hay are consider-
ably increased by the loosening of the
earth occasioned by this process, the roots
acquiring the power of fresh vegetation,
wlule rolling is stated to increase the te-
AGRICULTURE.
ii:i , la which it ought
ruUiLi- lo Ijc diniiul^Iicil. Previously to
the munurinff of j^rass land it is obscnecl
to be particularly beneficial, as whate-
ver it be that is spread over the giound
finds, in consequence of tliis method,
nnoi-c rapid access to tlie roots, and a
SHialkr quantity is remarked to answer
the end proposed tlian a considerably
larger one without tJiis practice. The
operation may undoubu-dly be beneficial
in various instances and soils, and expe-
riments indeed have evinced that it is so.
The use of the roller, however, upon
grass lands of a certain description, will
be admitted to be preferable ; and with
regard to arable land, this new process by
no means interfei-es with the application
of tlie roller, for all the purposes which
have been mentioned.
Dfiil Ihabatulry.
The system of drill husbandry has
been long known to be extremely prefera-
ble on sandy soils and dry loams, and in
Norfolk particularly it made a rapid and
extensive progress upon such lands. It
lias latterly been introduced on the strong
soils of Suffolk. The objects of tliis hus-
bandry are, tlie promotion of the gi'owth
of plants by hoeing, and the saving of
seed ; objects, it will be universally ad-
mitted, of gi-eat importance. It was well
know n, that in gartlens the hoeing and
transplantation of vegetables often dou-
bled their vigour : anidogy therefore natu-
rally led to the conclusion, that a similar
result would occur from the same ma-
nagement of arable lands, and experience
has decided both the practicability and the
atlvantage of it. I^nd sowed with wheat,
however well prepared and finished it
may be in the autumn, sinks in winter, so
tliat in the spring it possesses too great
tenacity to achnit tlie fix*e extension of
tlie roots for the collection of nourish-
rnt "^ in extreme need of
pi iig to counteract these
eil<.i >. t.i.iiu M.>\n before winter, there-
fore, requires the process of hoeinginex-
pressibly more than what is .sown in the
spring; the land in the latter case not
having had the same time to harden, nor
to pro<Iuce many weeds by exposure to
the winter snow and, r.iin.
As the vigour of the plants upon the
drill system is very considerably increas-
ed, tlie land must be sowed much thin-
ner than in tlie old practice ; a circum-
stance, wliich, in unreflecting minds, has
openited as a considerable objection, it
appearing at the first view, wliich or such
is not only strong, but often indelibly im-
pressive, tliat the vacant spots are com-
pletely lost or wasted. !n the common
practice, however, even in the most pro-
ductive laiid^, the seeds, though very
tliickly sown, produce each but one or I wo
ears, whereas two or three are universally
jjpoduced by each in the latter mode, and
sometimes a single one will produce 18
or 20. In the old method, there being by
far more plants ihan nourishment, many
must perish without attaining maturity,
and many of the remainder can exist on.
ly in a langiud and drooping state ; where-
as in the other method all have as much
nutriment as they reqiiirc, and though
comparatively few, being far more vigo-
rous in tlieir vegetation, they afTorA a
larger produce than the numerous but
sickly plants cultivated in the ordinary
method.
For the application of this new mode,
howcrer, it is expedient that land should
have been brought into good tilth hy the
old methotl, winch being done, it slioold
be so thinly sown as to leave sufficient
room for the plants to extend themselves.
It must be divided for tliis purpose into
rows, 30 inches distant from each o'.her,
which will give an intenal of two
feet between uie row^s, ever}' plant there-
by having ample room to extend its
roots and collect its food. In such con-
siderable intervals, also, the earth may
be hoed roimd tlie plants without the
hazard of injury to them. The first hoe-
ing sboidd be applied when the wheat is
in leaf, before winter, and is desis^ned to
draw off the wet, and dispose the earth
to be mellowed by frost. T!ie second,
after the hard frosts are passed, is cilci!-
lated for making the plants branch free-
ly. The third may be verj slight, and
sliould be given when the ears begin to
appeal'. The last should be given when
the wheat is in bloom, and is of the great-
est importance, as it makes the cars fill
at the extremities, ahd increases the size
of the grain. In the middle of the Inter-
vals a deep furrow must be traced, and
the earth be thrown to the right and left
on the foot of the plants. By the careful
application of tlie earth in this manner
the plants are supported, and prevented
from being laid, and the ground is pre-
pared for the next sowing, in which the
seed is to be put in the middle of the
ground that formed the inten als.
The practice of Jiocing may take p'lct^
at almost anytime in ligntand dry soils,;
but on strong and clay ones, in which
AGRICULTURE.
the extremes of wet and dry are particu-
larly inimical to vegetation, the scsisons
for its exercise are often short and critical.
As vigorous plants, such as are produ-
ced by tliis system, require a longer pe-
riod for attaining maturity, the com thus
cultivated must be so\vn earlier than in
the usual mode. The intervals are usu-
ally prepared for sowing again, by pla-
cing some well-rotted dung in the deep
furrows made in the middle of them, and
this dvmg must be covered by the earth
before thrown towawls the rows of wheat.
This should be performed immediately
after harvest, that, before the rows are
sowed, there may be time for slightly
stimng the land. The intervals of the
second year occupy the place taken up
by the stubble of the preceding.
The banishnient of the plovigh in
spring, to as great a degi-ee as possible,
has taken place, in consequence of this
most useflU and happy innovation. All
peas and beans, barley and oats, not only
may be put in on an autumnal ploughing,
but actually are so in many parts of the
country (especially in Suffolk,) the stich-
es in this ploughing being carefully
thrown to the precise breadth, suited to
the intention of the fanner, whether to
use only one movement of the drill, or
what is usually denominated a bout of it ;
on which subject opinions differ. By the
winter frosts a friability is given to the
surface of the soil, so great, that very
early in the spring, after one scarifying
and harrowing, the com may be drilled,
and without a horse-foot treading any
where but in the stich furrows, where it
can do no injury. Instead of losing this
admirable gift of the atmosphere (which
cannot be renewed,) as was done by the
former practice of at least two spring
ploughings, it is thus completely preser-
ved, and the delay, expense, and vexa-
tion, occasioned to the farmer, by the suc-
cession of rains and north-easterly winds,
^\-ing the dreadful alternative of mire
and clods, are wholly avoided.
From a comparative estimate of the
Erofits attending the different modes of
usbandry, that of the new is stated,
after various experiments, to be very
nearly in the proportion of three to two :
and making the utmost allowance for the
influence, by which the sanguine tempe-
rament of the partizan will interfere with
the dispassionate calculations of philoso-
phy, the advantage on the side of profit
is -ri'lisputably and greatly with the mo-
dem system. It is also to be observed,
^lat most of the accidents attendini^
crops of wheat originate in their being
late sown, which, on the old plan, is una-
voidable ; whereas, in the new method,
the farmer may plough the fiiri'ows for
the next crop as soon as ever the first is
removed. The ground may be ploughed
dr\-, and may be drilled wet. 'I'he seed,
moreover, is not planted under the fur-
rows, but at the precisely proper depth.
The seed has all the advantage of early
sowing, therefore, and the crop is more
certain than by any other'mode. The
land, also, is much less exhausted by this
method, the weeds being completely de-
stroyed by the hoe, and none of the plants
existing to draw nutriment from the
ground but what attain their full matu-
rity ; wiiereas in the usual practice seeds
are pennitted inevitably to impoverish,
and three-fourths of the plants them-
selves, after having derived a certain and
a considerable portion of vegetable food
from the soil, perish abortively. The
state of the land, therefore, must neces-
s-arily and obviously be left far better by
the new mode than by the old.
The practice of drill-husbandry has
been justly remarked to be the manage-
ment of the garden brought into the
field ; and the grand question relating to
it is, whether the extraordinary expense
of this finer cultivation be compensated
by the superior quaUty or abundance of
its crop .'' which the most sagacious and
experiencea judges have determined in
the aflfirmative.
Even admitting, for a moment, after all,
that the practice is not, on the whole, su-
perior, or equal, to the old mode, its in-
troduction has at least been highly ser-
viceable in correcting and refining the
old method of cultivation, and some of
the reputation of the new one may un-
doubtedly be allowed to have arisen from
a compai'ison with slovenly and defective
methods upon tiie old plan.
With regard to white crops, there are
many practitioners of liberality and sense
who reject this practice, although, with
respect to potatoes, cabbages, beans, and
often turnips also, it is admitted by them
to be unexceptionable. On a soil, how-
ever, in which tiie drill machine can move
with freedom, there appears no reason,
and it may be almost said no excuse, for
the rejection of the modem system,
which, indeed, however recently it may
have been introduced into this country,
is practised in every part of China, and is
used also by the inhabitants of the Carna-
tic, and, from the decided aversion of
these nations to innovation, may natiiral>y
AGRICULTURE.
be siipposed to have been their practice
for a vast succession of ages. Tobacco,
cotton, and the castor-oil plant, are culti-
vated by it, as well as every species of
grain.
The CuJture of Grain and Hoots.
Of the various plants raised for the noti-
tishment of man, wheat is of the chief
importance. To prevent the disease so
fatal to this vegetable, called tlie smut,
steeping its seed from twelve to twenty-
tour liours in ft ley of wood sishes, in
lini» water, and in a solution of arsenic, is
<()ii![)lc'tcly eflicaciou.s, even although it
iiMiid have been extremely affected by
the disease. A less time is insufficient.
On cold, wet, and backward soils, the
best season for putting this grain into the
earth is September, particularly if the
weather be rainy, as wheat should never
be sown in a dry season. On dry and
warm soils the .sowing may be best post-
poned till October. In proportion to the
earlinesa of the sowing, a less quantity of
seed is sufficient. The best prepai'ation
for it is by beans. Clover forms also an
excellent preparation for it : and on a
farm dry enough for turnips, and rich
enougli for wheat, the Norfolk practice
of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, is
perliaps the most eligible that can be
adopted.
By the dibbling of wheat, for a fort-
night before which the land must be
ploughed, and rolled down with a heavy
roller, the seed is deposited in the centre
of tlie flag, and the regular treading
which the land receives presses down the
fiirrows, and gives it a most valuable de-
gree of firmness. The chief attention
retjuired in dibbling is, to make the holes
deep enough, and to see that the children
drop the seed equally, without scattering.
After this dropping is completed, bush-
harrowing follows. The quantity of seed
should be about si.x pecks in two rows in
a flag. If the drill-machine be used, tlie
preparation of the land by ploughing,
hari-owing, and rolling, must be extreme-
ly accurate, whether for one stroke of the
machine, or for a bout of it, and the
quantity of seed should be the same as
that used in dibbling. In Febniarj-,
aliglit dressings are with great advantage
spread over the green crop of this grain ;
and if the farmer has his choice for this
purpose, he can never hesitate about tak-
ing them from dung ; as dungs of all sorts
are excellent, and no other manures,
like these, are iuu%'ersally applicable. In
tlie drill-husbandry, the practice of hoeing
is of the first importance, and has been
alreatly mentioned. If horse-hoeing be
not employed, the hand-hoe may be used
to great a<lvantag«, and shoul(l be per-
fonned, firet, early in Mtu\:h, and the se-
cond time in the beginning oi April. A
scarifier is by many employed instead of
the hoe, with the same object and eH'ect
Whatever the operation, employed with
this view, may be, the bottom should,
witlj respect to wheat, be left firm and
untouched. This is of particular import-
ance.
A mild and open winter is far from
being favourable to this grain, pushing it
forward with too rapid vegetation, and
also cherishing those weeds which be-
come it.s most injurious enemies. No
weather is so injurious to wheat in the
ground as wet. If, however, it have a
good blooming time, tliough the rest of
the summer, both before and after this
periotl, may be unkindly, little apprehen-
sion for the crop need be entertained
fi"om any state of the weather.
If wheat be attacked by mildew, which
is most likely to occur in the month of
July, the only eflectual application is the
sickle, which ought not to be delayed for
a moment, though the ear be perfectly '
green.
Barley requires a mellow soil, and
when sown upon clay, therefore, exti-aor-
dinary care is required to stir the land im-
mediately after the removal of the previ-
ous crtjp ; and, with this view, the prac-
tice of rib-ploughing, which exposes the
greatest possible quantity of surface to
the air and frost, has been employed by
many. This object should, at all events,
be gained, whichever method be adopted
for It, of the many which have been sug-
gested, and are indeed practised. Scari-
fication, with Mr. CooKe's machine for
this purj)ose, instead of piougliing, is
foun(i to be an excellent method. In pro-
portion to the tenaciousness of the soil
miist be the extent of this operation,
which is easily dispatched, even when
repeated, leaving the lands, or stiche9,in
excellent order for the drill-machine te
advance and perfect its work.
The proper season for getting barley
into tlie ground is March. The most
useful preparation for it is by turnips. To
have tlie land drj' for sowing is of more
consequence for this grain, than it is for
almost any other. It should always fol-
low either an amehorating crop or a fal-
low, and in many cases it should be fol-
lowed by clover The quantity of seed
AGRICULTURE.
barley should be increased as the season
advances, as early sown crops have more
time to tiller than later ones ; and in tlie
same proportion, the importance of tlie
drill husbandry with regard to tliis arti-
cle increases ; as, if sown in the latter
end of Febniary, in tlie broadcast me-
thod, it would g-et the stail of weeds,
which, if it be sown early in April, would
extremely annoy it, according- to the old
mode, but by the hoeing practice may be
easily removed.
Oats should never be sown after other
com crops (as the land is by this ]>ractice
too much exhausted,) and should receive
the same preparation as barley : a circiun-
stance often not sufficientjy attended to.
Warm, forward sands yield as great a
quantity of barley as of oats, and shoidd,
therefore, Ije applied to the culture of the
former, as genei-ally yielding a better
price. Upon vai-ious other soils, however,
the produce of oats will be in considerably
greater proportion than that of barley,
and by superior quantity more than com-
pensate for beingsoldatthe smaller price.
To relieve the busiaiess of the succeed-
ing months, oats may sometimes be sown
in January ; without this view, however,
February is prefemble. The land should
have been ploughed in October. Six
bushels per aci-e may be sown in broad-
cast, and on poorsoils e^en eight, to great
advantage : the crop being, by thick sow-
ing, several days sooner ripe, and the idea
of saving seed with respect to this grain
jiot being an object worth any particidar
attention. In the drill husbandry five
bushels per acre are sufficient, and they
should be horse-hoed early in the montlx
of May.
Peas are extremely ameliorating to the
soil, and may, therefore, widi very great
advantage, be substituted in tillage for
•white corn, a succession of which is pe-
culiarly impoverishing. They should,
however, not be sown on lands negligent-
ly prepared, asis too commonly done ; and
indeed the maximcannot be too much
attended to, with respect to grain, that
none should be sown but on lands in reaU
ly good order, with respect to heart,
cleanness from weeds, and well-finished
tiltli. The uncertainty generally ascribed
to tliis crop is to be attributed in a great
degi-ee to a neglect of these circumstan-
ces. At the same time, however, it is not
meant to be asserted, that for all grain
the preparation should be equally high
and finished. The earlier peas are sown,
tlie better tliey will thrive, and the more
easily they will be moved off the ground
in due time for turnips, a circumstance of
particular importance. February is the
proper montli for their being sown. Ear-
ly peas will seldom prove beneficial upon
wet sods, and siiould be cultivated only
on dr)' ones, upon sands, dry sandy loams,
gravels, and clialks. I'he broadcast me-
thod should be most clearly rejected in
relation to them. Tlie only question is
between drilling and dibbling tiiem. On
a ley, the latter practice cannot be too de-
cidedly adopted. Put in on a layer, they
do not want manure, which v ill often
make them run to long straw,^ circum-
stance unfavourable to podding, and like-
wise encourages weeds, which, in the in-
fant stage of the giowth of peas, cannot
be extirpated vvitliout danger. If the
land be in good heart, therefore, as it
ought to be, dung may be applied with
much more advantage to other ci-ops;
and being an article for which the farmer
has, perhaps in all cases, a greater de-
mand than he can supply, should be used
with economy, and only where it is sure
to answer best. The proper quantity of
seeds tobe applied inthe drill-husbandry,
in equally distant rows, about one foot
a.sunder, is seven pecks per acre. It is a
judicious and valuable observation, the
resultof long experience, that peas should
not be sown above once in about ten years,
being not found to succeed, if sown
oftener.
Beans, where the land is proper for
tliem, deserve from tlie farmer eveiy at-
tention, constituting one of the surest
funds of profit. He is enabled by them
to lessen, if not absolutely explode, the
practice of fallowing. \Mien cultivated,
however, witli a view of substituting them
in thei"Oom of fallow, drilling or dibbhng
must be uniformly employed, so as to ad-
mit the plough between their i-ows, as no
hand-work will sufficiently pulverize the
lands for the purpose, without extreme
expence. Dibbling-, when well perform-
ed, with respect to beans, is an admirable
method The difficulty, however, of pro-
curing'it to be well done, must be consi-
dered as no trifling objection to it. Beans
are too often imperfectly delivered by the
various drill-machines employed. On the
other hand, however, the practice is less
expensive than dibbling, and the seed is
more surely put in to Uie desired depth,
so that, on tlie whole, the drilling me-
thod seems preferable to that by dibbling.
It is a point on which different circum-
stances will safely and judiciously lead to
different conclusions ; and soil, season,
dependance upon servants, together with.
AGRICULTURE.
<>lher considcreitions, will be resorted to,
previously to the decision upon either of
these meth<Mls. The common little horse-
bean has the ad^ antagfe of hein^ more
marketable than any other. Beans thrive
upon light loams better than hxs been ge-
neraUy imagined. The soils, however,
generally applied to their culture, are all
the stmng and heavy ones. Wherever
they can oe cultivated, the farmer ought
to have them. They do not exhaust the
soil. Wheat is prepared for by them,
perhaps, better than by any other mode.
They preserve tlieir ujiright attitude to
the latest period, admitting of horse-
hoeing to the verj' last. The groimd
is well shaded by them from the sun :
and, if they are harveited favourably,
their straw is valuable, and, at all events,
may be converted into admirable dung.
By a barl crop of pea.s, the land is often
filled witli weeds ; but though a crop of
beans should be extremely batl, the land
may nevertheless be in the highest state
«f cleanness. The quantity of seed dif-
fers according to the vai-iety of the grain.
About two bushels of tlie liorsc-beans per
acre, in rows equi-distant, at eigliteen
inches, is a proper allowance, and Fcbru-
ary is the month in which they should be
put in.
Ruck-wheatis known to a vast majority
of the farmers of this kingdom only by
name. It has, however, numerous excel-
lencies, is of an enriching nature, and pre-
pares well for wheat or any otlier crop.
One bushel of seed is sufficient to sow an
acre, which is only about the fouHh part
of the expense of seed barley. It is sold
at the same price as barley, and is equal
to it for the fatting of hogs andpoultn-.
The end of May is the pi-oper sea.son for
its being sown, and grass seeds may be
sown with it, if the practice should be
thought in any instance eligible, with more
advantage than with any other grain, un-
less btu-ley may be excepted. Huck-wheat
may be sown even so late as the first week
iTj July, a circumstance by which the
period of tillage is considerably protract-
ed, and an a meliorating crop may thus
be produced, after the usual period has,
from any unavoidable or casual occur-
rence, been neglected.
Potatoes form a mo.st important article
of food, botlifor the human species and
for cattle, and arc an inestimable substi-
tute for bread formed of grain, the best
K'sourcein periods of scarcity of wheat;
and, happily, when the crops of grain fail,
through redundant moisture, the potirtoe
is far from being equally injured, and
sometimes is even benefited by the wet
sea.son. The choice of soil forthc culture
of this root is of prime importance. Po-
tatoes never make palatable nourishment
for man, if grown in aclay soil, or in rank,
black loam, although in these circum-
stances they arc well fitted for cattle, and
relished by them, and also produced in
great abundance. They grow to perfec-
tion for human food in gravelly ana sandy
soils. The drill should be universally
preferred for their oiltivation. In Sep-
tember, or October, the field intended for
them should have successively a rousing
furrow, a cross braking, and the opera-
tion of the cleaning harrow ; and being
formed into three-feet ridges, should re-
main in that state till April, which is the
proper season for planting this root. Af-
ter cross braking them, to raise in a small
degree tlie furrows, well-rotted horse-
dung should be laidalongthem, on which
thcrootsshouldbelaid ateightinchesdis-
tance. The plough should then pass once
round every row, to coverthem. As soon
as they appear above ground, the plough
should be passed round them a second
time, laying on the plants about an inch,
or somewhat more, of mould, in addition.
When they have attained the height of six
inches, the plough should go twice along
the middle of each in'iensJ, in opposite
directions, laying earth first to one row,
and then to another; and, to apply it more
closely to the roots, a spade'should after-
Avardsbc used to cover four inches of the
plants, and bury all the weeds. The
weeds wliich arise afterwards must be ex-
tirpated by tile hand, as the hoes would
go too deep, and damage the rootsof the
plants. From ten to fifteen bushels will
be sufficient to plant an acre, the produce
of which may probably be three hundred
bushels. Sets should be cut for some few
before they are planted, with at least one
eye to eacli, and not in verj- small pieces,
and tl»e depredations of the grub upon
tliem may be elfectually prevented by
scattering on the surface of the land about
two bushels per acre of lime, fresh slak-
ed. The most certain method of taking
them tip is, to plougli once round everj-
row, at the distance of four inches, after
which they may easily be raised, by a
three-clawedfork, rather than by a spade,
and scarcely a single one will by this
practice be left in the ground. They maj'
with care be preserved till the ensuing
while tlic remainder tor the ensuingrput
AGRICULTURE.
of the year is buried in a dry cave, mixed
witli liie liusks of drieu oats, saiid, or
leaves, especially if a Jiay or corn-stack is
erected over it.
Potatoes are subject to a disease called
the cui'l, which lias drawn the attention
ot sagacious and experienced men, and
sug-gested, in consequence, ugreat varie-
ty ot" opinions on its cause and remedy.
Some kinds of this root, however, it is al-
most unanimously agreed, are less sus-
ceptible of the disease tii;in others, and
the old red, the golden dun, and the long
dun, are the least ot all so. One or more
of tlie following cu-cumstances may be
most probably considered as causing it ;
frost, insects, tile planting from sets of un-
ripe and large potu'.oes, tlie planting m
old and exiiaustea grounds, and too near
the surface, or the small shoots of the sets
being broken oft' before planting. Where
certainty on any interesting subject can-
not be obtained, the hints of the judicious
are always desirable. The methods most
successfully exercised for the prevention
of the curl are, to cut tlie sets from smootli
ripe potatoes, of the middle size, which
have been kept particularly dry, to guai-d
against the rubbing off the first shoots,
and to plant them rather deeply in fresh
eartli, with a mixture of quick lime.
No plant thrives better even in the cold-
est part of tliis island than the turnip,
and none are more advantageous to tlie
soil. Its introduction was an improve-
ment of the most valuable nature. There
is no soil which will not produce it, when
previously prepared for it by art ; but the
gi'avelly one is best of all adapted to it.
No root requires a finer mould than tlie
tm'nip, and with a view to tliis object, the
land intended for it should be exposed to
frost by ribbuig it after tlie hanest. The
season for sowing must be regulated by
the time intended for feeding, the later
from the first of June to the end of July,
in proportion to the designed protraction
of this feeding. The field should be first
ploughed by a shallow furrow. Lime, if
necessary, should be then harrowed into
it. Single fuiTows, at the interval of three
feet, should be drawn, and dung laid in
them, wliich should be then covered by
going i"Ound it with tlie plougli, and form-
ing tlie tliree feel spaces into ridges.
Wider rows answer no profitable object,
and with straiter ones a horse has not room
to walk. Thick sowing is far better than
tliln, bearing better the depredations of
the fly, and forming also a protection
against drouglit. The weeds may, in
TO»ny cases, be most efiectuaUv extii:pa-
ted by women, without injuring the crop";
and tlie standing turnips should be left at
twelve inches distance from each otlier.
On average seasons, with good prepara-
tion, tlie produce from this number per
acre may be considered as amounting to
46 tons of valuable nourishment. For pre-
servation tliey may be stacked vvitli straw ;
and 42 tons may be thus secured by one
load ot straw, or of stubble and old haulm.
A method preferred by many is that of
sowing late crops, even in August, by
which a succession of tliem remains on
tlie field to be consumed on the spot, even
so late as the ensuing May, and the ad-
vantage of havijig turnips good till the
spring grasses are ready for food, has
greatly encouraged this practice. To pre-
vent the devastations of the fly, tlie most
destructive enemy to a crop of turnips,
the most effectual metliod, as little de-
pendance can be placed on stecpings, or
on fumigations, is to sow the seed at such
a season, that they may be well grown
before the appearance of the insect; and
by well dunging and manuring tlie
ground, to hasten tlieir atuinmcnt of the
rough leaf; in which the fly does not at
all aflect them. New seed, it may also
be observed, vegetates more rapidly and
vigorously than old ; and the more healthy
and vigorous the plants ai-e, the more
likely they are to escape depredation.
The sowing of turnips with grain is by
many recommended in this connection,
and stated to be higldy efficacious.
The culture of cabbages for cattle is a
subject well meriting the attention of the
agriculturist. The cabbage is subject
to few diseases, and resists frost more
easily than tlie turnip. It is palatable to
cattle, and sooner fills them than carrots
or potatoes ; and, in every respect but
one, cabbages are superior to turnips.
On all soils tliey require manure ; where-
as, on good land, turnips may be raised
witliout it. Fifty-four tons have been
raised upon an acre of gi'ound not worth
more than twelve slullings per annum.
Some lands have produced sixty-eight.
The time of setting them depends on
tlieir intended use. If for feeding in
November, plants, procured fi-om seed
sown in the end of July in tlie fonner
year, must be set in March or April :
if for feeding in March, April, and May,
tliey must be set in the beginning of
the preceding July, from seed sown in
the previous Februaiy. Ucpeatedtrans-
plantiition may be applied to them with
singidar advantage. When they are of
the laa-ge species, fouf feet by two and a
AGRICULTURE.
half are a full distance for them. The
best jjrotection for them from the cater-
pillar, by which these and greens in jjene-
ral are apt particularly to be injured, is
to pull oH'thelarg^e under-leavcs, (which
may be given to cows with great benefit)
on which the eggs of tliose insects are
usually deposited. Sowing' beans among
the cabbages is also considered a most
eftectual preventive of the nuisance.
Carrots require a deeper soil than any
other root, and when the soil does not na-
turally extend to the depth of twelve
inches, equally good Uiroughout, it must
be artificially made so for their culture,
which may be easily effected by trench-
ploughing. Loams and sandy soils are
the only ones in which they will flourish,
and no dung can be used for them in the
year they ai-e sown, as it will inevitably
rot them. The ground must be pr.epared
for tliem by the deepest possible furrows,
and, when they are sown, about tlie be-
ginning of Apnl, it must be smoothed by
a brake. In large plots of ground, where
horse-hoeing is requisite, three feet should
be the distance between the drills. Where
an acre or little more only is employed,
the interval should not be greater tlian a
foot, and hand-hoeing will be found more
convenient, and scarcely attended with
gi'eater expense. From six to nine hun-
dred bushels have been produced per
acre of this root, w^here the land has been
carefully prepai-ed and attended to. As
food for horses, its culture is rapidly
spreading. For oxen, milch cows, and
pigs, can*ots are admirably applicable and
nourishing, and, when boiled, turkeys and
other poultry are fed on them with great
success.
The ease with which parsnips are cul-
tivated, and tlie great quantity of saccha-
rine M\d nutritious matter which they
contain, in which they are scarcely ex-
ceeded by any vegetable whatever, ren-
der them well worthy of the attention of
the husbandman. Though little used in
Britain, they are highly esteemed in many
districts of Fnyice, in some parts being
thought little inferior to wheat as food
for man. Cows which are fed with them
are stated to give as much milk as they do
'" the months ofsunmier. .\11 animals
*-'atthem with avidity, and in preference
^ potatoes, and fatten more (piickly upon
*hem. In the cultivation of them the seed
should be sown in the autumn, immedi-
ately after it is reaped. When the seed
is put in at this se.ison, the plants will an-
ticipate the growth of weeds in the fol-
lowing spring. Frost never does them
\ OL I. '
any material injury. The bes(t soil for
them is a deep, rich loam. Sand is next,
suitable to them ; and in a black, gritty
soil they will flourish, but not in gravel or
clay. In the deepest earth they are al-
ways largest. In an appropriate soil no
manure isnu-'cessary for them, and a very
good crop lias been obtained tor tliree
years in succession, without using any.
The seed should be sown in drills, at the
distance of eighteen inches, for the great-
er convenience of hoeing; and by a se-
cond hoeing and a cautious earthing, by
which the leaves may not be covered, the
crop will be luxuriant. In Jersey, the roQt
has been known and cultivated for seve-
ral centuries, and is highly valued. It is
considered as an e.vcellent preparation for
wheat, wliich, after parsnips, yields «^
abundant ci-op without any manure.
The profit of cultivating hemp-seed is
by no means small. It requires, how-
ever, the best land that can be found on a
farm, or which is made such by manuring.
A rich, deep, putrid, and friable loam is
what it particularly delights in ; and in
addition to natui-al richness, fort)' cubical
yards of dung^ per acre should be suppli-
ed. Besides this original cast of land in
natural richness and preparation, it is to
be considered tliat hemp returns notliing
to the fann yard, while corn will give
straw, and the dung hill is improved by
g^'ccn crops. The question concerning
the propriety of its cultivation by any in-
dividual is not to be determined, there-
fore, only from the circum.stance of any
firice in tlie market, but is to be inferred
rom a view of all its beaiings and con-
nections. For many crops, tillage should
be g^ven witli caution. With hemp such
caution is unnecessary, as its rank and
luxuriant growtii proves fatal to all those
weeds, by which com would not only be
injured, but destroyed. lYom the au-
tumn preceding to the time of sowing
hemp, tlie land should be three or four
times ploughed, and be well harrowed to
a fine surface. The quantity of dung
should be proportioned to the deficiency
of the soil; and when tlie culture is con-
tinued from yearto year, a plentiful dress-
ing must be everj' time applied. About
twelve pecks should be sown per acre :
and as the destniction of weeds in the till-
age is here no object, the bixjadcast me-
tliod is universally preferable to the drill.
It will be ready for pulling in August, or
about thirteen weeks after it is sown.
Flax, with due attention, will repay its
cultivation ; but, generally speaking, in
this country the same hMud anti manure
I
AGRICULTURE.
may be more conveniently and profitably
applied. Two bushels an acre is tlie re-
quisite quantity of seed, and the land, if
it be not particularly rich by nature, must
be rendered so by art, must be worked to
a fine surface, and be kept perfectly free
from weeds.
The preparation for rape-seed is the
same which is necessary for that of tur-
nips. It is a crop subject to great injury,
and extremely uncertain. In the con-
quered countiies in the north of France,
the practice is to sow it in a seed bed for
transplantation, which is begun in Octo-
ber, and if there be no frost in November,
is continued through that month, when
the plants are about two feet long. Were
this operation to take place eai-lier, they
woidd be more secure from the frost
Dibbling is employed for the pui-pose, and
the plants are set at about the distiince of
eighteen inches by ten. In a favourable
year the profit is considerable, as indeed it
ought to be, to compensate for the fi'e-
quentand inevitable failure attendingthis
cultivation. An indispensable point, in
regard to this article, is to catch at oppor-
tunities of fine weather, for the purpose
of reaping and threshing, which must be
done in immediate succession. In reaping,
extreme care is requisite, to prevent the
shedding of the seed. Both in lifting it
from the ground and conveying it to the
bam floor, the utmost attention must be
applied. As rain, at this critical period,
may be considered nearly fatal to this
produce, celerity of operation is of the
first conseqiience, and as many assistants
as possible should be procured, and not a
moment of fine weather should be sufter-
ed to pass unimproved.
The cultivation of hops demands a
greater capital than that of any other
plant. The cost of the first year's prepa-
ration and planting will amount to about
eighty pounds per acre, and the sulise-
quent annual expense will be little less
th^ half that sum, and after all the ex-
pense, preparation, and attention, wliich
may be employed, no crop is more preca-
rious. The serious consideration of a
farmer is demanded, before he resolves to
introduce this plant where it has not been
usually cultivated And not only the cir-
cumstances already mentioned, but that
of the accessibility or distance of manure,
(for which the largest quantities are call-
ed for by hops,) and the fact, that a small
solitary hop ground seldom thrives like
those which cover a large extent of coun-
try, from whatever cause this may pro-
ceed, should be fully weighed. Buinmay
easily follow the want of adveiling to
these and other considerations, and they
cannot therefore be too strongly impress-
ed on the sang^iine adventurer. A flat
deep bog, in a sheltered situation, makes
an excellent hop soil, constituting,indeed,
a natural dung-hill. Fortlie application
of such land to hops, the chances are fa-
vourable. The best preparation for this
plant, when such a spot as this does not
occur, is made by two successive crops
of turnips or cabbages, fed off by sheep,
early enough for the ploughing and plant-
ing in March. The plants should be in-
serted in rows, at eight feet distance from
each other, and about six feet from hill
to hill. Four fresh cuttings should be
planted in each spot which is to form a
hiU. In April they should be poled, an
operation requiring tliat critical accuracy,
which, depending on changeable and ca-
sual circumstances, can be derived only
from experience. The binds must next
be tied to the poles. The superfluous
vines must be pruned about midsummer,
and are useful food for cows. Septem-
ber is the month for pulling them. But
the management of hops is a subject most
operose and delicate, requiring extreme
experience, attention, and dexterity ; and
the details of which would, if extended
only equally to its importance, occupy
bulky ^olumes.
Course of Crops.
No subject of greater importance has'
been treated by modern writers on hus-
bandry, than the succession of crops. Be-
fore the present reign, although a consi-
derable number of writers on agriculture
existed, this topic was little treated, and
by many scarcely adverted to. It has at
length obtained sometliing approaching
to tliat attention wliich it merits. The
main principles upon which all practices
on this subject proceed are, that some
crops are more exliausting than others :
that some, although of a very impoverish-
uig character, yet, by being consumed on
the fai-m, return to it as much as tliey de-
ducted originally from it, and, perhaps,
even more, that some admit profitable till-
age and accurate clewing, during their
growth; while by othei-s the land is almost
unavoidably rendered foul by weeds, is
exhausted without return, and, when they
are appUed in succession, will be extreme-
ly and fatally impoverished. By experi-
ence, much is found to depend on a cer-
tain arrangement of crops of these difl'er-
ent and opposite characters ; and in no
AGRICUL'l URE.
one circumstance is tlie theory or prac-
tice of husbandry, in the present »lay, so
materially advanced as in relation to this
subject. Unless this department be well
understood, the efforts of the farmer in
others are cithcrabortivc orinjurious. An
important difference is obser^■able be-
tween cuhniferous and leg-iiminous phints,
or those which are cultivated for their
seed, and such as are raised for their
roots. The former bind the soil, while
the latter imiformly ^ive it openness and
freedom. The former also arc decidedly
more exhausting-, thoupfh unquestionably
in tliemselve^ the most profiLable. No
soil can bear them in long and uninter-
nipted succession. And, on the otlier
hand, without the interposition of them
among leguminous crops, tlie soil in
which the latter grow would by their loos-
cningquality become deficient in the tena-
city w^hich is necessar}' for vegetation.
Some crops are rendered valuable chiefly
from their preparation for others, that
are more valuable, of a different kind.
The husbandmen of a former age sowed
fre<juently in succession that species of
gram which they wished to possess abun-
dantly ; whereas, by tliis practice their
object was often, at length, completely
defeated. And if wheat, oats, or barley,
were for a certain period sown in the
same field, tlie land would eventually,
and that in no long time, scarcely return
the seed which was put into it.
That rotation is atlmitted to be best,
which enriches the land with abundant
manure, preserves it best from weeds, pul-
verizes the soil most effectually when it
is too tenaciou-s, and binds it most com-
pletely, where it is naturally too open.
As a general nile, those who are engaged
in agriculture cannot, with a view to these
puqjoses, have the importance of provid-
ing food for large quantities of cattle
too repeatedly and emphatically recom-
mended to them. Indeed, by attending
to this circumstance, larger quantities of
gnin are produced than by any other
mode, whik> that produce of the land,
which consists of milk, butter, cheese,
butcher's meat, and other articles con-
nected with cattle, is nearly so much
clear gain. Grass prepares a turf, which,
>\hen broken up, constitutes the most va-
luable of all known manures. Turnips,
cabbages, beans, pea.s, and a variety of
othersimilar food for cattle,supply admir-
able opportunities for cleaning and pul-
verizing the soil by repeated hoeings ;
the close covering which they bestow on
the land smothers tl>osc weeds which the
hoe does not destroy, and they leave thi!
land, besides, in a state of increased and
great fertility. Certain exceptions to the
necessity of rearing cattle may undoubt*
edl}' occur, as, near towns and cities, the
easy accessibility of dung will supersede
verj' considerable preparation of it on the
premises. Lands also may possibly be
so rich as to require neither cattle nor
sheep, and like some which are said to lie
near the river Garonne, in France, might
produce even hemp or wheat in perpetui-
ty. Certain crops, moreover, may hap-
pen to be in such particular demand, as
to make it desirable to cultivate tliem by
fidlow, and not for cattle or sheep. These
exceptions can never interfere with the
general nile, as such, that that farm will
be most productive and profitable, in re-
spect to grain, on wliich is kept the great-
est quantity of sheep and cattle. Two
ci-ops of wnite com ouglit never to be
produced from a field in immediate suc-
cession. In reference to several varieties
of soil, it may be useful to give a suc-
cession of crops, which has been recom-
mended by a gentleman of considerable
judgment and experience. It should be
observed, that on tliis plan tlie crops must
be all particularly well hoed, and kept
properly clean ; and that the turnips,
peas, and beans, must be put in double
rows, on three feet ridges ; the cabbages
in single rows of three feet ridges.
Clay. Clayey loams.
Turnips or cabbages Turnips or cabbages
Oats Oats
Beans and clover Clover
"Wheat Wheat
Turnips or cabbages Turnips or cabbages
Oats Barley
Beans and vetches Beans
Wheat Wheat
Rich loama and sandy loams. Peat earth.
Turnips & po- Beans Turnips Turnip*
tatoes Barley Barley Barley
Barley Peas Clover Clover
Clover Wheat Wheat Wheat
M'heat -Min^.Potatoes Potatoes
Beans Barley Barley
Barley Peas Peas
Peas Wheat Wheat
Wheat
a y *w - Qj.ff^if^ IMrht lands.
stratum. ^
Turnips Turnips Turnips
Barley Bvlcy Barley
Clover Clover Clover and i^'e-gt«ss
Wheat Wheat Clover and r)'e-grass
AGRICULTURE.
Potatoes Potatoes Clover and rye -grass
Barley Bnrley Peas
Peas Peas Wheat or r3-e
Wheat Wheat
Realnng and Storing.
In convertinfj artificial grasses into hafj',
the method should be dinercnt from that
used with natural ones. They should for
a day or two lie in swath, after which, be-
ing carefully turned, they should remain
for a day or two loiig'cr ; by which easy
and simple process die hay is, in good
weather, sufficiently made. Mter re-
maining two days in cocks, these shoiUd
be carted to the stack.
With regard to the mowing of gi-ass,
in general, for h.ay, the workmen sliould
be made to cut as low as possible, by
which the crop is increased, and the re-
mainder thrives better than it would do
otherwise. Many hands should be ready
to assist, and five makers are not too ma-
ny for every mower. The grass shotdd
be shaken out immediately after the
scytlie. B}- the evening it should be ra-
ked into rows. The next morning it
should be again shaken and spread, and
in the evening it should be put up into
cocks. These being opened on the fol-
lowing morning, after a similar process,
may in fine weather be safely collected
into the great hay-cock at night. If suc-
cessive rsuns come on to damage it, as it
is stacked, a peck of salt shoiUd be strew-
ed in layers on every load, which will
sweeten it, and render it palatable for
cattle, which would not taste it without
this preparation. The stack should be
covered within a week after it is finished ;
and atrench should be dug near it, to car-
ry off any wet, if it be placed in a situation
subject to damp. The hai-dhay of a poor
soil is htttle subject to firing, which often
occure with respect to that made of suc-
culent herbage. The latter, therefore,
requires longer time for its making. To
preserve as much of tlie sap of grass as
possible, witliout incumng the danger of
firing, is the grand practical problem of
hay-making.
When the stems of culmiferous plants
are totally divested of green, they are per-
fectly ripe. Some farmers recommend
that wheat shotdd be cut before this ma-
ture stage, not only to prevent any of the
gnun fi-am shaking out, but as being
found to make more excellent flour from
being cut before perfect ripeness, than
after having attained it. The latter ob-
servation may very safclybe controverted.
But as it is admitted that every moment
it remains standing, after complete matu-
rity, is critical, it may often be judicious
to commence the reaping of it before the
period of full ripeness. Wheat has been
immcmorially reaped instead of being
mowed, and this method ought always to
be adopted, as from its high growth it be-
comes untractable to the scythe. When
barley ground is purposelj' smoothed by
rolling, that crop may be cut down with
the scythe, which not only, fi-om the
gi-eater rapidity of its operation, removes
that grain more efTectually from the dan-
ger of being shaken by winds, but brings
with it a much greater proportion of the
straw, for manure, than any other mode,
a circumstance well deserving attention.
Cutting of corn in wet weather ought ever
to be avoided, if possible ; and, however
obvious this caution, it cannot be regarded
as superfluous, as it is xnifoi-tunately very
often neglected. Barley is particularly sub-
ject to injur}"^ by wet, having no protecting
htisk ; and has a strong tendency, when
cut in this state, to nm to malting; it
should not onlj' be cut dry, but immedi-
ately, if possible, be bound up, to prevent
its being discoloured, which will other-
wise easdy occur. Peas grow so irregu-
larly as to make the sickle necessary. For
removing the produce from the field, long
carts, moveable upon the axle, by which
the Whole load is moved at once upon the
ground, and lifted to the stack by per-
sons appointed for the purpose, are pre-
ferable to other modes. Dispatch is thus
obtiuned, when particularly required, a
circumstance always worthy of regard.
Instead of housing corn, stacking it is a
far superior practice, as it not only, by
the consequent exposure to the air, car-
ries what is called a finer countenance,
but as it is more completely preserved
from verniin, than by being deposited in a
bam. Every sheaf should be made to in-
cline downward from its top to its bot-
tom. Where they are laid horizontally,
rain will be taken in both above and be-
low. The. best form for a stack is that of
a cone, (the top of which should be
formed with three she.ives united in a
point) placed upon a cylinder. The mo-
ment a stack is finished, the covering of
it .should, if possible, commence ; mate-
rials should therefore be previously col-
lected. If much rain should fall before
this operation is performed, it will be dif-
ficult, and perhaps impossible, to render
the stack drv while it stands ; and, in or-
AGRICULTURE.
der to prevent ptitrefaction, it will be of-
ten requisite to pull it down, and, after
fully exposing every sheaf to the air, to
re-construct it.
The method of preservings potatoes has
already been sug'gested, and to go far-
ther into detail on this subject would ex-
ceed our limits.
Threshing.
The usual mode of threshing is attend-
ed with the inconvenience of the straw
being very often not thoroughly cleared,
by which much grain is lest ; and with
that of affording the workmen great and
perpetual incentives to depredation,
which, perhaps, are rarely resisted, or at
least are certainly often yielded to. A
fixed threshing mill will give compara-
tive security against tlie.se evils ; and one
worked by two or three horses maybe
purchased for from sixty to a lAmdi-ed
guineas, and which, in eight Iiours, will
thresh fifteen quarters of wheat. The
granary should be over this mill, and the
com may then, immediately after tliresli-
ing, be drawn up into it, and deposited
sMe under the key of the farmer. Fresh
threshed straw is better than old for
feeding cattle, and is best managed for
them by being cut into chaff.
jPr«i7 trees.
The culture of trees, for tlie purpose
of deriving a fermented liquor from their
Juice, employs a great proportion of the
land of this, and of other countries, and is,
therefore, an important branch of agricul-
tural attention. The preparation of tiie
juice of apples is more particularly at-
tended to in the British empire, than that
of any other fniit ; and the few remarlcs
on tlie general subject which our limits
will permit will be confined to that fruit.
The varieties of apples are entirely artifi-
cial, nature having produced only one
species, which is the common crab. But
different culture produces ver\' great dif-
ferences, which are preserved by aitifi-
cial propagation. The seeds of the finest
flavoured .ipples among the native spe-
cies should be sown in seed beds, in an
extremely rich soil ; and the assistance of
a frame, or even a stove, may be applied.
In the first or second winter the plants
should be removed to the nurserj- ; while
they remain there, the intervals between
them may be occupied with garden stuff,
which should not, however, crowd or
i^vershadffw thom ; and weeds, whenever
they appear, should be extirpated. In
pruning, particular attention must be gi-
ven to the leader ; and, where there are
tAvo, the weakest of them must be cut
off. The undemiost boughs should be
gi-adually removed, and not all in one sea-
son. The height of the stem should be
seven feet, or seven and a ha](j as the
crops on a tree of this elevation are less
exposed, and, indeed, the tree itself is
less susceptible of injury. When they
have attained five inches in girt, which
they will do in seven or eight years, they
may be safely planted out. Tillage is fa-
vourable, as the ground is tlius stirred
about tliem ; and, where cattle are per-
mitted to feed among them, they are apt
to injure them, and, indeed, also to injure
themselves after the trees begin to bear,
by the fmit .sticking in their throats ; on
which account apple groimds, not in til-
lage, should be eaten bare before the sea-
son of g^tliering. Apple trees should be
carefully cleared of a redundance of wood,
which intercepts the free circulation of
the air. They should be kept clear also
of the mi.sletoe, which is often extremely
injurious. Moss likewise slioidd never
be permitted to incumber tliem. The
failure of crops, in particular years, is
often ascribed to what is called blight ;
but, to adopt more intelligible language,
is probably imputable to the greats ex-
haustion of the trees by recent bear^
ing^;to prevent or mitigate which ex-
haustion, the best application is that of
care, to bestow upon them all the natu-
ral means of healthy and vigorous vege-
tation. Excess of bearing, however, will
inevitably impair strength. Grafting in
the boughs, and when they are fully
grown thinning the branches, will prevent
excessive produce, and may be consider-
ed as a verv probable metliod of procu-
ring fruit in moderate quantities ever}-
year. As general management, with re-
spect to orchard grounds, it is a judici-
ous nde to plant, for such, a broken up
worn out sward, keeping it under arable
till the ti-ees have attained tolerable
growth, when it may with atlvantage be
laid down to grass, and be permitted to
remain in that state tilj tlie tn-cs are final-
ly removed. AAer one set of graft -stocks
on the stem have become efFetc, a second
has been succcs-sfully applied : and thus,
though the efiect of age will at length
prove fatal, the bearing of trees has been
often very long proti-acted. The pear
tree is of much longer duration than the
apple. Both should be extirpated with-
out rotuctancc, when their produce no
AGRICULTURE.
longel" compensates for the ground occu-
pied by them.
Timber trees and coppices.
The planting of timber trees is an im-
portant aid to {general cultivation, parti-
cularly in mountainous and moorish situ-
ations, where they afford shelter both for
corn crojjs and cattle. Wherever planta-
tions are formed in such situations, the
aspect of the surroiniding land is always
improved, and exhibits a richer verdure.
When suddenly removed, the contrary
effect takes place ; the efforts of human
industry are then impaired ; tlie warmtli
of the soil is dissipated; vcg'etation is
pierced and chilled by the unresisted
blasts which sweep along its surface ; and
the cattle are benumbed and stunted, for
want of protection fi-om its fury.
In a fiat and rich country, plantations
oftenoperate injuriously ; and lofty hedge
rows, containing stately trees, check the
free passage of the air and light, prevent
the seasonable diyingof the groimd, and,
in a ch;mgeful and critical climate, the
com is consequently delayed in its pro-
gress to maturity, often cantiot be gjither-
ed in proper condition, and, sometimes,
is comjiletely ruined. These considera-
tions will generally be sufficient to de-
cide the question of planting timber trees
in particular situations. Where the prac-
tice is thought judicious, witli a view to
the melioration of the soil, tlie larch,
which is tlie quickest grower, and the
mo.st valuable of all the resinous trees,
will be entitled to a preference. The
most barren ground will answer all its
demands for nourishment. For oak, bet-
ter lands are indispensable. Beech trees
under the protection of Scotch firs, pre-
viously planted for their shelter, will lay
hold, eventually, even of a soil which
pessesses neither clay nor loam, and
thrives so rapidly as to require, in a short
period, that the firs should be cut down,
to afford freer air and ramification.
The use of small plantations of timber
■on large estates is veiy considerable. A
vast quantity of posts, spars, and rafters,
for buildings of every description on the
farm, is perpetually called for in such
circumstances, and will thus be fully sup-
plied on the spot ; whereas the want of it
is attended witli extreme expense and in-
convenience. Planting should commence
ui October, and may be continued till
April, excepting during frost. Injuries
from cattle must be effectually guarded
against in plantations, in tlieir infant
stage, which are as easily ruined as fields
of corn. The fences, therefore, should
be kept in the best possible repair.
With respect to coppices, the caution
about cattle is equally necessary. \'\'hen
coppices have att;iined the age of four-
teen years, tliey may, generally speaking',
be cut down more profitably than at any
other age ; and the most advantageous
method, after this, is to sort out the wood
for appropriate purposes, whether for fu-
el, hoops, or hop poles ; which arrange-
ment will, in almost all cases furnishing
such varieties, abundantly compensate
for the time taken up in making it. In
some situations, as in Surry for stakes and
edders, in Gloucestershire for cord wood,
in Yorkshire for railing, these articles
yield a considerable advantage ; and as
they are sure of a market within a small
distance, which, with respect to the car-
riage of so bulky a commodity, is a point
of the first consequence, an annual fall
of wood applicable to these purposes may
be desirable. The ground appropriated
for its growth should be divided into that
number of sowings or plantations, which
will equal the number of years intended
for their growth before cutting. The ma-
nagement will thus be easy as well as
profitable, and fall naturally, without agi-
tation and embarrassmeat^ into the regu.
lar business of the year.» These planta-
tions may be sown either in October or
March. The land being in good order,
it should be sown with com or pulse,
appropriate to the season and soil, after
which the tree seeds should be put across
the land in drills. Acorns and nuts must
be dibbled, and the key hemes scattered
in trenches, drawn by the hoe, at four
feet distance. Osiers may often be culti-
vated to great advantage, yielding a profit
in the second, or at least in the third year ;
while a coppice requires 15 or 20, and
an oak 100 years, to attain to its maturity.
Cattle.
A considerable part of the stock of a
fanner must always consist of cattle ;
and the maintenance and management of
these, therefore, must ever be an object
of great consequence ; and in proportion
to the number of them which he keeps
for sale, in addition to those which he
employs on account of their immediate
service and labour, the importance of tlie
subject is increased to him. Whether,
in the latter point of view, oxen or horses
are the more advantageous, has been a long
agitated question. In situations in which
AGRICULTURE.
there is a breed of cattle particularly
adapted to work, and such situations do
occur, tlie employment of the ox may
probably be most beneficial. And when
a furm is of so great extent, that a con-
siderable number of beasts may be annu-
ally bought at a small expense, and no
inconvenience may be incurred by turning
out those to fatten wliich ai-e ill qualitied
for labour, the same preference may be
tvisely made. Bulls are on some accounts
to be preferred to oxen, being procured
at a cheaper rate, and more active :md
pei-severingin labour. In other cases than
those just mentioned, tlie question will be
decided iliHerently. The activity of the
horse is extremely superior to that of
oxen, and it is more applicable to differ-
ent species of employment. Its hoof is
less susceptible of injury; and, witli re-
spect to well managed farms, in which
dispatch is more i-equired than absolute
strengtli in the operation of ploughing,
the quickness with which the horse com-
pletes tlie business, in comparison with
the ox, will, it may be presumed, at length
generally (lifiuse that preference of the
one to the other, which is obviously in-
creasing every day. Yorkshire is the most
distinguished part of England for the
breed of horses, particularly for the satl-
dle, and the black cart horse of the mid-
dle counties has been long celebrated.
In the north of England, a very valuable
breed from Lanai-ksliire in Scotland has
lately been encouraged, of extreme acti-
vity, though not lit for particularly heavy
draught, passing over a vast surface of
land m a short time, and highly useful,
therefore, not only in ploughing, but in
the general work of a farm. The Nor-
folk management of horses, as instru-
ments of agriculture, is considered by
many as the cheapest that can be practis-
ed. In the winter months their sole
rack meat is biu-ky straw. In the most
busy season a bushel of com is thought
an ample allowance, and tlie chaff" of oats,
which is fiir preferable to that of barley,
is universally mixed with it. They are
in summer kept out all night, and their
feed is generally clover only. A great
saving in the maintenance of horses has
been obtained by the substitution of
roots for gniin. Turnips and potatoes
have been given them in a raw state, in
which case, if hai-d labour is required of
them, some com in addition may be ex-
pedient, if these roots are boiled, how^-
ever, tlie corn may without injury be dis-
pensed with. Carrotsare betterfor horses
than potatoes, antl both are thought ex-
tremely serviceable in preventing variaw
disorders to which tliey are subject, par-
ticularly the grease. Carrotsare deemed
an effectual cure for what is denomi-
nated thick wind in horses; and to broken
winded ones, are of admirable use in pal-
liating the complaint.
Ihe ^)i*actice of soiling horses, instead
of turnmg them to grass in summer, is
by many experienced men tliought by
far the superior method. The produce
thus managed goes three times as far as
if consumed in the field. The injury
done by feeding pastures with horses in-
stead of sheep or oxen, an injury veiy
material and obvious, is avoided; and
the dunghill, which, in all situations at a
distance fi*om towns and cities, is an in-
valuable object, especially if plentiful
littering be allowed, is sufficiently bene-
fited to compensate for this expense of
their keeping.
Black cattle, intendedfor feeding, should
be chosen for tlieir being short-legged,
which quaUty is almost uniformly con-
nected with a general good make.
Straightness of back is anotlier import-
ant recommendation, and the more per-
fectly straight they are, while at the same
time they are very broad and flat on the
loins, the more readily experienced judg-
es will decide on tlieir worth. Smallness
of dewlap, and the barrel form of carcase,
both in the tore and hind quarters, are
also justly insisted upon as points of ex-
cellence. A curled hide is indicative of a
thriving beast, and worthy of observa-
tion in the choice of these animals. A
still more favourable symptom is a soft-
ness or sleekness of skin. Indeed, the
nice touch of the hand is requisite in the
judge of cattle, perhaps nearly as much
as the keen observation of the eye. Oxea
that have been worked are more valuable
to graziers than othei-s, as not only fat-
tening with greater rajiidity, but fiimish-
ing more excellent beef. After working
till the age of fourteen years, which is
within two of the usual extent of their
natural life, they have often supplied
most tender and admirable meat.
It is a consideration of great importance
to the grazier, that he should alwavs
secure such a stock of winter food for
his cattle as will maintxdn them during
that season, reserving tliem for tlie spring
market, which is always superior to that
of autumn. From the beginning of
March to that of June, the change of
prices will be completely in his favour ;
and in onler to avail himself of this, he
must so arrange hh affairs, as, to pro-
AGRICULTURE.
ctere an adequate stock of winter main-
tenance. Whatever food is used for this
purpose besides liay, the lati er is always
to be implied, and from seven to fourteen
pounds a day should always be allowed
to each beast. For hastening the process
of fattening' an ox, linseed cake has been
found superior to every other ai'ticle. Its
price, however, of late years has been
more than proportional to this advantage.
CaiTots complete their fattening witli a
nearly equal degree of celerity ; and an
o.\ will cat a sixth part of his weight of
this root ever}' day ; at which rate an ox
of sixty stone may be su])ported by the
produce of an acre of these roots for up-
wai-ds of five months. Two beasts, of
the weight just mentioned, if half fat
when put to caiTOts, might become com-
pletely so by consuming the produce of
an acre. Cabbages are but little inferior
for the purpose to cari'ots and oil cake.
An ox will eat of them neai-ly one fifth of
his weight. Turnips are the most common
description of winter food, but possess
not the same fattening quality with the
substances enumerated; and, being a
crop susceptible of various injuries, are
much less to be relied on than many
others. Of these the consumption of
twenty-five ton is deemed necessary to
fatten a beast of about sixty stone.
In consequence of eating succident
plants, and particularly clover, beasts are
apt to swell greatly and veiy dangerous-
ly, in which case driving them about
with great rapidity is often practised with
success, though a still more effectual
method is to stab them between the ribs
and hip bone, to the depth of about four
inches. A flexible tube has also been
frequently passed through the mouth into
the gullet, by which the air, which causes
this disease, is easily dischivged.
The practice of stall-feeding, or keep-
ing the cattle in the bouse at every season
of the year, and feeding them, when prac-
ticable, with green food, where there is
abundant litter, is considered by excel-
lent judges as the best method of turning
to account the produce of the soil. Dou-
ble the usual quantity of manure also is
thus produced; and the annoyance of
the cattle in any great degree by flies
and insects is effectually precluded. This
plan has been long and extensively prac-
tised in Germany, and is making its way
in England, \mderthe encoui-ag'ementof
many judicious agi-iculturists. ' Not only
may grass be thus employed for food
more profitaljly than in any other way,
but boijbed roots may be used with ex-
treme advantage^ with a view either to
maintain or to fatten cattle ; and, ridicu-
lous as the idea of this management for ft
vast number of cattle and horees might at
first apjjcar, it is found capable of being
performed, with the aid of aste:un engine,
by one superannuated attendant. The
i-oots may be permitted to retain their
original form, or may be mashedand con-
verted into thick soup, as is deemed most
eligible.
Cleanness and temperate warmth in the
process of fattening beasts for human
food are of tlie utmost importance ; and
it has been philosophically remarked, that
analogy will lead us to conclude, what ob-
servation justifiesfrom fact, that whatever
tends to form in beasts a state of feeling,
unirritatedby fear, vexation, or pain, must
tend to shorten the period necessary for
advancing them to their matuiity of size
arrd excellence.
Sheep.
Towai-ds the end of August, the annual
purchase of wether lambs, for an estate on
which regular flocks are not kept, gene-
rally takes place. These are justly pre-
feiTed for stock to all others. The new
Leicester have the advantage in competi-
tion with aU the long-wooUed breeds, and
the South Down with all those of short
or middling wools. For severe and moun-
tainous moors, the black-faced and coarse-
wooled Scotcli sheep are by far to be pre-
ferred, being able to sustain the most ri-
gorous weather, and to live on the most
scanty food. Instead of putting sheep,
after the above-mentioned pui-chases, to
the highest feed, and pushing them to
perfect fattening, the better way is to keep
them tolerably well till March, and to be-
gin then to fatten them, by which metliod
they will be fit for sale at a season of more
advanced price ; and upon this plan the
purchase money is, with good manage-
ment, generally doubled, and the fleece
found an additional clear advantage.
Whatever be the nature of the stock, to-
wards the middle of May they should be
turned into their summei-grass, and, in
an inclosed fann, the division of the fields
into different parcels intended to be fed
is an object of great impoi-tance. It is
justly thought, that in large parcels they
do not thrive equally well as in small
ones, and the waste of food is considera-
bly greater. It will be found, that in
flocks of from ten to twenty tlie same farm
will keep considerably more than in one
flock. Th©^ number shoidd be appropri-
AGRICULTURE.
&ted to eacli field, acconlinjf to what it is
enabled to cam', and suffered to i-emain,
without any other change tlian what de-
pends upon the state of individuals from
atcident or season. They will thus inevi-
tably flourish. Bv adhering- to tlie prac-
tice of folding, which, however, in certain
ca.ses may be necessary, much loss is of-
ten sustained ; much food is spoiled ; and
injury arises from numbers being so close-
ly crowded together : and altliough tlie
practice may be highly beneficial, as pre-
parative for com, this advantage is often
too dearly paid for. Another point of very
considerable consequence with respect to
sheep is the practice of close feeding.
Even in pa.sturage shorn completely to tlic
ground, the herbage is foimd rapidly to
spring up ; and when drought is observed
nearly to destroy the produce of fields
treated in a different manner, by being
permitted to run to bent, such as are ma-
naged in this close way are in comparison
at least highly productive. In all plants cul-
tivated for pasture, the moment the seed
stem runs, the grand effort of the system is
directed to the formation of the seed ; and
the way to produce the greatest abim-
dance of leaves, therefore, is to prevent the
risingof these stems, which, by close feed-
ing, is of course effectually accomplished.
In tlie whole range of husbandry, per-
haps, the most perplexing point of ma-
nagement is the providing for flocks of
sheep in the months of March and April.
Turnips and hay are generally depended
upon ; but being frequently inadequate,
rye is sometimes sown on purpose, and
crops of wheat are also sometimes eaten
down by tliem. All, however, is too fre-
quently found insufficient, and they are
permitted to run over tlie clover and pas-
tures of the farm, committing great waste
and damage. To prevent these evils,
bumet should be cultivated by the farm-
er. It is a most hardy plant, and pre-
serves its green leaves through the win-
ter, and under deep snows vegetates with
singular luxuriance. Tlus will be an ad-
mirable feed for sheep in April, when
turnips ought no longer to remain upon
the ground. But kept grass on drj' mea-
dow and pasture, or what is called rouen,
is preferable to every other dependance,
and though consisting as it were of hay
and grass in the same mouthful, being the
autumnal growth at top, sheltering the
more recent vegetation beneath, the sheep
cat both togetlier without the slightest
hesitation, and arc found to thrive upon
it extremely. Ten ewes, with their lambs,
^ OI.. I
may be supported throughout April on
one acre of this rouen, and no cheaper
mode of keeping a full stock in April can
possibly be adopted.
In June the washing of the sheep should
generally take place previously to the
shearing. The washing may be best per-
formed by a stream of water; and those
who are engaged in it, instead of standing
in the water, in which their uncomfoita-
ble situation leads them to hurry negli-
gently over die business, should, by means
of a cask or tub, be freed from such un-
pleasant and dangerous exposure. The
shearing, which speedily follows this ope-
ration, should be as close as possible, and
the circular is by far preferable to the lon-
gitudinal method with a view to this object.
Sheep that are kept in inclosures, and
particularly in a woodland country, should
be examined twice every day, to guard
against injury to them from the fly, which,
in twenty -four hours after having stnick,
sometimes produces incurable disease.
The most eflUcacious treatment on this
subject is, after partingthe wool wherever
tlie maggots are found, and picking them
out with a knife, to scrape a small quan-
tity of white lead among the wool, so that
it may be carried evenly down to the
wound. Regular and minute inspection
will prevent such a circumstance as a
broken coat in any of these animals, from
a cause so dangerous and fatal, where
they are neglected.
When ewes are about to lamb, their
keep should be of the most nourishing
kind, consisting of plenty of turnips or
cabbage. Till this period they may do
witliout them. But all cattle that have
young require as good keeping us those
which are fatting. The turnips or cabba-
ges should be drawn for them, and given
them on dry ground. A standing rack of
hay should be left for them on the field,
which will be of great advantage to them.
Swine.
The quick multiplication and growth of
swine rendertliem a species of stock higli-
ly profitable, and if reared systematically,
and upon a large scale, none will be
found to answer the purpose of the fanner
better. Though supposed to be filthier
than any other animals, they enjoy a clean
and comfortable place for laying down in,
and tlieir thriving and feeding are at least
as much improved by cleanly manage-
ment as those of any other stock. Their
stvcs should therefore be constrHcted
K
AGRICULTURE.
sloping', to carry off all moisture. The
dinerent sorts of swine should be kept
separate in them, and many should never
be put tog-etlier, and particularly if they
be of different size. Too much attention
cannot easily be paid to the rearing of
these animals. The large Chinese breed
is generally and justly preferred. When
swine are reared on acomprehensiveplan,
crops must be sown purposely for their
support, and the dairy cannot be consider-
ed as that I'esource which it is naturally
regarded in small farms. From October
till May, potatoes, caiTots, cabbages, and
the Swedish turnip, which is a most use-
ful vegetable for this particular piUTJOse,
must be provided for the swine, and stores
from October till the end of May, when
they may be received into lucerne, chico-
ry, or clover, on which they will be main-
tained till the clearing of the stubble ; and
thus, with the offal of the barn and the
com fields, and the plants and roots just
mentioned^ the whole year will be amply
provided for. In summer, meal must be
mixed with water for tlie sows as they
pig, and in winter boiled roots, peas, and
oats, sliould be given to the young ones.
Dairy wash is a capital addition to this
mixture. The sows should be permitted
to pig but twice a year, in April and Au-
gust. When great with pig, tihey must
be carefully secluded from the boars, and
shut up about a fortnight beforehand in
the stye ; and while pigging, it is of ex-
treme consequence that no one approach-
es them, or is even seen looking at them,
as in this case tliey will often devour their
farrow. After a week from tliis period,
they should for a few houi-s in the day
have the freedom of the yard, which wUI
be a great relief from total confinement.
Winter pigs, if not kept with gi-eat atten-
tion, are found less profitable than others.
Milk and whey may so usefully be applied
to them, that perhaps no other mode of
their application is equally advantageous ;
and the best process for weaning mem is
by ^ving these articles to them mixed up
with peas-soup, though the latter alone
will answer well. When three or four
months old, nothing is better for them
than clover : turnips alone will not be
proper, but corn should be added to them.
Carrots and potatoes will keep them well
till their full growth. Malt grains, if easi-
ly and cheaply to be procured, are high-
ly to be recommended.
With a view to fattening hogs, the com
employed should be ground into meal,
and in the proportion of five bushels to
100 gallons of water should be mixed in
large cisterns: the mixture should for
three weeks be well stirred every day,
and at the end of that period will have
fermented and become acid, before which
it should not be given. A succession of
vessels should be filled with this ferment-
ed food, that some may be always ready ;
and, before it is applied, it should be al-
ways stirred. Peas-soup is perhaps equal-
ly wholesome food with the above, and
especially if made with wai-m milk. The
preparation, however, is more expensive.
Fatting hogs should be constantly well
littered, and be kept perfectly clean.
Poultry.
With respect to poultry, con.stituting as
they generally do part of tlie stock, how-
ever small, upon fai-ms, a few observations
on them may not bethought superfluous.
If kept merely for domestic supply, parti-
cular attention is needless. When rear-
ed with a view to profit, however, and on
a somewhat large scale, they will repay,
as they indeed require, considerable at-
tention. A house should be erected for
them, containing divisions appropriately
for roosting, sitting, fatting, and food.
The building should be constructed near
tlie farm-yard, having clear water conti-
guous to it. Wannth and smoke are
great cheiishers of poultry. All, of everj"
species, must have access to gravel and
grass. Their cheapest food consists of
boiled potatoes, on which it appears that
they can be supported and fattened with-
out the aid of any com. Where numbers
of them are kept upon afarm, if pennitted
to go at large, they will often do consi-
derable injury both in the fields and barn-
yard ; besides which they will be extreme-
ly exposed to the attacks of vermin, and
will lose a considerable number of their
eggs. A full-grown hen continues in her
prime for three years, and may be sup-
posed in that time to lay 200 eggs, which
number, however, by warmth and nour-
ishment, might be greatly exceeded.
The quality and size of the Norfolk
turkeys are superior to those of any other
part of the kingdom. They are fed almost
entirely with buck-wheat, which, perhaps,
may account for their excellence, and are
bred by almost eveiy little farmer in the
county. When young, tliey demand per-
petual attention, and must be fed with
alum curds and chopped onions, and the
expense attending their management and
food can be compensated only where
broods are tolerably successful, and the
prices high.
AGRICULTURE.
Tlie Dairy.
In the conduct of a tlairy, which, in all
but the most productive corn countries,
is an object of particular consequence to
the farmer, it is obviously of the first im-
portance to select cows of the best sort,
and in judging of the value of this ani-
mal, the best method of deciding it is by
the quantity of cream produced in a given
time, rather than of milk. The richest
milk known is produced by cows of the
Aldemey breed; but, in all countries,
cows yielding a very superior qxiantity of
milk to the generality are to be found,
and should be sought for by those per-
sons to whom their produce is a particular
object of attention ; and the breed of such
should be particularly cultivated. Rough
waste lands, when the soil is wet, will do
better for cows than sheep, and should
"be always appropriated to them, not in-
deed because they are the best for cows,
but because no stock will so well pay up-
on them.
The grand object of keeping cows be-
ing the proiluction of abundiince and ex-
cellence of milk, they must, for this pur-
pose, be supplied with food of the same
description. About a month before they
calve tJiey should be taken from the straw-
yard, and have green food given them
twice a day, with the roots, whatever they
may luippen to be, which have been rais-
ed for their winter food. Having calved,
they should be kept perfectly separate
from the lean stock, whether in the house
or in another yard, and their food should
be continued as before. Winter feeding
cows with hay, even though none be ^ven
them before they calve, breaks in greatly
upon the profits of the dairy Cabbages
will maintmn them in the cheapest man-
ner, and not ^ve any unplea.sant flavour
to the milk and butter. The heart alone
of the cabbage, however, should be gpven
to tliem, and the refuse leaves be left to
be picked up by the lean cattle. In the
month of Mav tlicy should be kept in par-
ticular good feed, for which purpose they
should be tamed into the field.s of clo-
ver, which had been early eaten off by
sheep. Lucerne is, however, perhaps
preferable to clover, as it is equally nour-
ishing, and gives no ill flavour. When
mown, and given in racks or cribs, it will
go faillier than in any otlier way, and
yield an increased quantity of the most va-
luable manure, a circumstance which has
been often insisted upon, and rannot be
too frequently suggested. The feeding
place should be kept extremely well lit-
tered. The profit of cows, in these cir-
cumstances, will be greater than turning
them into luxuriant fields of these artifi-
cial grasses, although tlie qiutntity oi"
their produce might, by the latter me-
thod, probably be increased; but by
trampling upon and spoiling considerably
more tlian they would eat, the little su-
perior milk in richness or quantity, which
might be produced, would be purchased
at a most heavy expense, and one acre so
managed would be requisite for every
cow, while, by soiling, it would be amply
sufficient for three. The clear profit in
the comparison of any two modes of
management is the grand point of the far-
mer's consideration, and whatever tlie
farmer finds most profitable, will eventu-
ally, it must be remembered, most benefit
the public. Whatever green meat be
thus used in soiling should be fresh mown
every two days, the quantity being, as
nearly as may be, adapted to the number
so fed, not only of cows, but of other
stock. Lucerne, if well managed, will
bear four mowings for this purpose.
Cows should be milked three times a
day, if fully fed, throughout the sum-
mer; and great caution should be ex-
ercised by the persons employed to
draw the milk fi-om them completely,
not only to increase the quantity of pro-
duce, but to presene its quaUty. Any
portion which may be left in the udder
seems gradually to be absorbed into the
system, and no more is formed than
enough to supply the loss of what is taken
away ; and by the continuance of the same
mode, a yet farther diminution of the se-
cretion takes place, until at length scarce-
ly any is produced. This motle of milk-
ing is always practised, when it is intend-
ed that a cow should be rendered drj^.
The apartments appropriated to dairy
purposes should, if possible, possess a
moderate temperature tliroughout the
year, and should be kept perfectly clean
and dry. The temperature of about fifty
five degrees is most favourable for the se-
paration of the cream from the milk. The
utensils of the dairy are best made of
wood; lead and copper are soluble in
acid, and highly pernicious ; and tliough
iron is not injurious, the taste of it might
render the produce of tlie djury unpala-
table.
Objects of attention, -with a viev) to the settle-
ment andniccess of a young' .ig^riculturiat.
It is an object of extreme importance
and diflicidty to awaken due attention,
AGRICULTURE.
Nvithoat exciting aseless anxiety. In se-
lecting a situation in which to exercise
the occupation of a fanner, vaiious cir-
cumstances are minutely and deliberately
to be wganled, and great consideration
is required to form an accurate compari-
son of advantages and disadvantages.
After these have been fully ascertained,
a balance is to be drawn, and a decision
to be made. More attention than time
is requisite for this purpose, and hesita-
ting, broken application will often occu-
py a longer period in arriving at an injudi-
cious determination, than, with persever-
ing and dispassionate examination, is ne-
cessary to obtain a correct one. Headlong
temerity, which diminishes, or even anni-
hilates to the mind, substantial e\-ils, and
minute, apprehensive prudence, by which
ever}" ant-hill of difficulty is made to swell
into a mountain, are both to be carefiilly
avoided ; and a finn confidence in human
exertion should unite, on this critical oc-
casion, with keen andcomprehensiveob-
sen'ation. The soil is an object of parti-
cular consideration, in reference to a vast
variety of circumstances ; as to its stiff-
ness and moisture; levelness or slope ; its
exposure or its stoniness ; the manuring,
drsuning, and fencing that may be requir-
ed ; tlie state of the roads ; the accessibi-
bility of markets; the prices of manufac-
tures, of produce, and labour; the cus-
tom of tythes; tlie amount of poor-rates ;
the compactness of the land, and the
covenants concerning crops ; are only a
few of the points which demand, in such
circum.stances, to be duly ascertained
and estimated. To fix on good land i.s a
prudentisd general direction. For such it
is not easy, with ordinary discretion, to
pay too much, while for poor soils a small
rent verj- frequently exceeds theirworth.
The most advantageous of all soils are,
the mellow, putrid, ci-umbling, sandy
loams; those which will admit tillage,
soon after rain, and, though finely har-
rowed, will not harden, as if baked, in
consequence ofthe hottest sunshine, after
violent rains. The stiff loam, which is
verj' nearly approaching to proper brick
earth, is, without plenty of manure, an
unfavourable soil. On walking over it, it
is found extremely adhesive in wet wea-
ther, and it requires a long time to dry.
It may be considered as forming a medi-
um between the clods of clay and the
crumbling^ of loam. In stubble, a small
green moss is frequently seen to cover it.
By farmers, poverty and hunger are me-
taphorically and most expressively ap-
plied to this land, which has a great num-
ber of Varieties. It requires a large quan*
tity of manure, and is wonderfully im-
proved by hollow ditching. The expense
of these operations must never be forgot-
ten, in connection with an estimate of
their result.
Warm, dry, gfravelly loams are, in win-
ter, easily distinguishable. Unless in a
particularly wet winter, they may be
ploughed during almost any part of it,
and will break up in a state of crumbling,
running mould. A veiy bad soil is con-
stantly formed by wet, cold gravel, which,
in winter, is always indicated by its wet-
ness, and in spring is known by tlie bind-
ing effects produced upon it by short and
violent showere. It can be fertilized only
by verj' extraordinary quantities of ma-
nure : and drains, fully and neatly com-
pleted in it, will considerably improve it.
Some gravels are of so particularly sharp
and burning a nature, that, unless tlie
summer be particularly wet, they will pro-
duce absolutely nothing. At any season
this soil is obviously distinguishable.
"With respect to sands, the rich, red sand
possesses always a dry soundness, and a
temperate moisture, and will, in the driest
summer, secure a crop. Its excellence
and profitableness can scarcely be ex-
ceeded. Another admirable soil is form-
ed of the light, sandy loam. It may be
ploughed during the whole winter. The
degi-ee of its adhesion is precisely that
of its perfection. It may be usefully ob-
served, tliat when stiff land is dry and
crumbling, it is a sure indication of its
goodness, as the adhesive quality of a
sandy soil is, with respect to tiiat species
of land, an equally decisive s}Tnptom in its
favour. That which falls flat in powder
is a mere barren sand. The chalk marie
runs exceedingly to mortar from vio-
lent showers, after being pulverized,
and is a cold and unprofitable soil. Clay
land of great tenacity is usually let for
more than it is worth ; and though it will
yield abundance of wheat, is attended, in
its management and pi*eparation, with
so great expence, that its profit is often
trifling, and fortunes are far morc fre-
quently made by lands of a directly op-
poste description, consisting of light and
dry sand. The common fault of stiff
clays is wetness. Where fields are level,
and, even though the furrows ai-e well
ploughed, the water stands in the land,
the extreme tenacity of the soil is obvi-
ous. It is also broken up by the plough
only by averj' powerful draught of cattle,
and in pieces of vast size and extreme
hardness. In winter, soils approaching to
AGRICULTURE.
tlijs character are most to be distinffiiish-
ed. They will yield large crops of beans
and wheat, but the sight oftliese should
always be blended with the consideration
of tlie immense expense at which they
are necessarily raised. There are many
variations of peat, bog, and fen, antl all
may be found exceedingly profitable ; and
if marl or lime be in the neighbourhood,
that circumstance is a most important
inducement to undertake the manage-
ment of them.
With regard to grass lands, they are to
be best examined at several seasons, in
order to ascertain tlieir chai-acter. If
they be too wet, this is shewn by walking
over tlicm in winter, and by rushes, flags,
and moisture, wluch,ina greater or less
degree, are always observable upon them.
The grass is generally blue at tne points,
and always coarse. Draining may correct
stiff loams, but the stiif tenacious clay is
scarcely susceptible of cure. Grass, on gra-
velley soils, will inevitably bum inhot sum-
mers, but will extremely abound on loams
in wet ones. On tlie banks of brooks
and rivers, meadow of almost any soil
may be considered good, but the circum-
stance of tlieir liability to summer inun-
dations ought never to be forgotten.
The herbage on many fields is some-
times composed of weeds and tlie coar-
sest and worst of grasses, which are at
all times discernible, and indeed glaring.
Under a prohibition of arable, which is
sometimes and notunfrequently the case,
fields of this description are wortli little
or nothing. A river, well restrained witli-
in its banks, running through a farm, is a
circumstance decidedly tavourable. The
gniss lands may thus be presumed to have
water for the accommodation of cattle.
The quantity as well as tlie nature of
the soil, is likewise to be considered, and
no larger quantity shotdd be occupied
than can conveniently be stocked. The
bad management, and the perpetual em-
barrassment occurring in the contrarv
situation, are often ruinous to tlie healtli
and to tiie fortunes of those who are in-
v6lvedinit.
The disjoined situation of the various
fields of a farm is a circumstance at-
tended witli great vexation and expense.
Compactness of estates will always ren-
der them far more valuable ; and oppor-
tunities of pro<lucing this compactness,
by purchasing at a fair valuation, will
never be neglected by vig^ant and weal-
thy landlords.
To estimate the rent correctly, it has
been judiciously recommended to con-
nect it with tithes and poor rates. What-
ever sum be intended to be invested in
the farm, its interest may be fairly calcu-
lated at not less than ten percent. A va-
luation of the expense and the produce
should, for the next step, be carefully
made : and, after the former is deducted
from the latter, what remains will be tlie
sum which can be allowed for the de-
mand of rent, in the three different forms
above mentioned. If the amount of tithes
and rates be deducted from this, what re-
mains will be the sum which the occupier
can afford to pay tlie landlord.
The nature of the covenants required,
which are sometimes only absurd, and
therefore admissible witliout difficulty,
but sometimes equally absurd and mis-
chevious, ought ever to be considered in
connection not only with general but lo-
cal andpecuUarcircumstances. The un-
reasonableness of the conditions propos-
sed will sometimes be a valid objection
to that occupancy, which rent and situa-
tion, and all other circumstances, mi^ht
render highly eligible, and compensation
in diminished rent will be necessary to
indemnify for tyingdownthe farmer from
modes of cultivation uninjurious to the
land, and inexpressibly the most benefi-
cial to the occupier.
From three to five pounds per acre
was, about forty years since, considered
adequate to the stocking of any farm,
partly grass and partly tillage, of the
avei-age fertility. The increase of rents
and of rates, the liigher composition for
tithes, the advance upon all implements
of husbandry, and upon every species of
sheep and cattle, may be justly consi-
dered as ha\'ing raised the sum necessa-
ry for tlie above purpose to seven or
eight pounds. To form calculations up-
on tliis subject as accurately as possible,
and ascertain that the requisite capital is
possessed, for the due management of
the land to be occupied, cannot be too
emphatically insisted upon. The profit
attending an increased expense in stock-
ing will, in some cases, more than double
the ratio of profit before that increase; and
if the farmer be incapable of availing him-
self of striking opportunities for improve-
ment, by the purchase of litter or of ma-
nure, and indeed by a variety of circum-
stances which may easily be suggested,
for want of capital, his situation must be
highly disa«.lvantagcous.
The choice of servants is a point re-
quiring extreme attention. Where tlie
assistance of a baiUff is required, as in
all farms of verj- considerable extent, lu
AGRICULTURE.
should be of a somewhat superior de-
scription to those whom he must be au-
thorized to command. The making of
contracts, and recei\'ing money, which af-
ford agents gi-eattemptation to dishonesty
and to excess, should, whenever practi-
cable, be performed by the principal. Of
the inferior sei-vants, the ploughmen are
of most consequence, and skill and do-
cility are tlieir grand reccommendations.
It is desirable, that all the seiTants should
be under the master's eye. His constant
superintendance will have great effect in
promoting their sobriety and regulainty,
and not only wUl their permanent happi-
ness be improved by this plan, a circum-
stance to a man of humanity of no light
considei-ution, but their greater tractabi-
lity and obedience will render the prac-
tice of this domesticating method, in a
selfish point of view, more useful to him,
than that, according to which, on many
extended estates, the men and boys are
all committed to the boai-ding and ma-
nagemeitt of the bailiff". It may be con-
sidered as in general preferable to keep
many servants and few day-labourers in
the present times. The certainty of com-
manding hands at all seasons is an object
of prime importance, aixl the difficulty of
procuring additional ones, when they are
most wanted, is often upon the other plan
insuperable.
It will be always eligible and expedient
to pursue a system of management, com-
prehending every department of business
and expenses. The carelessness of pro-
fusion and the sordidness of penury, must
both be avoided with equal caution. A
fixed sum, formed upon calculations, re-
sulting from actual experiment, should
be allotted fertile expenses of the house,
for personal expenses, for family dress,
and other necessary demands, to be by
no means exceeded, and as casual de-
mands will always occur, a l•ese^^•e should
always be provided for contingencies.
This methodical arrangement cannot be
too strongly enforced on the young prac-
titioner, who, without it, is in danger of
inextricable confusion and ruin. Ifthe
investment on a farm be eight thousand
pounds, after clearing all expenses arising
from regnlar or contingent demands, and
maintaining the establishment in hbei-al
but accurate econom\-, if a hundred a
year be not annually added to the occu-
pier's capital, the concern must decided-
ly be a bad one. The addition ofone
hundred and fifty is very far from unrea-
sonable. Whatever it be, in general, it
cannot be better employedthan in prose-
cutingascei-tainedmodesof improvement
upon the farm, if it be the property of the
occupier, or if he is in possession of a
long lease.
Attendance at markets and fairs is an
indispensable partofthefarmer's occupa-
tion, but in a young man is attended with
various temptations such as sanguine and
social temperaments find it difficult to
resist Caution therefore to such is per-
petually requisite. Moreover, the society
of persons in a superior style or rank in
life, which, in consequence of establish-
ments for agiicultural improvement is ea-
sily accessible to the young man of viva-
city and spirit, cannot be cherished with-
out danger. His mind is thus alienated
from liis regular, and compai'atively very
laborious, and as it may weakly be deem-
ed, humble occupation, and fastidious-
ness, discontent, and neglect, will usurp
the place of tranquil and active industry.
Such intercourses are completely be-
set witli temptation, and have often indu-
ced imitation and profusion, neglected
business, and eventual, and indeed spee-
dy destmction.
Impediments to agricultural impi'ovements.
The want of wise laws on this subject
has ever been a serious obstacle. The
produce of land, and the various manures
which are necessary for fertilising it, can
be easily and cheaply conveyed only along
good roads and navigable canals, and in
proportion as a country is destitute of
these, it is deficient in a grand source of
national and agricultural prosperity. Ar-
I'angements on these topics cannot easily
occupy too much of the attention, or at
least meet witli too much of the encou-
ragement, of the wise statesman. And as
indefinite advantages might be derived
from positive reg-ulation on these and other
details, in behalf of husbandry, much
might also be done in many countries by
the removal as well as by the enaction of
laws. Where the husbandman is preclu-
ded from the best markets, the art of cul-
tivation cannot possibly be pushed up to
that point of maturity which it would
otherwise acquire ; the attainable perfec-
tion of this, as well as every other art,
depending on tlie encouragement it finds
or, in no less accurate, though perhaps
more harsh and grating language, on the
profit it pi-oduces. The most effectual
mode of procuring the g^owtli of any ar-
ticle in abundance is to insure it a reason-
able price, and a rapid sale. Freedom of
exportation from one country to anotber
AGRICULTURE.
jiffonls considerable facility for these, and
Eromotes, tlicrefore, the olt)ject which the
lindnes-s of foniicrtimes supposed to be
counteracted by it. Abundance is ascer-
tained to be secured by the verj- means
which the contracted policy of departed
legislators imagined necessarily to defeat
it. Such narrow views are, however, in
general exploded. And tliough in coun-
tries, where, as in Great Britain, the sub-
sistence of the popiJation is inadequately
provided for by the natural produce, even
m tlie best of seasons, tliere is less reason
on tliis subject for complaint, than would
operate in other circumstances, it is still
an invariable and invaluable maxim, that
no lands can be cultivated to their liigh-
t point of perfectibility, where restraints
• p^ermitted to operate on the disposal
.,1' their produce.
The operation of the tythe system must
be considered as one of tlie most serious
impediments on the subject under consi-
deration. Thisodiousand oppressive mode
of providing for a class of persons, whose
peculiar duty it is to polisn the uncouth-
ness of savage man, to inculcate on the
world the principles of conciliation and
kindness, furnishes a most singular dis.
sonancy between the means and the end of
those who instituted it ; and its unmitiga-
ted continuance to the present day is a
reflection on the sagacity, the energy, or
the patriotism of the British legislature.
Regulations, by which those who have no
share whatever in the expense of im-
provement should participate in its advan-
tages, are not mere topics of theoretical
absurdity, but attended with serious de-
triment in their operation throughout
this country, in a moral, a religious, and
what is most of all to the present purpose,
an agricultural point of view. With all
the respect due to the representatives of
a mighty empire, and with the most deci-
ded detachment from all points of vague
and general innovation, this important
subject cannot be too frequently present.
«d to parliamentary attention. Human
wisdom and human virtue will, it is
hoped, be at length found equal to the
correction of an absurdity at once so gla-
ring and so prejudicial.
The want of due estimation of the oc-
cupation of husbandry, is in many coun-
tries a grand impediment to its progress.
>Vhere the cultivation of the soil is re-
garded with contempt, or as beneath the
attention of men of rank and education, it
will be entrusted to the management of
persons of narrow capitals, and still nar-
rower minds. Such prejudices operate
in various places. They till lately exist'
ed to a great extent in France, and are
yet deplorably prevalent in Spain. la
England, fortunately, theyai'e everyday
rapidly dissipating. Agriculture is xscer-
tained to be the road to wealth aad re.
spectability ; and men of high connections
and distinguished fortunes think '.hem-
selves honoured, instead of being degra-
ded, by a regular and assiduous applica-
tion to it, and by estahlisliingther sons
in situations, in which they may look to it
as the means of maintaining families, ac.
cumulating property, and doing service
and honour to their country.
Agriculture is very injuriously checked
by the occupier of land not possessing in
it a requisite interest. Even in this coun-
try, large portions of land are held by
communities of persons, the individuals of
which have no right to any particiUor spot
of it, and are not only thus precluded
from personal and active cultivation, but,
by the scanty right and profit which they
possess in the general property, possess
no sufficient motive to enforce correct
management and improving cultivation on
those persons by whom it is actually oc-
cupied. Family entails and short leases
are likewise eminently hostile to full cul-
tivation, upon the obvious principle, that
men will ever apply their capital and ex-
ertions only in proportion to their expecta-
tion of advantage. Even when leases are
granted of a reasonable number of years,
restrictive clauses are too frequently in-
troduced, by which the pi"ogress of im-
provement is arrested, ana a mode of cul-
tivation insisted upon contrary to the vie ws
and the interest of the occupier, aid not
by any means more beneficial to the own-
er, than what was designed to be adopt-
ed, often inexpressibly less so. Preju-
dice and caprice in the proprietor are often
substituted for the judgment of experi-
ence ; and a routine of practice compelled
upon the cultivator, in consequence of
wnich, curious research and attentive ex-
periment are rendered nearly superfluous,
Superior knowledge, which would in
these circumstances be almost useless,
ceases to be sought for, and stupid ac-
quiescence is substituted for lively obser-
vation. It is however of importance, that,
towards the close of a term, the series of
croppingshould be regulated by covenant,
as the inducement to exhaust land, to tlie
extreme injur)' ofthe owner and the pub-
lie, would otherwise be seldom rcsisted-
Beyond this object, it is unwise to enforce
restriction or to yield to it, and whatever
discoveries are made by the personal ex-
AGRICULTURE.
perleiice of the fanner himself, or are de-
rived from the experience and pi-actice
of others, it is desirable that he should
ever be free to avail himself of them.
The liberal ideas on this, subject, which
have been suggested by the best wTiters,
and adopted by enlig'htened landlords.
Mill unquestionably, in time, anditis hop-
ed rapidly, prevail, to the almost total ex-
clusion of those narrow and pernicious
notiors which have hitherto existed.
It is desirable that the farmer should
occuj-.y a sufficient tract of land to en-
gage lis time, not in-egnlarly and occa-
sionally, but fully and completely, by
which means his attention is not distract-
ed fpim tliis important emplo}Tnent to
others which would interfere with it, and
necessarily prevent its correct and profit-
able management ; and those idle habits,
connected with pubUc injury and individ-
ual ruin, are effectually precluded. A large
farm, therefore, generally speaking, is far
preferable to a small one, in this as in eve-
ry other point of view. Some persons, not
ha\-ing employment for tliemselves in the
superintend ance of the different depart-
ments of husbandry on their land, have
recourse to personal exertion, and sub-
stitute themselves for labourers, a plan
which is extremely unwise. The true art
of fanning consi-sts, not in driving the
plougli, or engaging in other menial of-
fices, but in allotting and superintend-
ing laboiu", in recording its results, and
contri'ing how and where to dispose of
it to the most perfect advantage. To
read, ind think, and attend the public
markets, and regulate accounts, and ob-
serve .vhat others in the same occupation
in the neighbourhood, or even at some
distance, are engaged in, is of far more
importance to the advance of agriculture,
and the pi*ofit of the individual cultivator,
than for him to engage in those manual
operations, which,in consequence of more
practice, are genei-ally performed with
more rapidity and success by common
labourers. On urgency of business, or as
an example to his men, and to give their
employment that estimation and dignity,
the idea of which will ever render tliem
at once more happy and more dexterous
in it, it will be extremely proper for him to
engage occasionally even in these, and
his education ought always to have been
such, as to enable him to practise them
with some degree of skill and neatness,
by which he will of course be better ena-
bled to judge when they are well perform-
ed by others. But let him consider him-
self as the manager of a grand manufac-
turing establishment, requiring peculiaF
and incessant vigilance ; of a concern, in
wliich occuiring contingencies, oflen re-
quire a change of plan, in which the ex-
ercise of judgment is perpetually demand-
ed ; and through the want of a sagacious
and presiding mind, the manual labour of
many, conveitible to extreme advantage,
may easily become productive only of
mischief, or may have substituted for it
negligence, indolence and dishonest)'.
This situation of continued superinten-
dance is the proper situation of the far-
mer ; and in proportion as he does not
occupy land sufficient to require it, he
engages in the profession with incorrect
views, and misemploys his time.
But whatever this quantity of land may
be thought to be, differing certainly in re-
lation to different individuals, the im-
portance of adequately stocking and pre-
paring what is actually occupied is ex-
treme. To unite the portion of land ne-
cessary to occupy the time of the experi-
enced farmer, with the complete means of
its fertility and improvement, affords the
most suspicious foundation for the hope
of success. For frequent and fine tillage,
and abundant manure, which are essential
to the perfection of husbandry, consider-
able expense is demanded. The most
skilful servants, the most correct imple-
ments, the most robust cattle, are neces-
sary to produce that improved tilth, which
is the most productive cultivation, and
will amply repaj' the extraordinary ex-
pense incurred in obtaining them. Tlie
procuring of manure in abundance, to re-
pair the exhaustion of the soil, and not
only keep it in heart, but cany it towards
that point of fertility, beyond which ad-
ditional expense will be incapable of re-
turning proportional produce, is also a
matter often of extreme difficult)' and
cost. The importance indeed of adequate
means is so obvious, that it might perhaps
by some be scarcelj' thought excusable to
insist upon the subject. But the frequent
and ruinous neglect of this consideration
will, by others, be regarded as an ample
justification of enforcing most emphatical-
ly and repeatedly the idea, that the per-
fection of agriculture can never be attain-
ed without an unembarrassed and abun-
dant capital. With an inadequate capital,
on a large extent of land, the same conse-
quences will take place, which formed
the moststrikingand decided objection to
those little farms, which, however strange
it may now appear, were formerly thought
the gi-and foundation for national plenty
and perfect husbandry. The produce
AGRICULTURE.
must be carried to market, not at the sea-
son most advantageous, but almost im-
mediately after the hanest, in order to
enable the farmer to extricate himself
from immediate embarrassment, and pre-
pare the soil, inadequately as it must be
done in these circumstances, for fresh
cultivation. Commercial monopoly is con-
siderably favoured by tliis compulsion
upon the fanner for selling at whatever
price is offeretl, and artificial scarcity,
tiiough now not much to be dreatled in
this country, is more likely to originate
from this circumstance than any other.
Those grand operations of spreading marl
over large districts, at the rate of one hun-
dred and fifty tons per acre, of conveying
immense quantities of dung from towns
attlie distance of twenty miles, of floating
meadows at the cost of five pounds per
acre, of draining lands at the expense of
Uirec, of paying persons to reside in dis-
tant shires, or even countries, to acquire
superior practical information, or of im-
proving the breeds of sheep and cattle,
ny giving for the use of a single animal,
for a season, a price at which our ances-
tors would have been absolutely astonish-
ed and confounded ; practices, which,
happily, have been far from uncommon in
tlie British empire, and are daily adding,
perhaps more tlian any other cause, to
its stability and prospentj', have depend-
ed entii*ely upon abundant capital. Such
Erocessesfor improvement might as easily
e expected in the management of those
small farms, formerly so higlily extolled,
and now so justly in theory exploded, as
in the conduct of large tracts occupied
only by men of embarrassed means. The
supply of present exigencies preclude
those comprehensive and i-emote views, o«
which the success of the art most materi-
ally depends, and unthrifty savings and
corroding cares are substituted for tlie li-
beral expenses and delighted hopes,
which must attend the skilful application
of comparative opulence.
Finally, as the art of Inisbandry is par-
ticularly intricate and comprehensive, and
those engagedin it arc generally personsof
slight education, secluded in a great de-
gree fi'om mutual intercouvse and compa-
rative observation, ignorance may very
justly be considered as an obstacle to its
improvtineut, perhaps the most operative
of all. Instead of beir.g collected, like ar-
tists in cities, and possessing opportuni-
ties for animating curiosity, and benefiting
by communication, they are scattered
aver tlie surface of the country, and have
cultivated genendlv the same lopds, ajtd
VOL. I
the same prejudices, as their aticesfott,
for a series of generations. Unless ther«
be among the number of those engaged
in this art, a certain proportion of persona
ofintelligent and educated minds, capable
of turning the experience of themselves
and others to advantage, and deriving as-
sistance to agriculture, from the discove-
ries of other sciences or arts, it would be
vain in any country to expect its rapid ap-
proach towards that perfect standard, to
which every human eflbrt should be re-
ferred. That tlie proportion of such cha-
racters has considerably increased of late
years in this countrj', is an observation no
less tnie than pleasing; and in the class
of persons engaged in agricultural pur-
suits, it may be safely affirmed there ex-
ists much less tenacity of prejudice, a
far greater dispo^tion to research, and
openness to conviction, than were to be
found in any former age. Even thougii,
in some instances, old ajid absurd rou-
tines of practice may have been maintain-
ed with more constancy, tliroiigh the has-
ty projects and absurd expenses of some
innovaters, whose failure has checked the
spirit of improvement, and unjustly invol-
ved in one common ridicule all deviations
from ancient custom ; these effects, how-
ever much to be regretted, are only par-
tial, and information is still making it5
way into the most remote recesses, and
the most stubborn minds. Mlth a view
to lcs6en the darkness and intricacy yet
connected with the subject, to prevent
random speculations and ruinous pro-
jects, with their ill consequences of every
kind, it may be observed, that it is of the
very first importance, tliat persons enga-
ged, particularly on a large scale, in the-
jirofession of agriculture, should keep
correct accounts of all tlieir transactions,
and of all their profits and losses. The
advantages of clear accounts are obvious
in every other occupation of life. Per-
sons who are engaged in speculations of
merchandize, to any extent, and who are
known not to attend to this department,
are always supposed to be in dangerous
circumstances. Agricukurescemsby ma-
ny to be considered an exception to all
other species of business ; tliat it may be
engaged in without prelijninary study,
and is capable of being properly con-
ducted, even to a hu-ge extent, witli-
out any regular accounts, necessai^- as
these are admitted to be in other situa-
tions. >\ ith respect to experimental
agriculture, no correct concluaons are
to be drawn but from correct and minute
details. Suppositions di-awn from gene-
AGRICULTURE.
ral obsei-vation are of no utility, or de-
ceive rather than inform. The difficulty
of keeping accounts, which, however
commonly neglected, it is allowed never
ought to be so, is certainly not inconsi-
derable. The mode must often be regu-
lated by the nature of the fai-m. The
possessor of open fields, where scraps of
land belonging to others are intermingled
with his own, can, with extreme difficid-
ty only, keep an account of every part,
which, however, it is justly tliought of
the first importance to do in general, as
the knowledge of what every field has
paid, in certain circumstances, is the only
basis for correct decision on its applica-
tion. Small fields are from this, as well
as from other causes, extremely inconve-
nient. They are not only inconvenient in
preparation, and attended with much
loss in borders and ditches, but they de-
range the accuracy of accounts, if they
are not fully noticed, and occupy a great
portion of tlie time of the farmer, if they
are. When all the produce of several
fields is thrown togetlier, which Is fai"
from an uncommon case, some objects,
very interestingto be ascertained, must be
left entirely to conjecture ; and when a
comparison is made by guesses, the con-
clusion formed must be totally invalidated
as authority. The separation of crops
is therefore an important object, with a
■view to accounts, and is essential, indeed,
to theirbeingkeptAvith accuracy. For the
rent, tithes, and parochial rates, tliree se-
parate accounts thould be kept, but the
amount of all should be divided on every
field, for which an account should be
kept according to the real contents of it.
A distinctioii must be drawn between the
gross and net contents of the field ; as,
otherwise, in the comparison of husban-
dry, that field might be concluded the
most advantageous, which had the least
border, and merely for that rea.son, the
cultivation practised in the other being,
in fact, more profitable. But detail on
this subject is here impracticable, and we
must be satisfied with obser^'ing that,
without correctness of data for a compa-
rison, the conclusions formed will consti-
tute only a catalogue of errors. The ar-
ticle of sundry expenses must universally
have place in a well regulated account,
and should include whatever payments
concern the farm in general, (and are not
included in any distinct article) and not
any object or field in partictdar. With
respect to the article of wear and tear,
the arable lands will swallow up by far
the^eater proportion of tb<ese expense.*.
As tliey principall}' attach to the team,
the proper mode of setting them down is,
after ascertaining them at so much per
pound on the team account, to charge
thus proportionally per acre. The land
appropriated for feeding grass will have
very little concern in them, and that for
mowing by no means much. To settle the
expense of the team work, the green food
for the teams in summer, the hay and
oats consumed, the .shoeing and farrier-
ing, their real decline in value, tlie pay
for attendance, are each to be itemed
down separately ; and to apportion the
whole expense to the work executed by
them, a day-book must contain an account
of tliis work every day in the year, with a
specification of the field or business they
were engaged in. At the end of the year
a clear result may be obtained, by pro-
portionally dividing 'the amount of the
expense among the work. The article
manure should be arranged under the
head fawn-) ai-d, and is one of the most
complex and difficult. This account
should be charged with the price of the
straw used in the yard, at what it could
be sold for, deducting the carriage,
and it should be credited with the price
per week of keeping the cattle. All the
labour employed in turning over the
dung and cleaning the yaixl is charged to
tliis account. . The total expense of the
dung, when carted to the land, is divided by
the number of loads, giving so much per
load : it should be charged the following
year on the lands on which it is spread,
although the benefit of it is not confined
to that single year: but keeping open the
account for a longertime would expose to
great and inextricable confusion. One of
the most complex of all accounts is that of
grass lands fed. To reduce the difficulty,
one account shovdd be opened for mow-
ing ground, to which all expenses of rent,
titlie, taxes, &c. should be carried for
every field mown ; while its credit con-
.sists of the value, at the market price of
all the mown produce, as delivered to the
cattle of any description. The after grass
on these fields must be estimated at a
certain sum per acre, and charged to the
account of feeding ground. To this ac-
count must be carried all the debits of the
fields fed, while the credit should consist
of all the food of the team, at a certain
weekly estimate ; and of any cattle taken
to joist. The account for sheep, dairy,
and fatting beasts, is each to be charged
its peculiar expenses ; wages, hurdles,
shepherd, &c. for the fiist ; fuel and straw,
&c. for tie second ; and the pui-chase
AGR
AGR
money of lean stock for fatting beasts.
Amidst &1I this minuteness und complexi-
ty of acco\int, order must be produced.
The cattle, cows, and sheep, have tuniips,
with respectto which the estimate of tliem
must be made, not at what they cost, but
at what they would sell for eaten oft' the
field, as they cost more than tlie latter
price, and were intended to ret)ay in the
crops for which Uiey prepare. The books
slioidd be everj' year balanced, about tJie
season at which the farm was entered up-
on ; and, to avoid arbitrary valuation, the
old year's accounts must be continued
open considerably after tlie new ones
have commenced, till the fatting beasta
and the coni are sold, and tliose points
decided, on which the profit or loss of the
former year depended. By these means
conjectures may be, in a great degree, pre-
cluded, but not altogether, as these must
extend to the estimate of the live stock
bo»ight and sold witliin tlie year, and to
the implements of husbandry. The stock
must be estimated ever}' year; and in
settling this estimate, their worth at the
ver>- time of its being made, that is, the
price they would then sell for, must be
set down. With respect to fatting beasts,
cows, and sheep, this proceeding must
equally take place. Every year, also, im-
plements should be valued, and the ba-
lance must be carried, where alone it is
;^pplicable,to the general head of wear and
te»r.
The minuteness and accuracy necessa-
ry fo^his or any otlier efficient mode of
account may deter many from its adop-
tion, and undoubtedly has this effect on
thousands. The want of attention, how-
ever, to this subject has, unquestionably,
been the cause to which many individuals
may justly ascribe their iaihire in this art,
and has operated extremely to check tlie
progress of it in general. 'I'he hints sug-
gested will be sufficient to evince its ge-
neral and particular importance, and in-
duce some, perlwps, to follow up, with
care and correctness, a practice, which can
alone enable them to give the fairresults
of interesting experiments, or qualify
them to ascertain the particular causes of
success or failure in general management:
The obscurity and perplexity of conjec-
ture can by such means alone be changed
for the clearness of fact and the beauty of
order; and, in short, they can thus only
decide with truth, and act with confi-
dence.
AGUIMONIA, a^mony, in botany, a
genus of Dodccandria Dyginia class and
order: the oaly,\ is one-leafed, perma-
nent, perianthium fenced with afl outer
calyx; tlie corolla has five petals; the
stamina are capillary filament.s, shorter
than thecoioUa; the anthers are smal) ;
the pistillum is a germ inferior; the style
simple; the stigmas obtuse; no pericar-
dium ; there are two roundish seeds. Of
this genus there are five species : the A.
pamiflora grows in the boiilers of corn-
fields, shady places, and hedges, in Great
Britain, and most parts of Europe, also in
similar places in the United States; it is
perennial, and flowers in June and July.
The root is sweet-scented; an infusion of
it is used by the Canadians with success
in burning fevers. Dr. Hill says, that an
infusion of six ounces of tlie crown of the
root in a quart of boiling water, sweeten-
ed with honey, and drank to the quantity
of half a pint, thrice a day , is a cure for
the jaundice. When the plant comes into
flower, it will dye wool of a bright ftill
nankeen colour; if gathered in Septem-
ber, it yields a darker yellow. In Prussia
it is used for dressing of leather. The
American species are three in number: 1.
A. cupatoria, of which there are two va-
rieties, the hirsuta and the glabra; 2. A.
parviflora ; 3. A. pumila.
AGROSTE.NLV, the garland of the field,
in botany, a genus of tlie Decandria Pen-
tagynia class and order: the calyx is one-
leafedL the corolla has five petals; the
staminVare ten awl-shaped filaments; the
pistillum an ovate germ, with erect styles
and simple stygmas; the pericarpium is
one-celled; tlie seeds are numerous.
There are four species, viz. 1. A. githago,
corn campion, or cockle : 2. K. corona-
ria, rose-campion : 3. A. flos jovis : and 4.
A. coeli rosa, smooth campion. The first
species is a common annual weed in com
fields, and flowers in June or July ; the
seeds are black, with a suiface like sha-
green, and appears in the microscope like
a hedge-hog rolled up. The second spe-
cies is biennial, a native of Italy, the S'a-
lais, and Siberia; but so long an inliabi-
tant of English gunlens, that it is become
a kind of weed. Of this plant there are
three varieties, one with deep red. another
with flesh-coloured, and atlurd with white
flowers; but they are not much esteem-
ed, as the double rose -c:unp ion, which is
a fine flower, has excluded the others
from most good gardens. The single
rose-campions aresuflSciently propagated
by the sen-sown seeds. The variety with
double flowers, having no seeds, is propa-
gated by parting the roots in autumn, and
planting them in a border of fresh un-
dunged earth, at the distance of about
AGY
AJO
six inches ; they shouldbe watered gently
till they have taken root ; afterwards wet,
as well as dung, is injurious to them. In
spring they sliould be removed into tlie
bordei-s of the flower-garden, where they
will be very ornamental whilst they flow-
er in July and August. The tliird species
grows naturally on the Swiss and Pied-
montese mountains, and in the Palatinate,
and was cultivated in 1739, by Mr. Mil-
ler. It flowers in July, and the seeds
ripen in September. It will thrive best in
a moist soil, and a shady situation. The
fourth species is annual. It is a native of
Italy, Sicily, and the Levant, but being a
plant of little beauty, it is preserved in
botanic gardens merely for variety.
AGROSTIS, be?it-grass, in botany, a ge-
nus of the Triandria Digynia class of
plants, the calyx of which is composed of
a glume, consisting of two valves, and in-
closing a single flower; it is of an acumi-
7»ated figure ; the corolla is also of an acu-
minated figure, and composed of two
valves; it is scarce so long as the cup,
and one of the valves is larger than the
other, and aristated; the corolla serves
in place of a pericaqiium ; it surrounds
and eveiy way incloses the seed, which
is single, roundish, and pointed at each
end.
There are 42 species, distributed into
two classes ; the aristatae, or those with
awns ; and the muticae, or naked witliout
awns. The A. spica venti, silky bent
grass, with entire petals, the outer one
having a ."rtiflr, straight, and very long awn,
and the panicle spreading; is an annual,
and common in Sandy corn-fields. It flow-
ers in June and July, and is liable to be
smutted. Horses and goats eat it, but
sheep refuse it. The A. arundicea, fur-
nished with a writhed awn ; is a native of
many parts of Europe, and is a perennial.
The Kalmuc Tartars weave mats of it,
and thatch their houses witli it. The al-
ba, or white bent-grass, is perennial, and
grows in ditches, marshes, and moist
meadows : there are four varieties, some
of which are found among potatoes in
light sandy soils, and some among wheat,
flowering from July to Septembei*.
AGUE. See Medicine.
AGYNEIA, in botany, a genus of the
Triandria Monogynia class and order : the
male flowers are below the female, the ca-
lyx is six-leaved ; no corolla ; in the male,
instead of filaments, are three or four an-
thers : in the female flowers, the germ of
the size of the calyx ; neither style nor
stigma. There are two species, viz. A.
impubes, with leaves smooth on both
sides; and A. pubera, with leaves downy
underneath : both species ire natives of
China.
AID (le-camp, in mihtary aff'airs, an offi-
cer employed to receive and cany the or-
ders of a general. He ought to be alert
in comprehending, and punctuid and dis-
tinct in delivei-ing tlieni. He is seldom
vmder the degree of a captain, and all
aids-de-camp have ten shilUngs a day al-
lowed for their duty.
AIGUISCE, AiGuissE, Eguisce, in
hei-aldry, denotes a cross with its four
ends sharpened, but so as to terminate in
obtuse angles.
It difters from the cross fitchee, in as
much as the latter goes tapering by de-
grees to a point, and the former only at
the ends.
AILANTHUS, in botany, a genus of
plants of the Decandria Trigynia class and
order ; it has male, female, and herma-
phrodite flowers. The calyx of the male
is one-leafed; tlie corolla has five petals:
the stamina have ten filaments, the au-
thei-s are oblong and versatile. The ca-
lyx and corolla of the female are the same
as those of tlie male ; the pistillum has
I'rom three to five germs ; the styles are
lateral, and the stigmas capitate ; the pe-
ricardium has as many capsules as there
are germs ; the seeds are solitary-. The
calyx and corolla of the hermaphrodite are
tl\e same with those of the male and -fe-
male ; the stamina have two or three fila-
ments; the pistillum, pericarp ium, and
seed, as in the female. There is one spe-
cies, viz. A. glandulosa, or tall ailanthus,
which is a tree with a straight trunk,
forty or fifty feet high, a native of Chi-
na. It grows fast in our climate, and, as
it rises to a considerable height, it is pro-
per for ornamental plantations. A resin-
ous juice, which soon hai'dens, flows from
the wounded bark. The wood is hard,
heavy, glossy, like satin, and susceptible
of a tine poUsb.
AILE, or AiEL, in law, a writ which
lies where a person's grandfather, or
gi-eat grandfather, being seised of lands,
&c. in fee-simple the day that he died, and
a stranger abates or enters the same day,
and dispossesses the heir of his inheri-
tance.
AJOVEA, in botany, a genus of the
Hexandria Monogjnia class and order:
the calyx is single-leaved, the corolla has
three petals, the stigma is divided into
six segments, and the fruit is a roundish,
single-celled, monospermous berry. There
is one species that grows in the forests of
Guiana.
AIR
AIR
AIR, a thin elastic fluid, surrounding
the globe of tKe earth. It is compounded
principall) of two gasses, viz. oxygen aiid
azote, together with a variety of other
substances, suspended or dissolved there-
in. The meclianicid and chemical effects
of this extensive fluid muss are discussed
under various hesuls of science. See At-
MospHEitK, Chemistat, aiid the articles
thence referred to.
Air, in music, generally speaking, is
any melody, the passages of which are so
constructed as to lie within the province
of vocal expression, or which, when sung
or played, forms that connected chain of
sounds which we call tune. The strict
import of the word is confined to vocal
music, and signifies a composition writ-
ten for a single voice, and applied to
words.
AiK-^m, a machine for exploding balls
by means of condensed air.
Authors describe two kinds of tliis ma-
chine, viz. the common one, and what is
called the magazine air-gun. See Pnec-
KATICS.
Aju-pipes, a contrivance invented by
Mr. Sutton, a brewer of London, for clear-
ing the holds of ships, and other close
places of tlieir foul air. The principle
upon which tliis contrivance is founded is
well known. It is no other than tlie rare-
fying power of heat, which, by causing a
aiminutlon of the density of the air in one
place, allows that which is in contact with
it to ru.sli in, and to be succeeded by a
constant supply from remoter parts, till
the air becomes every where equally elas-
tic. If a tube, then, be laid in the well-
hold, or any other part of a ship, and the
upperpart ofthistube be siifiiciently heat-
ed to rarefy the impending column of air,
tlie equilibrium will be mauitained by the
putrid air from the bottom of the tube,
which, being thus drawn out, will be suc-
■ceeded by a supply of fresh air from the
other parts of tlie ship ; and by continuing
the operation, the air will be changed in
all parts of the ship. Upon this principle,
Mr. Sutton proposed to purify tne bad air
of a ship by means of the fire used for the
coppers, or boiling places, with which
every ship is provided. Under every such
copper or boiler there are two holes, se-
parated by a grate, one for the fire and
the other for the ashes ; and there is also
a flue, communicating with the fire place,
for the discharge of the smoke. The fire,
after it is lighted, is preserved by the con-
stant draught of mr through these two
holes and the flue ; and if the two holes
we <Josed, the tire is extinjfuished. But
when these are closed, if another hole,
communicating with any otlier airj' place, '
and also with the fire, be opened, the fire
will of course continue to burn. In order
to clear the holds of the ships of the bad
air, Mr. Sutton proposed to close the two
holes above mentioned, viz. the fire-place
and ash-place, with substantial iron doors,
and to lay a copper or leaden pipe, of suf-
ficient size, from the hold into the ash-
place, and thus to supply a draught of air
for feeding the fire ; a constant discharge
of air from the hold will be thus obtained,
and fresh air will be supplied down the
hatches, and by such other communica-
tions as are open into the hold. If other
pipes are connected with this principal
pipe, communicating either with the
weUs or lower decks, the air that serves
to feed tlie fire will be drawn from such
places.
Am-shafta, among miners, are holes
made from the open air to meet the adits,
and supply them witli fresh air.
These, when the adits are long, or ex-
ceeding thirty or forty fathoms, become
highly necessary, as well to give vent to
the damps and noxious vapours, as to let
in fresh air.
Am-tninh, a simple contrivance by Dr.
Hales, for preventing the stagnation of
putrid eflHuvia, and purifying the air in
jails and close rooms ; which consists of
a square trunk, open at both ends, one of
which is fixed in tlie ceiling, and the otlier
is extended to a considerable height
above the roof. The noxious effluvia, as-
cending to the top of the room, escape by
this trunk. Some of these have been
nine, and others six, inches in tlie clear ;
but, whatever be their diameter, their
lengtli should be proportional, in oixler
to promote the ascent of the vapour. As
the pressure of fluids, and consequently
of the air, coiTCsponds to their perpendi-
cular altitude, the longer these trunks
are, so much tlie greater will be the dif-
ference between columns of air pressing
at the bottom and at the top ; and of
course so much the greater will be their
effect. See Ventilatoh.
AiR-x'essel^ in hydraulics, is a name
given to those metaUine cyhnders, which
are placed between the two forcing,
pumps in the improved fire-engines. The
water is injected by the action of the
pistons through two pipes, with valves,
into this vessel ; the air previously con-
tained in it will be compressed by tlie
water, in proportion to the quantity ad-
mitted, and by its spring force the water
into a pipe, whicU will discharge a con-
AIR
AJU
stant and equal stream ; whereas, in the
common squirting engine, the stream is
discontinued between the several strokes.
Other water-engines are furnished with
vessels oftliis kind.
Ain-x-essels, in botan}', are cert^n ca-
nals or «lucts, whereby a kind of" absoi'p-
tion and respiration is effected in vegeta-
ble bodies.
Air-vessels have been distinguished
from sap -vessels ; the former being sup-
posed to correspond to the trachea and
lungs of animals ; the latter to their lac-
teals and blood-vessels.
Dr. Grew, in an inquiry into the motion
and cause of tlie air in vegetables, shews,
that it enters them various ways, not only
by the trunk, leaves, and otlier parts
above ground, but at the root. For tlie
reception, as well as expulsion of the air,
the pores are so very large in the trunks
of some plants, as in the better sort of
thick walking-canes, diat they are visible
to a good eye without a glass ; but with a
glass, the cane seems as if it were stuck
full of large pin-holes, resembling the
pores of the skin in the ends of the fin-
gers, and ball of the hand. In the leaves
of the pine, through a glass, they make
an elegant shew, standing almost exactly
in rank and file thi-ougliout the length of
the leaves. But though the air enters in
partly at the tmnk, and also at other
parts, especially in some plants, yet its
cliief admission is at the root : much as,
in animals, some part of the air may con -
tinually pass into tlie body and blood by
the pores of the skin ; but the chief
draught is at the mouth. If the chief en-
trance ofthe air were at the trunk, before
it could be mixed with the sap in tlie root,
it must descend; and so move not only con-
trary to its own nature, but in a contrary
course to the sap : whereas, by its recep-
tion at the root, and its transition from
thence, it has a more natural and easy
motion of ascent The same fact is far-
ther deduced from the fineness and small-
ness of the diametral apertures in the
trunk, in comparison of those in the root,
which nature haa plainly designed for the
separation of the air from the sap, after
they are both together receivedinto them.
Air-vessels are found in tlie leaves of
all plants, and are even discoverable in
many without the help of glasses ; for,
upon breaking the stalk or chief fibres of
a leaf, the likeness of a fine woolly sub-
stance, or rather of curious small cob-
webs, may be seen to hang at both the
broken ends. This is taken notice of, not
only in some fev/ plants, as in scabious.
where it is most visible : but may also be
seen more or less in most others, if the
leaves be very tenderly broken. This
wool is really a skein of air-vessels, or
rather of the fibres of the air-vessels,
loosed from their spiral position, and so
drawn out in lengHi.
AIRA, hair-^rass, in botany, a genus of
the Triandria Digynia class and order,
and of the natural order of Grasses.
There are twenty-five species, some of
which have awns, and others liave none.
The A. aquatica, water hair-grass, gene-
rally grows in the margin of pools and
watery places, running into the water to
a considerable distance, and is known by
tlie purple or bluish colour of the panni-
cles, and sweet taste ofthe flowers. It is
a pereimial, and flowers in May and June.
To this grass has been attributed the
sweetness of Cottenham cheese, and the
fineness of Cambridge butter. The A.
caepitosa, or tufty-hair grass, grows in
moist meadows and woods, is perennial,
it flowers in June and July, sometimes
trailing on the groTind to the length of
several feet, and the panicle exhibiting a
beautiful sUky appearance : cows, goats,
and swine eat it, but horses are not fond
of it. It is the roughest and coarsest grass
that grows in pastures or meadows, and
is called by the common people hass<^)cks,
rough-capS; and bull's faces. To get rid
of it, the land should be first drsuned,
and the tufts ofthe noxious weeds pared
oflT and burnt The ashes yield a good
manure. The A. flexuosa, or waved
mountain grass, is the principal grass on
Banstead Downs, and the Mendip Hills.
It is difficult of cultivation.
AITONIA, in botany, so called from
Mr. Alton, his Majesty's late gardener at
Kew, a genus ofthe Monadelphia Octan-
dria class and order, and of the natural
order of Columniferx. There is but one
species, viz. A. capensis, found at the
Cape of Thunberg. It has a shrubby
stalk, six feet high, and a fruit resembling
that of the winter cherry. With us it is
of slow gixjwth, and seldom exceeds
three feet in height. At a sufficient age
it produces flowers and fruit through the
greatest part ofthe year.
AJUGA, bvg-le, in' botany, a genus of
the Didynamia Gymnospermia class of
plants : tJfie flowerismonopetalous andrin-
gent ; the upper lip being small and bifid ;
the lower one large and trifid : there is
no pericarpium : the seeds are contained
in the cup of the flower, and are four in
number. There are 10 species. The
species native in the United States are 7
ALA
ALA
.11 number, 1. A. Cerpitosa; 2. A. flexu-
osa ; 3. A pallcns, of which there are two
varieties, one with and the other without
awTU; 3. A. truncata : 5. A. mollis ; 6.
A. piirptirea of Walt; 7. A. praecox.
iTiere is an eighth doubtful species, A.
aegytopoides of Walt.
AIZOON, in botany, a gt-nus of the Po-
lyandria Ptntagynia: tlie calyx is a one -
leaftd perianthum : no corolla; the sta-
mina have many capillar) iilamcnts; the
anthers arc simple, tlie pistillum has a
five-cornered gcmi, the seeds are several :
there are ten sppcies, all belon^ig to
the hot climates.
ALA, in botany, is used in diflcrent
senses ; sometimes it denotes the hollow
between the staJk of a plant and the
leaves; sometitnes it is applied to tlie
two side petals of the papilionaceous
flowers, the upper petal being called the
vexillum, and the lower one the carina ;
othere use it for tlie slender membrana-
ceous parts of some seeds, thence said to
be alated ; and others, again, for the
membranaceous expansions found on the
stems of plants, thence denominated ala-
ted stalks.
-\LABASTER, a well known descrip-
tion of stone used by statuaries and others.
It is the sulphate of lime. See Chemis-
try and MixEHALooT.
AL.E, in anatomy, is sometimes used
for the lobes of the liver, the nymphse of
the female pudendum, the two cartilages
which form the nostril, the anu-pits,
young stems or branches, &c.
ALANGIUM, in botany, a genus of the
Decandria Monogy nia class and order :
the characters of wliich are, that it has
from 6 to 10 linear petals, from 10 to 12
stamina ; the calyx dentated ; the fruit a
spherical berry, single-celled, containing
from one to three seeds : there is only
one species, viz. A. pungcns.
ALATKl), in botany, an epitliet applied
to the seed, stem, or (eaf-stalk ; a seed is
alated, when it has an ala or membrane
affixed to it, which, by its Hying, serves to
disperse it. The foot stalk of a leaf is
alated, when it spreads out tlie sides.
Alated leaves are those made up of seve-
ral pinnated ones.
AL.\UDA, larh, in ornithology, a genus
©f birds of the order of Passeres ; the
characters of which are, that the beak is
cylindrical, subulate, and straight, bend-
ing towards the point, the mandibles iu-e
of equal size, and opening downwards at
their base ; the tongue is bifid ; and tlic
hinder claw is straightcr and longer than
the toe. Penoant adds, tljat tie nostril':
are covered with feathers or bristles, and
the toes divided to their origin. There
are 33 species, but we shall notice only
two of them 1. A. arvcnsis, or sky-laric,
the specific characters of which are, that
the two outermost qtvills of its t.-vil are
white lengthwise extcrn.ally, and the in-
termediate ones are fcmiginous on, the
inside : the length is about s<?ven inches.
The males of tnis species are somewhat
browner than the females ; they have a
black collar, and more white on the tail -,
their size is larger, and their a.spect bold-
er ; and they exclusively possess the fa-
ciUty of singing. When the fenr'i" ;< m,.
pregn.ated, she forms her nesi
two clods of earth, and lines it v
and dr)- roots, being no less attentive to
the concealment than to the structure of
it. It sometimes buikls its nest among
corn and in high grass. Each female lays
four or five eggs, wliich are greyish, with
brown spots; and the period of her incu-
bation is about 15 dxiys. The young may
be taken out of the nest when they arc a
fortnight old, and they are so hardy, that
they may be easily brought up. The pa-
rent is verj' tender of her young; and
tliough she does not always cover them
with her wings, she directs their motions,
supplies their wants, and guards them
from danger. The common food of the
young sky-larks is worms, caterpillars,
ant's eggs, and even grasshoppej^ ; and
in maturity they live chiefly on seeds,
herbage, and all vegetable substances.
Those birds, it is said, tliat are destined
for singing, should be caught in October
or November ; the males should, as much
as possible, be selected : and when they
are untractablc, they should be pinioned,
lest they injure themselves by tlicir vio-
lence against thp i-oof of the rage. As
they cannot cUng by the toes, it is need-
less to place bars across their cage ; but
tliey should have cleausand at the bottom
of it, that they may welter in it, and bf
relieved from the vermin which torment
them. In Flanders, tlie young ones are
fed with moistened poppy -seeds andsoak-
ed cnimbs of bread ; and, when they be-
gin to sing, with sheep's and cah " •*
hashed with hard eggs; to '
added, wheat, spilt-oats, milU .,
and the seeds of poppy and hemp, steep-
ed in milk. Their capacity of learning to
sing is well known ; and so apt ai-e some
cock larks, that, after hearing a tunc
whistled witli the pipe, they have raught
the whole, and repeat it more agroeably
than any linnet or canarj- bird. In sum-
mer tlie lark seeks the highest and driest
ALAUDA.
situations ; but in ^vint€r they descend to
the plains, and assemble in numerous
flocks. In the former season they are
verj- lean, and in the latter very fat, as
they are sdways on the ground, and con-
stantly feeding. In mounting the air, they
ascend almost pcrpendicxilarly, by suc-
cessive springs, and hover at a great
height ; but in descending, they make an
oblique sweep, unless they are pursued by
a ravenous bird, or attracted by a mate,
in either of which cases they fall Uke a
stone. These small birds, at the height
to which they soar, are liable to be waft-
ed by the wind ; and they have been ob-
served at sea, chnging to the masts and
cordage of ships. Sir Hans Sloane ob-
served some of them 40 miles from the
coast, and Coiuit Tklarsigli met with them
on the Mediterranean. It is conjectured
that those which are foimd in America
have been driven thither by the wind.
Some have supposed, that they are birds
of pa.ssage, at least in the more southern
and milder climates of Europe ; but they
are occasionalh' concealed under some
rock or sheltered cave. The lark is found
in all the inhabited parts of both conti-
nents, as far as the Cape of Good Hope ;
this bird, and the wood-lark, are the only
birds which sing whilst they fly. The high-
er it soars, the more it strains its voice,
and lowers it till it quite dies away in de-
scending. When it ascends be3'ond our
sight, its music is distinctly heard; and its
song, which is full of swells and falls, and
thus delightful for its variety, commences
before the earliest dawn. In a state of
freedom, tlie lark begins its song early
in the spring, which is its season of love
and pairing, and continues to warble
during the whole of the summer. Thfr
honourable Daines Barrington reckons
this among the best ef the singing larks ;
and as it copies the warble of every
other bird, he terms it a mocking-bird.
These birds, which are esteemed a deli-
cacy for the table, though Linnaeus thinks
the food improper for gravelly complaints,
are taken with us, in the greatest num-
bers, in the neighbourhood of Dunstable.
The season begins about the 14th of
September, and ends the 25th of Febru-
ary ; and during this time, about 4000
dozen are caught, for supplying the Lon-
don markets. Those caught in the day
are taken in clap-nets, till the 14th of
November. But when the weather be-
comes gloomy, and also in the night, the
larker makes use of a ti-ammel-net, 27
or 28 feet long, and five broad, which is
put on two pojes 18 feet long, and carried
by men under each arm, Mtlio pass over
the fields, and quarter the groun<ls, as a
setting dog. When they see or feel a
lai-k strike the net, they drop it down,
and thus tlie birds are taken. The dark-
est nights are tlxe most proper for their
sport ; and the net will not only take
larks, but all other birds that roost on
the groiuid ; among which are wood-
cocks, snipes, partridges, quails, field-
fares, and several others. In the depth
of winter, people sometimes take great
numbers of larks by nooses of horse-hair.
The method is thjs : Uke 100 or 200
yards of packtliread ; fasten at every six
inches a noose made ofdoublehorse-Iiair;
at everj' 20 yards the line is to be peg-
ged down to the ground, and so left rea-
dy to take diem. The time to use this
is when the ground is covered with snow,
and the larks are to be allured to it by
some white oats, scattered among the
nooses. They will soon fly to them, and,
in eating, will be hung by tlie nooees.
Tlxej- must be taken away as soon as
three or four are hung, otherwise the
rest will be frightened ; but thougli the
others are scared away just where the
sportsman comes, some will be feeding
at the other end of the line, and the sport
may be thus continued for a long time.
As the sky-lark is a kind of mocking-bird,
and apt to catch the note of any other
which hangs near it, even after its own
note is fixed, the bird-fanciers often place
it next to one which has not been long
caught, in order to keep the caged sky-
lark honest. Plate II. Aves, fig. 1.
2. A. arborea, wood-lark of English wri-
ters, is specifically characterised by a
white annular belt, encircling its head.
This bird is smaller than the sky-lark,
and of a shorter thicker form ; the co-
lours of the plumage are paler ; the first
feather of the wing is shorter than the
second; the hind claw is very long and
somewhat bent ; it perches on trees; it
haunts the uncultivated tracts near copses,
without peneti-ating the woods, v hence
its name ; its song resembles more the
warble of the nightingale, or the whist-
ling of tlie black-bird, than that of the
skj-lark, its note being less sonorous
and less varied, though not less sweet ;
and it is lieanl not only in the day, but
in the night, both when it flies and when
it sits on a bough. This bird builds on
the ground, and forms its nest on the
outside with moss, and on the inside with
dried bents, lined with a few haira, and
conceals it with a turf; and the situation
it selects is ground where tlie grass is.
ALA.
ALB
>k, or become brown. It laj's fonr or
eggs, which arc dusky and blotched
wiihdeep brown; its fecundity is inferior
to that of the sky-lark, and its numbers
are not so great: it breeds earlier, since
its young arc sometimes flown in the
middle of March, and therefore they pair
in February, at which time, and not be-
fore, they part with their last year's
brood; whereas the common lark does
not hatch before the month of May. This
IS a very tender aiul delicate bird; so that
it is impossible to rear the young taken
out of the nest: but this is tlie case only
in England and such cold climates, for
in Italy they ai-e removed fi-om tlie nest,
and reared at first like the nightingale,
and aftenvanls fed upon panic and millet.
The wood-lark feeds on beetles, caterpil-
lars, and seeds : its tongue is forked ; its
stomach muscular and fleshy ; and it has
no craw, but a moderate dilatiition of the
lower part of tlie oesophagus, and its cocca
are very small. It lives ten or twelve
years. The males are distinguished from
the females by their larger size ; the
crown of the head is also of a darker co-
lour, and tlie hind nail longer ; its breast
is more spotted, and its great wing-fjuills
edged witli olive, which in the female is
grey. The wood-lark mounts high, war-
i)lingits notes, and hovering in Uie air;
it flies in flocks during tl»e winter colds ;
it is found in Sweden and Italy, and is
probably dispersed through the interve-
ning countries, and consequently over
the greatest part of Europe. It is also
found in Siberia, as far as Kamtschatka,
and likewise in tlie island of Madeira.
The best time for taking this bird for the
cage is July, or the preceding or follow-
ing month. Those that are put into the
€age at this time sing presently; but
their song^time is not lasting, for they
soon fall to moulting, in which state many
die ; but if they get over it, they com-
monly prove very healthful afterwards,
become very tame and familiar, and sing
sweetly. Those which are t:tken in the
latter end of September are generally ve-
ry strong and sprightly ; but they do not
sing till after Christmas. Those tiiken in
January and February finally prove the
best of all ; they generally beg^u siuging
in two or three days, or at the utmost in
a week after they are taken. The cock-
bird of this kind is known from the hen
by the loudness and length of his call,
by his tallne.ss as he walks about the cage,
. and by his doubling his notes in tlie even-
ing, as if he were going vi-itii lv<^ ijnate
A OL. I.
to roost. A better rule than all otbtjp,
however, is his singing strong; for
the hen woodJark sings but vcrj'
weakly. Both the cock and hen of this
kind are tender, and stibject to many
disortlers; the principal of these are,
cKimps, giddiness of the head, and breed-
ing lice. Cleanliness is the best cure for
the first and the la.st of these complaints;
but we know of no cure for tlie other. A
gt)od strong bird will last very well for
five or six years, and ftxjquently improve
during the whole of this time. The lark
is not only a vcrj' agreeable bird for tlie
cage, but it will also live upon almost any
food, so that it have once a week a fresh
tuft of three-leaved gra.ss put into the
cage with it. The wood-lai*k is one of
the sweetest of our singing-birds, audis
indeed very little inferior to the nightin-
gale, when in good health; but we are
not to judge by such as are made feeble
by improper food, or want of cleanliness
in their cages.
ALBINOS,in zoolog)*, a denomination
given to the white negroes of Africa, who
have light hsur, blue eyes, and a white
body, resembling that of the Europeans,
when viewed at a distance ; but upon a
nearer approach, the whiteness is pale
and li\-id, like that of leprous persons, or
of a dead body. Their eyes are so weak
that tliey can hardly see any object in the
day, or bear the rays of the sun, and yet,
when the moon shines, they see iis well,
and nm through the deepest shades of
their forests with as much ease and ac-
tivity, as other men do in the brightest
day -light. Their complexion is delicate ;
they are less robust and vigorous than
other men ; tliey generally sleep in the
tlay, and go abroad in the night. The
negroes regard them as monsters, and will
not allow them to propagate their kind.
In Africa this variety of the human spe-
cies very frequently occms. A\ afer in-
forms us, that tliere arc white Indians of
tlie same general character among the
yellow or copper-coloured Indians of the
isthmus of Darien. It has been a subject
of iufjuiry, whether these men form a pe-
culiar and distinct race, and a permanent
variety of the human species, or are
merely individuals who have accidently
degenenited from their original stock.
Buil'on inclines to the latter opinion, and
he alleges iu prfwf of it, that in the Tsth-
mus of America a husband and wife,
botli of a copper colour, produced one
of these white children ;.so th.it the singti-
lar colour and constitution of these white
ALB
ALC
Indians must be a species of disease
^hich they derive from their parents;
and the production of whites by negro
parents, which sometimes happens, con-
hrms the same theory. According to
tliis autlior, w hite appears to be the pri-
mitive colour of nature, which may be
varied by chmate, food, and manners, to
yellow, bi"own, and black ; and which, in
cextain circumstances, returns, but so
much altered, that it has no resemblance
to the original whiteness, because it has
been adulterated by the causes that are
assigned. Nature, he says, in her most
perfect exertions, made men white ; and
the same nature, after suffering every
possible change, still renders them white :
but the natural or specific whiteness is
very different from tlie individual or acci-
dental. Of this we have examples in
vegetables, as well as in men and other
animals. A white rose is very different,
even in the quality of whiteness, from a
red rose, which has been rendered white
by the autumnal frosts. He deduces a
farther proof that these wliite men are
merely de generated individuab, from the
comparative weakness of their constitu-
tion, and from the extreme feebleness of
their eyes. This last fact, he says, will
appear to be less singular, when it is
considered that in Europe very fair men
have generally weak eyes; andhe has re-
marked that their organs of hearing are
often dull : and it has been alleged by
others, that dogs of a perfectly white co-
lour are deaf. This is a subject which
demands farther investigation. Buffon's
Natural History.
ALBUCA, in botany, a genus of the
Hexandria Monogynia class and order :
corolla six-petalled ; the inner ernes con-
nivent; outer ones spreading; style tri-
angular: this genus is distinguished in-
to those species, three of whose stamina
are fertile ; and into others, in which all
the stamina and fertile : of the former
there are six species ; of the latter eight.
They are all found at the Cape.
ALBUMEN, in chemistry, a term to
denote the white of egg, and all glary,
tasteless substances, which, like it, have
the property of coagulating into a white,
opaque, tough, solid substance, when
heated a little under the boihng point.
This substance forms a constituent of
tnany of the fluids of animal bodies, and
when coagulated, it constitutes also an
important part of their solids. Substan-
ces analogous to it have been noticed in
the vegetable kingdom. The essential
characters of albumes are the following :
1. In its natural state it is soluble in wa-
ter, and forms a glary, limpid hquid, ha-
ving ver)' little titste : in this state it may
be employed as a paste and a varnish.
2. The solution is coagulated by acids, in
the same way us milk is acted upon ; and
also by heat of the temperature of 170°,
and by alcohol. 3. Dissolved in water,
it is precipitated by the infusion of tan ;
and also in the form of white powder by
the salts of most of the white metals, as
silver, mercury, lead and tin. 4. ^Vhen
burnt it emits ammonia, and when treated
with nitric acid, yields azotic gas. The
juice of the papaw tree j-ields albumen ;
so also does the juice of the fruit of the
hibiscus esculentis: that obtained from
the latter has been used in tlie West In-
dies as a substitute for white of eggs in
clarifying sugar.
ALBURNUM, denotes the white, soft
substance that lies between the inner bark
and the wood of ti-ees, composed of lay-
ers of the former, wliich have not at-
tained the solidity of the latter. Plants,
after tliey have germinated, do not re-
main stationary, but are continually in-
creasing in size. A tree, for instance,
every season adds considerably to its
bulk. The roots send forth new shoots,
and the old ones become longer and
thicker. The same increment takes place
in the branches and the trunk. A new
layer of wood, or rather of alburnum, is
added annually to the tree in every part,
just under the bark ; and the former lay-
er of alburnum assumes the appearance
of perfect wood. The alburnum is found
in largest quantities in trees that are vi-
gorous ; though in such as languish and
are sickly there is a great number of
beds. In an oak six inches in diameter
the albmnum is said to be nearly equal
in bulk to the wood.
ALCA, auk, in ornithology, a genus of
the order of Anseres, in the Linnxan sys-
tem, the characters of which are, that the
bill is without teeth, short, compressed,
convex, frequently furrowed transvereely;
the inferior mandible is gibbous before the
base; the nostrils are behind the bill;
and the feet have generally three toes.
Tliis genus comprehends 12 species, of
which we shall notice the following: A.
torda, with four furrows on the bill, and a
white line on each side, running from the
bill to the eyes. This is the alca of Clu-
sius and Brisson ; the pinguin of Buffon ;
and the razor-bill, auk, or murre, of Pen-
nant, Ray, Willoughby, Albinus, Edwards,
and Latham. This species weighs about
22A ounces; its lengtli is about 18 inches^
ALCA.
antf breadth 27. These biixls, in compa-
ny with the guillemot, appear in out seas
in tl»e bejjinning of February, but do not
settle in their breeding-places till they
begin to lay, about tJie beginning of May.
when they take possession of the ledges
of the highest rocks that hang over the
sea, they sit close together, and in rows
one above another, and form a very gro-
tesque appearance. They lay only one
tg^ at a time, which is of a large size, in
proportion to that of the bird, beingthree
inches long, either white or of a pale sea-
jfreen, irregularly spotted with black :
jf this eg^ be destroyed, both the auk and
the guillemot will lay another, and if this
be taken, a third; as they make no nest,
they deposit the egf^ on the bare rock,
poising it in such a manner as no human
art can effect, and fixing it by means of
the viscous moisture that bedews its sur-
face on its exclusion ; and though such
multitudes of eggs are contiguous to each
other, each bird distinguishes its own.
These eggs scr^e as food to the inhabi-
tants of the coasts which the birds fre-
quent; and are procured with great ha-
aard bv persons let down with ropes, held
by their companions, and who, for want of
stable footing, are sometimes precipitated
down the rocks, and perish together.
They arc found in the northern parts of
America, Europe, and Asia They come
to breed on the Ferroe islands, along the
west of England, and on the Isle of
Wight, where they add to the multitude
of Bca-fowl that inhabit the great rocks
called the Needles. Their winter resi-
dence is not positively a-scei-tarned. As
they cannot remain on the sea in that sea-
son, and never appear on shore, nor retire
to southern climates, Edwanls supposes
that they pass the winter in the caverns
of rocks, which open under water, but
rise internally as much above the level of
the flood as to admit a recess, and here,
as he apprehends, they remain torpid, and
live upon their abundant fat. The pace
of this bird is heavy and sluggish; and
its ordinary postvire is that of swimming
or floating on the water, or lying stretch-
ed on the rocks, or on the ice.
A. impennis, A. majorof Rrisson, pen-
Ifuin of Ray, Martin, Edwanls. &c. and
great auk of Pennant and Latham, has
its bill compressed and furrowed on both
sides, and luis an oval spot on each side
before the eyes. Its length to the end of
its toes is three feet; the bill to tlie cor-
ner of the mouth is 4J inches : the wings
are so small as to be useless for flight ;
tKiCir length, from the tip of tbu longest
quill-feathers to the first joint, being only
4i^ inches : and these birds are theiefore
obsened Ijy seamen never to wander hep.
yond soundings, and by the sight of them
they are able to ascertain the nearness of
the hnd. 'I'hey can scarcely even walk,
and of course continue on the wtitcr, ex-
cept in the time of breeding. According
to Mr. Martin, they breed on the isle of
St. Kilda, appearing there in the begin-
ning of M;iy, and retiring in the middle
of June. Tliey lay one egg, six inches
long, of a wliite colour : and if the egg
be taken away, no other i;i laid in the
same seasr>n. Mr. Macaulay, in his his-
tor>" of St. Kilda, ob.serves, that this bind
does not visit that island annually, but
sometimes keeps away for several years
together, and that it lays its eggs close
to the sea-mark, and is incapable, by the
shortness of its wings, of mounting high-
er, nirds of this species are said not to
be numerous ; they seldom appear on the
coasts of Norway. They are met with
near Newfoundland and Iceland. They
do not resort annually to the Ferroe Isl-
ands, and they rarely descend more to the
south in the European seas. They feed
on the cyc'.opterus and such fish, and on
the rose-root and other plants. The skins
are used by the Esquimaux for garments.
These birds live in flocks at sea, and ne-
ver approach the land, except in very se-
vere cold; arid in tliis case they are SO
numerous, that they cover the wa:er like
a thick dark fog. The Greenlanders
drive them on the coast, and catch them
with the hand, as tliey can neitlier run
nor fly. At the mouth of the Ball river
they afford subsistence to the inhabitants
in the months of Februa;y and March^
and their down serves to line winter gar-
ments. Plate U. Aves, fig. 2.
A. psittacula, or perroquetaukof Pen-
nant and Latham, is f iiiud in the sea that
lies between the northern parts of Asia
and America, .sometimes by day in flocks
swimming on the water, though not very
far from land, unlesis driven out by storms,
and in the niglit harbouring in the crevi-
ces of rocks. About the middle of June
they lay upon the rocks or sand a single
ee^, about the size of that of a ben, and
of a dirty wliite or yellowish colour, spot-
ted with brown, which is esteemed good.
These birds, like others of the same class,
are stupid, and are mostly taken by th«
natives, who place themselves in the
evening among the rocks, dressed in gar-
ments of fur with large open sleeves,
into which the birds fly for shelter as the
night comes ei^ and tlitts tbey becoipe
ALU
al6
ah easy prey. They sometimes at s,ea
mistake a ship for a roosting place, aiid
thus warn navigators of" their being near
the land, at tlie access of night, or on tlie
approach of storms.
A. cinhata, tufted auk of Pennant and
Latham, is entirely black, neai-ly 18 inches
long, swimming about for whole chiys in
the sea, where it dives well, and occasion-
ally flies swiftly, but never depai-ting fai-
from the rocks and islands, and feeding on
shrimps, crabs, and other shell-fish, which
it forces from the rocks with its strong
bill ; in the night it comes to shore, bur-
rows about a yai'd deep under ground,
and m.ukes a nest witli feathers and sea-
weed, in which it lodges with its mate,
being monogamous. It lays one egg in
*Iay or June, which is fit to be eaten and
used for food, but the flesh of the bird is
hard and insipid. This species inhabits
tlie shores of Kamtschatka, the Kurile
islands, andthose that lie between Kamts-
cliatka and America.
"A. arctica, or puflSn, found on the
coasts of England; and particularly in
Pfestholm isle, where they are seen in
flocks almost innumei-able. They come
in the beginning of April, and depart in
August. Fig. 3.
ALCEA, holhiliock, in botany, a genus
of tlie ^lonadelpliia Polyandria class of
]ilants, the calyTi of which is a double pc-
rianthium ; the exterior one, which is
permanent, consists of a .single p.\tent
leaf, divided into six segments; the inte-
rior is also permanent, and consists of a
single leaf divided into five segments :
the corolla consists of five very large
patent and emarginated peta's, growing
togetlier at the base : the fruit is compo-
sed of numerous capsules, each contain-
ing a single compressed kidney-shaped
seed. There are five species. The hol-
lyhock grows wild in the country of Nice.
I'he colour of the flowers is accidental,
and the double flowers are only varieties
proceeding from culture. These varie-
ties are not constant; but the greatest
number of plants, produced from seeds
carefully saved from the most double
flowei-s, will arise nearly the same with
the plants from which they are taken,
provided they are kept separate from sin-
gle or bad coloured flowers. The X. ro-
sea grows naturally in Cluna; a dwarf
sort, with beautiful double variegated
flowers, has been some )ears in great
esteem, under the name of the Chinese
hollyhock. Hollyhocks are propagated
from seeds, sown half an inch deep in a
bed of lijght earth, about the middle of
April. When the plants have put duf fax .
or eight leaves, they are to be transplant-
ed into nursery beds, and in October they
are to be removed to the situation where -
they are to remain.
ALCEDO, Jdiigsfisher, in ornitliology, a
genus of the oi-der of Picae. The charac-
ters are, that the bill is three-sided, thick,
straight, long, and pointed; the tongue
is fleshy, very short, flat, and sharp, and
the feet are for the most part gressory.
There are 41 species. These bii-ds are
dispersed over the whole globe, inhabit-
ing chiefly the water, and living upon
fish, which they catch with surprising
alertness, and swallow whole, rejecting
afterwards the undigested pai-ts ; though
their wings are short, they fly swiftly;
their prevaihug colour is sky blue ; their
nostrils are small, and generally covered.
A. ispida, ispida of Gesner and Ray, Eu-
ropean kjng^fisher of Pennant, and com-
mon kingsfisher of Latham, is the only one
we shall notice: it is short-tailed, sky-
blue above, fulvous below, and its straps
are rufous. This bii-d is 7 inches long
and 11 broad, of a clumsy shape, the head
and bill being very large, and the legs
disproportionately small. The kingsfish-
er frequents the banks of rivers, and
feeds on fish. It takes its prey somewhat
in the manner of the osprey, baliuicing
itself at a certain distance over the water
for some time, and then darting below
the surface, brings the prey up in its feet.
When it remains suspended in the air, in
a bright day, tlie plumage exhibit a most
beautiful variety of the most dazzling and
brilhant coloui-s. It makes its nest in
holes in tlie sides of the cliffs, which it
scoops to the depth of three feet, and
lays from three to nine eggs, of a very
beautiful semi-transparent white. The
nest is verj- fixtid, on account of the re-
fuse offish with which the young are fed.
It begins to hatch its young early in the
season, and excludes the fii-st brood in
the beginning of April. Whilst the fe-
male is thus employed, the male is unre-
mitting in his attention, supplying his
mate with fish in such abundance, that
she is found at this season plump and fat.
He ceases to twitter at tliis time, and en-
ters the nest as quietly and privately as
possible. The youngare hatched in about
20 days; but differ both in size and beau-
ty. Some have even doubted, whether
the kingsfisher of the moderns and the
alcyon of the ancients are the same bii-d.
But the description of Aristotle sufficient-
ly identifies tliem. The alcyon, says that
philosopher, is not much larger th«n a
ALC
ALC
sparrow; its plumage is painted witli
blue and green, and lightly tinged with
purple ; these colours arc not distinct,
but mthed together, and shining vari-
ously over the whole body, the wings,
and the neck ; its bill is yellowish, long,
and slender. The habits of these birds
also resemble one another. The alcyon
was solitary and pensive ; and the kings-
fisher is almost always seen alone, and
the pairing season is of short dui-ation.
The former was not only an inhabitant of
tlie sea-shore, but haunted tlie banks of
rivers ; and the latter has also been found
to seek shell-fish and large worms, that
•abound on the shore of the sea, and in
rivulets that flow into it. The alcyon
was seldom seen, and rapid in its flight ;
it wheeled swiftly round sliips, and in-
stantly retired into its Httle grot on the
shore. The same chai-stcter belongs also
to tlic kingsfisher. The alcyon and the
kingsfisher have the same mode of taking
their prey, by diving vertically upon it.
The kingsfisher is the most beautiful bird
in our climates, as to the richness and
luxuriance of the colours of its plumage.
It has, says BuflTon, all the shades of tlie
rainbow, the brilhancy of enamel, and
the glossy softness of silk ; and Gesner
compares the glowing yellow red, which
colours the breast, to the red glare of a
burning coal ; and yet the kingsfisher has
strayed from those climates, where its re-
splendent and glowing colours would ap-
pear to the greatest advantage. There
is a species that is common in all the
islands of the South Sea; and Forster,
in his observations on Captain Cook's se-
cond voyage, has remarked, that its plu-
mage is much more brilliant between the
tropics than in the regions situated be-
yond the temperate zone, in New Zea-
land. In the language of the Society
Islands, tl»e kingsfisher is called Erooro,
and at Otaheite it is accounted sacred,
and not allowed to be taken or killed.
Kingfishers were found, not only at Ota-
heite, but In Iluaheine and UUetea, and
in the islands that are scattered over the
South Sea, though they are more than
1500 leagues distant from any continent.
These kiiigsfishers are of a dull g^-eeii,
with a collar of the same about their
neck. The islanders entertain a super-
stitious veneration for them. The chief
at Uhetea intreated Capt. Cook's com-
panions, in a ver)' serious tone, to spare
tlic kingsfisliers and herons of his island,
giving jiermission to kill all the other
birds. There are 20 species in Airica
rvnd Asi», and eight more that arc known
in the warm parts of America. The Eu-
ropean kingsfisher is scattered througli
Asia and Africa : many of tliose sent
from China and Egypt are found to be
the same with ours, and Bclon has met
with them in Greece and in Thrace. This
brid, though it derives its origin from the
hottest cUmates, beai-s the rigour of our
seasons. It is seen in the winter along
the brooks, diving under the ice, and
emerging with its prey. The Gcnnans
have called it eissvogel, or ice-blrtl ; and
it has been found even among the Tar-
tars and Siberians. The Tartai"s and Os-
tiacs use the feathers of these birds for
many superstitious put^oses. The for-
mer use tliem as love amulets ; pretend-
ing tliat those which float on water will
intiuce a woman who is touclied with them
to fall in love with the person who thus
applies it. The Ostiacs take the skin,
the bill, and the claws of tliis bird, and
enclose tliem in a purse ; and whilst they
preserve tliis amulet, they think they have
no ill to fear. Credulity has admitted and
reported many other similar tales con-
cerning the extraordinary powers and
virtues of tliis bird; but it is needless to
recite them. Its flesh has the odotir of
musk, and is unpalatable. Plate U. Ave^
fig. 4.
ALCHEMY, that branch of chemistry,
which had for its principal objects the
transmutation of all the metals into gold :
the panacea, or luiiversal remedy for all
diseases ; and the alkahest, or universal
menstruum. Those who piusued tliese
delusive projects gradually assumed the
form of a sect, under the name of Alche-
mists, a term made up of the word che-
mist, and the Arabian article al as a. pre-
fix. The alchemists laid it down as a first
principle, that all metals arc composed of
the same ing^dicnts, or that tlie sub-
stances at least which compose gold ex-
ist in all metals, and arc capable of being
obtained from them. The great object of
their researches was, to convert tlie baser
metals into gold. The substance which
produced tins property they called lafnt
philotophontm, " the philosopher's stone;"
and many of them boasted that they were
in possession of that grand instrument.
The alchemists were established in the
west of Europe as eariy as the ninth cen»
tury ; but between the eleventh and fif-
teentli alchemy was in its most flourishinjj
state. The principal alchemists were, Al-
bertus .Magnus, Roger B.icon, Amoldus
de Villa Nova, Raymond I.uUy, and the
two Isaacs of Holland.
ALCHBtllyLA, or K\.(mtnt^, Ot-
ALC
ALC
dies* mantle/mhotsmy, a genus of the Te-
trandria Monogynia class of plants, tlie
calyx of which is a single-leafed perian-
thiiini; there is no corolla, nor anVpericar-
piiim ; the cup final]}' becomes a capsule.
Containing a single elliptical and com-
pressed seed. There are four species, A.
vulgaris, jjommon ladies' mantle, or bean-
foot, is frequent in meadows and pastures
in England. It is perennial, and flowei-s
in June and July. Horses, sheep, and
goats, eat it. The great richness of the
milk in the celebrated dairies of the Alps
is attributed to the plenty of this plant,
and that of the rib-wort plantain. The
plant is astringent, and in Gothland and
other places a tincture of its leaves is
given in spasmodic and con\adsive cases.
A.alpina,cinquefoil, or alpine ladies' man-
tle, grows naturally in the North of Eng-
land, North AVales, and in the Highlands
of Scotland. It is a native of the nortliern
parts of Europe, and is admitted into the
gardens on account of its elegance. The
A. pentaphyllea grows naturally on the
Alps, and is found in the botanical gardens
in this country : it may be propagated by
parting the roots in autumn. They should
have a moist soil, and a shady situation.
ALCHORNEA, in botany, a genus of
the Monadelphia Octandria class and or-
der, of which there is but a single species.
Male, calyx three, five-leaved; corolla
none : female, calyx five-toothed ; corolla
none ; styles two-parted.
ALCOHOL, a term apphed by chemists
to the purely spirituous part of liquors
Ihat have undergone the vinous fermen-
tation. It is in all cases the product of the
saccharine principle, and is formed by the
successive processes of vinous fermenta-
tion and distillation. Various kinds of
ardent spirits are known in commerce, as
brandy, rum, &c. ; but they differ in co-
lour, taste, smell, &c. The spirituous
part, however, is the same in each, and
may be procured in its purest state by a
second distillation, which is termed recti-
fication. See Distillation, Fermexta-
Tioy, and Rectification. Alcohol is
procured most largely in this countr)'
from a fermented grain-liquor; but in
France and otherwine countries, the spi-
rit is obtained from the distillation of wine,
hence the term spirit of wine. See Bhax-
i)T. Alcohol is a colourless, transparent
liquor, appearing to the eye like pure wa-
ter. It possesses a peculiar penetrating
smell, distinct from the proper odour of
the di.stilled spirit from which it is pro-
cured. To the taste it is excessively hot
and burning; but without any peculiar
flavour. From its lightness, the bubbles,
which are formed by shaking subside al-
most instantaneously, which is one me-
thod of judging of its purity. Alcohol
may be volatilized by the heat of the hand.
It is converted into vapour at the tempe-
rature of 55° of Fahrenheit, and it boils
at 165°. It has never been frozen by any
degree of cold, natural or artificial, and
on this account it has been much used in
tlie construction of thermometers. Alco-
hol mixes with water in all proportions,
and during the mixture heat is extricated,
which is sensible to the hand. At the
same time there is a mutual penetration
of the parts, so that the bulk of the two
liquors when mixed is less than when st-
parate ; consequently the specific gravity
of the mixture is greater than the mea«
specific gravity of the two liquors taken
apart. Alcohol is supposed to consist of
Carbon 28.53
Hydrogen ... 7.87
Walter 63.6
100.00
Its uses are many and important: it is
employed as a solvent for those resinous
gums which form the basis of numerous
varnishes : it is employed also as the basis
of ailificial cordials and liquors, to which
a flavour and additional taste are given
by particular admixtures : it serves as a
solvent for the more active parts of vege-
tables, under the form of tinctures. The
antiseptic [)ower of alcohol renders it par-
ticularly valuable in pi*eserving particular
parts of the body as anatomical prepara-
tions. The steady and uniform heat which
it gives during the combustion makes it
a valuable material for burning in lamps.
ALCORAN, or Alkohax, the name of
a book held equally sacred among the
Mahometans as the bible is among Chris-
tians.
The word alcoran pi-operly signifies
reading; a title given it by way of emi-
nence, just as we call the Old and New
Testament Scriptures.
That Mahomet was the author of the
Alcoran is allowed both by Christians and
the Mahometans themselves ; only the
latter are fully persuaded, that it was re-
vealed to him by the ministry of the an-
gel Gabriel ; whereas the former, with
more reason, think it allhisown invention,
assisted by one Sergius, a Christian monk.
The Alcoran is held not only of divine
original, but eternal and uncreated, re-
maining, as some express it, in the very
essence of God. The first transcript has
been from everlasting by God's throTie.
ALCORAN.
u-ritten on a table of vast bigacss, in which
I- also recorded the divine decrees, past
1 future. A copy from this table, in
o.ic volume, on paper, was sent down to
the lowest heaven, in the month of Ra-
madan, on the night of power. From
whence it was delivered out to Mahomet
by parcels, some at Mecca, and some at
Medina. Though he had the consolation
ofscemgtlie whole once a year, and in
the last part of his life twice. Ten new
chapters were dehvered entire, the great-
er paK only in separate periods, which
were written down from time to time by
the prophet's amanuensis, in this or that
part of this or the other chapter, as he di-
rected. The first parcel that was revealed
w^as the five firat verses of the ninety-sixth
chapter, which the prophet received in a
cave of Mount Hanili, ne:u" Mecca.
The general aim of the Alcoran was, to
unite tlie professors of the three different
religions tlien followed in Arabia, Idola-
ters, Jews, and Christians, in the know-
ledge and worship of one God, under tlie
sanction of certain laws, and the outward
signs of ceremonies, p:u'tly of ancient, and
partly of novel institution, enforced by the
consideration ofrewards and punishments
both temporal and eternal, and to bring
all to tlie obedience of Mahomet, as the
prophet and amba-ssador of Gotl, who was
to establish the true religion on earth,
and be acknowledged chief pontiff in
spiritual matters. The chief point there-
fore inculcatedin the Alcoran is the unity
of God, to restore which, the prophet con-
fessed, wa-s the chief end of his mission.
The rest is taken up in prescribing neces-
sar}' laws and directions, frequent admoni-
tions to moi-al and dlvinp virtues, the wor-
ship and reverence of the Supreme Be-
ing, and resignation to his will.
As to the book itself, as it now stands,
it is divided into 114 Suras, or chapters,
which are again divided into smaller por-
tions or verses. But, besides these divi-
sions, Mahometan writers farther divide
it into 60 equal portions, called Aiz, or Aa-
zah; each oi which tliey subdivide into
four parts.
After the title at the head of each chap-
ter, except the ninth, is prefixed the for-
mula, " In the name of the most merciful
God," called by the Mahometans Bismal-
lah, wherewith they const;uitly begin all
their books and writings, as the distin-
guishing mark of their religion.
Twenty -nine of the chaptci-s of the Al-
coran have tliis further peculiarity, that
there are certain letters of the alphabet
prc&xed to titenv In some a syigle letter.
in others two or more. These letters are
supposed, by the true believers, to con-
ceal divers profound mysteries, tlie under-
standing whereof has been conmiunica-
ted to no man, their prophet excepted.
Yet some have pretended to find tlieir
meaning, by supposing the letters to stan^
for so many words, expressing tlic names,
attrioutes, and works of God; otliers ex-
plain tliese letters from the orgpn made
use of in tlieir pronunciation ; others from
their value in numbers.
Thei-e are seven princip;d editions of
the Koran, two at Medina, one at Mecca,
one at Cufa, one at Bassora, one in Syria,
and the common or vulgate edition. The
first contains 6000 verses ; the second and
fifth, 6214; the tliird, 6219; the fourth,
6236 ; the sixth, 6226 ; and the last, 6225 ;
but the number of words and letters is
the same in all, viz. rr,639 words, and
323,015 letters.
The \lcoran is allowed to be written
with the utmost eleg-ance and purity of
language, in the dialect of the Koreishites,
the most noble and polite of all the Ara-
bians, but with some mixture of other
dialects. It is the standard of the Arabic
tongue, andas the orthodox believed, and
are taught by the book itself, inimitable
by any human pen ; and therefore insist-
ed on as a permanent miracle, greater
than that of raising the dead, .and alone
sufficient to convince the world of its di-
\\nc original ; and to this miracle did Ma-
homethimself chiefly appeal, for the con-
firmation of his mission, publicly chal-
lenging the most eloquent schoolmen is
Arabia to produce a single chapter com-
parable to it. A late ingenious and can-
did writer, who is a very good judge, al-
lows the style of the Alcoran to be gene-
rally beautiful and fluent, especially where -
it imitates the prophetic manner and
scripture plira.se ; concise, and often ob-
scure ; adorned with bold figures, after
the eastern taste ; enlivened with florid
and sententious expres.sions; and, in nia-
ny places, especially where the majesty
and attributes of Gotl arc described, sub-
lime and magnificent.
To the pomp and harmony of expres-
sion some ascribe all the force and effect
of the Alcoran ; which they consider as
a sort of music, etjually fitted to ravish
and amaze, with other species of that
art. In this M ' IcdsoweB,
and so strung' ;. minds of
his audience, ^....i . . .ii his oppo-
nents tliougiit it the eflect of witchcraft
and enchantment, as he himself complauns.
Ao numerous are ^e coj7ui;?ntarii»s On
ALD
ALE
the Alcorau, that a catalogue of their
bare titles would make a volume ; we
have a Teiy elegant translation of it into
English by Mr. Sale ; who .has added a
preliminarj' discourse, with other occa-
sional notes, which the curious may con-
sult on this head.
Among Mahometans tliis book is held
in the greatest reverence and esteem.
The .Mussulmen dare not touch it without
being first washed, or legally purified ;
to prevent which, an inscription is put on
the cover or label : " Let none touch it
but they who are clean." It is read with
great care and respect They swear by
it, take omens from it on all weighty oc-
casions, carry it with them to war, uTite
sentences of it on their banners, adorn it
with gold and precious stones, and do not
suffer it to be in the possesion of any who
hold a different religion.
ALCYON, in natural history, a name
given to the kingsfisher. See AtcEno.
ALCYONIUM, in natural history, age-
nus of Zoophytes, the characters of which
are, that the animal grows in the form of
a plant ; the stem or root is fixed, fleshy,
gelatinous, spongy, or coriaceous, with a
cellular epidermis, penetrated witli stel-
lated pores, and shooting out tentaculated
oviparous hydrae. There are 28 species.
From some experiments made by Mr.
Hatchett, and related by him in the Phil.
Trans, on several of the species of alcy-
onium, he was led to conclude, that they
were all composed of a soft, flexible,
membi-anaceous substance, slightly har-
dened by carbonate, mixed with a small
portion of phospluite of lime.
ALDEBARAN, in astronomy, a star of
the first magnitude, called in English tlie
Bull's eye, na making the eye of the con-
stellation Taurus.
ALDER-*ree, Uie English name of a ge-
nus of trees, called by botanists alnus.
Sec Alsvs.
ALDERMAN, in the British policy, a
magistrate subordinate to the mayor of a
city or town corporate.
The number of these magistrates is
not limited, but is more or less, according
to the magnitude of the place. In Lon-
don they are twenty-six; each having one
of the wards of the city committed to his
care. Their oflSce is for life ; so that
when one of them dies, or resigns, a ward-
mote is called, who return two persons,
one of whom the lord ma} or and alder-
men choose, to supply the vacancy.
ALDROV ANDA, in botany, a genus of
the Pentandria Pentaginia classand order,
of which there is only one species, viz.
the A. vesiculosa, found in marshes in
Italy and India, with bladders like utricu-
laria, but in bunches.
ALU,- cornier, an oflicfcr in London, who
inspects the measures of public houses.
They are four in number, and chosen by
the common-liall of the city
Ai.z-hmiiics, no licence to be granted to
any person, unless he produce a certifi-
cate of his good character, under the
hands of the clergjnnan, churchwardens,
&c. Penalties for selling without a
licence, unless at fairs, 40s. for the first
offence, 5/. for tlie second ; no person can
."Sell wine to be drank at his own house,
who has not an ale licence.
Ale-sjVi'CT', a tax paid yearly to the lord
mayor gf London, by all who sell ale
within the city.
ALECTRA, in botany, a genus of the
Didynamia Angiosperma class and order,
of which there is a single species onl}',
viz. A. capensis, a native of the Cape of
Good Hope ; found in grassy places near
rivers ; flowering in November and De-
cember.
ALEMBERT (Johjt ie Rojo) D') an
eminent French mathematician and philo-
sopher, and one of the brightest orna-
ments of the 18th century. He was per-
petual secretary to the French Academy
of Sciences, and a member of most of
the philosophical academies and societies
of Europe.
D'Alembert was bom at Pains, tlie 16th
of November, 1717, and derived the
name of John le Rond, from that of the
church, near which, after his birth, he
was exposed as a foundling. Rut his fa-
ther, Destouches Canon, informed of this
circumstance, listening to the voice of
nature and duty, took measures for the
proper education of his child, and for his
future subsistence in a state of ease and
independence. His mother, it is said,
was a lady of rank, the celebrated Ma-
demoiselle Tencin, sister to carchnal Ten-
cin, archbishop of Lyons.
He received his firet education among
the Jansenists, in the College of the Four
Nations, where he gave early signs of
genius and capacity. In the first year of
his philosophical studies, he composed a
Commentary on the Epi.stle of St. Paul to
the Romans. The Jansenists considered
this production as an omen, tliat portend-
ed to the party of Port-Royal a restora-
tion to some part of their former splen-
dour,andhoped to find one day,in D'Alem-
bert, a second Pascal. To render the
resemblance more complete, they enga-
ged their pupil in the study of the ma-
ALEMBERT.
thematics; but they soon perceived that
his erowing attachment to this science
was likely to disappoint the hopes they
hadformed unth respect to his future des-
tination; they therefore endeavoured to
divert him from the pursuit ; but their
endeavours were fruitless.
On his quitting the college, finding
himself alone, and unconnected in the
world, he sought an asylum in the house
of his nurse, who was the wife of a gla-
zier. He hoped that his fortune, though
not ample, would enlarge the subsis^eiKie,
and better the condition of her family,
wliich was the only one that he could
consider as liis own. It was here, there-
fore, that he fixed hisresidence, resolving
to apply himself entirely to the study of
geometry. And here he lived, during the
space of 30 years, with the greatest sim-
plicity, discovering the augmentation of
his means only by increasing displays of
his beneficence, concealing his growing
reputation and celebrity from these ho-
nest people, and making their plain and
uncouth manners the subject of gfood-
natured plea.santry and philosophictd ob-
servation. His good nurse perceived his
anient activity ; heard him mentioned as
the writer of many books; and beheld
him witli a kind of compassion : " You
will never," said she to him one day,
"be any tiling but a philosopher — and
what is a philosopher ? — a fool, who toils
and plagues liimself all his life, that peo-
ple may talk of him when he is deacL"
As D'Alembert's fortune did not far
exceed the demands of necessity, his
friends adnsed him to think of some pro-
fession that might enable him to increase
it. He accordingly turned his >'iew8 to
the law, and took his degrees in that fa-
culty, which he soon after abandhned,
and ap|)licd himself to the study of me-
dicine. Geoin •■•' 1 " .. ■•• " '.^ .>!.. ..> ,
dniwi ng him
so that, after i . , -
to resist its attntclious, lie renounced ail
views «f a lucrative profession, and gave
himself up entirely to mathematics and
poverty. In the year 1741 he was ad-
mitted a member of the Academy of Sci-
ences ; for which distinguished literary
promotion, at so early an age (24,) he
had prepared tlie way, by correcting the
errors of the "Analyse Demontree" of
Reyneau, which w;is highly esteemed in
France m the line of analnics. He after-
wards set himself to examine, with atten-
tion and assiduity, what must be the mo-
tion and path of a body, which passes
from one fluid into another denser fluid.
in a direction oblique to the surface be-
tween the two fl lids. Two years after
his election to a place in the academy, he
published his "Treatise on Dynamics."
The new principle developed in this
treatise consisted in nr"-''; ' -• ■•.
lity, at each instant, '
that the motion of a i' ,. >
and the forces or powers whicli iiave been
employed to produce them ; or, to ex-
press the same thing otherwise, in sepa-
rating into two parts the action of the
monng powers, and considering the one
as producing aJone the motion of the bo-
dy in the second instant, and the otlier
as employed to destroy that which it had
in the first.
So early as the year 1744, D'Alembeft
had apphed this principle to the theorvof
the equilibrium, and the motion of fluids ;
and all the problems before resolved in
physics became in some measure its corol-
laries. The discover}' of this new prin-
ciple was followed by that of a new calcu-
lus, the first essays of which were pub-
lished in a " Discourse on the General
Theory of the Winds:" to this the prize-
medal was adjudged by the Academy of
Berlin, in the year 174<5, which proved a
new and brilliant addition to the fame of
D'Alembert. This new calculus of "Par-
tial Differences" he applied, the year fol-
lowing, to the problem of vibrating
chords, the resolution of which, a.s well
as the theory of the oscillations of the air,
and the propagation of sound, had beeo
but imperfectly given by the mathemati-
cians who preceded him ; and these were
his masters or his rivals. In the year
1749 he furnished a method of apply-
ing his principle to the motion ot any
body of a given figtire. He also re-
solved the problem of the precession of
the equinoxes: determining its quantity,
and explaining the phenomenon of tHe
nutation of the terrestrial axis discovered
by Dr. Bradley.
In 1752, D*.\lembert published a trea-
tise on the " Resistance of Fluids," to
which he gave the motlest title of an
»* Essay," though it contains a multitude
of original ideas and new observations.
About the same time he published, in the
Memoirs of the .\cademy of Berlin, "Re-
searches concerning the Integral Calcu-
lus," which is greatly indebted to him for
the rapid progress it has made in the pre-
sent century.
While the stiicUes of D'Alembert were
confined to mere mathematics, he was little
known or celebrated in his native country.
His connectiens were hmited to a ^goiHf
N
ALEMBERT.
society of select friends. But his cheer-
ful conversation, his smart and Uvely sal-
lies, a happy method at telling a storj-, a
singular mixture of malice of speech with
goodness of heart, and of delicacy of wit
with simplicity of manners, i-enderinghim
a pleasing and interesting companion, his
company began to be much sought after
in the fashionable circles. His reputation
at length made its way to the throne, and
rendered him the object of royal attention
and beneficence. The consequence was,
a pension from government, which he
owed to the friendship of count D'Argen-
son.
But tlie tranquillity of D'Alembert was
abated when his fame grew more exten-
sive, and when it was known, beyond the
circle of his friends, that a fine and en-
lightened taste for hterature and philoso-
phy accompanied his mathematical geni-
us. Our author's eulogist ascribes to envy,
detraction, &c. all the opposition and cen-
sure that D'Alembertmet with on account
of the famous Encyclop€die, or Dictionary
of Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with
Diderot. None surely will refuse the
well dcsen-ed tribute of applause to the
eminent displays of genius, judgment, and
true literarj' taste, with which D'Alem-
bert has enriched that great work. Among
othere, the Preliminaiy Discourse he has
prefixed to it, concerning the rise, pro-
gi-ess, connections, and affinities, of all
the branches of human knowledge, is
perhaps one of the most capital produc-
tions the philosophy of the age can boast
of.
Some time after this, D'Alembert pub-
lished his " Philosophical, Historical, and
Philological Miscellanies." These were
followed by the "Memoirs of Cliristiana,
Queen of Sweden;" in which D'Alembert
shewed that he was acquainted with the
natural rights of mankind, and was bold
enough to assert them. His " Essay on
the Intercourse of Men of Letters with
Persons high in I{ank and Office" wound-
ed the former to the quick, as it exposed
to tlie eyes of the public the ignominy of
those servile chains which they feared to
shake off", or were proud to wear. A lady
of the court, hearing one day the author
accused of having exaggerated the des-
potism of tlie great, and the submission
they requu^, answered slyly, "If he had
consulted me, I would have told him still
more of the matter."
D'Alembert gave eleg-ant specimens of
his literary abihties in his translations
of some select pieces of Tacitus. But
these occupations did net divert biis from
his mathematicid studies ; for about the
same time he enriched the Encyclopedic
Avitliamultitudeofexcellentarticlesintliat
line, and composed his " Researches on
several Important Points of the System of
the World," in which he carried to a high-
er degi-ee of perfection the solution of the
problem concerning the perturbations of
the planets, that had several years before
been presented to the Academy, In 1759
he published his " Elements of Philoso-
phy ;" a work much extolled, as remark-
able for its precision and perspicuity.
The resentment that was kindled (and the
disputes that followed it) by the article
Geseva, inserted in the Bncyclop^die,
are well known. D'Alembert did not
leave this field of controversy %vith flying
colours. Voltaire was an auxiliary in the
contest ; but as he had no reputation to
lose, in point of candour and decency,
and as he weakened the blows of his
enemies by throwing both tliem and the
spectators into fits of laughter, the issue
of the war gave him little uneasiness. It
fell more heavily on D'Alembert; and ex-
posed him, even at home, to much con-
tradiction and opposition. It was on this
occasion that the late King of Prussia of-
fered him an honourable asylum at his
court, and tlie office of president of his
academy : and the king was not offended
at D'Alembert's refusal of these distinc-
tions, but cultivated an intimate friend-
ship with him during the rest of liis life.
He had refused, sometime before this,
a proposal made b)' the Empress of Rus-
sia, to entrust him with the education of
the Grand Duke ; — a proposal accompa-
nied with all the flattering offers that
could tempt a man, ambitious of titles, or
desirous of making an ample fortune ; but
the ob jectsof his ambition were tranquilli-
ty andstudy. In the year 1765, he pubhsh-
ed his " Dissertation on the Destruction
of the Jesuits." This piece drew upon
him a swarm of advei*saries, who only
confirmed the merit and crdit of his
work by their manner of attacking" it.
Beside the works already mentioned,
he published nine volumes of memoirs
and treatises, under the title of " Opus-
cules ;" in which he has resolved a mul-
titude of problems relating to astronomy,
mathematics, and natural philosophy; of
which his panegyrist, Condorcet, gives a
particular account, more especially of
those which exhibit new subjects, o^ne^\
methods of investigation. He published
also "Elements of Music;" and render-
ed, at length, the system of Rameau in-
telligible; but he did not think the mathe-
ALE
ALE
aottical theory of the sonorous body suffi-
cient to account for the rules of that art.
In the year 1772 he was chosen Secretary
to the French Academy of Sciences. He
formed, soon after this preferment, the
design of writing the lives of all the de-
ceased academicians, fi-om 1700 to 1772 ;
and in the space of three years he exe-
cuted tliis desi^, by composing' seventy
eulogies.
The correspondence which D'Alembert
held with eminent literary characters, and
his constant intercourse witlvlearned men
of all nations, togetlier with his great in-
fluence in the academy, concurred to give
him a distinguished importance above
most of his countrymen. By some, who
were jealous of bis reputation, he was
denominated the Mazarin of literature ;
but there seems now no doubt, but that
his influence was obtained by his great
talents and learning, rather than by art-
ful niiuiagement ancl supple address. He
was a decided and open enemy to super-
stition and priestcraft. Without inquiring
into the merits of Cliristianity, he conclu-
ded, that the religion taught in France
was tliat wliich behevers in general re-
garded as the true doctrine, and which
he rejected as afableunwortliytlie atten-
tion of the philosopher. There is no rea-
son to think that he ever studied the
foundations on wliich natural and revealed
religion were built ; and it is certain that
he adopted a sy.stem of deified nature,
which bereaves the world of a designing
cause and prcsidingintelUgence. He was
zealous even in pixjpagating the opinions
which he atlopted, and might be regarded
as an apostle of atheism. The eccentri-
city of his opinions did not destroy the
moral vii-tucs of liis heart. A love of
truth, and a zeal for tlie progress of real
science and liberty, formed the basis of
his cliaracter : strict probity, a noble dis-
interestedness, and an habituaJ desire of
being u.seful, were its distinguishing fea-
tures. To tlie young, who possessed ta-
lents and genius, he was a patron and in-
structor: to the poor and oppressed he be-
came a finn and generous friend: to those
who had shown him kindness, he never
ceased to be grateful ; a suif evidence of
a great mind. To two ministers who had
befriended him in their prosperity, he de-
dicated works when they were in disgrace
with the court. An instance of a kind, a
grateful disposition, was displayed by
U'Alembert in early life, llis mother,
who had infiunously disowned and aban-
doned him, hearing of the greatness of
Uis talents, imd of the pronvsc which be
gave of future celebrity, obtained an in,-
ter\iew, and laid claim to the character
of a parent. — "What do I hc:u-," said the
indignant youth, " yo»i are the mother-in-
law, the glazier's wise is my tnie mother:"
forjher, indeed he never ceased to lestify
the affection and gratitude of a ciiild :
and under her roof he resided, as we have
seen, many years, till an alarming illness
made ii necessary for him to renjove to a
more airy lodging. D* Alembert main-
tained his high rank and reputation among
mathematicians and philosophers till his
death, in October 1783. His loss was
d.ploretl by survivoi-s of everj' country ;
but his particular friends and associates
exliibited, on the occasion, every mark of
grief, which real and unaffected sorrow
can alone supply for imdissemhled word).
ALEMBIC, in chemistry, a vessel usu-
ally made of glass or co])per, formerly
used for distillation. The bottom, in
which tlie substance to be distilled is put,
is called the aiciirl/it ; the upper part \s
called the head, the beak of which is fitted
into the neck of the receiver. Ketorts
and the common worm-still are now more
generally employed. Sec Chk.mistht,
Distillation, &c.
ALETRIS, in botany, a genus of the
Hexandria Monogynia class and ortler,
of the natural order of Lilise or Lihacesc,
of which tliere are nine species ; A. fari-
nosa, or American aletris, used by tlie na-
tives in coughs, and in tlie pleurisy. Some
of the species are natives of tlie Cape of
Good Hope, others are found natural in
Ceylon and Guinea. The A. zelanica, or
Ceylon aloe, is common in gardens where
exotic plants are presened. A. guianen-
sis, or Guinea aloe, when in flower, sel*
dom contumes in beauty more than tw o op
three days, and never produces seedj
in Enghuid. The Ceylon, Guinea, and
sweet-scented species, are too tender to
live tlirough the winter in England, unless
in a warm stove; and they will not pro-
duce flowers if the plants are not plunged
into a tan-bed. The creeping roots of the
Ceylon and Guinea sorts send up many
heads which should be cut oft" in Juno,
and :iffir having been laid in tlie stove a
fortnight, thai the wounded part m:iy
heal, tiiey siiould be planted in small
pots of light s!Ui<ly earth, plunged into a
moderate hot bed, and treated like other
tender succulent plants, and be never set
abroad in summer.
ALEC KITES, in botany, a genus of the
Monoccia Monatlelphia class and order,
of the natund order of Tricoccac. The
flowers are male and female ; the caljo^
ALS
^j.^it^iaia>g
ALG
of' the male is a perianthium ; the corol-
las five petals ; the nectarj- has five-cor-
nei-ed scales; the stamens are immerons
filaments; 'he anthers roundish. 'Jhe fe-
male flowers ar2 few, the calyx, coi-olla,
and nectarium, as in the male, but larger.
There are two seeds with a double bark.
Only one species, a tree in the islands of
the South Seas.
ALEXANDRIAN Copy of the JVew
Testament, preserved in the British Mu-
seum, is referred to as an object of curi-
osity, as well as of considerable import-
ance, to persons who study tlie scrip-
tures critically. It consists of four large
quarto, or rather folio volumes, contain-
ing the who'c bible in Greek, including
the Old and New Testament, witli tlie
Apocn pha, and some smaller pieces, but
not quite complete. It was placed in the
British Museum in 1758 ; and had been a
present to Charles I. from Cyrillus Luca-
ris, a native of Crete, and patrjarch of
Constantinople, by sir Thomas Kowe, am-
bassador from England to the Grand
Seignior in the year 1628. Cyrillus
brought it with him from Alexandria,
where it wfls probably written. It is said
to have been written by Thecla, a nobie
Egyptian lady, about thirteen hundred
years ago. In the New Testament there
is warning the beginning, as far as Matt.
XXV 6 ; likewise from John vi. 50, to viii.
52 ; and from 2 Cor. iv. 19, to xii.-7. It
has neither accents nor marks of^pira-
tion it is written with capital, or, as they
are called, wnm/ letters, and tliere ar^ no
intervals between tlie words, but the sense
of a passage is sometimes terminated by
a point, and sometimes by avacant space.
Dr. Woride publis ed this valuable work
in 1786, with types cast f(»r the purpose,
line for line, precisely like the original
MS : the copy has been examined with
the greatest care, and it is found to be so
periect a resemblance of the original, that
it may supply its place. The authentici-
ty, antiquit}-, &:c. of tliis MS. is briefly,
but ably, discussed in Kees's New Cyclo-
pedia, Vol I. p. ii.
AIbG.E, in botany, an oi-der or division
of the ('ryptogamia class of plants. It is
one of the seven families or natural tribes
into which the vegetable kingdom is dis-
tributed, in the Philosophia Botaruca of
Linnxus ; the 57th order of his fragments
of a natural method.
The plants belonging to this order are
described as having their root, leaf, and
stem, entire, or all one. The whole of
the sea-weeds, and various other aquatic
plants, are comprehended under this di-
vision. From their admitting of little dis-
tinction of root, leaf, or stem, and the
parts of their flowere being equally inca-
pable of description ; the genera are dis-
tinguished bv the situation of what is sup-
posed to be flowers or seeds, or by
the resemblance which the whole plant
bears to' some otlier sub.stance. The
parts of fmctification are either found in
saucers and tubercles, asiii lichens ; in hol-
low bladdere, as in the fuci ; or fhspersed
through the whole sub.slance of the plants,
asin the ulvae. The substance of the plants
has much variety ; it is flesh-like or lea-
ther-like, membranaceous orfibrous, jelly-
like or horn-like, or it has the resem-
blance of a calcareous earthy matter.
Lamarck dustributes the algje into three
sections : the hi"st comprehends all those
plants, whose fructification is not appar
rent, or seems doubtful. These common-
ly live in water, orupon moist bodies, and
are membi-anous, gelatinous, or filamen-
tous. To this section he rei'ers the byssi,
confena, idva, tremella, and varec. The
plants of tlie second section are distin-
guished by their apparent fructification,
though it be little known, and they are
formed of parts which have no particu-
lai- and sensible opening or explosion, at
anj de'.ermmed period ; their substance
is ordinarily crustaceous or coriaceous.
They include the tassella, ceratosperma,
and lichen. The third section compre-
hends plants which have their fructifica-
t on very apparent, and distinguished by
cofistituent parts, wiiich open ata ceilain
pefiod of maturity, for the escape of the
fecundating dust or seeds. These plants
are more herbaceous, as to both their
substance and their colour, than those of
the other two sections, and are more near-
ly related to tlie mosses, fmm which they
do not essentially difler. Their flowei-s
are oftencontained in articulated and ve-
ry elastic filaments. To this section are
refeiTed the riccia, blasia, anthoceros,
targiorik, hepatica, and junger-manna. In
the Linnxan system the algae are divided
into two classes, viz. the teiTCstres and
atjuaticae. The former include the an-
thoceros, blacia, riccia, hchen, and bys-
sus ; and the latter are the ulvatucus,
and conferva. The fructification of tlie
algae, and particularly of those called
aquatic3e,is denominated, by a judicious
botanist, the opprobrium botanicorum.
ALGAROTH. See Antimoxt.
ALGEBRA, a general method of re-
solving mathematical problems by means
of equations ; or, it is a metJiod of
computatioQ by syjnbok, which have been
ALGEBRA.
mventcd for cxpressine the quantities
that are the objects of tnis science, and
also their mutual relation and depen-
dence. These quantities might, proba-
bly, in the infancy of the science, be de-
noted by their names at full length ;
these, being' found inconvenient, were
succeeded by abbreviations, or by their
mere initials; and, at length, certiun let-
ters of the alphabet were adopted as ge-
neral representations of all quantities ;
other symbols or signs were introduced,
to prevent circumlocution, and to facili-
tate the comparison of various quantities
with one another; and, in consequence of
the use of letters or species, and otlier
genend symbols, or indeterminate quan-
tities, algebra obtained the appellation of
specious, hteral, and universal arithmetic.
The origin of Algebra, like that of other
sciences of ancient date and gradual pro-
gress, is not easily ascertained. The
most ancient treatise on that pail of ana-
lytics, which is properly called algebra,
now extant, is that of Diophantus, a
Greek author of Alexandria, who flou-
rished about the year of our Lord 350,
and who wrote 13 books, though only
six of them are preserved, which were
printed, togctlier with a single im])t'i"fect
book on multangular tiunibei-s, in a Latin
translation by Xy lander, in 1575, and
afterwards in Greek and Latin, with a
comment, in 1^21 and 1670, by (iaspar
Bachet, and M. Fermat, Tolosac, fol.
These books do not contain a treatise on
the elementary parts of algebra, but
merely collections of some difficult ques-
tions relating to square and cube num.
bers, and other curious properties of
numbers, with their solutions. Algebra,
however, seems not to have been wholly
unknown to the ancient mathematicians,
long before the age of Diophantus. We
observe the traces and ettecls of it in
many places, though it seems as if they
had intentionally concealed it. Something
of it appears in EucUd, or at least in
Thcon upon Euclid, who observes that
Plato ha(l begun to teach it. And there
are other instances of it in I'a[)pus, and
more in Archimedes and Appollonius.
Hut it should he observed, that the ana-
lysis used by these authors is rather ge-
ometrical than algebraical ; tliis appears
from the examples that occur in their
works ; and, tlierefore, Diophantus is the
first and only author among the Greeks
who has treated professedly of algebra.
Our knowledge of the science was deri-
ved, not from Diophantus, but from the
Moors or Arabians* but whether the
Greeks or Arabians were the inAentors
ofit has been a subject of dispute. It is
probable, however, that it is much more
ancient than Diophantus, because his trea-
tise seems to refer to works similar and
prior to his own.
Algebra is a peculiar kind of arithme-
tic, whicii takes the quantity sought,
whether it be a number, or a Hne, or any
other quantity, as if it were grante<I ;
and by means of one or more quantities
given, proceeds by a train of deductions,
till the quantity at firet only supposed to
be known, or at least some power of it, is
found to be equal to some quantity or
quantities which are known, and conse-
quently itself is known.
Algebra is of two kinds, numeral and
literal.
Ai.nKRRA, numeral or tm/ffar, is that
which is chiefly concerned in the resolu-
tion of arithmetical questions. In this, the
quantity sought is represented by some
letter or character ; but all the given
quantities are expressed by numbers/
Such is the algebra of the more ancient
autliora, as Diophantiis, Puciolus, Stifeli-
us, &c. This is thought by some to have
been an ijitroduction to the art of keep-
ing merchants' accounts by double
entry.
Algerri, spca'ousoT Hteral, or the new
algebi-a, is that in which «11 the quanti-
ties, known and unknown, are express-
ed or represented by their species, or let-
ters of the alphabet. There arc instan-
ces of this method from C;vrdan, and
others about his time ; but it was more
generally introduced and used by Vieta.
Dr. Wallis apprehends tliat the name of
specious arithmetic, apphedto algebra, is
given to it with a reference to the sense in
which the Civilians use the word species.
Thus, they use the names Titus, Sempro-
nius, Caius, and the like, to rejirescnt in-
definitely any person in such circumstan-
ces ; and ca^es so propounded, tliey call
species. Vieta, accustomed to tlie lan-
guage of the civil law, gave, as Wallis
supposes, the name of species to the let-
ters, A, B, C, &c. which he used to re-
present indefinitely any nimiber or quan-
tity so circumstanced, as the occasion
required. This mode of expression frets
the memon' and imagination from that
stress or ettbrt, which is required to keep
scvend matters, ncces.sary for tlie disco-
very of the tnjth investigated, present to
the mind; for which reason tli s art may
be properly denominated nictapliysical
gt?ometry. Specious algebra is not, like
the mimera], confined to certain kinds of
ALGEBRA.
problems ; but serves universally for the
investigation or invention of theorems, as
well as the solution and demonstration of
all kinds of problems, botli arithmetical
and geometrical. The letters used in
algebra do each of tliem, separately, re-
present eitlier lines or numbers, as the
problem is either arithmetical or geome-
trical ; and, together, they represent
planes, solids, and powere, more or less
high, as the letters are in a greater or less
number. For instance, if there be two
letters, a ^, they represent a rectangle,
whose two sides are expressed, one by
the letter a, and the other by A ,• so that
by their mutual multiplication they pro-
duce tlie plane a h. Where the same let-
ter is repeated twice, as a a, they denote
a, square. Three letters, a b c, represent
a solid, or a rectangular pai-allelopiped,
whose three dimensions are expressed by
the three letters a b c ; the length by a,
the breadth by b, and the depth by c ; so
that by their mutual multiplication they
produce the sohd ab c. As the multipli-
cation of dimensions is expressed by the
multiplication of letters, and as the num-
ber of these may be so great as to become
incommodious, the method is only to
write down the root, and on the right
hand to write the index of the power,
that is, the number of lettei-s of which
the quantity to be expressed consists; as
a', ^5, a->, &c. the last of which signifies
as much as a multiplied four times into
itself; and so of the rest. But as it is
necessary, before any progress can be
made in the science of alg'ebra, to under-
stand the method of notation, we shall
here give a general view of it. In alge-
bra, as we nave already stated, every
quantity, Avhether it be known or given,
or unknown or required, is usually repre-
sented by some letter of the alphabet ;
and the given quantities are commonly
denoted by the initial letters, «, b, c, d,
&c. and the unknown ones by the final
letters, u, w, x, y, z. These quantities
are connected together by certjun signs or
symbols, which serve to shew their mu-
tual relation, and at th« same time to
simphfy the science, and to reduce its
operations into a less compass. Accord-
ingly the sign -J-, plus, or more, signi-
fies that the quantity to which it is prefix-
ed is to be added, and it is called a posi-
tive oraffinnative quantity. Thus, a-{-b,
expresses the sum of the two quantities
a and b, so that if a were 5, and b 3,
a-\-b would be 5-|-3, or 8. If a quantity
have no sign, -}-> ph's, is understood, and
the quantity is affirmative or positive.
The sign — , minus, or less, denotes that
the quantity which it precedes is to be
subti-acted, and it is called a negative
quantity. Thus a — b expresses the dif-
ference of a and b; so that a being 5, and
h .3, a — b, or 5 — 3, would be equal to 2.
If more quantities tlian two were con-
nected by these signs, tlie sum of those
with the sign — must be subtracted from
the sum of those with the sign +. Thus
a -f- A — c — d represents the quantity
wliich would remain, when c and d are
taken from a and b. So that if « were 7,
b 6, c 5, and d3, a -{- b — c — d, or7 -\- 6
— 5 — 3, or 13 — 8, would be equal to 5.
If two quantities are connected by the
sign cc, as a CB b, this mode of expres-
sion represents the difference of a and b,
when it is not known which of tliem is
tlie greatest. The sign X signifies that
the quantities between which it stands
are to be multiplied together, or it repre-
sents their product. Thus, a X b ex-
presses the product of a and b; a X b Xc
denotes the product of a, b, and c; (a-f 6)
X c denotes the product of the compound
quantity « + A by the simple quantity c ,•
and {a-^b -\- c) X (a—b -f c) X («+ b)
represents the product of the three com-
pound quantities, multiplied continually
into one another ; so that if a were 5, b
4, and c 3, then would (a -j- 6 -|- c) X
(a — b + c) X (rt + c) be 12 X 4 X 8, or
.384. The parenthesis used in the forego-
ing expressions indicate that the whole
compound quantities are affected by the
sign, and not simply the single terms be-
tween which it is placed. Quantities that
are joined together without any interme-
diote sign form a product; thus a 6 is the
same with aX b, and a b c the same with
a X b X c. When a quantity is multi-
plied into itself, or reused to any power,
the usual mode of expression is to draw a
line over tlie quantity, and to place the
number denoting the power at the end of
it, which number is called the index or
exponent. Thus, (« -j- A)' denotes the
same as (a + A) X (a + b) or second
power, or square, of a -|- b considered as
one quantity ; and (a -f" 6)3 denotes the
s»me as (« -{• b) X (a -}- b) X (a -\- b),
or the thiitl power, or cube, ofa-\-b. In
expressing the powers of quantities re-
presented by single letters, the line over
the top is usually omitted : tluis, a- is the
same as « a or a X a, and A5 tlie same as
bbbovbXbXb, and a^ 63, the same
as a a X b b b or a X u X b X b X b.
The full point . and the word into, are
sometimes used instead of X as the sign
of multiplication. Thus, (a-|-6) . {a-\-c).
ALGERBA.
and o + A into a ■]- c, si^fy the same
thing as (a -H A) X (a + c), or the pro-
duct of a 4- A by a -h c. The sign -^
is the sign of division, as it denotes that
the quantity preceding it is to be divided
by the succeeding quantity. Thus, c-r-A
signifies that c is to be divided by b ; and
(a-{- b) -^ {a + c), that a -f- 6 is to be
divided by a + c. The mark ) is some-
times used as a note of division ; thus
a -\- b) a b denotes that a 6 is to be divi-
ded by a -f 6. But the division of alge-
braic quantities is most commonly ex-
pressed by placing the divisor under the
dividend, with a hne between them, like
a vulgar fraction. Thus, - represents tlie
quantity arising by dividing c by b, or
the quotient, and — ; — represents tlie
a-i-c
qtjotient of a+b divided by a-{- c. Quan-
tities tlius expressed are called algebr^c
fractions.
The sign ^ expresses tlie square root
of any quantity to which it is prefixed ;
tlius y/ 25 signifies the scpiare root of 25,
or 5, because 5x5 is 25 ; and ^ (u b)
denotes the square root of a A; and
/ I " "t '^ ) denotes thesquare root of
— Z—L^ or of the quantity arising from
a
the division of a b -\- b c by d; but
^-i — ^ — ', which has the separating
a
Kne drawn under x/y signifies that the
square root ot" a b-\-b c is to be first ta-
ken, and afterwards divided by d;Ho
that if a were 2, A 6, c 4, and d 9,
6
»/ 4, which is 2. The sign ^ with a
figure over it is used to express tlie cubic
er biquadratic root, &c. of any quantity ;
thus ■^ 64 represents the cube root of
64, or 4, because 4x4x4 is 64; and -^
(« h-\-cd) the cube root of a A-f-c d. In
like manner </16 denotes tlie biquadratic
rootof 16, or 2,because 2x2x2x2 is 16,
^^^ t/ (a A-j-c d) denotes the biquadra
tic root of a A -j- c </{ and so of others.
Quantities thus expressed are called ra-
dical quantities, or sui-ds ; of which those,
consisting of one temi only, as v^ a and
Y^ (a A , are called simple surds ; and
those consisting of stveral terms or num-
faersios v^ (a' — A') and ^ («» — A-f-Ar)
^A^M ^^^^ ^^ y^ ^^^ ^^^
are denominated compound siirds. Ano-
ther commodious method of expressing
radical quantities i.s that which denotes
the root by a vulgar fraction, placed at
the end of a line drawn over the q\iantity
given. In this notation, tlie square root
is expressed by ^, the cube root by i
the biquadratic root by J, &c. Thus a i
expresses tlie same quantity with y/ a,
i. e. the squai-e root of u, and (a*-f"** ^) \
the same as -^ Cu'+a A)» i- e. the cube
root of n*4-rt A ; and a i^ denotes the
cube root of the square of a, or the
square of the cube root of a ; and (a-j-z)i
the seventh power of the biquadratic root
of o-|-r; and so of others; («^) ^ is a,
a?) > is o, &c. Quantities that have no ra-
dical sign (v/) or index annexed to them,
are called rational quantities. The sign
=, called the sign of equality, signifies
that the quantities between which it oc-
curs are equal. Thus 2+3 = 5, shews
that 2 plus 3 is equal to 5; and x-=za — b
shews that x is equal to tlie difference of
a and A. The mark : : signifies that the
quantities between whicn it stands arc
proportional. As a : b :: c : </ denotes that
a is in the same proportion to A as c is to
d ; or that if a be twice, thrice, or four
times, &c. as great as A, c will be twice,
thrice, or four times, 8ic. as great as d.
When anyquantityis tobe taken more than
once, the number, which shows how many
times it is to be taken, must be prefixed;
thus 5 a denotes tliat the quantity a is to
be taken 5 times, and 3 A c represents
three times A c.and 7 y/ (o'xA*) denotes
that y/ (a^-|-A') is to be taken 7 times*
&.C. The numbers thus prefixed are call-
ed co-efficients ; and if a quantity have
no co-efficient, unit is understood, and it
is to be taken only once. Similar or like
quantities are those tliat are expressed
by the same letters under the same pow-
ers, or which differ only in their co-effici-
ents; thus, 3 6 r, 5 A c, and 8 A c, are like
quantities, and so are the radicals
like quantities are those which are ex-
pressed by different letters, or by the
same letters with diH'erent powtrs, as 2 a
6, 5 a A', and 3 a* A. M'hen n quantity is
expressed by a single leti vend
single lettersmultipliedt. hout
any intenening sign, as u. ')r .; <; n, it is
called a simple quantity. But the quan-
tity which consists of two or more such
simple quantities, connected by the signs
-\- or — , is called a compound quantity ;
thu3, A — 2aA-4-5a6ci8 a compound
ALGEBRA.
quantity; and the simple quantities, a, 2
a b, 5 a b c, are called its tCT*ms or mem-
bers. If a compound quantity consist of
two terms, it is called a binomial ; of
tJiree terms, a ti-inomial ; of four terms,
a quadrinomial, and of many tei-ms, a
multinomial. If one of die terms of a
binomial be negative, the quantity is call-
ed a residual quantity. The reciprocal of
any quantity is tliat quantity inverted, or
unity divided by it ; thus - is the reci-
0
procal of — ,and — is the reciprocal of
a. The letters by which any simple
quantity is expressed may be ranged
at pleasure, and yet retain the same
signification ; tlms a b and b a are the
same quantity, the product of a and b
being the same with that of b by a. The
several tei*ms of which any compound
quantity consists may be disposed in any
order at pleasure, pro\ided they retain
their proper signs. Thus a — 2 a 6 +
a a- b may be written a -f 5 a- b — 2 ab,
or — 2 a 6-f-a-|-5 a' A, for all these repre-
sent the same thing or the quantity which
i-emains, when from the sum of a and 5
a- b, the quantity 2 a b is deducted.
Axioms. 1. If equal qiwntities be add-
ed to equal quantities, the sums will be
equal.
2. If equal quantities be taken fiom
equal quantities, the remainders will be
equal.
3. If equal quantities be multiplied by
the same, or equal quantities, tlie pro-
ducts will be equal.
4. If equal quantities be di^^dedby the
same, or equal quantities, the quotients
will be equal.
5. If the same quantity be added to and
subtracted from anotlier, the value of the
latter will not be altered.
6. If a quantity be both multiplied and
divided by another, its value will not be
altered.
ADDITIOir OF AlGEBttAICAl arAXTI-
TIE8.
The addition of algebraical quantities is
performed by connecting those that are un-
like with tfieir profter signs, and collecting
those that are similar into one sum.
Add together the following unhke
quantities
Ex. 1
ax
— bu
+3 2
-2y
Ex. 2 — fz+M
-j-3: — X
—Ay+Zc
Ans. — a-\-b-\-oc — x—Ay-\-3 z
It is immaterial in what order the quan-
tities ai-e set down, if we take care to
prefix to each its proper sign.
When any terms are similur, they may
be incorpoi'ated, and the general expres-
sion for the sum shortened.
1. When similar quantities have the
same sign, their sum is found by taking
the sum of tlie co-efficients with that
sign, and annexing the common letters.
Ex.3.
4 a— 5 b
2a— 6b
9 a— 3 b
Ans. 15 a — 14 b
Ex.4. 4a' c — 10 bde
6«>c— 9bde
llaV— 5bde
Ans. 21a'c - 22bde
The reason is evident ; 4 a to be add-
ed, together with 2 a and 9 a to be add-
ed, makes 15 a to be added ; and 5 bio
be subtracted, together with 6 b and 3 a
to be subtracted, is 14 b to be subtract-
ed.
2. If similar quantities have different
sigiLs, their sum is found by taking the
difference of tlie co-efficients wiUi the
sign of the greater, and annexing the
common lettere as before.
Ex. 5.
7a-f36
— 5 a— 9 b
Ans. 2 a — 6 b
Ex. 6.
Ans.
6a-f4<&-f- 9c
— 9 a-^S A+16 c
■+-12a— 7^—20 e
9a
+ 5c
Am. gy — bu -\- 3 z — 2y
In the first part of the operation we
have 7 times a to add, and 5 times a to
take away; therefore, upon the whole,
we have 2 a to add. In the latter part,
we have 3 times b to add, and 9 times b
to take away; i. e. we have, upon the
whole, 6 times b to take away : and thus
the sum of all the quantities is 2« — &b.
If several simiKar quantities are to be
added togetlier, some witli positive and
some with negative signs, take tlie differ-
ence between the sum of tlje positive
ALGEBRA.
and the sum of the negative co-efficients,
))refix the sign of tlic greater sum, and
annex the common letters.
Ex.7. 3a» + 46c— e^ + lOx—25
— 5 a« + 6 * c4- 2e' — 15 X -f 44
— 4 a' — 9 A c — 10c' +21 x — 9Q
Ans. — 6«'-i- Ac— 9«»-f-16x— n
Ex.6. From 4 a— 3 »+6 c— 11
take 10 x+ a— 15—2 y
Ans. 3 a — j6-f-6c — 10j4-2y^^4
Ex. 7. From ax^ — A x'-\-x
take p x^ — 7 x'-j-r x
Ans. a —' p .xi — A — q . .r'-f-l — r . X
E\.8. 4 a c— IS bd-^ ex —ax ^" this example the co-efficients aro
lloc-f- 7 6* — 19ex+4a x united; a — p . j-j is equal to b x' — gx';
— 41a' -i- 6 b d — 7 d e — 2 a x — b — y . x* is equal to b x» — q x» ; anil
A. 15ac -4la'—9'd-\-7b'—l8cx—7de^^ i— ,- . x=x — r x.
Ex.9.
/» x3 — 9 x» — r X
ax' — Ax* — X
Ans./>-|-a .X? — y-t-A -r* — *•+ 1- -"^
In this example, the co-efficients of x
»Tid its powers are united ; p-\-a. x^=p
x3-|-ax' ; also — 9-I-A . x*^ — q x' — A
X*, because the negative sign anects the
whole quantity under the vinculum ; and
— ) — 1 . x= — rx — X
SCBTUACnOS'.
SubtractioTt, or the taking away of one
ifuanlity from anotlier, it performed by chang-
ing the sign oftlie quantity to be gnbtiacted,
and l/ten adding it to the other, by t/te rules
laid dvion in the last article.
. Ex. 1. From 2 A x take c y, and the dif-
ference is properly represented by 2 A x
— c y ; because the — prefixed to c y
shews that it is to be subtracted from the
other; and 2 Ax — cy is the sum of 2 A x
and — c y.
Ex. 2. Again, from 2 A x take — cy, and
the difference is 2 A x-f-c y ; because 2 A x
=2 A X -f-c y — cy, take away — c y from
these equal quantities, and the differences
will be equal; 1. e. the difference between
2 A X and — r y is 2 A x-fc y, tlie quantity
which arises from adding Hhcy to 2 A x.
Ex. 3. From a -f A
take a — b
An8.'-t-2A
Bx. 4. From 6 a — 12 A
take — 5 a — 10 A
Ans.
11 «— 2 A
Ex.5
From 5 a*-k-4 a b — 6 x y
take ll«»-V6aA— 4xy
Ans.
VOL. I.
6 a* — 2 « A — 2 X »/
xciTinicATiex.
The multiplication of simple algebrai-
cal quantities must be represented ac-
cording to the notation already pointed
out.
Thus, a X *, or o *. represents the pro-
duct a multiplied by A ; a A c, tlie pro-
duct of the three quantities, a. A, and c.
It is also indifferent in what order they
are placed, a X * and A X a being equal.
To determine the sign of the product,
observe the following rule.
Jfthe multiplier and multiplicand have the
same sign, tlie product is positive ,- if they
have different signs, it is negative.
1. _j_"o X + * = a * ; because in this
case a is to be taken positively A times ;
therefore tlie pro<luct a b must be posi-
tive.
2. — aX+ b= — ab; because — a is
to be taken A times ; that is, we must tak«
— ah.
3. -j. aX — ft = — fl*; ^OJ" * quantity is
said to be multiplied by a negative num-
ber — A, if it be subtracted A times ; and
a subtracted A times 'S — aA.
4. — ax — Ar=-|-aA. Here — a is to
be subtracted b times; that is, — a A is to
be subtracted ; but subtnicting — a A is
the same as adding -f- ai -, therefore we
have to add -|- ab.
The 2'' and 4«'' cases may be thus prov-
ed; a — a=o, multiply both sides oy A,
andfl tog-otlierwith — a X^must be equal
to ' :■ 0, or nothing; therefore, — a mul-
tiplied by A musl p\e—af; a qnanti-y
wbich when added to aA makies the sum
notiiing.
Again, a — ae=o ; multiply both sides
by — A, then — a A togctlier with — a X
— A must be =0; therefore — a X — ^
=-f-aA.
If the quantities to be multinliod hare
co-efficients, these must be multipfic*! to-
O
/
ALGEBRA.
Ex. 7. Mult 1 -. x-^x- — X?
by 1 -f- ^
1 — x-j-x* — X3
-}- X — x^ -^ x3 —■ X*
Ans. 1 ~~* * — »*'
Ex. 8. Mult. x»— />3c + 9
by ar -f g
■4- g X* — « /> x+a 7
gether, as in common arithmetic; the sign
and the hteral product being determined
by the preceding rules.
Thus, 3ax5b= ISab ; because 3 XaX
Sxb=3x5xaXl>=15ab;4x X—Uy
= — 44j-y; — 96x— Sc=-\-45bc ; —
6d \ 4;n:= — 24 m d.
The powers of the same quantity are
multiplied together by ad</irt5' the indices;
thus a*Xa3 =a5 ; for aa \ aaa =r aaaaa.
In the same manner, a»» X an =a"»+« ;
and — 3a» x^xSa a- 1/»= — ISdi x* t/\
_ If the multiplier or multiplicand con-
sist of several terms, each term of the lat-
ter must be multiplied by every term of
the former, and the sum of all the pro-
ducts taken, for the whole product of the
two quantities.
Ex. 1. Mult. a-A-b-^x
by c+d
Ans. ac-\-b c+x c-\-a d-\-b d-^x d To divide oneqvantity by another, is to de-
termine honv often the latter is contained in tlie
Here a + 6 -+- x isto be added to itself former, or -what qiiantity multiptied by the
c+d times, i. e. c tunes and d times. ^«"«'' -mil produce the former.
Ans. x3 — p — gjc^+q — ap.x-\-aq
Here the co-efficients of x* and x are
collected ; — p — a . x* = — p x^ ax*r
and g — a p. x=q x — apx.
DIVISION.
Ex. 2. Mult. a-\- b — x
by c — d
Ans. g c-\-b c — x c—a d — b d-\-x d
Here a-\-b is to be taken c — d times,
that is, c times wanting </ times ; or c times
positively and d times negatively.
Ex. 3. Mult, a+b
by g-j-A
+a h+b^
Ans. g3-|-2 g A-l-6*
Ex.4.Mult.x-fy
by X — y
x^+x y
— xy
Ans. X* *
r
— g'
Ex. 5. Mult. 3 g>— Sbd
by — 5 g»-f Ab d
— 15 a*-^-25 a^ bd
+ 12 a' b d — 20 b^ d'-
Ans. — 15 g4+3r a'bd—20b'' d'
• •• \.
Ex. 6. Mult g»-|-2 a b+b»
by g'— 2 a b+b^
a*+2a3b+a^ b''
— 2g36 — 4<i'6' — 2g^J
+ fl»6'-4-2a*3-f A+
Ans. a*
2a'b'
+A4
Thus, to divide g 6 by g is to determine
how often a must be taken to make up
a h ; that is, what quantity multiplied by o
will give a b ; which we know is b. From
this consideration are derived all the rules
for the division of alg^raical quantities.
If the divisor and dividend be affected
with fiibesigns.thesignofthe quotient is
4- : but if their signs be tiniike, the sign
of the quotient is — .
If — g ^ be divided by — a, the (juo-
tient is + b ; because — g X + ^ gives
— a b ; and a simifer proof may be given
in the other cases.
In the division of simple quantities, if
the co-efficient and literal product of the
divisor be found in the dividend, the other
part of the dividend, with the sign deter-
mined by the last rule, is the quotient.
Thus, " /=c ; because a imultipli-
a b
ed by c gives a b c.
If" we first divide by a, and then by
b. the result will be same ; for • = b
a
c, and — =3C, as before.
a
Hence, any power of a quantity is divi-
ded by any other power of the same quan-
tity, by subtracting the index of the divi-
sor from the index of the dividend.
gS g5 1 g™
Thus, — =g»;- =-=g~ 5;-r-= am-*,
ai g3 ai an
If only a part of the product which
forms the divisor be contained in the (Uvi-
ALGEBRA.
dend, the qaantities contained both in the
divisor and dindend must be expunged.
Thus, 15 a? 6» c divided by — 3 a' b x,
15 fl5 A» c — 5 ab c.
or — -— = —
— 3fl'Ay y
First, divide by — 3 a'^ b, and the quo-
tient is — Sab Cf this quantity is still to
be divided by y, and as y is not contained
in it, the division can only be represented
in the usual way; that is, is the
quotient.
Jf the dividend consist of several terms,
and the divisor be a simple quantity, eve-
ry term of the dividend must be di\ided
by it.
_, a'' T- — 5abx'-\-6aT*
Thus, ; — -i— = «»
5 b x-}-6 xK
a X*
When the divisor also consists of seve-
ral terms, arrange both the divisor and di-
wdend according to the powers of some
one letter contained in them ; then find
how often the first term of the divisor is
contained in the first term of the dividend,
and write down this quanuty for the first
term in the quotient ; multiply the whole
divisor by it, subtract the product from
the dividend, and bring down to the re-
mainder as many other terms of the divi-
dend as the case may require, and repeat
the operation till all the terms are brought
down.
Ex. 1. If a» — 2 a b+b^ be divided by
a — 6, the operation will be as follon'S :
a — bja^ —2a b+b^(a — b
a» — a b
— aA+A»
— a A-f *»
The reason of this, and the foregoing
rule, is, that as the whole dividend is made
up of ail its parts, the divisor is contained
in the whole, as often as it is contained in
all the part-s. In the preceding operation
we inquire, first, how often a is contained
in a% which gives a for the first term of
the quotient, then multiplying the whole
divisor by it, we have o^ — a 6 to be sub-
tracted from the dividend, and the re-
mainder is — a b-\-b^, with which we are
to proceed as before.
The whole quantity a» — 2 a 6-f 6» is in
reality divided into two parts by the pro-
cess, each of which is divided by o — b ,■
therefore the true quotient is obtained.
Ex.2 a-{-6)ac-^ad-{-6c-roa{c-\-d
ac-\-bc
'ad-\-bd
ad+bd
Ex. 3.
1— cr)l Cl-|.r+x'+x3-f&c.-+
1— X
+x
-f-x — x»
Remainder
-t-x»
-i-x» —X?
-J-xJ
.4-x?— X*
-}-x^ &c.
Ex. 4.y— l)y5 — l(y'+H-l
-l-y-i
y-i
Ex.5. _
)xi—px^-^gx'-r( x»-f <
pa-\-gx- — ax*
a — />-r'-f-yx
a — ^-x* — a* — pa^
-\-a' — pa-^.x-
a' — pa-\-g.x-
-^jr-|-a*—
?—pa*+ga
Remainder a — pa^-^ga — r
ox THB TRAXSPORMATIOW OF FaACTIOlW
TO OTHERS OF Eat^AL TAtCK.
If the sigfns of all the terms both in the
numerator and denominator of a fraction
be changed, its value will not be altered.
For
— a
—ab.
a'
If the numerator and denominator of a
fraction be both multipUed, or both divi-
ded, by the same quantity, its value is
not altered. For
ac a JiJ^y ^y
— ^T ; and— 7 — =7—.
be b ab cz Oc
Hence, a fraction is reduced to its low-
est terms, by dividing both the numera-
ALGEBRA.
tor and denominator by the greatest
quantity that measures tliem botL
The greatest common measure of two
gnmntities is fmnd by an-anging them ac-
cording to the po-wers of some letter, and
then dhiding the gieater by the less, and
Hie frreceding divisor ahvays by the last re-
mainder, till the remainder is notldng ; the
fast divisor is the greatest common measure
required.
Let a and b he the two b)a(p
quantities, and let 6 be —
contained in a, p times, with c) b (q
a remainder c ; again, let c —
be contained in 6, 9 times, d)c{r
with a remainer d, and so —
on, till nothing remains ; let 0
d be the last divisor, and it
will be the greatest common
measure of a and 6.
The truth of this rule depends upon
these two principles :
1. If one quantity measure another, it
will also measure any multiple of that
quantity Let x measure y by the units
in n, then it will measure c y by the units
in n c.
2. If a quantity measure two others, it
will measure their sum or difference.
Let a be contained in t, m times, and in
y, n times ; then m a ■= x and n a = y ;
therefore oc±y=zm fl±?i a=m±n .a; i. e.
a is contained in x±y, »i±7i times, or it
measures t±i/ by the units in m±n.
Now it appears from what has been
ssud, that a — pb=c, and b — q c = d ;
every quantity therefore, which measures
a and b, measures/; b, and a — p b, or c ;
hence also it measures q c, and 6 — q c,
or d; that is, every common measure of a
and 6 measures d.
Ex. To find the greatest common mea-
sure of «♦ — x4 anda3 — a^ x — ax* + x3,
and to reduce -r r —. — ! to
a3 — ax*
its lowest terms
a3 — a^ X — ax^-^xi
i0-~a*x — ax*-^x3)a* — x*(a-i-x
a* — a^x — a 'x--\- or?
a'X-\-a^x^ — <w3 — X*
dix — a^x'- — ar3-f-^
2«-.r» — 2x-»
leaving out 2 \-', which is found in each
term of the remainder, the next divispr is
U^X-\~Xi
— a'- x-\-x^
a* — X- is therefore the greatest common
measure of the two quantities, and if they
be respectively divided by it, the ftac-
a^-\-x^
tion is reduced to — — — , its lowest
a — x'
terms.
The quantitj' 2 x-, found in every term
of one of the divisors, 2 a- x^ — 2x*, but
not in every term of the dividend, a3 — a*
X — ax^-^xi, must be left out; other-
wise the quotient will be fractional,
wliich is contrary to the supposition made
in the proof of the rule ; and by omitting
this part, 2ar», no common measure of the
divisor and dividend is left out ; because,
by the supposition, no part of 2 x- is
found in all the terms of the dividend.
To find the greatest common measure
of three quantities, a be; take d the great-
est common measure of a and b, and the
greatest measure of d and c is the great-
est common measure required. In the
same manner, the greatest common meu/-
sure of four or more quantities may be
found.
If one number be divided by another,
and the preceding divisor by the remain-
der, according to what has been said, the
remainder will at length be less than any
quantity that can be assigned.
Fractions are changed to others of equal
value -with a common denominator, by multi-
plying each numerator by every denominator
except its own, for t/ie new numerator ,■ and
all the denominators together for the common
deiwmiimtor.
ace
X.et -r,-^-f be the proposed fractions ;
^, a df c bf e db n ^- x-
then r— ^, -—-^, J—-X, are fractions of
6 df b d/' 6 df
the Same value with the former, having
the common denominator b d f. For
fL^_ ° . ilL—i. and^ — - the
Tdf=b' -bdf-d\''''''bdf-r^^^
numerator and denominator of each frac-
tion having been multiplied by the same
quantity, viz. the product of Uie denomi-
nators of all the other fractions.
When the denominators of the propo-
sed fractions are not prime to each other,
find their greatest common measure ;
multiply both the nujnerator and deno-
ALGEBRA.
ntinator of each fraction by the denomi-
oators of all the rest, divided respec-
tively by theirgreatest common measure ;
and the fractions will be reduced to a
common denominator, in lower terms than
they would have been by proceeding ac-
cording to the former rule.
Thus, — , — , , reduced to a com-
m X m y m z
, a vz b X X
mon denoiomator, are ; ;
mxt/z m xy z
cxy
m X y z '
OK THE ADOmOK AKD STTBTBACTIOIT OE
FBACTIOVS.
If the fractions to be added have a com-
mon denominator, their sum is fmind by adtl-
ing^ the numerators together, and retaining the
common denominator. Thus,
If the fractions have not a common de-
nominator, they must be transformed to
others of the same value, which have a
common denominator, and then the addi-
tion may take place as before. .
„ e. o- , c ad b c a d-\-b c
Bx. 2. — I — = 1 ^ ■ .
b^d bd^bd bd
E..2.f
c ad be ad— be
'd~Td bd~ bd '
Ex.3.— — -f
u-f-o
a — b-\-{i-^b
_1 a — bu + b
— b~a^—b'^u'—b^
2a
a*"
Here
a IS considered as a fraction whose deno-
minator is unity.
If two fractions luix>e a common denomi-
nator, their difference is found by taking the
difference of the numerators, and retaitiing
the common denominator. Thus,
If they have not a common dcnomina*
tor, they must be transformed to others
of the same value which have a common
denominator, and then the subtraction
mayj^e place as ab«ve.
Ex. 3.fl_ll'=e:^-li'=^
£ . a c-j-rf ac — ad
b c — d b c — b d
a c — a d — h c — b d
bc-\-bd
b c—bd
bc—bd
The sign of b d is negative, because
every part of the latter miction is to be
taken from the former.
ON THE Mt'LTIPLICATIOir ABD BIVISIOH
OF FBACTIOSS.
To multiply a fraction by any quantity,
multiply the mtmerator by tluU quantity, and
retain tlie denominator.
Thu8,^Xc
^. For if the quantity
o b
to be divided be c times as great as be-
fore, and the divisor the same, the quo-
tient must be c times as great.
The product of ttoo factions is found by
multiplying the numerators together for a new
maiierator, and the denominators for a tievi
detiominator.
Let — and —be the two fractions ; then
o d
o c ac .^ a , c
multiplying the equal quantities-— and jt,
by b, a=bx; in the same manner, c '-•'/yi
therefore a e = b d x y, divifling tlicse
equal quantities, a c and b dx y,bj b d,
, a c a c
wehave^=«ry=-X-;7.
To divide a fraction by any quantityt
multiply llie denominator by t/tot quantity, and
retain tfie numerator.
The fraction r- divided by c, is^— . Be-
* be
cause -T-e=T — . and a ctf* part of this is -r— 5
b b c be
the quantity to be divided, being a cth part
of w-hat it was before, and the divisor the
Same.
Tiic i-esult is the same, whethert 'ede-
nomin:itor is multiplied by the quantity,
or the numerator divided by it.
l^t tb^ fraction be ~ ; if ^e denomi-
ALGEBRA.
tutor be multiplied bv c, it becomes ° '^ ■
ode
or — ; the quantity which arises from the
division of the numerator by c.
To divide one frac'.ion by another, invert
the numerator and dejiondnator of the divi'
tor, andpi-oceed as in mtdtiplication.
Let -r^i^^ -J be the two fractions, then
a ^ c jo d a d
b ' d ^ c Ac
. , a . c , . ,
For it r = *> *no - = y, then a=x: o x,
b d
and c = dy\ also, a d = b d x, and b c=
, . ad h d X X a c
hdy, therefore 7—= r-y = - r -^Z-
^ 0 c 0 dy y 0 d
The rule for multiplying the powers of
the same quantity will hold, when one or
both of the indices are negative.
Thus, nm X a—n = a»n— " ; for a»»» X "~"
1 am .
:=a»»»x — = — =: am—n-, lU the same
an at
r *5 1
manner, x3 x x~* =^—,— — = *~^'
Again, a—"* X i"" = ar~'"^ ; b( cause
a— m X fl—n = — X — = — T- =a-'"+"
am an cm+n
If m=n, um X o— ♦" =n»n— m =00. also,
am X a— »n = — = 1 ; therefore a»= 1 ;
um
according to the notation adopted.
The rule for dividing any power of a
quantity by any other power of the same
quantity holds, whether those powers are
positive or negative.
Thus, aw-T-a— »=a»»»-! =iafn v am
an
—iin&n
• a-m^a-n L-uJ__°^
° ' ' am ' an am
Hence itappears, that a quantity may be
transferred from the numerator of a frac-
tion to the denominator, and the contrary,
by changing the sign of its index. Thus,
am X an am om am y^ a—n
7 ^7 ; and — ; — :^ — — T
op op u—n an dp op
OH IITTOLUTIOir ASD ETOLCTIOK.
IxvoiTTTioiT. If a quantity be conti-
nually multipUed by itself, it is said to be
involved or raised; and the power to
which it is raised is expressed by the
number of times the quantity has been
employed in the multiplication.
Thus, axa, or a>, is called th« second
poweroffl;ax«Xo,orn3, the third pow-
er, aXtt-.(n), or rt", the n'h power.
If the quantity to be involved be nega-
tive, the signs of the even powers will be
positive, and the signs of the odd power
negative.
For — ax — a = a^ ; — ax — oX
— a — a% &c.
A simple quantity is raised to any pow-
er, by multiplying the index of every fac-
tor in the quantity by the exponent of the
power, and prefixing the proper sign de-
termined by the last article.
Thus, t.m raised to the w* power is a"*".
Because ■ "» > am x «"» ....to n factors, by
the rule of multiplication, is umn ; also,
ii~^n=a bx'i by a Ax&c to n factors, or
a y II -f- a... .to n factors xb X b y b....to
n factors =iinxbn ; and a- bi e reused to
the fifth power is rt'° A'5 c5. Also, — an
raised to the n^^ p^wer is jz^imn-^ where
the positive or negative sign is to be pre-
fixed, according as n is an even or odd
number.
If the quantity to be involved be a frac-
tion, both the numerator and denomina-
tor must be raised to the proposed power.
If the quantity proposedbe a compound
one, the involution may either be repre-
sented by the proper index, or it may ac-
tually take place.
Let a-\-b be the quantity to be raised
to any power.
a-f6
a2-H»*
•fflA-J-62
aX^l* or a2 _|- 2 a b-\-bi the sq. or 2* power
a -\-b
a3-j-2 fl2A-|-aA«
4. n2b-\.2ab2-\-bi
a-f A'5 or flS-f-S a2 A -}-3 a bi-\-bi the 3* pr.
a-\-b
04-f 3 a3 (!>-f 3a2 b^
-i- a3 ^3 a* A2-f-5
,lbi
a b^'+bi
^4^4ora-*+4a3 6+6 a^b^^ a b^^b*
the fourth power.
If b be negative, or the quantity to be
involved be a — b, wherever an odd pow-
er of b enters, the sig^ of the term must
be negative.
Hence, a—&*=a* — 4 a? 6 + 6 a» 6«
— 4a63-j-K
EvotmoN, or the extraction of roots,
is the method of determining a quantity,
which, raised to a proposed power, will
produce a given quantity.
ALGEBRA.
since the n'"" power of a»» is a»»»«, the
n*"* root of a""* must be a"* ; i. e. to ex-
tract any root of a sing'le quantity, we
must divide the index of that quantity by
the index of the root required.
When the index of the quantity is not
•xactly divisible by the number which ex-
presses the root to be extracted, that root
must be represented according to the no-
tation aheady pointed out.
Thus the square, cube, fourth, n'^ root
of a* -f-x», are respectively represented by
JL 1
(a* -f- x*)n ; the same roots of ——. — ,t __
(a»-4-x*)— 1 ^erepresentedby(o'-|-x*)- J
(a»+x>)~'3, (a*-\-x^)~h (a»+x»rn.
If the root to be extracted be express-
ed by an odd number, the sign of the root
will be the same with the sign of the pro-
posed quantity.
If the root to be extracted be expressed
by an even number, and the quantity pro-
posed be positive, the root may be either
positive or negative. Because either a
positive or negative quantity, raised to
such a power, is positive.
If the root proposed to be extracted be
expressed by an even number, and the
sign of the proposed quantity be negative,
the root cannot be extracted ; because no
quantity, raised to an even power, can
produce a negative result. Such roots are
willed impossible.
Any root of a product may be found by
taking that root of each factor, and mul-
tiplying the roots, so taken, together.
X i i
Thus, (a6)« = a»»x6"; because each
of these quantities, raised to tlie n'"* pow-
er, 'aab.
In a=o, then anxci- = an; and in the
r « r+a
n n n
same manner aXa =a .
Any root of a fraction may be found by
taking that root both of the numerator and
denominator. Thus, the cube root of-r^ is
o^-f 2 a A-f 6» (o-f^
3
a1
n
orafx&~f ; and {r
1
1
b n
2a4-fA»
Siiice the square root of a'+2 a 6-^-$•
is o+A, whatever be tlie values of a and
b, we may obtain a general rule for the
extraction of the square root, by observ-
ing in what manner a and b may be deriv-
ed from a' -f 2 a 6-fA^
Having arranged the terms according,
to the dimensions of one letter, a, the
square root of the first term a- is a, the
first factor in the root ; subtract its square
from the whole quantity, and bring down
the remainder 2 a b-\^- ; divide 2 o 6 by
2 a, and the residt is b, the other factor in
the root ; then multiply the sum of twice
the first factor and the secoHd (2a-^),
by the second {b), and subtract this pro-
duct (2 a b-^b^) from the remrunder.
If there be no more terms, consider o-J-^
as a new value of a ; and the square, that is
a^+2ab+6', having, by the first part
of the process, been subtracted from the
proposed quantity, divide the remainder
by tlie double of this new value of a, for
a new factor in the root; and for a new
subtrahend, multiply this factor by twice
the sum of the former factors increased
by this factor. The process must be re-
peated till the root, or the necessary ap-
proximation to the root, is obtained.
Ex. 1. To extract the square root of
a»-f2 a A-fA'+2 a c+2 b c-^-cK
a^+2 a 6.+.A»-f 2 a c+2 b c-f c> (o+A-fr
2 a-f-A)2 a b+b^
2ab-\.l^
2 a -f 2 A-f. c)»
2 a c-f 2 A c-f-c-
3ac-|-2 b c-4-c«
Ex. 2. To extract the square root of a«—
"'— +t('-t
--)
To ertract the square root of a conipouni
^antitt/.
Ex. 3. To Ertract the square root «f 1
+x
ALGEBRA.
1
2+
^)
8 )
r
X?
X*
"64
X3
8"'
X*
It appears from the second example,
x2
that a trinomial a* — o x-\- -—-, in which
4
four times the product of the first and
last terms is equal to- the square of tlie
middle term, and a complete square, or
x2
«' X — X4=a2 x2.
4
The method of extracting the cube
W)ot is discovered in the same manner.
a^-3 «2 ^3 a ^2+^3 {a-\-b
3a«)
3fl2 i4-3aA2-|-63
3a2(!4-3ai2-|-63
Thecube root of a34-3 a^ A+3 a 42+63
is a-|-A ; and to obtain a-\-b from this
compound quantity, arrange the teiTns as
before, and the cube root of the first term,
a3, is a, the first factor in the root ; sub-
tract its cube from the whole quantity, and
divide the first term of the remainder by3
a2, the result is b, the second factor in the
root; then subtract 3 a^ 6+3 a 62+63
from the remainder, and the whole cube
of a-^ has been subtracted. If any
quantity be left, proceed witli a+6 as a
new a, and divide the last remainder by
3 .a + 6]^ for a tliird factor in the root ;
and th»is any number of factors may be
obtained.
Oir SIKPLE EdUATIOKS.
If one quantity be equal to another, or
to notl)ing,aDd this equality be expressed
algebraically, it constitutes an equation.
Thus, X — a =6 — x is an equation, of
which X — a forms one side, and 6 — x
the other. ,
When an equation is cleared of frac-
tions and surds, if it contain the first power
only of an unknown quantity, it is call-
ed a simple eqtiationt or an equation of one
dimension : if the aqjtare of the unknown
quantity be in any term, it is calJed a
quadratic, or an equation of two dimen-
sions ; and in general, if the index of the
highest power of the unknown quantity
be n, it is called an equation of n dimen'
sions.
In any equation quantities may be trans-
posed from one side to the other, if their
si^ns be changed, and the txoo sides will stiU
be equal.
Let x+10^15, then by subtracting 10
from each side, >:+ 10 — 10 = 15 — 10
oTx =.15 — 10.
Let x — 4=6, by adding 4 to each side,
X — 4 + 4=6 + 4, or x=6+4.
If X — a+ b=y; adding a — 6 to each
side, X — a-\- b •\- a — b = y •\- a — 6;
or X := t^ + a — 6.
Hence, if the signs of all the tenns on
each side be changed, the two sides ^v•ill
still be equal.
Let X — a=6 — 2 X ; by transposition,
— 6+2 x= — x+ a; or a — a:=2 x — 6.
If every term, on each side, be multiplied
by the same quantity, the results -jdllbe equal.
An equation may be cleared of frac-
tions, by multiplying every term, succes-
sively, by the denominators of tliose frac-
tions, excepting tliose terms in which the
denominators are found.
5 X
Let 3 X -| — — =: 34 ; multiplying by 4,
12 x+ 5 x= 136, or 17 x=136.
If each side of an equation be divided by
the same quantity, the results ivill be equal.
Let 17 X =: 136; then x =— — ■= 8.
If each side of an equation be raised to t/te
same power, the resuUs leill be equal.
Let x^=9 ; then x=9 X 9 = 81.
Also, if the same root be extracted on
both sides, the results will be equal.
J,
Let X = 81 ; then x'' = 9.
To find tlie value of an unknown quantity
in a simple equation.
Let the equation first be cleared of frac-
tions, then transpose all the terms which
involve the unknown quantity to one side
of the equation, and the knowni quantities
to the other ; divide both sides by the co-
efficient, or sum of the co-efficients, of
ALG£BUA.
the unknown quantity, and the value re-
quired is obtained.
Ex. 1. To find the value of x in the
equation 3x — 5=23 — x.
by transp. 3jr+x =2.3+5
or 4r=28
28
by division J=-— =7.
4
Ex.2.LetJ+--
^=4x— ir.
2x
Mult, by 2, and 2 X + x— — - =8x— 34
AIidL by 3, and 6 x-f 3.i>-2.t=24a:— 102
by transp. 6 j -f 3 x— 2 x— 24 x= —102
or — l"x = — 102
I7x=102
^_102___g
*"" 17 ~
Ex. 4. 5 -i—=
Kx. 5. x-f.
3x — 5
^12-
2x — 4
8
2x-|-3x— 5=24—
6x+9x— 15=72— 4»-f8
6 x+9 x-j.4 x=72 +84-15
19 x=95
-=r9=^-
If there be two independent simple
equations involving two unknown quanti-
ties they may be reduced to onr which
involves only one of the unknown quan-
tities, by any of the following metliods :
1st Method. In either equation find
the value of one of tlie unknown quanti-
ties in terms of the other and known
quantities, and for it substitute this value
in the other equation, which will then
only contain one unknown quai'fi' v\(hn«;<-
VOL 1
value may be found by the rules before
laid down.
«-' {'S2^:is\ TO
find X and y
From the first equat. x=10—u; hence,
2x=20— 2y,
by subst. 20 — 2 y — 3y=5
20— 5=2i/+3y
15=5 V
15 „
y=j=3
hence also, xk=10 — y=10 — 3=7.
2d Method Find an expression for one
of the unknown quantities in each . qua-
tion ; put these expressions equal to each
other, and from the resulting equation the
otlier unknown quantity may be found.
Let
?xt/:7/=de|Tofindx.ndy.
From the first equat. x=a — y
from the second, b x=.de — c y, and x
de—cy
~ I
therefore a — y= ^ IL
b
b a — by^de — cy
c y — b y=de — b a
c — b.y=.de—b a
de — b n
Also, x=a — y ; that is,
de — ba ca — ba — d e -\- b a
c—b
c a — de
c—b
3d Method. If either of the unknown
quantities have the same co-efficient in
both equations, it may be exterminated by
subtracting, or adding, the equations, ac-
cording as the sign ofthe unknown quan-
tity, in tlie two cases, is the same or dif-
fei-ent.
Let ^^+j'^^^^Tofindxandy.
Bv subtraction, 2 ^-=8, and y=™4
By addition, 2 x— 22, and x=ll.
If the co-efficients of the unknown
quantity to be exterminated be different,
multiply the terms of the first equa-
tion by the co-efficient of the unknown
auantity in the second, and the terms of
le second equation by the co-efficient of
the same unknown quantity in tJie first;
then add, or subtract, tlie resulting equa-
tions, as in the fonner case
P
ALGEBRA,
Pv 1 Tpt p*— %=13>To find X
Ex.1. Let ^2x+r//-8l5 andy.
Multiply the terms of" the first equation by
2, and the terms of the other by 3,
then 6 ar— 10 «^=26
6x+21i^=243
By subtraction, — 31 y = — 217
A 217 _
andy=-gj-=7;^
also, 3 X — 5 y= 13, or 3 x — 35 = 13,
therefore 3 x = 13 +35 = 48
and X
|=,e
Fx 2 TPt S'^x^by^cl To find x
From the first, jrjax-fjnAy = »nc
from the other, max — nay = a d
by subtraction, mb y + na y=m c — a d,
m t — u d
thereiore, y = — r •
mo~f-na
Again, n a x+7i 6 y=n c
m b X — n b y=b d
by addition, na-\-mb.x^=nc-\-b d,
therefore x = ; j— .
na-f-mo
If there be three independent simple
equations, and three unknown quantities,
reduce two of the equations to one, con-
taining only two of the unknown quanti-
ties, by tlie preceding rules; then reduce
the third equation and either of the form-
er to one, containing the same two un-
known quantities ; and from the two
equations thus obtained, the unknown
quantities which they involve may be
found. The third quantity may be found
by substituting their values in any of the
proposed equations.
C2 x+5 1/4-4 z=16^ To find x,
Ex. Let. < 3 x-{-2 y — 5 z = 8 V y, and
(^5x-—6y-\-oz'=& J X.
From the 21st equa. 6 x+n y-\- 12 z=48
6x + 4j' — 10z=16
by subtr. 5 j/ — 22 z=32
from the l«'and3'<J 10x+ 15 !/-|-20z=80
lOx — 12y-f-6z=12
by subtr. 27 y + 14 z=68
and 5 «/ -i- 22 s=32
hence 135 «/-+- 70 z= 340
andl35y + 594z=864
by subtr. 524 z =524
z = l
5 y + 22 z = 32
that is, 5 y -I- 22 =32
5y = 32 — 22 = 10
2a.-4-3y-|-4z = 16
that is, 2 0:4-6-4-4= 16
2x = 16 — 6 — 4 =6
The same method may be applied to
any number of simple equations.
That the unknown quantities may have
definite values, there must be as many
independent equations as unknown quan-
tities.
Thus, ifx-t-y = a, x = rt — y, and
assuming y at pleasure, we obtjun a value
of X, such that x-\- y = a.
These equations must also be inde-
pendent, that is, not deducible one irom
another.
Let X -f- y = a, and 2x + 2y = 2 a;
this latter equation being deducible from
the former, it involves no different sup-
position, nor requires any thing more for
its truth, than tliat x-\-y = a sliould be a
just equation.
FROBI.EMS WHICH PROOtJCJE SIMPLE
EaUATIOSS.
From certain quantities which are
known, to investigate others which have
a given relation to them, is the business
of Algebra.
When a question is proposed to be re-
solved, we must first consider fully its
meaning and conditions. Then substi-
tuting for such unknown quantities as ap-
pear most convenient, we must proceed
as if they were already determined, and
we wished to try whetherthey would an-
swer all the proposed conditions or not,
till as many independent equations arise
as we have assumed unknown quantities,
which will always be the case, if the ques-
tion be properly limited ; and by the so-
lution of these equations, the quantities
sought will be determined.
Prob. 1. To divide a fine of 15 inches
into two such parts, that one may be three-
fourths of the other.
Let 4x = one part,
then 3 X = the other.
7 X = 15, by the question,
15
>. 60 „4
4 a: = — = 8-- one part,
3 x = -=—= 6^ the other,
7 7,
Prob. 2. If ^ can perform a piece of
work in 8 days, and B in 10 daj s, in what
time will they finish it together ?
ALGEBRA.
Let X be the time required
In one day, A performs -^
work ; therefore, in x days, he performs
3- parts of it; and in tlie same time, B
8
performs — parts of it ; and calling' the
work 1,
The signs -|- and — are both prefixed
to the root, because tlie square root of a
part of tlie quantity may be either positive or nega-
tive. The sign of t may also be nega-
tive ; but still X will be either equal to
-)- 3 or — 3,
8^10
:1.
10-r-|-8x=80
18x=80
^i8=S-8 = V^y''-
Prob. 3. Jl and B play at bowls, and A
bets B three shillings to two upon every
game; after a certain number of games,
it appears that Ji has won tlirce sliillings ;
but had he ventured to bet five shillingfs
to two, and lost one game more out of
the same number, he would have lost
thirty shillings: how many games did
they play ?
- . C be the number of games
^""^^ ^won,
y the number B won,
then 2 J is what .7 won of B,
and 3 y what B won oi A.
2 X — 3 ^=3, by the ques-
tion;
^ J 2 ^-^ would win on
'— \ tlie 2'' supposition
y + 1 • 5, B would wm,
5y-+-5 — 2.r + 2=30, by
the question ;
or 5 y — 2 x=30— 5— 2=23,
therefore, 5y — 2 x=23
and 2 x — 3 y=3
by addition, S y — 3 y=26
2y = 26
y = 13
2a=3-|-3y=3-f39 = 42
x=21
X -j- y := 34, tlie number of
games.
OI» qCADlUTIC EQ.CATIO?(S.
When the terms of an equation involve
the square of an unknown quantity, but
the first power does not appear, the value
of tlie square is obtained by the preced-
ing rules ; and by extracting the square
root on botli sides, the quantity itself is
found.
Ex. 1. Let 5 x» — 45=0 ; to find x.
By traus. 5 a:» == 45
x» = 9
therefore, ar= ^§==±5
Ex. 2. Let a x»=A cd; to find
^ bed
^r=±J[-^)
If both the first and second powers of
the unknown quantity be found in an
equation : Arrange the terms according
to the dimensions of the unknown quanti-
ty, beginning with the highest, and trans-
pose the known quantities to the other
side ; then, if the square of the unknown
quantity be affected with a co-efficient,
divide all the terms by this co-efficient,
and if its sign be negative, change the
signs of all the terms, that the equation
may be reduced to this form, x- ±p x=
± n. Then add to both sides the s<iuare
of half the co-effiqient of the first power
of the unknown quantity, by which means
the first .side of the equation is made a
complete square, and the other consists
of known quantities; and by extracting
the square root on botli sides, a simple
equation is obtained, from which the value
of the unknown quantity may be found.
Ex. 1. Let X' -}- /; X =y; now, we
know that x» -f- /i x -(-^ is the square
4
ofx -|-^ , add therefore,-^ to both sides,
2 4
fA pi
and we have x^ -\- p x -\- '— =z q + *— ;
4 4
then by extracting the square root on
both sides.
v-J-
trans.
In the same manner, if x» — )> 1=9, x
is found to be ^±^ (''*"4 j'
Ex. 2. Let Af« — 12 X 4- 35=0 ; to find x.
By transposition, x» — 12 x = — 35, and
adding the square of 6 to both sides of
tlie equation,
a:a _ 12 X -I- 36 = 36 — 35 = 1 ;
then extracting the square root on both
sides.
ALGEBRA.
cc — 6 = ± 1
X = 6 ±1 =7 otS ; either of which,
substituted for -t- iti the orignual eciuation,
answers the condition, that is, makes the
whole equal to nothing.
Ex. 3. Let a- + v/ (5 X 4- 10) = 8; to
find a:.
By transposition, ^^ (5 a- + 10) = 8 — a-
squai-. botli sides S jc -+- 10 = 64 — 16,r
x2 — 21 a: = 10 — 64 = —54
complete
tlie sq^ ^'^
441-216 _ „, , 441 225
= 4 ovx^-21x + —= —
21 . 15
Ex. 6 Let. y^-{-ri/3 -pX = 0.
441 441
.21.+ -=--
54
extracting the sq. root, x — = ± -^
21 ±15 „ ^^
ar = ^ — = 3 or 18.
By this ^process two values of x are
found, but on trial it appears, that 18 does
not answer the condition of the equation,
if we suppose that v/ (5 j: -+- 10) repre-
sents the positive square root of 5 x 4-
10. The reason is, that 5 x -J- 10 is the
square of — y/ (5 x -|- 10) as weU as of
+ v^ (5 X + 10); thus by squaring
both sides of the equation ^ (5 x -f- 10)
= 8 — X, a new condition is introduced,
and a new value of the unknown quanti-
ty corresponding to it, which hatl no
place before. Here, 18 is the value which
corresponds to the supposition that x —
^ (5 X + 10) ^ 8.
Every equation, where the unknown
quantity is found in two terms, and its in-
dex in one is twice as great as in the other,
may be resolved in the same manner.
Ex. 4. Let z+4 z^=21
z+4 2^-1-4=21 -f 4 = 25
z^-H2=±5
^=±5 -2 = 3, or — 7
z
therefore z=9, or 49.
Ex. S. Let t/* — 6y^ — 27=0.
y* — 6tf'=27
y* — 61^^+9=27 -f 9 = 36
y' — 3y=±6
y^ — 3 ±6=9, or — 3
y=±3,or±x/ — 3.
if+r yi = .
at
27
y
/+'•!/'+ -5 — 4-27
^^=-2±V\4 2^j-
when there are more equations and
unknown quantities than one, a single
equation, involving only one of the un-
known quantities, may sometimes be ob-
tained by the rules laid down for the so-
lution of simple equations ; and one of
the unknown quantities being discovered,
the others may be obtained by substituting
its value in the preceding equations.
^ To find X and I/.
1/2 =65
I X y=28 ^
Ex.7. Let
From the second equation, 2 x y=56
& addingthis to the 1st, x^-\-2:vy+y^=l2l
sub. it from the same, x3 — 2.»«/-f-j/3 =9
by extracting the sq. roots, x-f-y= ± 11
and X — y=i ±3
therefore, 2 x= ± 14
x=7, or — 7
and t(=i4, or— 4
FROBXKMS PROBTJCIirG CUDDBATIC
EauATroirs.
Prob. 1. To divide a line of 20 inches
into two such parts, that the rectangle
under the whole and one part may be
equal to the square of the other.
Let X be the greater part, then will 20
— X be the less.
and j2 = (20 — x) . 20 = 400 — 20 x by
the question.
x2 +20 x=400
x2 -f20.r+100=400-4-100=500
x4-10=±v/500
x==-+-v/500 — 10, or — v/loo"— 10.
Prob. 2. To find two numbers, whose
sum, product, and the sum of whose
squares, are equal to each other.
Let x-+-y and x — ybe the numbers ;
their sum is 2 x
their product 12 — y2
the sum of their sqs. 2 x^=2 y^
and by the question 2 x=:2 x' +2 y*
or x=x' -f- y»
also, 2 x=s.r^ — y2
therefore, 3x=:2x3
ALGEBRA.
9
or 3=-— y'
9 „ 9—12 —3
a:+y=
X— y=
3 + v/-3
2
3— x/— 3
Since the square of every quantity is
positive, R negative quantity lias no square
root ; the conclusion therefore shews that
there are no surfi numbers as the ques-
tion supposes. See Bisomial Tueo-
HBM ; EaUATIONS, nOturC of,- SCBIGS,
Surds, &c. &c.
Alrkhra, application of to geometry. —
The first and principal applications of al-
gebra were to arithmeticsJ questions and
computations, as being the first and most
useful science in all tlie concerns of hu-
man life. Afterwaixls algebra was applied
to geometry, and all the other sciences
in their turn. The application of algebra
togeometrj is of two kinds; that which
regards the plane or common geometr)',
and that which respects the higher geo-
metry, or the nature of curve lines.
The first of these, or the application of
algebra to common geometry, is concern-
ed in the algebraical solution of geome-
tricid problems, and finding out theorems
in geometrical figures, by means of alge-
braical investigations or demonstrations.
This kind of application has been made
from the time of the most early writers on
algebra, as Diophantus, Cardan, &c. &.c.
down to the present times. Some of the
best precepts and exercises of this kind
of apphcation are to be met with in Sir I.
Newton's •' Universal Arithmetic," and in
Thomas Simpson's " Algebra and Select
E.xercises." Geometrical problems are
commonly resolved more directly and ea-
sily by algebra, than by the geometrical
analysis, especially by young beginners ;
but then the synthesis, or construction
and demonstration, is most elegant as de-
duced from the latter metho(l. Now it
commonly happens, that the algebraical
solution succeeds best in such problems
as respect the sides and other lines in ge-
ometrical figures ; and, on the contrtu^-,
those problems in which angles are con-
cerned are best effected by the geometri-
cal analysis. Sir Isaac Newton gives
these, among many otherremarks on this
branch. Having any problem proposed,
compare together the quantities concern-
ed in it; and making no diflerence be-
tween the known and unknown quantities,
consider how they depend, or are related
to, one anotlier; that we may perceive
what quantities, if they are assumed, will,
by ])roceeding synthetically, give the rest,
and that in the simplest manner. And in
this comparison, the geometrical figure is
to be feigned and constructed at random,
as if all the parts were actually known or
given, and any other linesdrawn, tliat may
appear to conduce to the easier and sim-
pler solution of the problem. Having
considered the metliod of computation,
and drawn out tlie scheme, names are
then to be given to the quantities enter-
ing into the computation, that is, to some
few of them, both known and unkno«-n,
from which the rest may most naturally
and simply be derived or expressed, by
means of tlie geometrical properties of
figures, till an equation be obtained, by
which the value of the unknown quantity
may be derived by the or<linary methods
of reduction of equations, when only one
unknown quantity is in the notation ; or
till as many equations are obtained as
there are unknown letters in the notation.
Fore.xample • suppose it were required
to inscribe a square in a given triangle.
Let ABC, (Plate Miscellanies, fig. 1.) be
the given triangle : and feign DEFG to be
the required square : also draw the per-
pendicular BP of the triangle, wluch will
be given, as well as all tne sides of it.
Then, considering that the trianglesBAC,
BEF are similar, it will be proper to make
the notation as follows, viz. making the
base AC=6, the perpendicular BP:-=/i,
and the side of the sfjuare HE or EF=jf,
Hence then BQ=BP — ED=/»— Jf .
consequently ,by the proportionalityof the
parts of those two similar triangles, viz.
BP : AC ::BQ : EF, itis/»:A ■.:p—x: x ,-
then, multiply extremes and means, &c.
there arises px=bp — b x, or bx^px
=^b p, andx^ r^— ,t.he ade of the square
sought ; tliat is, a fourth proportional to
the base and perpendicular, and the sum
of the two, taking tliis sum for the first
term, or AC-j-BP : BP :: AC : EF.
The other branch of the application of
algfebra to geometry was iiitnuluced by
Descartes, in his Geometrv', which is the
new, or highcr,gcomctry, and respects the
nature and properties of curve lines. In
this branch, the nature of the curve isex-
pressed or denoted by an algebraic equa-
tion, which is thus derived : A line is
ALG
ALG
conceived to be drawn, as the diameter
or some other principal line about the
curve ; and upon any indefinite points of
this line other lines are erected perpendi-
cularly, which are called ordinates, whilst
the parts of the first line cut oft' by them
are called abscisses. Then, calling- any
absciss x, and its con-esponding- ordinate
y, by means of the known nature, or rela-
tions, of the other lines in the curve, an
equation is derived, involving x and y,
with other given quantities in it. Hence,
as X and y are common to every point in
the primarj' line, that equation,so derived
will belong to every position or value of
the absciss and ordinate, and so is proper-
ly considered as expressing the nature of
the curve in all points of it; and is com-
monly called the equation of the curve.
In this way it is found, that any curve
line has a peculiar form of equation be-
longing to it, and which is different from
that of every other curve, eitherastothe
number of the terms, the powers of the
unknown letters x and i/, or the signs or
co-efficients of the terms of the equation.
Thus, if the curve hne HK, (fig. 2.) be a
circle, of which HI is part of the diame-
ter, and IK a perpendicular ordinate ;
then put Hl=x, lK=i?/, and />= the
diameter of the circle, the equation of the
circle will be /» X — x2=i/2. But if HK
be an ellipse, an hyperbola, or parabola,
the equation of the curve will be differ-
ent, and for all the four curves will be
respectively as follows : viz.
For the circle . . . px — xi=y^.
For the elhpse. . . p x — —x%=y'2.
For the hyperbola /» x-f. 2.^2 =^8,
For the parabola . . px . . =y2 j
where t is the transverse axis, and p its
parameter. And in Uke manner for other
curres.
This way of expressing the nature of
curve hnes, by algebraic equations, has
given occasion to the greatest improve-
ment and extension of the geometry of
curve lines ; for thus all the properties
of algebraic equations, and their roots,
are transferred and added to the curve
lines, whose abscisses and ordinates have
similar properties. Indeed the benefit of
this sort of application is mutual and re-
ciprocal, the known properties of equa-
tions being transferred to the curves they
represent; and, on the contrary, the
known properties of cunes transferred
to their representative equations.
Besides the use and application of the
higher geometry, namely of curve lines,
to detecting the nature and roots of equa-
tions, and to the finding the values of
those roots by the geometrical construc-
tion of curve lines, even common geome-
trjmade be made subservient to the pur-
poses of algebra. Thus, to take a very
plain and simple instance, if it were re-
quired to square the binomial a-\- b
(fig. 3.) by forming a square, as in the
figure, whose side is equal to a-\-b, or
the two fines or parts added together de-
noted by the letters a and b : and then
drawing two lines parallel to the sides,
from tlie points where the two parts join,
it will be immediately evident that the
whole square of tlie compound quantity
0+62 is equal to the squares of both the
parts, together with two rectangles under
the two parts, or «2 and 62 and 2 a b,
that is, the square of a-\-b is equal to
a2-|-62_{_2 a ^, as derived from a geo-
metrical figure or construction. And in
this very manner it was, that the Arabi-
ans, and the early European writers on
algebra, derived and demonstrated the
common rule for resolving compound
quadratic equations. And thus also, in
a similar way, it was, that Tartalea and
Cardan derived and demonstrated all the
rules for the resolution of cubic equa-
tions, using cubes and parallelopipedons
instead of squares and rectangles. Many
other instances might be given of tlie use
and application of geometry in algebra.
ALGOL, the name of a fixed star of
the third magnitude in the constellation
Perseus, otherwise called Medusa's Head.
This star has been subject to singular va-
liations, appearing at different times of
different magnitudes, from the fourth to
the second, which is its usual appear-
ance. These variations have been noticed
with great accuracy, and tlie period of
their return is determined to be 2^ 20^
48' 56". The cause of this variation, Mr.
Goodricke, who has attended closely to
the subject, conjectures, may be either
owing to the interposition of a large body
revolving round Algol, or to some motion
of its own, in consequence of which, part
of its body, covered with spots or some
such like matter, is periodically turned
towards the earth.
ALGORITHM, an Arabic term, not
unfrequently used to denote the practical
rules of algebra, and sometimes for the
practice of common arithmetic ; in which
last sense it coincides with logistica nitme-
ALI
ALK
rtiiw, or tlie art of numbering ti-uly and
readily .
ALIEN, in law, a person born in a
strange coimtr}-, not within the king's al-
legiance, in contradistinction from a deni-
zen or natural subject.
An alien is incapable of inheriting
lands in England, till naturalized by an
act of parliament. No alien is entitled to
vote in the choice of members of parlia-
ment, has a right to enjoy offices, or can
be returned on any jurj', unless where an
alien is party in a cause ; and then the in-
quest of jurors shall be one half denizens
and the other aliens.
Every alien neglecting the king's pro-
clamation, directing him to depart from
the realm within a limited time, shall, on
conviction, for the first offence, be impri-
soned for any time not exceeding one
month, and not exceeding twelve months
for the second ; at the expiration of which,
he shall depart within a time to be limit-
ed : and if such alien be found therein
after such time so limited, he or she shall
he tninsported for life.
ALIMENTARY duct, a name which
some call the intestines, on account of the
food's passing through them. See Ana-
tomy.
ALIMONV', alimonia, in law, denotes
the maintenance sued for by a wife, in
ease of a separation from her husband,
wherein she is neither chargeable with
elopement nor adulter}'.
ALIQUANT />art», in arithmetic, those
which will not divide or measure the
whole nufnber exactly. Thus, 7 is an
ahquant part of 16, for twice 7 wants 2
of 16, ana three times 7 exceeds 16 by 5.
ALIQUOT part, is stich part of a num-
ber as will divide and meastire it exactly,
without any remainder. For instance, 2
is an aUquot part of 4, 3 of 9, and 4 of 16.
To find all tlie aliquot parts of a num-
ber, divide it by its least divisor, and the
quotient by its least divisor, until you get
a quotient not fartlier thvisible, and you
will have all the prime divisors or ali-
quot parts of that number. Thus, 60,
divided by 2, gives the quotient 30, which
divided by 2 gives 15, and 15 ilivided by
3 g^vesUie indivisible quotient 5. Hence,
the prime aliquot parts are 1, 2, 2, 3, 5 ;
andoy multiplying any two or three of
these together, you will find the com-
pound aliquot parts, viz. 4, 6, 10, 12, 15,
20, 30.
Aliquot parts must not be confoundetl
with commensurable ones; for though
the former be all commensurable, yet
these are not always aliquot parts : thus
4 is commensurable with 6, but is not an
aliquot part of it.
ALISMA, great loater plantain, in bota-
ny» * genus of the Hexandria Polyginia
class of plants, the calyx of which is a
Eerianthium composed of three oval,
ollow, permanent leaves ; the corolla
consists of three large, roundish, plane,
and ver)' patent petals ; the fruit consists
of capsules, arranged together in a round-
ish or trigonal form : the seeds are single
and small. There are nine, species.
ALKAHEST, or Alcahest, among
chemists, denotes a universal menstruum,
capable of resolving all bodies into their
ens primum, or first matter ; and that
witliout suffering any change, or diminu-
tion of force, by so doing. See Ai.chemt.
ALKALI, in chemistrj', a word applied
to all bodies that possess the foUowing
properties : they change vegetable blue
colours, as that of an infusion of violets,
to green : they have an acrid and peculiar
taste : they sene as intermedia between
oils and water: they are capable of com-
bining with acids, and of destropng their
acidity : they corrode woollen cloth, and,
if the solution be sufficiently strong, re-
duce it to jelly; and they are soluble in
water. The alkalies at present known
are three ; \"iz. ammonia, potash, and so-
da : the two last are called ^.ved alkalies,
because they require a red heat to vola-
tilize them ; the otlier is denominated
volatile alkali, because it readily assumes
a gaseous form, and is dissipated by a
very moderate degree of heat. Barj-tcs,
strontian, lime, and magnesia, have been
denominated alkalies by Fourcroy ; but
as they possess the striking character of
earths in their fixity, tlus innovation does
not seem entitled to general adoption.
Since WTiting the above, some discove-
ries of great importance, on the subject
of alkalies, have been made known to the
philosophical world by Mr. Davy, Pro-
fessor of Chemistry at the Royal Institu-
tion. We shall in this place give a sketch
of the two papers which he has just laid
before the Royal Society, referring to
some subsequent articles for further par-
ticulars. In a former discourse, read be-
fore this learned body, Mr. Davy, in
speaking of the agencies of electricity,
suggested the probability, that other bo-
dies not then enumerated might be de-
composed by the electric fluid. In the
course of the last summer, tliis celebra-
ted philosopher was employed in making
a lunnber of experiments with this par-
ticular view, and by means of ver>- pow-
erful galvanic troughs consisting of a
ALK
ALL
hundred pair of plates, six inches square,
and one hundred and fifty pair, four inch-
es square, he has succeeded in decompo-
sing potash and soda. A more brilliant
discovery has not been made since those
which have immortahzed the names of
Priestley and Cavendish. This was ef-
fected by placing moistened potash, or
soda, on a plate of platina, and exposing
it to the galvanic circle. Oxygen was
disengaged, and the alkalies reduced to
their primitive base, which is found to be
a pecidiar and highly inflammable mat-
ter, and which assumes the form and ap-
pearance of small globides of mercury.
These globules are, however, lighter than
water, and when potaph is used, they are
in the proportion of 6 to 10. At the
freezing point they are hard and brittle ;
and when broken and examined by a mi-
croscope, they present a number of fa-
cettes with tlie appearance of cr}'stalliza-
tion : at 40° Falirenheit they are soft,
and can scarcely be discriminated but by
tlieir gravity from globules of mercury ;
at 60° they are fluid, and at the small
heat of 100° volatile. When exposed to
the atmosphere, they rapidly imbibe oxy-
gen, and reassume the alkaline charac-
ter. In distilled naptha they may be pre-
sented four or five days, but if exposed
to the atmosphere, tliey almost instantly
become incrusted with a coat of alkali :
the incrustation may be removed, and the
reduced globule will remain, either in
naptha, or otherwise separated from all
contact with oxygen. See Bitpmex.
One part of tlie base of alkali and two
ofmercurj', estimated by bulk, form an
amalgam, which when applied in the cir-
cle of a galvanic battery, producing an
intense heat to iron, silver, gold, or pla-
tina, immediately dissolved them, and
converted them into oxides, in which pro-
cess alkali was regenerated. Glass, as
well as all other metallic bodies, was also
dissolved by the application of this sub-
stance : the base of tlie alkali seizing the
oxygen of the manganese and of the mi-
nium, potash was regenerated. One of
these globules placed on a piece of ice
dissolved it, and burnt with a bright
flame, giving out an intense heat. Potash
was found in the product of the dissolved
ice. Nearly the same effects followed,
when a globule was thrown into water :
in both cases a great quantity of hydro-
gen was rapidly liberated. When laid on
a piece of moistened turmeric paper, the
globule seemed instantly to acqiure an in-
tense heat ; but so rapid was its move-
ment in quest of the moisture, that no
part of the paper was burnt, only an in.
tense deep red stain marked the course it
followed, and showed a reproduction of
alkali. The specific gravity of the base
of soda is as seven to ten of water : it is
fixed in a temperature of about 150°, and
fluid at 180°. .Mr Davy next tried its
effects on the phosphates, phosphurets,
and many other salts of the first and se-
cond degree of oxydizement, all of which
it decomposed, seizing their oxygen, and
reassuming its alkaline qualities. From
many experiments it appears, that 100
parts of potash contain 15 of oxygen, and
85 of an inflammable base, and that the
same quantity of soda contains 20 of oxy-
gen, and 80 base This ingenious chemist,
after a great number of complex experi-
ments, in which he was assisted by Messrs.
Pepys and Allen, ascertained that oxygen
is also an essential ingredient in ammo-
nia ; of which 100 grains appeared to yield
20 of oxygen. Mr. Davy has also found
that oxygen is one of the constituent prin-
ciples of the earths barj'tes and stron-
tites. See Chkmistrt, Potash, and
SOOA.
ALLAMANDA, in botany, a genus of
the Pentandria Monog^Tua class and or-
der : corolla twisted ; capsule lens-form,
erect, echinate, one-celled, two-valved,
many-seeded. One species, viz. catliarti-
ca, a climbing plant, found in Guiana, near
rivers. The infusion of its leaves is used
in the cholic.
ALLANTOIS, or Aixaxtoides, in
comparative anatomv, a vesicle investing
the foetus of several animals, as cows,
sheep, goats, &c. and filled with a urinous
liquor conveyed thither from the urachus.
ALLEGIANCE, is the lawful duty from
the subject to the sovereign ; and is eitlier
natural, as every subject born ought to
pay ; acquired, where a man is naturahz-
ed ; local, wliich a man ought to pay who
comes under tlie dominion of the king.
ALLEGORY, in matters of Uterature,
a mode or species of writing, wherein
something else is signified than the words
in their literal meaning express. An al-
legory may be considered as a series or
chain of metaphors, continued throtigh a
whole discourse For example, when the
prophets represent the Jews under the
allegory of a vine planted, cultivated, and
watered, by the hand of God, which, in-
stead of producing good fruit, brings
forth verjuice and sour grapes.
ALLEGRO, in music, an Italian word,
denoting that the part is to be played in a
sprightly, brisk, Uvely, and gay maimer.
Allegros move swifter in triple than in
ALL
ALL
common time. Sometimes in conjunction
with another word, placed at the bepn-
ning of compositions, it is intended to
rouse and stimulate the more violent pas-
sions.
ALLEMANDE, in music, a slow air or
melody in common time, of four crotchets
in a bar. A species of composition, sup-
posed from its name to be of German ori-
gin. It is found in Handel's liarpsichord
lessons^ and other works of about that
date ; but as a sonata movement it is now
obsolete. The dance known by this name
is still used in Germany ana Switzerland,
and is written in common time of two
crotchets in a bar.
AIXEN, (Thomas,) a celebrated ma-
thematician of the 16th century. He was
born at Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, in 1542;
was admitted a scholar of Trinity Col-
lege, Oxford, in 1561 ; where he took his
degree of master of arts in 1567. In 1570
he quitted his college and fellowship, and
retired to Gloucester Hall, where he stu-
died very closely, and became famous for
his knowledge in antiquities, philosophy,
and mathematics. He received an invita-
tion from Henry, Earl of Northumberland,
a great friend and patron of the mathe-
maticians, and he spent some time at the
Earl's house, where he became acquaint-
ed with those celebrated mathematicians,
Thomas Harriot, John Dee, Walter War-
ner, and Nathaniel Torporley. Robert,
Earl of Leicester, too, had a g^at esteem
for Allen, and would have conferred a
bishopric upon him ; but his love for soli-
tude and retirement made him decline the
offer. His great skill in tlie mathematics,
gave occasion to the ignorant and vulgar
to look upon him as a magician or conju-
rer. Allen was very ciu-ious and indefati-
gable in collecting scattered manuscripts
relating to history, antiquity, astronomy,
philosophy, and mathematics ; which col-
lections have been quoted by several
learned autliors, and mentioned as in the
Bibliotlieca AUcniana. He published in
Latin the second and third books of Pto-
lemy, " Concerning the Judgment of tlie
Stars," or, as it is usually called, of the
quadripartite construction, with an expo-
sition. He wrote also notes on many of
Lilly's books, and some on John Bale's
work, " I)e Scriptoribus Mag. Brittan-
niac." He died at Gloucester Hall in 1632,
being 90 years of age.
Mr. Burton, the author of his funeral
oration, calls him " the very soul and sun
of all the mathematicians of his age."
And Selden mentions him as a person of
the most extensive learning and consum-
mate judgment, the brightest omameut of
VOL. L
the University of Oxford. Also I
says, he was skilled in most of the best
arts and sciences. A. Wood has also
transcribed part of his character from a
manuscript in tlic llbrai-y of Trinity Col-
lege, in these words : " He studied poUle
literature with great application ; he was
strictly tenacious of academic disciphne,
always highly esteemed botli by foreign-
ers and those of tlie university, and by all
of the hi^est stations of the church of
England, and the University of Oxford.
He was a sagacious observer, an agreea-
ble companion," &c.
ALLIGATION, in arithmetic, is the
rule of mixture, which teaches to com-
pound several species of ingredients or
commodities together, according to any
intent or design proposed ; and is either
medial or alternate.
Alligation, medial^ shews the rate or
price of any mixtures, when the several
quantities of the mixture, and their rates,
are known.
Rule : multiply each quantity given by
the price ; and then, by direct proportion,
say, as the sum of the quantities given to
the sum of the products ; so is any part
of the mixture to the vahie of that part.
Example : a goldsmith melts 3 ouijces of
gold, at 4/. 6». 8</. per ounce, witli twelve
ounces at 4/. per ounce ; and 8 ounces
at 4/. 5«. per ounce : when they are all
melted together, one ounce will be found
to be worth 4/. 2». T,d. Thus,
OZ. I. g. d. I.
3at 4 6 8
12 4 0 0
8 4 5 0
multiplied toge-
ther produce
23 Sum
OZ. I.
Sum 95
OZ. I. s. d.
Then as 23 : 95 : : 1 : 4 2 7,^ Ans.
Allioatioh, alternate, teaches to mix
goods, of different prices, in such propor-
tion, that the mixture may be sold for any
price proposed.
Rule : set down the names of the things
to be mixed, together with their prices;
then, finding tl»c ditV ■■' ■• '• -tween each
of tliese, and tlie p rice of the
mixture, place thcsr rain an al-
ternate order, and they will show the pro-
portion of the ingredients.
ALLIONIA, in botany, so called in ho-
nour of Charles Allioni, profcssorof bota-
ny at Turin, a genus of tlie Tetrandria
Monogjnia class and order, of the natural
oi-der of \ i ; the calyx is a peri-
anthiuni o three flowers ; and
the periaimuuiu uroper is obsolete supe-
Q
ALL
ALL
rioi'; tlie corolla proper, one-petallcd,
funnel-shaped, and erect; tlie stamina
have setaceous filaments ; anthei"s round-
ish ; the pistillum has a germ inferior, ob-
long, style setaceous, longer than the sta-
mens, stigma multifid and linear, no peri-
carpium ; seeds solifeu")', the receptacle
naked. There are two foreign species,
described by Willdenow, viz. the A. vio-
lacea, and A. incurnata. The American
species described by Pursh are three in
number, viz. A. nyctaginea, A. albida, and
A. ovata.' The first is found on the banks
of the river Tenessee ; the second in
lower Carolina; the thu"d found by Meri-
wether Lewis on the plains of the Mis-
souri.
ALLIOTH, a star in tlie tail of the
Greater Bear, much used for finding the
latitude at sea.
ALXJTERATION, in rhetoric, is a fi-
gure, or decoration in language, cliicfly
used in poetry, and consisting in the re-
petition of the same letter or letters at
certain intervals, whence the name is de-
nved.
ALLIUM, ^ar/Zc, in botany, a genus of
the Hexandria Mohogjnia class and or-
der ; the calyx is a common sheath, and
many-flowered ; tlie coi-olla consists of six
oblong petals ; the stamina have six fila-
ments, generall}' of tlie length of the co-
rolla ; the anthers are oblong and upright ;
the pistillum has a germ, superior, short,
bluntly three-cornered; the pericarpium
is a capsule, short, broad, three-celled
and three-valved; the seeds are many and
round. There are 53 species, according
to Willdenow, distributed into several
divisions. The common garlic has a large
round white bulbous root, of an irregular
form, with numerous fibres at the bottom,
composed of many smaller bulbs denomi-
nated cloves, which are included in a
common membranous covering, each of
which being planted, grows, and in one
season attains the size and structure of
the parent bulb ; the leaves are caxdine,
or form a kind of stalk, which seldom
spindles, except when the same roots re-
main in the ground tivo or three years,
when they run up and bear a flower and
small bulbs at the top. It deserves to be
cultivated in the garden for the sake of
its root, which is in great estimation for
cuUnary and other domestic purposes.
Indeed, the roots, as well as all the other
parts of the plant, have a verj' acrid taste,
with an highly offensive smell, which has
rendered its cultivation in gai-dens less
desirable. It is a haKly plant, capable of
growing in most sorts of soils and situa-
tions, and readily propagated either by
roots or seeds.
Rocambole has very small compound
bulbs, wliich gi-ow in clusters; the stalk
generally spindhngtwo or three feet high,
with many bulbs at its summit, which, as
well as the root bidbs, are useful for the
same purposes as garlic, though much in-
ferior. 'I'he latter, or the flowery kind.s
have the flower-stems rising immediately
from the root, gi-owing erect, and attain-
ing dift'erent heights, from twelve to thir-
ty inches ; in some the leaves arc ratlical,
in others cauline, or elevated with the
stalk ; some are broad Uke those of a tu-
lip, others long and narrow like a daffo-
dil, and some taper and rush-like ; but in
all the sorts the stems are teiininated by
a sort of sheath, from which is protruded
an aggregate of many small flowei-s, form-
ing a kind of umbel. The flowers singly
are composed each of six petals, which,
though separately small, from many be-
ing collected into large heads, are very
conspicuous. Of the second division, or
the onion kind, the characters, &c. of
which are the same as those of gai'lic,
the sjiecies are these : 1. Cepa, or com-
mon onion ; the best gai'den varieties of
which arc, tlie Strasburgh or common
round onion, the oval or long-keeping
common onion, the Spanish large flat
onion, the Spani.sh silken-skinned onion,
the Spanish red-skinned onion, and the
Portugal great roundisli oval onion. 2.
Fistulosum, or the ciboule or Welsh on-
ion. 3. ScliKuoprasum, cives or chives.
4. Ascalonicum, eschalot or schallot. 5.
Canadense, or Canada-tree onion. All the
first species and varieties have large bul-
bous roots, and the plants are biennial, or,
being sown in tlie spring, arrive at per-
fection in the root the same year, and
next year shoot up into stalk, flower, and
ripen seed, when the stalks quickly
die, and the individuals are annihilated.
But the second and third species never
form any bulbs at bottom ; they are, how-
ever, hardy and perennial, and may be
continued many years. And the fourth
and fifth species are bulbous rooted pe-
rennials, midtiplying greatly by off-sets,
as is evident from their culture.
Ciboule or Welsh onion. This is a pe-
rennial plant, which never forms any bulb
at bottom ; tlierefore deserves to be cul-
tivated only to be drawn as young green
onions for salads, &c. in spring ; but, on
account of its strong taste, it is greatly-
inferior to those of the common onion
From the plants being so extremely har-
dy as to sunive the severest winter, in
ALL
ALL
which, thoiigh their blades be cut off, tlic
roots remain sound, and shoot-forth with
great vigour early in spring", furnishing
seasonable supplies till May, when they
generally run to seed. From this singu-
lar hardness they may be cultivated more
or less as a winter standing crop, 'with
advantage, for spring use.
Gives, or chives. This is the smallest
of all the onion kind, insing but a few
inches high ; but its roots are perennial,
and increase considerably into clusters,
from which large tufts of slender awl-
shaped leaves issue, which are tlie prin-
cipal part used, the roots never forming
any bulb, at least not bigger than small
peas. This is a hardy plant, which me-
rits a place in every garden. Its clusters
of leaves rise early in spring, and are use-
ful both in salads and for culinary pur-
poses, in default of onions. The metliod
of gathering it is, to cut the leaves ofl'near
the ground, by which a fresh supply is
soon produced from the bottom ; or oc-
ca.sionalIy the plants in clusters may be
slipped quite to the root in separate lit-
tle plants, resembling young onions, and
used as substitutes for them. It is easily
increased by dividing the roots in spring,
and planting eight or ten of them toge-
ther m holes, at six inches distance ; in this
way, by autumn, they will multiply into
bunches of a large size.
Eschalot, orscnallot. This is a species of
onion which is bulbous-rooted, and which
increases greatly by off-sets, tlic largest
of which are tlie proper parts of the plant
for use. The bulbs are oblong, irregu-
lar, and seldom grow large ; as they gene-
rally increase into clusters, they do not
swell like roots that grow singly. From
the roots are produced many long, nar-
row, infirm leaves in the spring, and
which wither in July or August, when the
ixjots are lull grown : they are then taken
up, made dr)-, and housed, when they
keep in g^d perfection till the following
spring.
Canada or tree-onion. This deserves
to be cultivated, both as a curiosity in
producing the onion at tlie top of tlie
stalk, and for the use of the onions, es-
pecially for pickling, in which they are ex-
cellent, and superior in flavour to the
common onion. It is perennial, and propa-
gated by planting tlie bulbs in spring or
autumn. Either the root-bulbs, or those
produced on tlie top of the stalk, being
planted in abed or betls of any good earth,
in rows a foot asunder, six inches distance
in each i-ow,andtwo or three inches deep,
they shoot up leaves and stalks in the
spring and summer, and produce the
bulbs for use in July or August ; and the
root-bulbs remaining furnish a produc-
tion of top-bulbs, anuTially, in that season ;
the root-bulb increasing by off-sets, may
be taken up occasionally at the time tlie
stem decays in autumn ; or once in two
or three years, in order to separate the
off-sets, and replant them whennecessary.
The leek is the third division of the ge-
nus, the general characters of which are
the same as those before described, and
the species and varieties are, the porrum,
or common leek, which may be said to
be an annual-biennial plant ; for although
the roots often survive after perfecting
seeds, yet the plants always attain perfec-
tion the same yearthey are sown, and the
year aftei-wards run up to stalk, and be-
come unfit for use. The seed-stalk of
this plant does not beUy like that of the
onion. The best of tlie varieties of this
{)lant for general culture is the bi-oad-
eaved or London leek, which attains a
large growth, the neck acquiring a thick
substance, in length from si.x to nine or
ten inches, dividing upwards into many
large, long, tliick leaves, aiTanging them-
selves in somewhat of a fan-shape. There
are seven species indigenous in America,
and described by Pui-sh, viz : 1. A. vi-
neale, common in old fields. 2. A. fra-
grans, (which is A. inodorum of Botani-
cal Magazine 1129, and A. mutobile of
Micliau.^'s fl. Ame. 1 p. 195) found on the
mountains of Virginia and Carolina. 3.
A. striatum (which is A. ornithogaloidcs
of Halt's fl. Car. 121, and omitliogalum
bivalve of Lin.) native in Virginia and
Carolina. 4. A. angulosum, found on the
banks of the Missouri by Lewis and Nut-
tall. 5. A. triflorum, found on shady
woods ai\d high mountains of Pennsylva-
nia. 6. A. canadense, found in fields and
woods from Canada to Carolina, 7." A.
tricoccon, found in shady woods, Penn-
sylvania to ^■irginia.
ALLODIAL, an ejjithet pven to an in-
heritance held V. ilhout any acknowledg-
ment to a lord or superior, in opposition
to feudal.
ALLODIUM, or Aliecd, denotes
land.s which arc the ab.solute property of
their owner, withoutbeing obhgcd to pay
any service or acknowledgment whatcTcr
to a superior lord ; in which sense they
stand opposed to feudal lands, wliich pay
a fee to some superior.
ALLOPHYLUS, In botany, a genus of
the Octandria Monogjnia class of plants,
the calyv^ of which is a pcriauthJum com-
posed of foiu" leaves of an orbicular figui-c.
ALL
ALM
and two opposite ones smaller than the
others; the corolla consists of four petals,
less than tlie cup, of an orbicular figure,
and equal one to another, with large un-
gnes of the same length with the smaller
leaves of the cup. There are three spe-
cies : A. zeylanicus is a tree ha\-ing the
appearance of persea, and anative of Cey-
lon. A. cominia rises 30 feet in height,
with a stem as thick as a man's thigh,
with numerous flowers, to which succeed
berries the size of a pin's head, with shell
and kernel : grows plentifully in Jamaica.
A. ternatus is a native of Cochin China.
AI-LOY, or Allat, a proportion of a
baser metal mixed with a finer one. Thus,
all go'd coin has an alloy of silver and
copper, as silver coin has of copper alone ;
the proportion in the former case, for
standard gold, being two carats of alloy-
in a pound troy of gold ; and in the latter,
18 penny-weights of alloy for a pound
troy of silver.
According as gold or silver has more
or less alloy than that mentioned above,
it is said .to be coarser or finer than the
standard. However, it ought to be re-
marked, that the coin of different nations
varies greatly in tliis respect ; some using
a larger, and others a less proportion of
alloy, the original intention of which was
to give the coin a due degree of hardness.
Allot, in a chemical sense, may be
defined a combination of two or more
metals into one homogeneous mass, not
sepai-able from each other by mere heat.
The most valuable and useful of these are,
brass, type-metal, tutenag, bronze, spe-
culum metal, for which see the different
articles. If two metals being fused toge-
ther produce a mass, whose specific gravi-
ty is either greater or less than the mean
specific gravity of its elements, the result
is an alloy, or proper chemical combina-
tion. One of the most striking proofs of
actual combination between the parts of
an alloy is, a remarkable increase of fusi-
bility. This, in almost all cases, is much
greater than could be inferred from the
mean fi\sibility of its component parts.
Thus, equal parts of tin and iron will melt
at the same temperature as is required
for equal parts of tin and copper, notwith-
standing the great difference between the
fusing heat of copper and iron, when they
are each of them pure. So also an alloy
of tin, bismuth, and lead, in the propor-
tion of 3, 8, and 5, will melt in boiling
water, which is a less heat than is neces-
sary for the liquefaction of bismuth, the
most fusible of tlie three. The oxyda-
bility of an alloy is generally either great-
er or less than that of the immixed me-
tals. Tin and lead mixed will, at a low red
heat, take fire, and oxydatc immediately.
ALLUSION, in rhetoric, a figure by
which something is applied to, or under-
stood of another, on account of some si-
mihtude between them.
ALLUVIAL, by allu\-ial depositions is
meant the soil which has been formed by
the destruction of mountains, and the
washing down of their particles by tor-
rents of water. The alluvial formations
constitute the great mass of the earth's
surface. They have been formed by the
gradual action of rain or river water up-
on the other formations. They may be
divided into two kinds, viz. those depo-
sited in the vallies and mountainous dis-
tricts, or upon elevated plains, which of-
ten occur in mountjuns ; and those depo-
sited upon flat land. The first kind con-
sists of sand^gravel, &c. which constitut-
ed the more solid parts of the neighbour-
ing mountains, and which remained when
the less solid parts have been washed
away. They sometimes contain ores,
particularly gold and tin, which existed
in tlie neighbouring mountains. The se-
cond kind consists of loam, clay, sand,
turf, and calctuff. Here are also earth
and brown coal, in which amber is found,
wood coal, bituminous wood, and bog-iron
ore. The sand contains some metals.
The calctuff contains plant*, roots, moss,
bones, &c. which it has incrusted. The
clay and sand often contain petrified
wood, and skeletons of quadi'upeds.
ALLUVION, among civilians, denotes
the gradual increase of land along the
sea-shore, or on the banks of rivers. This,
when slow and imperceptible, is deemed
a lawful means of acquisition : but when
a considerable portion of land is torn a-
way atonce by the violence of the current,
and joined to a neighbouring estate,it may
be claimed again by the fonner owner.
ALMAGEST, the name of a celebrated
book composed by Ptolemy ; being a col-
lection of a great number of the observa-
tions and problems of the ancients, relat-
ing to geometry and astronomy, but espe-
cially the latter; and being the first work
of tliis kind which has come down to us,
and containing a catalogue of the fixed
stars, with their places, besides numerous
records and observations of eclipses, the
motions of the planets, &c. it will ever
be held dear and valuable to the cultiva-
tors of astronomy. See Ptolemt.
In the original Greek it is called
o-fyT«|<5 /it£y/5'!> the " great composi-
tion" or " collection." And to the word
ALMAMON.
f-tyiix Uic Arabians joined the particle
"al," and thence called it "Almaghesti,"
or, as we call it from tijem, the Almagest.
ALMAMON, Caliph of Bagdat, a phi-
losopher and astronomer in the beginning
of the nintlj century, he having ascended
the throne in the year 814. lie was son
of Hanm Al-Raschid, and grandson of
Almansor. Having been educated witli
great care, and with a love for the libwal
sciences, lie ajjplied himself to cultivate
and encourage them in his own countrv-.
For this purpose ho requested, the Greek
emperors to supply him with such books
of philosophy as they had among them ;
and he collected skilful interpretei-s to
translate them into the Arabic language.
He also encouraged his subjects to study
them ; frequenting the meetings of the
learned, and assisting at their exercises
and dehberations. lie formed a college
at Khorasan, and selected to preside over
it Mesul of Damascus, a famous Christian
physician. When his father, who was
still living, remonstrated against the ap-
pointment, on account of tlic president's
religion, he replied, that he had chosen
him, not as a teacher of tlieology, but for
the instruction of his subjects in science
and tlie'useftd arts, and that his father
well knew, that the most learned men
and skilful artists in his dominions were
Jews and Christians. He caused Ptolemy's
Ahnagest to be translated in 827, by Isaac
Ben-honain, and Thabet Ben-korah, ac-
conling to Herbelot, but according to
others, by Sergius, and Alhazen, the son
of Joseph. In his reig^, and doubtless
by liis encouragement, an astronomer of
Bagdat, named Habash, composed three
sets of astronomical tables.
Almamon himself made many astrono-
mical observations, and determined tlie
obliquity of the ecUptic to be then 23°
35', or 23° 33' in some manuscripts, but
Vossius says 23° 51', or 23° 34'. He also
caused skilful obser\ers to procure pro-
per instruments to be made, and to exer-
cise themselves in astronomical observa-
tions ; which they did accortlingly at Shc-
masi in the province of Bagdat, and upon
Mount Casius, near Damas.
Under the auspices of Mamon, also, a
degree of the meridian was measured on
the plains of Sinjar, or Sindgiar, upon
the borders of the Red Sea ; by which
the degree was found to contain 56 2-3
miles, of 4000 coudees each, the coudee
being a foot and a half: but it is not
known what foot is here meant, whether
the Roman, the Alexandrian, or some
other. Albufeda says that this cubit con-
tained 27 inches, each inch being deter-
mined by six grains of barley placed side-
ways; but Thevenot says, that 144grain»
of barley, placed in this manner, would
give a length equal to 1^ Paris foot:
four cubits would be equal to one toise
and nine inches, and therefore 4000 cu^
bits, tliat is, 56 2-3 miles, would give
63,730 toises. But if the ordinary cubit
of 24 inches was the measure to which
the calculation is to be reftjrred, the de-
gree, in this estimate of it, would con-
tain 56,666 toises. According to anotlier
valuation of a cubit, this measure would
consist of 53,123 French toises.
Almamon was a liberal and zealous en-
courager of science, in consequence of
which the Saracens begfan to acquire a
degree of civilization and refinement, to
which they had formerly been strangers.
The liberality of his mind obtained for
Almamon the reputation of infidelity.
But, whatever opinions he might hold re-
specting the Koran, he seems to have had
a confidence and trust in the Supreme
Being. In tliis work we shall not follow
tlic Caliph into the field of battle, nor re-
coi-d his victories, which wei-e brilliant
and important. We must look to him in
the character of a philosopiier and man
of science, and, in addition to what has
already been noticed, we may remark,
that he built a new nilometer, for mea-
suring the increase of the Nile, and re-
paired one that was gone to decay. In
the year 833, as he was returning fi-om
one of liis expeditions, he unwarilv
quenched his thirst, while very much
heated by exercise, with cold water,
which brought on a disorder that termi-
nated his hfe. During his last illness, he
settled the affairs of the state, and then
exclaiming, in the spirit of piety, «' O
thou who never diest,have mercy on me,
a dying man." He expired at the age of
49, after a reign of 20 years. He was in-
terred at Tarsus. To the principles of
science, and not to those of the Moham-
medan religion, have been ascribed the
hberality and benignity of temper, which
he displayed in certain trying circum-
stances. When his uncle and rival Ibra-
him was taken, brought to triid, and con-
demned, the cahph, instead of sanction-
ing the sentence, tenderly embraced his
relation, saying, "Uncle, be of good
cheer, I will do you no injur}:" and he
not only pardoned him, but granted him
a rank and fortune suitable to his birth.
Being compUmcnted on account of this
generous deed, he exclaimed, " Did but
men know the pleasure that I feel in par-
ALU
ALO
floning, all who have offended me Would
come and confess their faults." Alma-
mon, inthe course of his reign, employed
the most skilful astronomers that he
could find, to compose a bod)' of astrono-
mical science, which still subsists among
cn'ieiital MSS. entitled " Astronomia ela-
boi-ata a compluribus D. D. jussu regis
Maimon."
ALMANAC, in matters of literature, a
table containing the calendar of days and
months, tlie rising and setting of the sun,
the age of the moon. Sec.
Authors are neither agreed about the
Inventor of almanacs, nor the etymology
of the word; some deriving it from the
Arabic particle al, and manah, to count ;
whilst others think it comes from abnanah,
i. e. handsels, or new year's gifts, because
the astrologers of Arabia used, at tlie
lieginning of the year, to make presents
of their ephemerides for the year ensuing.
As to the antiquity of Almanacs, Du-
cange informs us, that the Egyptian as-
trologers, long before tlic Arabians, used
the term ahnenuch, and almenacJdca des-
criptio, for their monthly predictions. Be
this as it will, Uegiomontanus is allowed
to have been tlie fii-st who reduced alma-
iiocs to their present form.
Almawacs, construction of. The first
thing to be done is, to compute tlie sun's
and moon's place for each day in the year,
or it may be taken from some epheme-
rides and entered in tlie almanac ; next,
-find the dominical letter, and, by means
thereof, distribute the calendar into
weeks : then, having computed the time
of Easter, by it fix tlie other moveable
feasts; adding the immoveable ones,
witli the names of the martyrs, the rising
and setting of each luminary, the lengtli
of day and night, the aspects of tlie pla-
nets, the phases of the moon, and the
Sim's entrance into the cardinal points of
the elliptic, i. e. the two equinoxes and
solstices.
These are the principal contents of al-
manacs ; besides wliich there are otliei-s
of a political nature, and consequently
different in different countries, as the
birth-days and coronation of princes, ta-
bles of interest, Sec.
On the whole, there appears to be no
mystciy, or even difficulty, in almanac
making, provlde'd tables of the heavenly
motions be not wanting. For the duties
upon almanacs, see Stamp-dvties.
Aljcasac, nautical and astronomical
cplwmeris, is a kind of national almanac,
published annually by anticipation, under
the direction of the commissioners of lon-
gitude. Besides every thing essential to
general use that is to be found in other
almanacs, it contains, among other par-
ticidai-s, the distances of the moon from
the sun and fixed stars for every three
hours of apparent time, adapted to the
meridian of Greenwich, by comparing
which with the distances carefully ob-
served at sea, tlie mariner may readily in-
fer his longitude, to a degree of exactness
that may be thought sufficient for most
nautical purposes. The publication of it
is chiefly designed to facilitate the use of
Mayer's lunar tables, by superseding the
necessity of intricate calculations in deter-
mining the longitude at sea.
'Almanac, is part of the law of Eng-
land, of which the courts must take notice
in the returning of writs; but the almanac
to go by is that annexed to the Book of
Common Prayer. An almanac, in which
the father had written the day of the na-
tivity of his son, ;-was allowed as evidence
to prove the nonage of his son.
ALMOND-^ee, in botany. See Amro-
DALITS.
ALMUCANTARS, in astronomy, an
Arabic word denoting circles of the sphere
passing tlirough the centre of the sun, or
a star, parallel to the horizon, being the
same as parallels of altitude.
Almucantars are the same, with respect
to the azimuths and horizon, that the pa-
rallels of latitude are, witli regard to tlie
meridians and equator. They serve to
shew the height of the sun and stars, and
are described on many quadrants, &c.
ALNAGE, or AtLXAOE, in the Eng-
lish poUty, the measuring of woollen ma-
nufactures with an ell, and the other func-
tions of the alnager. See the next arti-
cle. Alnage was at first intended as a
proof of the goodness of the commodity,
and therefore a seal was invented, as a
signal that tlie commodity was made ac-
coi-ding to the statute.
ALNAGER, in the English polity, a
pubhc sworn officer, whose business is to
examine into the assize of all woollen
cloth made throughout the kingdom, and
to fix seals upon them. Another branch
of his office is, to collect an alnage duty
to the king. See the -la.st article.
Thei'e are now three officers relating to
the alnage, namely, a searcher, measurer,
and alnager; all which were formerly
comprized in the alnager, until, by his
own neglect, it was thought proper to
separate these offices.
ALNUS, tile alikr-tree, in botany. See
Beti:la.
ALOE, in botany, ft genus of the Hex-
ALO
ALO
xndria M/uaogpua. class of plants, uith a
ireoiis flower, consisting of only one
iilar leaf, divided into six deep seg-
ments at the edge ; its fniit is an oblong-
capsule, divided into tJiree cells,'and con-
taining a ntimber of angiilated seeds.
There are 16 species.
Several species of this exotic plant are
culliviitfdia the gardens of the curious,
where they afford a very pleasing variety,
as well by the odd shape of tlieir leaves,
as by the different spots with which they
are variegated.
Some aloes are arborescent, or divided
into a number of branches, like trees ;
others are very small, growing close to
the ground The two most considerable
species arc the aloe of America, and that
of Asia; the' former on account of its
■utifid flowers, and the latter for the
yf prepared from it.
All the aloes are natives ofhot climates;
and the place of growth of most of them
is the Cape of Good Hope. The Hotten-
tots hollow out the tnmk of the first spe-
cies, or A. dichotoma, to make quivers
for their arrows ; and several of them are
used for hedges. Among the Mahomet-
ans, and particularly in Egjpt, tlie aloe
is a kind of symbolic plant, and dedicated
to the offices of rclipon : for pilgrims, on
their return from Mecca, suspend it over
1 heir doors as an evidence of their having
■iormed that holy joiiniey. The super-
inus Eg}"ptians imagine, that ithas tlie
virtue of keening off apparitions and evil
spirits from their houses, and it is hung
over the doors of Christians and Jews in
Cairo for this purpose. They also distil
from it a water, which is sold in tlie shops,
and recommended in coughs, a.sthmas and
hysterics. Hasselquist mentions a pei--
son who was ciu-cd of the jaundice m four
days by taking about half a pint of it. The
Arabians call it sabbara. The negroes,
as we are informed by Adanson, in his
voyage to Seneg;d, make verj- good ropes
of the leaves ofthe Guinea aloes, wliich
are not apt to rot in water. M. Fabroni,
as we learn from the Annales dc Chimie,
Iirocured from the leaves ofthe aloe suc-
rina angustifolia, a violet dye, which
-ists the action of oxygen, acids, and al-
kalies. This juice, he says, produces a
superb transparent colour, which is high-
ly proper for works in miniature, and
which, when di.ss(>lved in water, may
sene, either cold or warm, for dyingsilk
from the lightest to the darkest shade :
and he reckons it one ofthe most durable
colours known in nature. Aloes was
used among the ancients in embalming.
to {USMfloy^^dies from putrGtac^dtt^'fSr
tliis species of aloes, interi)rt'
•^tjind that to have been which ^-
MJiiiun; lil
a preser\'ative to ship's bottoms against
the worms, to wliich those that trade to
the East and West Indies are particularly
subject. One ounce of aloes is sufficient
for two superficial feet of plank ; about
121b. for a vessel of 50 tons burthen, and
300 lb. for a first rate man of war. It
may be incorporated with six pounds of
pitch, one of Spanish brown, or whiting,
and a quart of oil; or with the same pro-
portion of turpentine, Spanish brown and
tallow. Such a coat, it has been said, will
preserve a ship's bottom eight month.'?,
and the expense for a first rate sliip will
be about 18/. The same composition may
be used in hot countries for preserving
rafters, &c. from the wood-ant. The ef-
ficacy of aloes, as a defence against worms,
has been controverted.
Aloe, or Aloes, in pharmacy, the in-
spissated juice ofthe aloe perfoliata, asi-
atic aloe, prepared in the following man-
ner: from the leaves, fresh pulled, is
pressed a juice, the thinner and purer
part of which is poured off, and set in tlie
sun to evaporate to a hard yellowish sub-
stance, which is called succotriiie aloe, as
being chiefly made at Succotra. ' The
thicker part, being put into another ves-
sel, hardens into a^ substance of a liver-
colour, and thence called aloe hepatica.
The thickest part, or sediment, hardens
into a coarse substance, called aloecO'
baltTUi, or the horse-aloe, as being clxicfly
used as a purge for horses.
Fabroni has discovered that the recent
juice ofthe leaves ofthe aloe has tlie pro-
perty of absorbing oxygen, of assuming*
fine reddish purple, and of yielding a pig-
ment which he strongly recomniendJj to
the artist.
ALOPECURUS,/ox.taj7-jTa«s, in bo-
tany, a genus ofthe Triandria Dig^-nia
class of plants, and of the natural onlcr
of Grasses, the calyx of which is a bivalvo
gliune, containing a single flower ; the
valves are hollow, of an o\'ate lanccolated
figure, equal in size, and compressed ;
tlie corolla is univalve ; the valve is con-
cave, and of the length of the cup, and
has a very long arista inserted into its
back near the base. There is no peri-
caqiium : the corolla itself rcmiiins, ami
contains the seed, which is single and of
a roundish figure. There arc 12 species.
Tlie A.pratcnsis, meadow foxtail, is a na
ALP
ALP
tive of most parts of Europe, and is found
with us very common in pastures and
meadows. It is perennial, and flowers in
May. This is the best grass to be soAvn
in low me.adow grounds, or in bog-gy
places which have been drained. It is
grateful to cattle, and possesses the three
great requisities of quantity, quality, and
earliness, in a degree superior to any
otlier, and is therefore highly deserving
of cultivation in lands that are proper for
it. The seed may be easily collected, aS
it docs not quit the chaff, and the spikes
ate veiy proUfic ; but the larvje of a spe-
cies of muscx, which are themselves the
prey of the cimex campestris, devour the
seeds so much, that in many spikes scarce-
ly one is found perfect. A. agrestis is a
very troublesome weed in cultivated
ground, and among wheat it is execi-ated
by farmers, under the name of blackbent;
it is also common by way sides, as well as
in com fields, and in pastures in the Isle
of Wight. It has acquired the name of
mouse-tail grass in English, from the
greatlength and slenderness of the spike,
which resembles the tail of a mouse. It
is annual, and flowers in July, continues
flowering till autumn, and comes into
bloom very soon after being sown.
ALPHABET, in matters of hterature,
the natural or accustomed series of the
several letters of a language.
As alphabets were not contrived with
design, or according to the just rules of
analogy and reason, but have been suc-
cessively framed and altered, as occasion
required, it is not surprising that many
grievous complaints have been heard of
their deficiencies, and divers attempts
made toestabhshnew andmore adequate
ones in their place
AH tlie alphabets extant are charged by
Bishop Wilkins with great in-egularities,
with respect both to order, number, pow-
er, figure, &c.
As to the order, it appears (says he)
inartificial, precarious, and confused, as
the vowels and consonants are not redu-
ced into classes, with such order of pre-
cedence and subsequence as their natures
will bear. Of this imperfection, the
Greek alphabet, which is one of the least
defective, is far from being free : for in-
stance, the Greeks should have separated
the consonants from the vowels; after
the vowels they should have placed tlie
diphthongs, and then the consonants ;
whereas, in fact the order is so perverted
thatwefindtheo;tt,;«^ov,tlxe fifteenth letter
in order of the alphabet, and the *,«,£?««
Or long 0, the twenty fourth and last, the
e the fifth, and the ;jthe seventh.
With respect to the number, they are
both redundant and deficient ; redundant
by allotting the same sound to several
letters, as in the Latin c and k,f and ph ;
or by reckoning double letters among the
simple elements of speech, as in the
Greek | and -i^, the Latin y or cii, x or ex,
and the j consonant ; deficient in many
respects, particularly with regard to vow-
els, of which seven or eight kinds are
commonly used, though the Latin alpha-
bet takes notice only of five. Add totliis,
that the difference among them, witli i-e-
gard to long and short, is not sufficiently
provided against.
The powers, again, are not more ex-
empt from confusion; the vowels, for in-
stance, are generally acknowledged to
have each of them several different
sounds; and among the consonants we
need only bring, as evidence of their dif-
ferent pronunciation, the letter c in the
word circa, -xwdg in the word negligence.
Hence it happens, that some words are
differently written, though pronounced in
the same manner, as cessia and sessio ;
and others are different in pronunciation,
which are the same in writing, as give,
dare, atxxdigive, vincvhim.
Finally, the figures are but ill-concert-
ed, there being nothing in the characters
of the vowels answerable to the different
manner of pronunciation ; nor in the con-
sonants analagous to their agreements or
disagreements.
Alphabets of different nations vary in
the number of their constituent letters.
The English alphabet contains twenty-
four letters, to which if/ and v consonants
are added, the sum will be twenty-six ;
the French twenty -three ; the Hebrew,
Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan, twenty-
two each ; the Arabic, twenty eight ; the
Persian, thii-ty-one ; the Turkish, thirty-
tliree ; the Georgian thirty-six ; the Cop-
tic thirty -two; the Muscovite, forty-
three ; the Greek, twenty -four ; tlie La-
tin, twenty-two; the Sclavonic, twenty-
seven ; the Dutch, twenty -six ; the Span-
ish, twenty seven ; the Italian, twenty;
the Ethiopic, as well as Tartarian, two
hundred and two ; the Indians of Ben-
gal, twenty-one ; the Baramos, nineteen ;
the Chinese, propei-ly speaking, have no
alphabet, except we call their whole
language their alphabet; their letters are
words, or rather hieroglyphics, and
amount to about 80,000.
If alphabets had been constructed by
ALP
ALP
le persons, after a ftill examinatioa uf
linr subject, they would not have been
filled with such coiuradictiotis between
the niimncr of wrltinjf and reading, as we
have shown above, nor with those imper-
fections that evidently appear in Uie al-
phabets of every nation. Mr. Lodowick,
however, und Bishop Vt'ilkins, have en-
deavoured to obviate all these, in their
universal alphabets or charactei-s. See
Chahacter.
It is no wonder that tlie number of let-
ters in most languages should be so small,
and that of words so g-reat, since it ap-
pears, that, allowing only 24 letters to an
alphabet, the different wonls or combina-
tions that may be made out of them, ta-
king them first one by one, then two by
two, &c. &.C. would amount to the follow-
ing number: — 1391, 724288, 887252,
999425, 128493, 4022000. See Combi-
nation. It must be admitted, neverthe-
less, that the condition, that every sylla-
ble must contain, at least, one vowel,
would modify this number in the way of
denomination ; but on the other hand, the
combinations in pollysyUabic words would
operate the contraiy way.
Many learned authors have composed
in(|uiries into the origin of alphabetic
writing, and not a few nave referred the
invention to the immediate inspiration of
God. Nevertheless, it appeare to be a
very simple and direct improvement of
the hieroglyphic art. Sensible objects
are depicted in outlines by children, and
most rude nations ; and, as in the con-
struction of languages, so in this writing
by figures, substantives will come to be
used adjectively, to denote relations or
qualities. As words becogie more com-
plex and less perfect by the use of ab-
stractions, so likewise must the hiero-
glypic picturesbecomc combined and im-
perfect, and at length must have denoted
things very dlflcrent from any object ca-
pable of being delineated ; and, among
other consequences, there is one very
striking ; namely, tliat the picture, after
degenerating into asign or character, will
be associated by memory with the oral
character, or name, or conespondent
word. An immediate step after this must
be, that charactera associated with mono-
syllabic woi'ds will be frequently put to-
gether to form pollysyUabic words, in
which tlie picture is left out of the consi-
deration, and the sound alone forms the
subject of the record, ,as if the chai-jic-
ters for man and eye were united to form
the wonl many, or multitudinous.) And
lastly, habit must in fact liave snven a
VOL.1.
preference, in the composition of tbtse
polysyllabic woitls, to such simple sounds
and their characters as wert: found to be
most extensively useful. That is to say,
an unintentional process of analysis nui*t
have thus given rjse to llie alphabet.
The sounds of language are modified
by articulation, which depends on certain
gross, and in general obvious, changes in
the figure of the organs ; and by accent
or mere intensity; and by intonation or
music. The first of these, as used in
discourse, is much more capable of having
its variations marked by charactei-s than
the others ; and from this circumstance,
it is found that the alphabet can deliver
with correctness the words of such lan-
guages as cominunicate chiefly by articu-
lation ; but in languages where the same
articulated monosyllable denotes a great
vai-iety of things, according to the accent
or intonation, there will be comparatively
few instances of depicted sound, and the
system of writing will continue to be
hieroglyphic, or rather symbolic, in all its
improvements. This system is, for the
reason here mentioned, in use in China,
and does not seem inferior to the alpha-
bet, but in some respects more advan.
geous.
Alphabet is also used for a cypher,
or table of the usual letters of the alpha-
bet, with the corresponding secret cha-
racters, and other blank symbols, intend-
ed to render the writing more difficult to
be decyphered. See the article Dlct-
l>UF.niNG.
Alphabet, among merchants, a kind
of index, with the twenty -four letters in
their natural order, in which are set down
the names of those who have opened ac-
counts, refc;rringto tlie folios ofthe ledger.
ALPHONSIKE tables, astronomical ta-
bles, calculated by order of Alphonsus,
King of Castile, in the construction of
which that prince is supposed to hare
contributed his own labour.
Al-PINA, in botany, a genus of the
Monandria Monogynia class of plants,
the corolla whereof is monopctalous, un-
equal, and as it were double ; the exte-
rior one is trifid, the ujiper segment h
hollow, the two side ones flat, and it has
a tube ; the interior is short, its edge is
trifid, and the lower segment of the three
hangs out beyond the latci-al parts of the
exterior corolla, the other two are emar-
ginated, and the base is ventricose ; the
fmit is a fleshy capsule, of an ovated
flgtire, composed of three valves, and
containing three cells ; the seeds are nu-
roerousj of an ovated fig^ure, with a pro>
R
ALS
ALT
minent but truncated apex, and a cauda-
ted base. There are seven species.
ALSINE, chich-vieeil, in botany, a ge-
nus of the Pcntandria Trigynia class and
order, and the natural order of Caiyo-
phyllei : its charactersare, that the calyx
is a five-leaved perianthiiim, leaflets con-
cave, oblong and acuminate : the corolla
has five ecjual petals, longer than the
calj-x ; the stamina consist of capillary
filaments, the anthers roundish ; the pis-
tillum has asubovate germ, styles filiform,
and stigmas obtuse ; the pericarpium is
an ovate, one-celled, three-valved, cap-
sule, covered with the calyx ; the seeds
are very many and roundish. There are
five species, of which the following is the
principal. A. media, common chick-
weed, with petals bipartite, and leaves
ovate cordate. The number of stamens
in the flower of the common chick-weed
is uncertain, from three to ten. This spe-
cies in different soils and situations as-
sumes different appearances; but it is
distinguished from the cerastiums, which
it most resembles, by the number of pis-
tils, and by having the petals shorter than
the leaves of the calyx, and from all the
plants related to it, and particularly the
stellaria nemonmi, by having the stalk
ahernately hairy on one side only. Dr.
Withering refers it to the stellaria, with
which genus it agrees in vaiious respects,
and especially in the capsules opening
with six valves. He observes, that it
grows almost in all situations, from damp
and almost boggj- woods, to the driest
.gravel walks in gardens; but in these
various states its appearances are very
different, so that those who have only ta-
ken notice of it as garden chick-weed
would hardly know it in woods, where
it sometimes exceeds half a yard in
height, and has. leaves near two inches
long, atid more than one inch broad. In
its truly wild state, he says, in damp
woods, and hedge bottoms, with a north-
em aspect, it has almost always ten sta-
mens; but in drier soils and more sunny
exposures, the stamens are usually five or
three. When the flowers first open, the
peduncles are upright ; as the flowej-s go
off, they hang down; and when the seeds
ripen, they again become upright. Dr.
Withering observes, that the flowers are
upright, and open from nine in the morn-
ing till noon; but if it rains, they do not
open. After rain they become pendent;
but in the course of a few days rise again.
In gardensordunghills, chick-weed sheds
abundance of seeds, which are round,
cqmpressed, yellow, and rough, with lit-
tle tubercles ; and thus becomes a trou-
blesome weed; but if it be not suffered to
seed, it may bo destroyed, as it is annual,
without much ti-ouble. This species is a
remarkable instance of the sleep of plants;
for eveiy night the leaves approach in
pairs, including with their upper surfaces
the tender rudiments of the new shoots;
and the uppermost p;ur but one, at the
end of the stalk, is furnished with longer
leaf-stalks than the others, so that they
can close upon the terminating pair, and
protect the end of the branch. The
young shoots and leaves, when boiled,
can scarcely be disting^iished from spring
spinach, and are equally wholesome.
Swine are very fond of it ; cows and hor-
ses eat it; sheep are indifferent to it;
and goats refuse it. This plant is found
wild in most parts of the world. It is
annual, and flowers almost through the
whole year.
ALSTONIA, in botany, a genus of the
Polyandria Monogjnia class and order.
Essen, char, corol. one-petalled, eight or
ten cleft : clefts alternated. There isbut
one species, a shrub found in South Ame-
rica. It is very smooth, and has the air
of tlie bohea-tea, in the leaves, calyxes,
and situations of the flowers. The dried
leaves taste like those of Chinese tea.
ALSTROEMERTA, in botany, a genus
of the Hexandria Monogynia class and
order : cor. si.x-petalled, somewhat two-
hpped; the lower petals tubular at the
base : stamina declined. There are six
species, all found in South America.
ALT, in music, a term applied to that
part of the great scale of sounds, which
lies between F above the treble-cleft note
and G in altissimo.
ALTAR, a place upon which sacrifices
were anciently offered to some deity.
The heathens at first made their altars
only of turf; in following times they were
made of stone, of marble, of wood, and
even of horn, as that of Apollo in Delos.
Altars differed in figure as well as in ma-
terials. Some were round, others square,
andotliers oval. All of them were turn-
ed towards the east, and stood lower than
the statues of the gods, and were gene-
rally adorned with sculpture, inscriptions,
and the leaves and flowers of the particu-
lar tree consecrated to the deity. Thus,
the altars of Jupiter were decked with
oak, those of Apollo with laurel, those of
Venus with myrtle, and those of Minerva
M'ith olive.
The height of altars also differed ac-
cording to the different gods to whom
they sacrificed. Those of ihe celestial
ALT
ALU
g'ods were raised to a g^at height above
the ground; tliose appointed for the ter-
restrial were almost on a level with tlie
surface of the eartli ; and on the contra-
ry, they dug- a hole for tlie altars of the
infernal gods. According to Scrvius, tlie
first were called altarta, the second ar,e,
and the last ciobiculi,- but this distinction
is not every where observed, for we fiiid
in the best authors, the word ara, as a ge-
neral word, including the altars of celes-
tial, infernal, and terrestrial gods.
liefoi-e temples were in use, altars were
erected sometimes in groves, sometimes
in the high ways, and sometimes on tlie
tops of mountains; and it was a custom
to engrave upon them the name, proper
ensign, or character of the deity to whom
they were consecrated. Thus, St. Paul
observed an altar at Athens, witli an in-
scription To the unknown God.
In the great temples of ancient Rome,
there were ordinarily tiiree altai-s; the
first was placedinthe sanctuary, at the foot
of the statue of the divinity, upon which
incense was burnt, and libations offered :
the second was before tlie gate of tJie
temple, and upon it they sacrificed the
victims: and the third was a portable al-
tar, upon which were placed the offer-
ings and tlic sacred vessels.
Besides these uses of the altars, the an-
cients swore upon them, and swore by
them, in making alliances, confiiTning
treaties of peace, and on other solemn
occasions. Altars also served as a place
of refuge and sanctuary to all those wlio
Hed to them, whatever crime they had
oommitted.
Altar is also used, among Christians,
for the communion-table.
ALTERNATE, in heraldry, is said in
cespect of the situation of the quarters.
Thus the first and fourth quarters, and
the second and tliird, are usually of the
?ame nature, and are called alternate
'luarters.
ALTERNATION Is used for the dif-
ferent ways which any number of quanti-
ties may be changed, or combined. See
Co>fBINJkTlOX.
ALTILEA, marsh'tnallov, in botany, a
genus of plants, with a double calyx, tJie
oxterior one being divided into nine seg-
ments; the fruit consists of numerous
capsules, each containing a single seed,
h belongs to the Monodelphia Polyan-
dria class and order. There are nine spe-
cies. The A. officinalis is pei-ennial, and
flowcre from July to September. It grows
plentifully in salt mai-shcs, and on tlic
banks of rivers and ditches, in many parts
of England, Holland, France, Italy, Sibe-
ria, &.C. It has been in great rerjuest in
every country where medicine has been
regularly cultivated. All its parts abound
with a glutinous juice, with scaiTcly any
smell or peculiar taste.
ALTIMETRV, denotes the art of mea-
suring altitudes or heights. See Mtssv-
RATlO.N.
ALTITUDE, in geometry, one of the
three dimensions of body ; being the
same witli what is otherwise'called height.
Altitude of a figure is tlie distance of
its vertex from its base, or the length of
a perpendicular let fall from the vertex
to the base.
Thales is supposed to have been the
first person who applied the principles of
feometry to the mensuration of altitude :
y means of tlie staff" he measured the
height of the pyramids of Egypt, making
the altitude of the staff' anfl pyramid pro-
portional to tlie length of the .sh:ulows.
ALTiTtuE, in optics, is the height of an
object above a line, drawn parallel to
the horizon from the eye oftlie observer.
Altitude of the ei/e, in perspective, is
its perpendicular height above tlic geo-
metricid plane.
Altitude of a star, &c. in astronomy,
is an arch of a vertical circle, intercepted
between the stars and the horizon.
This altitude is tither tnie or apparent,
accortUng as it is reckoned from tlie ra-
tional or sensible horizon, and the diffe-
rence between these is w hat is c:dled by
astronomers tlie pai-allax of altitude
Near the horizon, tliis altitude is always
increased by means of refraction.
Altitude ofthemerairy, in the baro-
meter and thermometer, is marked by de-
grees, or equal divisions, placed by tlie
side of tlie tube of those instruments.
The altitude of the mercury in the baro-
meter, in and about the metropolis, is
usually comprised between 28.4 and 30.6
inches : in the course of the last seven
years it has not varied fi-om these limits
more than twice. During the same pe-
piod, tlie thermometer in the shade has
been rarely higher than 82« or Bo", and
tliis seldom more than three or foui- times
in a whole summer, nor often lower than
about 8" or 10° below tlie freezing point.
This degree of cold is not common.
ALTO-RELIEVO. See Relievo.
ALUM, in chemistry and the arts, is
denominated tlie sulphate of alumina,
tliough it is not merely a combination of
alumina with the sulphuric acid. It pos-
scs.ses the following characters: 1. It has
a sweetish astringent taste. 2. It is aolu:
txij.
ALUM.
%iK
ble in warm water, and the solution red-
dens vejjetahle colours, which proves the
acid to be in excess. 3. When mixed
with a solution of carbonate of potash,
an effervescence is produced by the un-
combined acid, which prevents the first
portions of alkali that are added to the
solution of sulphate of alumina from occa-
sioning any precipitate. 4. When sulphate
of alumina is heated, it swells up, loses its
regidar form, and becomes a dry spongy
mass ; but, according to the experiments
of Vauquelin, the whole of its acid cannot
be thus expelled. 5. The combination of
sulphuric acid with alumina is incapable
of ciystallizing without an addition of
potasli, which makes a constituent part of
all the alum of commerce. 6. It is de-
composed by charcoal, which combines
with the ox3'gen of the acid, and leaves
the sulphur attached to the alumina.
Dr. Thomson says there are four varie-
ties of alum, all of which are triple salts;
two neutral, and two he calls stiper-salts.
These ai-e thus denominated :
1. Sulphate of alumina and potash.
2. Sulphate of alumina and ammonia.
3. Super-sulphate of alimiina and potash.
4. Super-sulphate of alumina and am-
monia.
The discovery of alum was made in
Asia, from whence it continued to be im-
ported till the end of the fifteenth centu-
ry, when a number of alum works were
established in Italy. In the sixteenth
century it was manufactured in Germany
and Spain; and during Queen Elizabeth's
reign an alum manufactory was establish-
ed in England. The alum of commerce
is usually obtained from native mixtures
of pyrites and clay, or sulphuric acid and
clay. Bergman has published a very com-
plete dissertation on tlie process usually
followed. The earth from which it is pro-
cured is usually called aluminous shistus,
because it is slaty. Its colour is blackish,
because it contains some bitumen. In
most cases it is necessary to bum it be-
fore it can be employed: this is done by
means of a slow smothered fire. Some-
times long exposure to the weather is
sufficient to produce an efflorescence of
alum on the surface. It is then lixiviated,
and the water concentrated by evapora-
tion, and mixed with putrid urine, or mu-
riate of potash ; crystals of alum and of
sulphate of iron usually form together.
The composition of alum has been but
lately understood with acciu^cy. It has
heen long known, indeed, that one of its
ingredients is sulphuric acid ; and the ex-
periments of Pott and Margniff proved in-
contestibly that alumina is another ingre-
dient But sulphvu'ic acid and alumina
are incapable of forming alum. Mai\u-
facturers knew that the addition of a quan-
tity of potash or of ammonia, or of some
substance containing these alkalies,, is al-
most always necessary, and it was proved,
that in every case in which such additions
are unnecessan, the earth from which the
alum is obtained contains already a quan-
tity of potash. Various conjectures were
made about the part which potash acts in
this case ; but Vauquelin and Chaptal ap-
pear to have been the first chemists that
ascertained, by decisive experiments, that
alum is a triple salt, composed of sulphu-
ric acid, alumina, and potash or ammonia
united together. Alum crystallizes in re-
gular octahedrons, consisting of two four-
sided pyramids applied base to base. The
sides are equilateral triangles. The form
of its integrant particles, according to
Hauy, is the regular tetrahedron. Its
taste is, as we have observed, astringent.
It always reddens vegetable blues. Its
specific gravity is 1.7109. At the tempe-
rature of 60° it is soluble in from 15 to
20 parts of water, and in |ths of its weight
of boihng water. When exposed to the
air it effloresces slightly. When exposed
to a gentle heat it undergoes the waterj'
fusion A strong heat causes it to swell
and foam, and to lose about 44 per cent,
of its weight, consisting chiefly of water
of crystallization. What remains is call-
ed calcined or burnt alum, and is some-
times used as a corrosive. By a violent
heat, the gi-eater part of the acid may be
driven oft". Though the properties of
alum are in all cases pretty nearly the
same, it has been demonstrated by Vau-
quelin that three varieties of it occur in
commerce. The first is, super-sulphate
of alumina and potash ; the second, super-
sulphate of alumina and ammonia; the
third, is a mixture or combination of these
tM o, and contains both potash and ammo-
nia. It is the most common of all ; doubt-
less, because the alum-makers use both
urine and the muriate of potash to crys-
tallize their alum. Vauquelin has lately
analysed a number of specimens of alum
manufactured in different countries. The
result was, that they all contain very near-
ly the same proportion of ingi-edients
The mean of all his trials was as follows •
Acid 30.52
Alumina 10.50
Potash 10.40
Water 48.58
100.00
ALU
ALU
When an imumial quantity of potash is
added to iihun liquor, the salt loses its
usual form, and crystallizes in cubes.
Tliis constitutes a fourth variety of alum,
usually distinguished by the name of cu-
bic alum. It contains an excess of alkali.
Mhenihe pota.sh is still further increased,
ChapUil has observed, the salt loses the
property of cryslallizin;^ altog^ether, and
falls down in flakes. This constitutes a
fifth variety of alum, consisting of sul-
phate of potash combined with a small
proportion of alumina. If three parts of
alum and one of flour or sugar be melted
together in an iron ladle, and the mixture
dried till it becomes blackish and ceases
to swell ; if it be then pounded small, put
into a glass phial, and placed in a sand-
bath till a blue flame issues from the
mouth of the phial, and after burning for
a minute or two be allowed to cool, a sub-
stance is obtained, known by the name of
Homberg's pyrophonis, which has the
property of catching fire whenever it is
exposed to tlie open air, especially if the
air be moist. This substance was acci-
dentally discovered by Homberg about
the beginning of the eighteenth century,
while he wa* engjiged in his experiments
on tlic human flcces. He had distilled a
mixture of human frees and ajum till he
could obtain notliing more from it by
means of heat; and four or five days after,
while he was taking the residuum out of
the retort, he was surprised to see it take
fire spontaneously. Soon after, Lemery
the younger discovered that honey, sugar,
flour, or almost any animal or vegetable
matter, could be substituted for human
faeces ; and afterwards Mr. Lejoy de Su-
vi^y shewed that several other salts con-
taining sulphuric acid may be substituted
for alum. Scheele proved that alum de-
prived of pot:ish is incapable of forming
pyrophonis, and that sulphate of potash
may he substituted for alum. And Mr.
Proust has shewn that a number of neu-
tral salts, composed of vegetable acids
and earths, when distilled by a strongfire
in a retort, leave a residuum which takes
fire spontaneously on exposure to the air.
These facts have thrown a great deal of
light on the nature of Ilomberg's pyro-
phonis, and enabled us in some mea.sure
to account for its spontaneous inflsunma-
tion. It has been ascertained, that part
of the sulphuric acid is decomposed <lu-
ring the formation of the pyrophonis, and
of course a part of the alkaline base be-
comes uncomhined with acid ; and the
charcoal, which gives it its black colour.
I is evidently divided into vcn* minute par
tides. It has been ascert^ned, that du-
ring the combustion of the pyrophonis a
quantity of oxygen is absorbed. The in-
flammation is jirobably occasioned by the
charcoal ; the sulpliuret of pota.sh also
acts an essential part. Perhaps it pro-
duces a sudden increase of temperature,
by the absorption and solidification of wa-
ter from tlie atmosphere.
A new process for making alum is used
at some works, for which we are indebt-
ed to Mr Sadler, which is as follows :
The boilers are filled with prepared liquor
of 10 pennyweights, to which sulphate of
potash is added, and boiled together, un-
til it weighs 16 pennyweights, by whick
timethe whole of the superfluous alumins
and the oxyde of iron is precipitated.
The fluid is then run into a settler, where
it i-emains until clear, after which it is
pumped into a second boiler, and evapo-
rated up to 26 penn>AVeights, let into the
coolers, and left to crystallize. By this
process, it is .said, he gains the whole of
the alum at one evaporation, and from tlie
mother Uquor remaining there is a pro-
duct, the sulphate of iron.
ALUMINA, in chemistry, one of the
five proper earths. It was discovered by
the alchemists that alum was composed of
sulphuric acid and an earth, the nature
of which was long unknown ; but Geof-
frey, and afterwards Margraft', found that
the earth of alum is an essential ingredi-
ent in clays, and gives them their proper-
ties, hence it was called argil ,- but Mor-
veau gave it the name of alumina, because
it it obtained in a state of the greatest pu-
rity from alum by the following process.
Dissolve alum in water, and add to the
solution ammonia as long as any precipi-
tate is formed. Decant off" the fluid part,
and wash the precipitate in a large quan-
tity of water, and then allow it to dry.
The substance thus obtained is alumina
not however in a stato of absolute purity,
for it still retains u portion of the sulphu-
ric acid with which it w:is combined in
the ahim. But it may be rendered tole-
rably pure, by dissolving the newly preci-
pitated earth In muriatic acid, evaporating
the solution till a drop of it in cooling de-
posits small cry.stals, setting it by to crjs-
tallize, .separating the crjstals, concen-
trating the liquid a second time, and se-
parating the crjstals which are again
deposited. By this process, most of tlie
•alum which the earth retained will be se-
parated in crj'.stals. If the liquid be now-
mixed with ammnn'a :\s lon^ ns anv prp-
" "• . ■' " ■ " . , .1
♦ Jf >
ALUMINA.
Alumina has little taste : when pure, it
has no smell ; but if it contains oxycle of
iron, which it often docs, it emits a peculiar
smell when breathed upon, known by the
name of earthy smell. This smell is very
preceptible in common clays. The speci-
fic gravity of alumina is 2.00. When heat
is applied to alumina, it gradually loses
weight, in consequence of the evapora-
tion of a quantity of water, with which, in
its usual state, it is combined; at the
same time its bulk is considerably dimi-
nished. The spongy alumina parts with
its moisture very readily ; but the gelati-
nous retains it very strongly. Spongy alu-
mina,when exposed to a red heatjloses 0.58
parts of its weight ; gelatinous, only 0,43 :
spongy alumina loses no more than 0.58
when exposed to a heat of 130° Wedge-
wood; gelatinous in the same temperature
loses but 0.4825. Yet Saussure has shown
that both species, after being dried in the
temperature of 60°, contain equal propor-
tions of water. Alumina undergoes a di-
minution of bulk proportional to the heat
to which it is exposed. This contraction
seems owing, in low temperatures, to the
loss of moisture; butin high temperatures
it must be owing to a more intimate com-
bination of the earthy particles with each
other ; for it loses on perceptible weight
in any temperature, however high, after
being exposed to a heat of 130° Wedge-
wood.
Mr. Wedgewood took advantage of this
property of ahimina, and by means of it
constructed an instrument for measuring
high degrees of }ieat. It consists of pieces
ef clay of a determinate size, and an ap-
paratus for measuring their bulk with ac-
curacy ; one of these pieces is put into
the fire, and the temperature is estimated
by tlie contraction of the piece. The con-
traction of the clay pieces is measured by
means of two brass rules, fixed upon a
plate, the distance between which at one
extremity is 0.5 inch, and the other ex-
tremity 0.3 inch ; and the rules are exact-
ly 24.0 inches in length, and divided into
240 equal parts, called degrees. These
degrees commence at the widest end of
the scale. The first of them indicates a
red heat, or 947° Fahrenheit. The clay-
pieces are small cylinders, baked in a red
heat, and made so as to fit 1° of the scale.
They are not composed of pure alumina,
but of a fine white clay. Alumina is
scarcely soluble in water; but may be dif-
fused through that liquid with great fa-
cility. Its affinity for water, however, is
verj' considerable. In its usual state it is
combined with more than its own weight
of water, and we have seen wltli whatob.
stinacy it retains it. Even this combina-
tion of alumina and water is capable, in
its usual state of dryness, of absorbing 2^
times its weight of water, without suffer-
ing any to drop out. It retains this water
more obstinately than any of the earths
hitherto desci-ibed. In a freezing cold it
contracts more, and parts with more of
its water, tlian any other earth; a circum-
stance which is of some importance in
agriculture. Alumina has no effect upon
vegetable blues. It cannot be christal-
lized artificially ; but it is found native in
beautiful transparent crystals, exceeding-
ly hard, and havinga specific gravity of4.
It isdistinguisedin this state by the name
of sapphyr. It does not combine with me-
tills ; but it has a strong affinity for me-
tallic oxydes, especially for those oxydes
which contain a maximum of oxygen.
Some of these compovmds are found na-
tive. Thus, the combination of alumina
and red oxyde of iron often occurs in the
form of a yellow powder, which is em-
ployed as a puint, and distinguished by
the name of ochre. There is a strong af-
finity between the fixed alkalies and alu-
mina. When heated together, they com-
bine, and form a loose mass, without any
transparency. Liquid fixed alkali dis-
solves alumina by the assistance of heat,
and retains it in solution. The alumina
is precipitated again, unaltered, by drop-
ping an acid into the solution. This is a
method employed by chemists to procure
alumina in a state of complete purity ; for
alumina, unless it be dissolved in alkali,
almost always retains a little oxyde of
iron and some acid, which disguise its
properties. Liquid ammonia is also ca-
pable of dissolving a very minute propor-
tion of newly precipitated alumina. Bsu-
rytes and strontian also combine with alu-
mina, both when heated with it in a cru-
cible, and when boiled with it in water.
The result, in the first case, is a greenish
or bluish-coloured mass, cohering but im-
perfectly: in the second, two compounds
are fonned; the first, containing an ex-
cess of alumina, remains in the state of au
insoluble powder ; the other, containing
an excess of barytes or strontian, is held
in solution by the water. Alumina has
a sti-ong affinity for lime, and readily en-
tei-s with it into fusion. None of the earths
is of more importance to mankind than
alumina ; it forms the basis of china and
stone-ware of all kinds, and of the cruci-
bles and pots employed in all those manu-
factures w^hich require a strong heat. It
is absolutely necessaiy to the dyer anrf
AMA
AMA
cslico printer, and is employed too, with
the greatest advantage, by the fuller and
cleaner of cloth.
ALUUNL S, in natural history, a genus
of insects of the order Cokoptera. Es-
sen, character : antcnnx filiform, short ;
feelers four to sis, very short : jaw hor-
ney, arched. There are three specie.s —
A. grossu.s,an inhabitant of South Ameri-
ca and India: A. femoratus, found in In-
<lia : and A. dentipes, found at the Cape
of Good Hope.
ALYSSO, or Altssvm, mad tom-t, in
botany, a genus of the Tetradynamia Es-
sculosa class of plants ; the flower is of
the cruciform kind, and consists of four
leaves ; the fruit is a small roundish cap-
aide, divided into two cells, in which are
contained a number of small roundish
.seeds.
Tiie alyssum is arranpfed in three divi-
sions, viz. into A. in which the stem is
somewhat shrubby : R. stems herbace-
ous : C. silules inflated, or calyx oblong,
closed. There are 33 species ; but ac-
cording Martyn only 17. All the spe-
cies may be propagated by seed, and most
of them by slips and cuttings. In rich
ground they seldom live through the win-
ter in England ; but in dry, poor, rub-
bishy soil, or on old walls, they will abide
the cold, and last much longer.
AMALGAM, in the arts. The metals
in general unite very readily with one
another, and form compounds; thus pew-
ter is a compound of lead and tin, brass
is a compound of copper and zinc, &c.
These are all called alloys, except when
one of the combining metals is mercurj' ;
in that case tlie compound is called an
amalg-am : thus mercury and gold form a
compound called the amalgam of gold.
The amalgam of gold is formed very
readily, because there is a very strong af-
finity between the two metals. If a bit of
gold be dipped into mercun.', its surface,
by combining with mercurj', becomes as
white as silver. The easiest way of form-
ing this amalgam is, to throw small pieces
of red hot gold into mercury heated till
it begins to smoke. The proportions of
the ingredients are not determinable, be-
cause ihey conibine in any proportion.
This amalgam is of a silver^' whiteness.
By squeezing it through leatlier, the ex-
cess of mercury may be separated, and a
soft wliite amaigtim obtained, which gra-
dually becomes solid, and consists of
about one part of mercury to two of gold.
It melts at a moderate temperature ; and
in a heat below redness the mercury eva-
porates, and kaves the gold ip a st^te of
purity. It is much used in gilding. The
amalgam is spread upon the metal which
is to be gilt: and then, by the ap]dica-
tion of a gentle and equal heat, the- mer-
cur}- is driven ott', and the gold left adhe-
ring to the metallic surface : this surface
is then rubbed with a brass wire bmsh
under water, and aiterwards burnished.
The amalgam of silver is made in the
same manner as that of gold, and with
equal ease. It forms dentrical crystals,
which contain eight parts of mercurj- and
one of silver. It is of a white colour, and
is always of a soft consistence. Its spe-
cific gravity is greater than the mean of
the two metals. Gillert has even re-
marked, that when thrown into pure mer-
cury, it sinks to the bottom of that hquid.
Mhen heated sufficiently, the mercury is
volatilized, and the silver remains behind
pure. This amalgam is sometimes em-
ployed, like that of gold, to cover the sur-
faces of the inferior metals with a thin
coat of silver. The amalgam of tin and
mercury is much used in electricity. See
Gilding.
AMARANTHUS, in botany, a genus
of the Monoecia Pentandria class and or-
der, of the Triandria Trjginiaof Gmelin's
Linnxus; its charactere are, that those
species which have male flowers on the
same plants with the females have a ca-
lyx, which is a five or three-leaved peri-
anthium, upright, coloured, and perma-
nent ; the leaflets lanceolate and acute ;
no corolla ; the stamina have five or three
capillary filaments, from upright, patu-
lous, of tlie length of the calyx, the an-
thers oblong and vei-satile : of those which
have female flowers in the same receme
witli the males, the calyx is a perianthi-
um the same with the former ; no corol-
la ; tlie pistillum has an ovate germ, styles
three, short and subulate ; stigmas sim-
ple and permanent ; the pericarpium is
an ovate capsule, somewhat compressed,
as is also the calyx on which it is placed,
coloiu^d, and of the same size, three-
beaked, one-celled, cut open transverse-
ly ; the seed is single, globular, com-
pressed, ;md large. There are 22 spe-
cies, of which we notice A. melancolicus,
two-colourtd A. with glomerules, axilla-
ry, peduncled, roundish, and leaves ovate-
lanceolate, and coloured. This species
varies in the colour of the leaves ; being
in the open air of a dingy purple on their
upper surface, and the younger ones
green ; in a stove the whole plant is pur-
ple-coloured ; but it is easily distinguish-
ed in all states by its colour, leaves, and
the Utencbs of its flowering, after all the
AMA
AMA
others are past : it is joined by I. a Marck
with a tri-colour; a native of Guiana
and the East-Indies, and cultivated in
1731 by Miller. The obscure purple and
bright crimson of the leaves are so blend-
ed as to set off each other, and, in the
vigorous state of the plants, make a fine
appearance. A. tri-color, three-colour-
ed A. with glomemles sessile, roundish ;
stem clasping,and leases lanceolate-ovate,
coloured. This has been long cultivated,
being in the garden of Gerard in 1596,
for tlie beauty of its variegated leaves, in
which the colours are elegantly mixed ;
these, when the plants are vigoi-ous, are
large and closely set from the bottom to
the top of the stalks, and the branches
form a kitid of pyramid, and therefore
there is not a more handsome plant when
in full lustre : a native of Guianiv, Persia,
Ceylon, China, Japan, the Society Isles,
&.C. A. lividus, livid A. These are the
most worthy of a place in the pleasure-
gai-den ; but they are tender, and require
attention. They are usually disposed in
pots, with cocks-combs and other showy
plants, for adorning court-yards, and the
environs of the house. The seeds of these
shoidd be sown in a moderate hot-bed,
about the end of March ; and when the
plants come up, they should have much
air in mild weather. When they are fit
for transplanting, they should be removed
to dnother moderate hot-bed, and placed
at six inches distance, watering and sha-
ding them till tliey have taken new root ;
afterwards thej' should have free air, and
frequent but gentle waterings. In the be-
ginning of June they shoidd be taken up,
with large balls of earth to their roots,
and planted either in pots or the borders
of the pleasure -garden, shaded till they
have taken root, and afterwards frequent-
ly watered in diy weather. The tree
amaranth must be planted in a rich light
soil, and if it be allowed room, and well
watered in drj' weather, it will grow to a
large size, and make a fine appearance.
The other sorts are sufficiently hardy to
bear the open air, and may be sown on a
bed of light earth, in the spring, and when
tlie plants are fit to remove, transplanted
into any part of the garden, where they
will thrive, and produce plenty of seeds.
AMARII.LIS, in botany, a genus of
the Hexandria Monogjnia class and or-
der, of the natural order of Lilise or Lilia-
cex ; its chanicters arc, that the calyx is
a spathe, oblong, obtuse, compressed,
emarginate, gaping on the flat side, and
withering; ihe corolla has six petals,
lanceolate, the nectary has six very short
scales without the base of the filaments ;
the stamina have six awl-shaped filaments,
with oblong, incumbent, rising anthers ;
the pisttllum has a roundish, furrowed,
inferior germ, the style filiform, almost of
the lengtli and in the situation of the sta-
mens, the stigma trifid and slender ; the
pericarp ium is a subovate, three-celled,
three-valved capsule ; and the seeds are
several. The inflection of the petals,
stamens, and pistil, is very various in the
different species of this genus ; and the
corolla in most of the species is rather
hexapetaloid than six-petalled. Gmelin
reckons 27 species. A lutea, yellow, A.
or autumnal narcissus, with an undivided
obtuse s])athe, sessile ; flower bell sha-
ped ; corolla erect, shortly tubular at the
base, and erect stamens, alternately
shorter; the flowers seldom rise above
three or four inches high ; the green
leaves come up at the same time, and
when the flowers are past, the leaves in-
crease through tlie winter. This species
recedes a little from the genxis. It is a
native of the south of France, Spain, Italy,
and Thrace : was cultivated by Gerard,
in 1596, and flowers in September. A.
formosissima, jacobea lily, so called,
because some ima^ned that they disco-
vered in it a likeness to the badge of the
order of the knights of the order of St.
James, in Spain, the liUo-narcissus and
narcissus of others, with a spathe undi-
vided, flower pedicelled, corolla two-lip-
ped, nodding, deeply six-parted stamens,
and pistil bent down. The flowers are
produced from the sides of the bulbs, are
large, of a deep red, and make a beauti-
ful appearance : it is a native of America,
first known in Europe in 1593, some roots
of it having been found on board a ship
which had returned fi-om South America,
by Simon de Jovar, a physician at Seville,
who sent a description of the flowers to
Clusius, who published a drawing of it in
1601, called, by Parkinson, who figured it
in 1629, the Indian daffodil, with a red
flower : cultivated in the Oxford Gai-den
in 1658. A. reginx, Mexican lily, with
spathe,having about two flowers, pedicels
divaricating, corollas bell-shaped, shortly
tubular, nodding, throat of the tube hir-
sute, and leaves lanceolate, patulous; the
bulb is green, corolla scarlet, and at the
bottom whitish green, the style red, the
flowers large, of a bright copper colour,
inclined to red : it flowered in Fairchild's
garden, at Hoxton, in 1728 ; and Dr.
Douglas wrote a folio pamphlet upon it,
giving it the title of lilium reginze, because
it was in full beauty on the first of March,
AMA
AMB
xhe queen's birth-day : the roots were
brought from Mexico, and therefore* Mr.
Fajrchild called it Mexican lily, the name
which it has retained. It flowers in the
spring in a very warm stove ; is in beauty
in February; and in a moderate tempera-
ture of air will flower in March or April.
A. saniiensis, lilium samienseof Douglas,
who published a description of it in 1725;
narcissus of others ; Guernsey Uly, so
called by Mr. Ray in 1665 ; with petals
linear, flat, stamens and pistil str.iig^tish,
longer than tJie corolla, stigmas, parted
and revolute. The bulb is an oblong
spheroid ; the leaves are dark willow
green; the number of flowers is common-
ly from eight to twelve, and circumfer-
ence of each about seven inches; the co-
rolla, in its prime, has the colour of a fine
gold tissue, wrought on a rose-coloured
ground, and when it begins to fade, it is
a pink : in full sunshine, it seems to be
studded with diamonds, but by candle-
light the specks or spangles appear more
like fine gold dust ; when the petals be-
gin to wither, they assume a deep crim-
son colour. The flowers begin to come
out ai the end of August, and the head is
usually tliree weeks in gpradually expand-
ing. This beautiful plant is a native of
Japan, and has been long naturalized in
' L^nisey. It is said to have been brought
111 Japan to Paris, and cul ivated in
>lijr!n's garden before 1634. It was cul-
tivated at Wimbledon, in Kngland, by
fieneral 1-anibert, in 1659, and in 16(54 be-
came more common : it docs not seem to
have been in Holland before 1695. The
plants are reputed to owe their origin in
Guernsey to the shipwreck of a vessel re-
turning from Japan, probably before the
middle ofUie seventeenth centur)-. The
bulbs, it is said, being cast on sliore, look
root in that sandy soil, and produced beau-
tiful flowers, which eng.iged the attention
of Mr. Hatton, the gtnernor's son, who
sent roots to several of his friends. A va-
riety of thi.s, found at the Cape of (iood
Hope, is described by Jacfuiin with a nia-
ny-nowered spathe, c(H-oIlas very patent
andrefle.\ at the apex, stamens aud pistil
somewhat straight, longer tlinn the corol-
la, and leaves ensiform-lineor. Most of
these species have very beautiful flowers,
and merit the attention of the botanist and
florist. The fii*st, or yellow autumnal A.
is very hard\', and increases by ofisets.
The season flur transplanting these roots
is from May to tlie end of July, when the
leaves are decayed. They will grow in
any soil or situation ; but they will thrive
best in a fresh, light, dr>' soil, and open
VOL. 1
situation, and will keep flowering from
the beginning of Septembertothe middle
of November, provided that they escape
severe frosts ; and a succession of flowers
will spring from the same root. The
Guernsey lily has been cultivated for ma-
ny years in the gardens of Guernsey and
Jersej', whence the too s arc sent to most
parts of Europe. The bulbs art common-
ly brought over in June and July, and
they should then be planted in pots filled
with fresh, light, sandy earth, mixed with
a small quantity of very rotten dung,
pl.aced in a warm situation, and occasion-
ally refreshed with water. About the
middle of September the stronger roots
will shew their red-coloured flower-stem ;
and then the pots shoidd be removed mto
a situat'on where they may have the full
benefit of the sun, and be sheltered from
strong winds; but not placed under
glasses, or too near a wall, which would
draw them up, and render them less beau-
tiful. When the flowers begin to open,
the pots should be put under shelter, so
as to be secure from too much wet, but
not kept too close or too warni. The
flowers will continue in beauty for a month;
and, though without scent, their rich co-
lour entitles them to the first rank in the
flowery tribe.
AMASONIA, in botany, a genius of the
DidynamiaAngiospermia class and order:
calyx five cleft : corolla tubular, with a
small five-cleft border : berry four-seeded.
There are two species.
AMATEUR, in the arts, denotes a per-
son understanding, lovmg, or practising
the fine arts, without any regard to pecu-
niarv' advantage.
AMBASSA60R,a person appointed by
one sovereign power to another, to super-
intend his aftairs at some foreign court,
and supposed to represent the power from
which he is sent. The person of an am-
bassador is inviolable. _ v ,
AMBER, in mineralogj', a resinous sub- \
stance, called by the ancients electrum,
found in difterent countries ; but most
abundantly in Pnissia, either on the sea-
shore, or under ground, at tlie depth of
100 feet, reposing on wood coal. It is ob-
tained in lumps of different sizes. There
are the white and the yellow amber. 1.
The white amber is in colour straw -yel-
low, inclining to yellowish white ; but 2.
The yellow amber is a m x\-yellow pass-
ing to a honey-yellow, yellowish brown,
and hyacinth-red. It is found in blunt
f)ieces, with a rough surface. It is rather
)rittle, and its specific gravity is from 1.07
to 1.08. Amber bums with a veUow<o-
AMB
AMB
ioured flame, and, if the heat be strong
enonpfh, melts, and emits a pcculiai- agree-
able o<lour, and leaves little ashes. When
nibbed, it acquires a strong negative elec-
trical virtue. From tliis property is de-
rived the word electricity. It is com-
posed of cai-bon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Amber is often found in the alluvial de-
posit (usually called Mai-le) of New-Jer-
sey. According to Sir J. Hill, it is said
that amber has been fotmd in digging in-
to tlie alluvial land in the vicinity of Lon-
don. It is found sometimes on the sea-
shores ofsevenJ parts of England. Being
susceptible of a fine polish, it is cut into
necklaces, bracelets, snuff-boxes, and
other articles of dress. Before the discove-
ry of the diamond and otlier precious
stones of India, it w as considered to be the
most precious of jewels, and was employ-
ed in all kinds of ornamental dress : jiltars
were likewise ornamented with it. The
greatest quantity at present consumed in
commerce is purchased by Armenian and
Ctrecian merchants, for the use, it is con-
jectured, of pilgi-ims, previously to tlieir
journey to Mecca, and Uiat on their ar-
rival there it is burnt in honour of the pro-
phet Mahomet. The acid and oil obtain-
ed from it arc used as medicines.
If often contains insects of various spe-
cies, in a state of complete presenation,
also leaves, and other parts of vegetables.
Varioiis conjectures have been made re-
specting its origin and formation. By
some it is, as we have already seen, con-
sidered as a vegetable gum or resin ;
others regard it as a mineral oil, thicken-
ed by the absorption of oxygen; and Mr.
Parkinson is of opinion, tliat it is inspissa-
ted mineral oil. There was lately found
in Prussia a mass of amber which weighed
upwards of 13 pounds, the contents of
which amounted to 318^ cubic inches.
Five thousand dollars are said to have
been oflered for it ; and the Armenian
merchants assert, that in Constantinople
it would sell for six times that price at
least. Pitch-coal is sometimes found with
amber, and is called black, and is sold
to the ignorant at a great price. Spe-
cimens inclosing insects, &c. are highly
valued, and the amber-dealers are said to
be possessed of means of softening it, in
order to introduce insects and other fo-
reign bodies into it. Two parts of the
empyreumatic oil obtained by distilling
mineral pitch boiled several times, with
three parts of tuipentine, form a com-
poimd, which beai-s a great resemblance
to amber, and which is often cut into
necklaces and other ornaments, and sold
as true amber.
AMBERGRIS, in chemislrj", is a aib-
stance foiuid floating on the sea, near the
coasts of India, Africa, and Brazil, usual-
ly in small pieces, but sometimes in mass-
es of 5U or 100 pounds in weight. Vari-
ous opinions have been entertained con-
cerning its origin Some affirmed that it
was the concrete juice of a tree ; othere
thought it a bitumen ; but it is now esta-
blislied, that it is a concretion, formed in
the stomach or intestines of the physeter
maciwephalus, or spermaceti whale. Am-
bergi-is, a\ hen pure, is a hght soft sub-
stance which swims on water. Its speci-
fic gravity varies from 0.78 to 0.844'. Its
colour is ash-gTcy, with brownish yellow
and white streaks. It has an agreeable
smell, which improves by keeping. Its
taste is insipid. When heated to 122°, it
melts without frothing ; if tlie heat be in-
creased to 212°, it is volatilized completely
in a white smoke, leaving only a trace of
charcoal. Mhen distilled, we obtain a whi-
tish acid liquid and a light volatile oil ; a
bulky charcoal remains behind. It is in-
soluble in water. Acids have little action
on it. Weak sulphuric acid occasions no
change ; but, when concentrated, it de-
velopes a little chaixoal. Nitric acid dis-
solves it, giving out at the same time ni-
trous gas, carbonic acid, and azotic gas.
Afljrownish liquid is fonned, wliich leaves,
when evaporated to dnness, a brittle
brown substance, possessing the proper-
ties of a resin. The alkaUes dissolve it by
the assistance of heat, and form a soap
soluble in water. Both the fixedand vola-
tile oils dissolve ambergris. It is soluble
also in etlier and alcohol. It possesses the
propei-ties of tlie salty matter into which
the muscles are converted by nitric acid,
and whicli makes its appearance when
dead bodies are allowed to putrefy in great
numbei-s together. This substance has
been distinguished by the name of adipo-
cire, fi'om its resemblance both to fat and
wax. The quantity of it in ambergris
amounts to 52.8 parts. According to the
analysis of ambergris made by Bouillon
La Grange, it is composed of
52.7 adipocire
30.8 resin
11.1 benzoic acid
5.4 charcoal
1.000
AMBIDEXTER, a peson who can use
both hands with the same facihty, and for
the same purposes, that the generality of
people do their r-ght hands.
Were it not for education, some think
AME
AME
that all mankind would be ambidexters j
and, in fact, we frequently find nurses
oblig'cd to be at a good deal of pains be.
fore they can bring' cliildrcn to forego the
use of their left hands. It is to be regret-
ted, that any of the gifts of nature should
be thus rendered in a great measiu-e use-
less, as there are many occasions in life
which require the equal use of both
hands : sucli as thfr operations of bleed-
ing in the left arm, left ancle, &c.
A.MBROSIA, in botany, the name of a
distinct genus of plants, with flosculous
flowers, composed of several small infun-
dibuliform floscuks, divided into five seg-
ments; these, however, are barren ; the
fniit, which in some measin-e resembles a
club, growing on other parts of the plant.
This genus belongs to the Monoccia
Pentandria class and order. There are
five species.
AMBROSFNIA, in botany, a genus of
the Monoecia Monadelphia class and or-
der; of which there is a species fotmd in
the island of Sicily : spathe one-leafed, se-
parated by a membranaceous partition,
containing tlie stamina in the hinder cell
and upper part of the partition, pistils in
the outer cell, and lower part of the par-
tition : the root is tuberous; leaves radi-
cal, ovate, and shining.
AMBUSCADE, or AMnrsu, in the mi-
litary art, properly denotes a place where
soldiers may lie concealed, till they find
an opportunity to surprise the enemy.
AMELT.US, in botany, a genus of the
Syngcnesia Superflua : receptacle chaffy ;
down simple : calyx imbricate : florets of
the raj- divided. There arc three spe-
cies.
AMELIOK.\TING rro/>», in husbandry,
are such as are supposed to improve the
lands on which they are cultivated.
Most of those plants which have a large
stem and shaxly leaf are thought to ren-
ders the soils on which they grow more
fertile, by producing a confined or stiig-
nant state of the air. The improvement
of lands, by what are called ameliorating
crops, probably depends upon the culture
which the ground receives while they are
growing,and the returns which they make
to it in the way of manure, after they are
eonstimed by animals.
AMEN', in tlie scripture language, a
solemn formida, or conclusion to all pray-
er, signifying, «o be it.
The term aiM'vi is Hebrew, being de-
rived from the verb, ainaii, i. e. to be tntc,
faithful, &c. so that, strictly speaking, it
signifies trtith ; and, used adveri)iully, as
is frequently done in the gospels, tndy or
verily. Sometimes it is repeated twice
together, and then it stands for tlie supei*
lative, as .men, amen, rlico vo6i».
The word, in music, forms the usual
conclusion of antliems, hymns, and other
sacred compositions; an<l has so long
been one of the principal tliemes of choral
harmony, as to have given birth to a dis-
tinct appellation for music atbpted to its
expression : as when, using the wortl ad-
jcctively, we say, such an oratorio or an-
them conchules with an .Imen chorus.
AMEND, orA^fKNUK, in the French
customs, a pecuniary pimishment imposed
by a judge for any crime, false prosecu-
tion, or groundless appeal.
Ahf.xm! honorable, an infiimous kind
of pimishment inflicted in France upon
traitoi-s, parricides, or sacrilegious per-
sons, in the following manner: the oflcndeir
being delivere«l into the hands of tlie hang-
man, his sliirt is stripped oH', and a rope
put abmit his neck, and a taper in his
hand; then he is Iwl into court, where he
must beg pardon of God, the King, the
Court, and his Countrj'. Sometimes die
punisiimentends here, but sometimes it
is only a prelutle to death, or banislunent
to the gallies.
Ameiule honorable is a term also used
for making recantation in open court, or
in |) "tlie person injured.
.\ S'Y, in law, die correction
of;i.i >., .■ ^v.,;iinittedina process, which
may be amended after judgment, unless
the error lies in giving judgment, for in
that case it is not amendable, but the par-
ty must faring a writ of error.
Abill II! ' ■ uded on the file at
anytime lea is pleaded; but
not at^erv, >..^.^, .. ....uut motion and leave
of the court
AMKHCEMEXT, or Axehciambwt,
inlaw, a pecuniarj' punishment imposed
u[)on oft'endei*sat the mercy of the court.
Amercements difler from fines, the latter
being certain punisliments growing ex-
pressly from some statute, whereas the
former are imposed ai-bitrarily, in propor-
tion to tiie fault.
Beiudes, finesare assessedby the court,
but amercements by the country.
A court of recoi\l only can fine, all
otliers can only amerce.
Sheriffs are amerceable for the faults of
their officers, and clerks of the peace
may be junei-ced in the KingVbcnch for
gross faults in indictments removed to
that court.
.\ town is subject to amercement for
tiic escape of a murtlerer in the day-time,
M\(\ if tlie town is walled, it is subject to
AME
'AME^
amercement, whether the escape hap-
pens i)y day or night.
The statute of Magna Charta ordains,
that a freeman is not tc he amerced for a
small fault, but in proportion to the of-
fence, by his peers and equals.
AMERIMNUM. or Amkrimnox, in
botanv, a g-enus of the Diadelphia Decan-
dria class and order; of the natural order
of Papihonacese orLeguminosx ; the cha-
racters of whlcli are, that the calyx is
a one-leafed perianthium; tul)e bell shap-
ed, five toothed, the teeth sharp ; the co-
rolla papilionaceous, standard with an ob-
long claw, roundish, heart-shaped, ex-
panding and convex, wings lanceolate,
shorter than the standard, ajid keel short;
the stamina have ten filaments conjoined,
anthers roundish ; the pisti'lum has a trum
pedicelled, oblong, compressed, leafy, va-
ricose, with lateral veins, within woody,
no' gaping; cells disposed longitudinally
within : the seeds solitary, kidney-shaped,
thicker at the base, appendicted at the
top. There are two species, viz. 1. A.
Brownei : this shrub rises commonly to
the height of ten feet, and supports itself
on other shrubs. It is a native of Cartha-
gena, Jamaica, and Domingo. 2. A. ebe-
nus, Jamaica ebony, which is common in
Jamaica and several other parts of the
West Indies, where the wood is cut, and
sent into England under the name of ebo-
ny, though the true ebony is a native of
the eastern country, and of a different
genus. This wood is of a fine greenish
brown colour, admits of polishing well,
so that it is much valued by the instru-
ment makers, and it is of a very hard du-
rable nature. Dr. Browne says, that the
trunk seldom exceeds three or four inches
in diameter; that tlie slender branches,
being very tough and flexible, are used
for riding switches, and kept at all the
whaifs about Kingston, to scourge the re-
fractory slaves.
AMETHYST, in mineralogy, is one of
the Quartz family; it occurs massive and
in rolled pieces, but most frequently crys-
tallized. The crystals are six-sided pyra-
mids : colour violet blue, passing on the
one hand to plum blue, brown, brownish
black; on the other to pearl and ash grey,
greyish white,greenish white,olive green,
and in some rare cases pistachio green. In
massive varieties several colours appear
together in stripes : in this state they are
composed of thick prismatic distinct con-
cretions, often shooting into ciystals at
their extremities. Specific gravity 2.75.
It is found in veins, and in the hollow ca-
vities of agate. It is composed of
Silica 97.50
Alumina 0.25
Oxide of iron .... 0.50
and a
Trace ofmanganese — ^— —
98.25
It is found abimdantly in different parts
of Saxony : also in the Hartz, in the Ura-
lian mountains, and in the East Indies
The most beautiful varieties are foimd at
Catharinaburg in Russia. It is cut into
rings, seals, and boxes, but it is not very
highly valued. The gieen is the chrj'so-
lite of some autliors: the oriental amethyst
is the sapphire : it is sometimes covered
with capillary ci-ystals of iron mica, and
when viewedin certain postions appeare
red ; this variety is named the hair ame-
thyst.
Amethyst, in heraldry, a term for the
purple colour in the coat of a nobleman,
in use with those who blazon by precious
stones instead of metals and colours.
This in a gentleman's escutcheon is called
purpure, and in those of sovereign pi'inces
mercury.
AMETHYSTEA, amethtjst, so called
from the amethystine colotirsof theflow-
ei"s, in botany, a gentis of the Dianriria
Monogynia class ; the characters are, that
the calyx is a perianthium one-leafed,
tube bell-shaped, angular, semiquinque-
fid, subequal, acuminate, and permanent;
the corolla is one-petalled, ringent, little
longer than the calyx; border five-parted
and sjibequal ; upper lip erect, roundish,
concave, two-parted, gaping; lowerthree-
parted ; the sides rounded, erect, shorter;
the middle quite entire, concave, the
length of the upper lip ; the staminahave
filaments, filiform, approximating, iinder
the u])perlip, and longer than it; anthers
.simple and roundish ; the pistillum is a
quadrifid germ, style size of the stamens,
stigmas two, and acute ; no pericarpium,
but the calyx becomes more bell-shaped
and spreading ; the seeds are four, short-
er than the calyx ; obtuse, and angular
witliin. There is one species, viz. A.
cocnilia, mountain upright A. which is a
native of the mountains in Siberia, from
whence the seeds were sent to the Impe-
rial garden at Petersburgh, and in 1759
to Chelsea garden, where the plants annu-
ally produce seeds. It is annual, and
hath an upright stalk, which rises abouta
foot high, and towards the top puts out
two or three small lateral branches; these
are garnished with small trifid leaves,
sawed on their edges, and of a very dark
green colour; at the extremity of the
AMM
AMM
branches the (lowers are produced in
small umbels ; tliese are of a fine blue co-
lour, as are also the upper part of tl»e
branches, and the leaves immediately un-
der the umbel ; so that thoug^h the flowers
arc small, yet, from their colour, with
tliat of the upper part of the stalks, the
plants make a pretty appearance during
their continuance in flower.
A.MIA, in natural history, a genus of
fishes of the order Abdominales. Gene-
ric character: head bony, naked, rough,
with visible sutures. Teeth, both in jaws
and palate, close-set, sharp, numerous.
Cirri or beards two, near the nostrils.
Gill-membrane twelve-rayed : body sca-
ly. There is a single species, Calva, a
small fresh water fish, inhabiting some
parts of Carolina.of which the tail isround-
ed, and with a black spot ; it is seldom
eaten.
AMIABLE, or amicable numbers, such
as are mutually equal to the sum of one
another's aliquot parts, as the numbers
284 and 220.
Van Schouten was the first who gave
this name to such numbers, of which there
are but very few at least to be set down
and manageable by us. For 284 and 220
are the two least. The aliquot parts of
220 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20, 22,44,55, 110,
and the sum of these is ecjual 284. The
aliquot parts of 284 are 1, 2, 4, 71, 142,
an(l the sum of these is 220. The second
pair of applicable numbers are 17296 and
18416. The third pair arc 936:5584 and
9437056.
AMIANTHUS. See Asbestos.
AMICUS cun<e, in law, if a judge be
(doubtful or mistaken, in a matter of law,
a bystander may inform the court as ami-
eti9 ci'.ride.
AMMANNIA, named by floustoun in
honour of J. Amman, in botany, a genus
of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and
order. Its chamcters are, that the calyx
is a perianthium, bell-shaped, oblong,
erect, with eight streaks and folds, quad-
rangular, eight-toothed, teeth alternate,
bent in, and permanent ; corolla none, or
four-petalled, petals vertically ovate,
spreading, inserted into the calyx; the
stamina have filaments, (four or eight)
bristly, the length of the caJyx into which
they are inserted, anthers twin ; the pistil-
lum is a germ siibovate, large and supe-
rior, style simple, very short, and stigma
headed ; the pericarpium is a roimdish,
four-celled capsule (bury) covered with
the calyx ; the seeds are numerous and
small.
AM MI, lnshof>\v -steed, in botany, a dis-
tinct genus of umbelliferous plants, be-
longing to the Pentandria Uig} nia class
ofLinnxus; the flower of which is rosa-
ceous, and composed of heart-like petals;
and its fruit is a small roundish and stri-
ated capside, containing two striated
seeds, convex on one side, and plane on
the other. There are four species.
AMMODYTES, in natural historj-, the
luuncc, a g^nus of fishes, of the order
Apodes : hcadcompressed, narrower tlian
the body : upper lip doubled: lower jaw
narrow, pointed : teeth small and sharp.
Gill-membrane seven-rayed : boily long,
roundish, with very small scales : tail dis-
tinct. A. tobianus, or sand launce, so
named from its shape. It inhabits the
northern scas; and is from 9 to 12 inches
long. It buries itself on the recess of the
tides a foot deep in the sand, and in fine
weather rolls itself up and hfts its nose
just above tlie sand ; it is the prey of
other rapacious fish ; the flesh is tolerably
good, but it is used inmost cases as baits.
The launce lives on worms, water-insects,
and small fishes, and even occasionally on
those of its own species. The mackarel
is very partial to this fish as its own
foofl. The launce spawns in May, depo-
siting its eggs in the mud, near the edg^s
of the coast.
AMMONIA, in chemistry. Volatile al-
kali, in its purest form, subsists in a state
of gas, and was thovight,till the late expe-
riments of Mr. Davy, to be composed of
azote and hydrogen. It may be obtained
in the following manner: put into a retort
a mixture of three parts of quick-lime and
one part of sal ammoniac in powder.
Plunge the beak of the retort below the
mouth of a glass jar filled with mercury,
and standing inverted in a b:\s.\n of mer-
cuiy. Apply tlie heat of a lamp to the
retort : a gas comes over, which displaces
the mercury and fills the jar. This gas
is ammonia. It was known by the name
of volatile alkali ; it was also called harts-
horn, because it was often obtained by
distilling the honi of the hart; spirit of
urine, because it maybe obtained by the
same process from urine ; and spirit of
sal ammoniac, because it may be obtained
from that salt. Dr. Black first pointed out
the difference between ammonia and car-
bonate of ammonia, orammonia combined
with carl)onic acid ; and Dr. Priestley dis-
covered the method of obtaining it, in a
state of purity, by the process alread\
described. Ammonia, in the state of gas,
is transparent and colourless like air ; its
taste is acrid and caustic like that of the
fixed alkalies, hut not nearlv so strong, nor
AMM
AMM
docs it like them corrode those animal
bodies to which it is applied ; its smell is
remarkably pung-ent, though not unplea-
sant when sufficiently diluted. Its use as
a stimulant to prevent fain'ing- is well
known. Animals cannot breathe it with-
out death. AVhen a lighted candle is let
down into this gus, it goes out three or
four times successively ; but at each time
the flame is considerably enlarged by the
addition of another flame of a pale yel-
low colour, and at last this flame descends
from tlie top of the vessel to the bottom.
Its specific gravity, according to tlie ex-
periments ofKinvan, is 0.60, that of air
being 1.00; while Mr. Dav)-, whose gas
was probably purer, found it 0.55. At
the temperature of 60°, a hundred cubic
inches of this gas weigh, according to
Kirwan, 18.16 grains, according to Davy,
17.068. Hence it is to common air nearly
as 3 to 5. When exposed to a cold of
—4 5° it is condensed mto a liquid, which
agdn assumes the gaseous form, when the
temperature is raised. When passed
through a red hot tube of poi-celain or
glass, it is totally decomposed, and con-
verted into hydrogen and azotic gas. It
combines very rapirlly with water. When
a bit of ice is brought into contact with
this gas, it melts, and absorbs tlie ammo-
nia, while at the same time its tempera-
ture is diminished. Cold water absorbs
this gas almost instantaneously, and at
the same time heat is evolved, and the
specific gravity of the water is diminish-
ed. Water is capable of absorbing and
condensing more than a third of its weight
of ammoniacal gas. It is in this state
that ammonia is usually employed by
chemists. The term ammonia almost
always means this liquid sohition of am-
monia in water. When heated to the
temperature of about 130°, the ammo-
nia separates under the form of gas.
When exposed to the temperature of
— 46°, it crjstallizes ; and when sud-
denly cooled down to — 68°, it assumes
the appearance of a thick jellj-, and has
scarcely any smell, it follows, from the
experiments of Mr. Davy, that a satura-
sed solution of ammonia is composed of
74.63 water.
25.37 ammonia.
100.00
Charcoal absorbs ammoniacal gas, but
does not alter its properties wliilc cold.
But when the gxs is made to pass through
red hot charcoal, part of the charcoal
combines with it, and forms a substance
known by the name of prussic acid. Am-
monia is not acted on by azote ; but it
combines rapidly with muriatic acid ; the
two gases concreting into the solid salt
called muriate of ammonia. Ammonia
does not combine with the metals ; but
it changes some of them into oxydes, and
then dissolves tliem. Liquid ammonia
is capable of dissolving the oxydes of sil-
ver, copper, iron, tin, nickel, zinc, bis-
muth, and cobalt M'hen digested upon
the oxydes of mercury, lead, or mangan-
ese, it is decomposed, water is formed by
the union of the hydrogen of the ammo-
nia with the oxygen of the oxydes, and
azotic gas is emitted. If a considerable
heat be applied, nitric acid is formed at
the same time with water. Several other
oxydes ai*e also partly deoxidized, when
ammonia is poured into their solutions in
acids. See Alkali, Chemistry, &c.
AMMONIAC, in chemistiy, a gum re-
sin brought from the East Indies. It is
supposed to be a species of the Ferula.
It is in small pieces agglutinated together,
and has a yellowish white colour. Its
smell is hke that of the galbanum, but
more pleasant. Its taste is a nauseous
sweet mixed with bitter. It does not melt.
Water dissolves a portion of it ; the so-
lution is milky, but gradually lets fall a
resinous portion. One-half is soluble in
alcohol. Its specific gravity is 1.2. Nei-
ther alcohol nor water, distilled off it,
brings over anv thing.
AMMONITRUM. See Gl.vss.
AMMOPHILA, in natural history, the
savd-u-(isp,B. genus of insects of the order
HjTTienoptera : gen. char, snout conic, in-
flected, concealing a bifid retractile tubu-
lar tongue : jaws forcipated, tliree-tooth-
ed at the tip ; antennse filiform in each sex,
with about 14 articulations : eyes oval :
wings plain : sting pungent, concealed
in the abdomen. This genus is separated
from that of the sphex, on the authority
of the Rev. Mr. Kirby : in their manners
and economy they resemble each other;
and it is probable that many more of the
spheges might with propriety be removed
into tliis genus. There are four species :
A. vulgaris inhabits Europe, in sandy,
simny banks, where it digs a hole with its
fore-feet, and buries the carcase of the
larva of a moth or half dead spider, in
the body of which it has deposited its
eggs, and then covers up the orifice.
AMMUNITION, a general term for aU
warlike provisions, but more especially
powder, ball, 8cc.
Ainmitnition, arms, utensils of war,
AMN
AMU
n-. ,M., !>..,,. ..,.., >.. ....^.
land, f■(Jl^'( itcd, ;m<l triple Uic* value.
And aguiii, such licence obtained, ex-
cept for tuniishing liis majesty's public
stores, is to be void, and tlie offender to
incur a pr.xmimire, and to be disabled to
holt! any office from the crown.
AMNESTY, in m.ittcrs of policy, an act,
by which two parties at variance pi-oniise
to pardon and bury in oblivion all that is
past.
Amnesty is either general and unlimit-
ed, or particular and restrained, though
most commonly univers:il, witliout con-
ditions or exceptions; such as that which
passed in Germany at tKe peace of Osna-
bur^ in the year 1648.
Amnesty, in a more limited sense, de-
notes a pardon granted by a prince to his
rebellious sub jects, usually with some ex-
ceptions : such was th.at granted by
Charles II. at his restoration.
AMNIOS, in anatomy, a thin pellucid
membrane, which surrounds the foetus.
The fcctus intlie uterus is enveloped in
a peculiar membranaceous covering, to
which anatomists have given the name of
amnios. Within this there is a liquid,
ilistinguishcd by the name of the liquorof
the amnios, which surrounils the fcctus on
every pai-t. This liquid, as might have
been expected, is very different in dif-
ferent animals; at leiist the liquor amnii
in women and in cows, which alone have
hitherto been analysed, liave not the
smallest resemblance to each other. The
li(|uor of the amnias of women is a fluid
of a slightly milky colour, a weak plea-
sant odour, and a saltish taste. The
white colour is owing to a curdy matter
suspended in it, for it may be obtained
quite transparent by filtration. Its spe-
cific gravity is 1.005. It gives a green
colour to the tincture of violets, and yet
it reddens very decidedly the tincture of
turnsole. These two properties would in-
dicate at once the presence of an acitl and
of an alkali. It froths considerably when
agitated. On the application of heat it
becomes opaque, and has then a great re-
semblance to milk <liluted with a large
quantity ofw.atcr. At the same time it
exhales the odour of boiled white of egg.
Acids render it more tnuisparent. Alka-
lies precipitate an animal matter in small
flakes. Alcohol likewise produces a
flaky precipitate, which, when collected
and dried, becomes transparent ami very
like glue. The infusion of nut galls pro-
duces a very copious brown coloured
precipitate. Nitrate of silver occasions a
Imitate, which is insoluble in
......; ..i.w, and consequently is muriate
of silver. The liquor of the anuiios of
the cow has a viscithty similar to mucil-
age of gum arable, a brow nish red colour,
an acid and bitter taste, and a peculiar
odour, not unlike that of some vegetable
extract.s. Its specific gravity is 1.028.
It reddens the tincture of turnsole, and
therefore contains an acid. Muriate of
bantes causes a verj' abundant precipi-
tate, which renders it probable that it
contains snlphuric acid. Alcohol sepa-
rates from it a great quantity of a reddish
coloured matter. The animal matter
possesses the following properties : It
has a rcddi.sh brown colour and a peculi-
ar taste ; it is vcrj* soluble in water, but
insoluble in alcohol, which has tlie pro-
perty of separating it from water. When
exijosed to a strong heat, it swells, ex-
hales first the odour of burning gum,
tlien of enipyreumatic oil, and of ammonia,
and at last the peculiar odour of pnjssic
acid becomes very conspicuous. It dif-
fers from gelatine in the viscidity which it
communicates to water, in not forming a
jelly when concentrated, and in not be-
ing precipitated by tannin. It nmst be
therefore ranked .imong the very unde-
fined and inaccurate class of animal muci-
lages. When burnt, it leaves a large por-
tion of coal, which is readily incinerated,
and leaves a little white ashes, composecl
of phosphate of magnesia, and a small
proportion of phosphate of lime.
.\MOMU.M, in botany, a genus of the
Monandria Monogynia class and onler,
the characters of which are, that tbc
calyx is a periantiiium, one-lc.afeil, cylin-
draceous, and unequally trifid ; the co-
rolla is monopetalous and funnel-shaped,
tube cylindraceous, border three-parted,
parts oblong and spreatling; the nectary
two-leaved or tw o-lipped, lower lip in-
serted under the upper segment of the
coroll.i, spreading almost erect, entire or
three-lobed ; the sfjunina liave no fila^
ment, except the upper lip of the nect^
ry .smaller than the lower, and opposite
to it, accuminate or three-lobed at the
tip ; along the middle or at the end of
which grows longitudinally a large ob-
long anther, germinate, or divided by a
longitudinal furrtiw into two, which arc
one-valved ; the pistillum has an inferior,
oblonggerm, style filiform, drawn through
the suture of the anther, stigma turbi-
nate, obtuse and ciliate ; the pericurpi-
um a fleshy capsule, ovate, three-corner-
ed, three-celled, and tjiree-valved; the
scods are several, covered witli a sort of
AMO
AMO
berried aril. Gmelin, in his edition of
LinnKus, enumerates twenty species. A.
zinziber, narrovv-leaved ganger, cultiva-
ted by Miller, and flowering- in Septem-
ber, is a native of the East Indies, and
other countries of Asia, and is much used
there and in the West Indies. The dried
i"oots furnisli a considerable article of
commerce from our West India islands ;
they are of great use in the kitchen and
in medicine, and when preserved gi-een
as a sweet .meat are preferable to every
other sort. A. zerumbet, cultivated at
Hampton-court, in 1690, and flowering
with us from September to November,
when the stalks perish hke those of the
true ginger ; a native of the East Indies,
Cochmchina, Sic. and also in Otaheite,
and the other Society Isles. This is used
externally in the East, in cataplasms and
fomentations; but not internally, as spice
or medicine ; though Garcias says, that
it makes a better preserve witli sugar
than the other. As to tin; propagation
and culture of these plants, it may be ob-
served, that they are tender, and require
a warm stove to preserve them in tliis
country. They are easily projjagated by
parting their roots, which should be done
in the spring, before they put out new
shoots, in parting the roots, they must
not be divided into small pieces, espe-
cially if they are designed to iiave flow-
ers; nor should they be planted in very
large pots. They thrive best in a light
rich earth, such as that of the kitchen
garden ; and with this the pots should be
filled within two inches of the top, and
the roots should be placed in the middle
of the pots, with their crowns upwards,
and the pots should then be filled with
the same earth ; they should be plunged
into a hot-bed of tanner's bark, and .spa-
ringly watered, till their stalks appear
above ground, when they will admit of
more moisture, especially in the summer
months ; but in autumn, the waterings
must not be frequent nor plentiful, and
during winter very sparing. The pots
must constantly remain plunged in the
tan-bed; tor if they are taken out and
placed on shelves in the stove, their fibres
often shrink, and thus their roots decay.
By this management these plants have
greatly multiplied, and the common gin-
^r has produced roots, weighing five
or six ounces ; but the others have been
nearly a pound weight. In the West In-
dies the ginger thrives best in a rich cool
soil ; in a more clayey soil the root shrinks
less in scalding. The land laid out for
the culture of it is first well cleared and
hoed, and then slightly trenched, and
planted in March or April ; it flowers
about September ; and when tlie stalks
ai"e wholly withered, the roots are fit to
be taken up, which is generally done in
January and Februaiy.
AMONTONS (William), in biogra-
phy, an ingenious French experimental
philosoplier, was born in Normandy the
31st of August, 1663. While at the
grammar school, he by sickness contract-
ed a deafness that almost excluded him
from the conversation of mankind. In
this situation he applied himself to tlie
study of geometry and mechanics, with
which he was so delighted, that it is said
he refused to try any remedy for his dis-
order, either because he deemed it incu-
rable, or because it increased his atten-
tion to his studies. Among other objects
of his study were, tlie arts of drawing,
of land-surveying, and of building ; and
shortly after he acquired some knowledge
of tliose more sublime laws by which the
universe is regidated He studied with
gi-eat care the nature of barometers and
therniometera ; and wrote his treatise of
" Observations and experiments concern-
ing a new Hour-glass, and concerning
Barometers, Thermometei-s, and Hygros-
copes;" as also some pieces in the Jour-
nal des Savans. In 1687, he presented a
new hygToscope to the Academy of Sci-
ences, which was much approved. He
found out a method of conveying intelli-
gence to a great distance in a short space
of time ; this was by making signals from
one pei-son to another, placed at as great
distances from each other as they could
see the signals by means of telescopes :
this was unquestionably done upon the
principle of modern telegi'aphs, which
were brought into general use in 1794,
almost a century after the death of Amon-
tons. Amontons was chosen a member
of the Royal Academy in 1699, as an
eleve under tlie third astronomer ; and
he read there his " New 'I'heory of Fric-
tion," in which he happily cleared up an
important object in mechanics. He had
a particular genius for making experi-
ments; his notions were just and delicate:
he knew how to prevent the inconve-
niences of his new inventions, and had
a wonderful skill in executing them. He
died of an inflammation in his bowels, the
11th of October, 1705, being only 42
years of age. His pieces are contained in
the difl'erent volumes of the memoirs of
the Academy of Sciences ; these are
numerous, and upon various subjects,
as the air, action of fire, barometers,
AMP
AMP
thennometere, hygrometers, friction, ma-
diiiies, heat, cold, rarefactions, pumps,
&c. They mav lie seen in the volutnes
for the years "1696, 1699, 1702, 1703,
1704, and 1705. The character of Amon-
toiis for integrity, modesty, and candour,
was no less distinguished than liis talents
and genius in philosophical pursuits.
Upon his death in 1705, M. Fontenelle
delivered an elegant and impressive eulo-
gium on his merits. See Memoirs of the
Aciulemy for that year.
AMOHPHA, in botanj-, bastard indiffo,
a. genus of plants belonging to the Dia-
delphia Uecandria class of Linnius ; the
flower of which consists of one petal,
vertically ovated, hollow, and erect ; and
the fruit is a lunulated pod, of a com-
pressed form, and covered witli tuber-
cles, in which are contained two seeds, of
an oblong kidney -like shape. There are
two species.
Tins shrub grows naturally in Carolina,
where fonnerly the inhabitants made a
coarse sort of indigo, which occasioned
its name of the bastard indigo. It rises
\nxh many irregular stems to the height
of twelve or fourteen feet, with ver> long
winged leaves. It was observed by Thiui-
bcrg in tlie island of Niphon, belongmg
to Japan, but is now become ven" com-
mon in tJie gardens and nurseries near
London, where it is propagated as a
flowering shrub. It is propagated by
seeds sent from America.
AMPELIS, in natural history, the rAa^
terer, a genus of birds of the order
Passeres, bill straight, convex, subincur-
ved, each mandible notched : nostinls
covered with bristles : tongue sharp, car-
tilaginous, bifid: middle toe connected at
the base to the outside. There are, ac-
cording to Gmclin, fourteen species : we
shall notice the following: A. garrulus,
'>r waxen chatterer; a beautiful bird
iiout eight inches long. Its bill is black,
ud has a small notch at tlie end ; its
eyes are placed in a band of black, which
f)asses from the base of the bill to tl»e
lindcr part of the head. Its throat is
black ; its feathers on the head are long,
forming a crest ; all the upper parts of
the bcxly are of a reddish ash colour ;
tlie breast and belly incUning to purple ;
the tail feathers are black, tipped witli
pale yellow; the quills are black, the
third and fourth tipped on their outer
edges with white : me five following with
straw colour, but in some bright yellow ;
the secondaries are tipped with white,
each being pointed witli a flat horny sub-
stance of a bright vermilion colour.
VOL L
These appendages vaiy in different sub-
jects. This rai'e bird visits our island
only at uncertain intervals. Their sum-
mer residence is supposed to be in the
northern parts of Europe, within the arc-
tic circle, whence they spread themselves
into other countries, where they remain
daring the winter, and return in the
spring to their usual haunts. The food
of this bird is berries of various kinds ;
in some countries it is said to be extreme-
ly fond of grapes. Only tliis species of the
chatterer is found in Europe, the others
are natives of America. Sec plate I.
Aves, fig. 5. A. carimculatajTias a black
bill, with a pendidous, exi)an.sile, movea-
ble caruncle at the base, inhabits Cayenne
and Brazil, and is about twelve inches
long. The bill is an inch and a half long,
and black ; at the base is a fleshy carbun-
cle hanging over it, like that of a turkey
cock. The female is furnished with one
as well as the male. These birds are
said to have a venr loud \oice, to be heard
half a league on, which is composed of
merely two syllables »i, ari, uttered in a
drawling tone ; but some have compared
it to the sound of a bell. A. Americana,
cedar bird : this has been considered by
the European naturalists as a mere va-
riety of their chatterer; but Mr. Wilson
has shewn it to be a distinct species.
AMPELITES, canvel-coal, a hard,
opaque, fossil, inflammable substance, of
a black colour. The ampclitcs, examined
by a microscope, appears composed of in-
numerable vcr)' small thin plates, laid
closely and finnly upon one anotlier, and
full of very small specks, of a blacker and
more shining matter than the rest. There
is a large quarry of it in Alenqon, in
France. It is dug also in many parts of
England; but the mo.st beautiful is found
in Lancashire and Cheshire : it hes usu-
ally at considerable depth. It is capable
of a very fine polish, and is made into
trinkets, and will pass for jet. Husband-
men dress their vmes with it, as it kills
the vermin which infest'tlieni: it is like-
wise used for dying the hair black.
AMPHIBIA, in natural history, a class
of animals that live either on land or iu
water. 'I'he title Amphibia, appUcd to
this class of animals by Liimxus, may
perhaps be considered as not absolutely
unexceptionable, tlie power of living with
equal facility both in land and w ater be-
ing not granted to all the animals which
compose it ; yet, since it is certain that
the major part are found to possess that
faculty in a considerable degree, the title
mav be allowed to continue. The Am-
AMP
AMP
pliibia, from the peculiar structure of
tlieir organs, and the power which they
possess of suspending respiration at
pleasure, can not only support a change
of element uninjured, but can also occa-
sionally endure an abstinence, which
would infallibly prove fatal to the higher
oixler of animals. It has been a general
docti'ine among anatomists, that the hearts
of the Amphibia were, in the technicid
phrase, unilocular, or furnished with only
one ventncle or cavity ; a doctrine main-
tained by many eminent anatomists, and,
in genei*al, assented to by the greatest
physiologists, as Boerhaave, Haller, &c.
&c. and only occasionally called in ques-
tion, on viewing in some animals of this
tribe a seemingly difterent structure.
Thus the French academicians of the
seventeenth century pronounce the heart
of an Indian land tortoise, which they
examined, to have in reality three ventri-
cles instead of one. Linnaeus, in his Sys-
tema Naturae, acquiesces in the general
doctrine, and accoixiingly makes it a cha-
racter of this class of animals. Among
later physiologists, however, there are not
wanting some who think it more correct
to say, that the hearts of the Amphibia
are in reality double, or furnished with
two ventricles, w ith a free or immediate
communication between them. The lungs
of the Amphibia differ widely in their ap-
peai*ance from those of other animals;
consisting, in general, of a pair of lai-ge
bladdere or membranaceous receptacles,
parted, in the difterent species, into more
or fewer cancelli, or subdivisions, among
which are beautiftilly distributed the pul-
monary blood-vessels, which bear but a
small proportion to the vesicular part
through which they ramify ; whereas, in
the lungs of the Mammalia, so great is
the proportion of the blood-vessels, and
so very small are the vesicles, or air-cells,
that the lungs have a fleshy ratlier than
a membranaceous appearance. In tlie
Amphibia, therefore, the vesicular sys-
tem may be said greatly to prevail over
the vascular ; and in the Mammalia, or
warm-blooded animals, the vascular
system to prevail over the vesicular.
Many of the Amphibia are possessed
of a high degree of reproductive power,
and will be furnished with new feet,
tails, &c. when those parts have by
any accident been destroyed. Many are
highly beautiful in their colours, as well
as elegant in their forms ; while others,
on the contrarj-, are, in the common ac-
ceptation of the words, extremely deform-
ed^ and of unpleasing colours. Their bo-
dies are sometimes defended by a hard,
homey shield, or covering; sometimes
ratlierby a coriaceous integument; some-
times by scales; and sometimes have no
particular defence orcoating, the skin be-
ing merely marked by soft, pustular warts,
or protuberances, more or less visible in
the different species. The bones of the
Amphibia, except in a very few instances,
are of a more cartilaginous nature than in
either the Mammalia or Birds : many spe-
cies are destitute of ribs, while others have
those parts very numerous : some are
furnished with formidable teeth ; others
are toothless : some are fierce and pre-
dacious; others inoftensive. Few, ex-
cept among the serpent tribe, are of a
poisonous nature, the genei-al prejudice
against them having arisen rather on ac
count of their form, than from any real
poisonous quality; but among the ser-
pents, we meet with some species pos-
sessed of the most dreadful poison, as
well as with the power of applying it with
fatal force to the animals which they at-
tack. The number of poisonous serpents
is, hovirever, not so great as was formerly
imagined ; perhaps not more than a sixth
part of the whole number of known spe-
cies being of that character. Among no
animals do we meet wdth beings of a more
singular form than the Amphibia; some
of wliich present appeai-ances so unusual,
so grotesqrfe, and so formidable, that even
the imagination of the poet or painter can
hardly be supposed to exceed the reali-
ties of nature. The amphibia in general
are extremely tenacious of life, and will
continue to move, and exert many of their
animal functions, even when deprived of
the head itself. The experiments which
have been occasionally made on these
subjects can hardly be recited without
horror. The natural life of some of the
Amphibia, more particularly of the tor-
toise tribe, is extremely long; and even
to the smaller tribes of frogs and Uzards,
a considerable space seems allotted. The
same is also highly probable with respect
to the serpent tribe. By far the major
part of the Amphibia are oviparous, some
excluding eggs covered with a hard or
calcareous shell, like those of birds;
others, such as are covered only with a
tough skin, resembling parchment ; and
in many, they are perfectly gelatinous,
without any kind of external covering, as
it the spawn of the common frog. Some
few are viviparous ; the eggs first hatch-
jing internally, and the young being after-
wards excluded in their pei"fect form, as
in the viper, 8ic. &c. In cold and tempe-
AMP
AMP
rate climates,most of the Amphibia pass
the winter in a torpid state ; and that
sometimes in a degree of cold wliich
would seem but ill calculated for the pre-
sentation of animal life. The common
large water-newt, in particular, is said to
have been occasionally found completely
embedded in large masses of ice, in wliich
it must have remained inclosedfor a very
considerable period; and yet, on the dis-
solution of the ice, has been restored to
life. The Amphibia may be divided into
four distributions, viz. Testuduies, Ranz,
Lacertjc, and Serpentes ; or Tortoises,
Frogs, Lizards, and Serjients. The ani-
mals belonging to the three former of
these divisions constitute the order enti-
tled Keptilia, containing the Amphibia
Pedata, or Footed Amphibia. The last
division, or that of Serpents, constitutes
the order Serpentes ; containingthe Am-
phibia Apoda, or Footless Amphibia.
AMPHITRITE, a genus of worms, of
the order Molusca; body projecting from
a tube, and annulate ; peduncles or feet
small, numerous ; feelers two, approxi-
mate, feathered; noeyes. There are seven
species: of which the A. reniformis, with
a rounded body and simple feelers, is
three inches long, and inhabits the seas
about Iceland. The body is of a most
beautiful red; head defended by two
semicircular arches ; plumes fourteen, and
alternately red and white ; annulations of
the body from 80 to 90, with each a mi-
nute tubercle on each side ; tail pointed,
and not jointed ; tube red, tough, cori-
aceous, simple, and four inches long.
AMPHISB.«:NA, in natural history, a
genus of Serpents, of which the generic
character is, body cylindric, equal ; an-
nular divisions on body and tail. Accord-
ing to Gmelin there are five species ; but
Dr. Shaw mentions two only, viz. the Alba
and tlie Fuliginosa. The whole genus is
allied to tliat of the Anguis, and in some
degree to the I-.acerta: it is, however,
readily distinguished by the manner in
which the e.xterior surface of its skin is
marked in well-defined numerous circles
or rings, completely surrounding the
body, and divided in alongitudinal direc-
tion by still more numerous straight lines,
iHis forming so many square or parallelo-
^mic scales. The alba is about 18 or
• J inches long, and of a proportional
thickness. The head, which is covered
with large scales, being but little larger
in diameter than the bo<ly ; the tul is
short, terminatingin arounded extremity.
The colour is, as the name imports, white,
though in some instances it is tinged with
a pale rose colotir. The usual numberof
circles in this snake is about 223 on
the body, and 16 on the tail. It is a na-
tive of Soutli-America, where it is found
in woods, preying on insects and worms.
It is a harmless animal, but on being
handled, it excites a slight itching on the
skin, accompanied by small pustule.s
owing to an acrimonious moisture ex-
uding fi-om the animal. A. fuliginosa is
at all times readily distinguished by its
colours. There are about 230 rings on
its body and tail. It is white, varieg:ited
with black or deep brown spots. The
head is without spots. It is found in ma-
ny parts of South-America, resembling
the alba in its manners, and beingcqually
innoxious. The skin of the amphisbaena
is remarkably strong and tenacious, and
of a smooth or glossy surface : it is sup-
posed to be able to perforate the grotmd
with great facility, in the manner of earth
worms, to obtain its food. The other
species arc found in America. See plate
Serpentes, fig 2.
AMPLITUDE, in astronomy, an arch
of the horizon intercepted between the
east or west point thereof, and the centre
oftlie sun, star, or planet, at its rising
and setting, and so is either nortli or
south.
If the amplitude be taken from the
rising sun, or star, it is called its rising
or ortive amplitude; if, when it sets, its
setting or occasive amplitude. The sun's
amplitude, either rising or setting, is
found by the globes, by bringing the sun's
place to the horizon, either on the east
or west side, and the degrees from the
east point, eitlier north or south, are the
amplitude required. To find the ampli-
tude trigtjnometrically, say, as the cosine
of the latitude: radius: : sine of the pre-
.sentdecHnation : sine of the amplitude.
This problem is usefid in navigation, to
find the variation of the compass. Thus
in latitude 51° 31', when the sun's decU*
nation is 23° 28', tlien we say.
As 60. S. 51° 31', : 10. &c. :: S. 28" 28'
: S. Amp. or, as 9.793990 : 10. &c: : :
9.600118 : 9.806127 = sine of 39° 47' =
the amphtude sought : that is, the sun
then rises or sets 39° 47' from the exst or
west point to the north or south, as tlje
declination is either north or south.
Amplitude, ma^neticaly the ditferent
rising or setting of the sun, from tlie east
or west points of the compass. It is found
by observing the sun, at his rising and
setting, by an amplitude compass. The
diflerence between the magnetical ampD-
tudc and the true :implitude is the varia-
AMY
AMY
tion of the compass. If the magnetical
amplitude be found to bfe . . . . 61'' 55'
at the time it is computed as above
to be . . . 39° 47'
then the difference 22° 8'
is th e variation westward.
AjIPlitude of the range of a projectile,
the horizontal line subtending' the path in
which the projectile moved. See Pno-
.TEnTLE.
AMPUTATION, in sui-gery, the cut-
tine off a limb, or other part of the body,
with an insti-ument.
AMULET, a charm, or preservative
against mischief, witchcraft or diseases.
Amulets were made of stone, metal, sim-
ples, animals, and, in a word, of every
thing which fancy or caprice suggested ;
and sometimes they consisted of words,
character, and sentences, ranged in a
particular oKler, and engraved upon
wood, &c. and worn about the neck, or
some other part of the body. At other
times they were neither written nor en-
gTaved, but prepared with many super-
stitious ceremonies, great regard being
usually paid to the influence of the stai*s.
The Arabians have given to this species
of amulet the name of talisman.
All nations have been fond of amidets ;
the Jews were extremely superstitious in
the use of them, to drive away chseases :
and the Misna forbids them, unless re-
ceived from an approved man, who had
cured at least three persons before, by
the same means.
Even among the Christians of the
early times, amulets were made of the
wood of tlie cross, or ribbands with a text
of scripture written in them, as preserva-
tives against diseases; and therefore the
council of Laodicea forbids ecclesiastics
to make such amulets, and orders all
such as wore them to be cast out of the
church.
AMYGDALOID. See Tbaps Trak-
SITIOJf.
AMVGDALUS, in botany, a genus of
the Polyandria Monogynia class and or-
der ; its characters are, that the calyx is
a perianthinm, one-leaved, tubulous, in-
ferior, quinfiuefid, deciduous, divisions
spreading and obtuse ; tlie corolla of five
petals, oblong-ovate, obtuse, concave, in-
serted into the calyx ; the stamina have
filaments about 30, filiform, erect, shorter
by half than the corolla, inserted into the
calyx; anthers simple ; the pistillum has
a roundish, villose germ, simple style, of
the length of the stamens, and headed
stigma; the pericarpiuni is aroimdish.
villose, large dnipe, with a longitudinal
furrow ; the seed is a nut, ovate, com-
pressed, acute, with prominent sutiues on
each side, reticulated witli furrow s, and
dotted with small holes. The nut of the
almond is covered with a dry skin ; that
of the peacli with a small pulp. Tliere
are seven species, of wh;ch we shall no-
tice, 1. A persica, witli all the serratures
of the leaves acute, and tlie flowers ses-
sile and solitai-j'. There are two varie-
ties, viz. the peach-tree, with downyfruit,
and the nectarine, with smootli fi-uit. 2.
A. communis, the almond tree, with the
lower serratiu'es of the leaves glandulous,
and the flowers sessile and in couplets.
The common almond has leaves which re-
semble those of the peaclr but tlie lower
serratures are glandular ; they proceed
from buds, both above and below the
flowers, and not, as in the peach, from
the ends of the shoots above and not lie-
low the flowers. The form of the flpwer
is not very diflerent ; but thr * : lly
come out in pairs, and vary Ui- r
colour from the fine blush (t
blossom to a snowy whiteness. ' ef
obvious distinction is in the fru:ii •> 'I'oli
is flatter, with a coriaceous cover. )•,•■. in-
stead of the rich pulp of the peaci. i.A
nectarine, opening spontaneously vlien
the kernel is lipe. The shell is n; t so
hard as in the first species, and is some-
times tenderand verj' brittle ; itis flatter,
smoother, and the furrows or holes are
more supex-ficial. This tree is a great
object in some parts of Italy, and in the
soutli of France ; and there are laige
plantations of it in Pi-ovence and Dau-
phine. It is common in China, and most
of the eastern countries ; and also in Bar-
bary, where it is a native. In the time of
Cato it seems not to have been cultivated
in Italy ; for he calls the fruit nuces Grse-
cse, or Greek nuts. With us itis valuable
as an ornamental tree in clumps, shrub-
beries, &c. within view of the mansion;
for it displays its delicate red-purple
bloom in the month of March, when few
other trees have either leaves or flowers.
An almond tree, covered with its beauti.
ful blossoms, is one of the most elegant
objects in nature. In a forward spring
they often appear in February ; but in
this case tlie frost generally destroys
tliem, and theybcai- little or no fruit ; but
when they flower in March, they seldom
fail to bear plenty of fruit, very sweet,
and fit for the table when green ; but they
will not keep long. The amygdalus, or
almond-tree is cultivated both for the ad-
vanbige of the fruit, and as being highly
AMY
AMY
ornamental in slirubbcries, plantations,
and otlier licscriijlioiis of pleasure jjround,
from its coming into bloom early in tlie
spring'. It is, however less important in
the former than tJie latter point of view,
H8 the, fruit is often liable to miscany in
this climate. All the species and varie-
ties of tliis ti-ee are deciduotis, and of a
hardy nature, thriving well in most com-
mon gaixlen soils. Those of the tree kind
frequently rise to fifteen or l\v enty feet in
height, dividing into many spreading
branches, which idtimately form beauti-
fid heads, that are generally well adorned
in the beginning of March with innume-
rable flowers, which continue in full
bloom for a fortnight or three week^ and
are followed by the leaves, which ai'e
long and nairow, and tlie fruit takes its
g'rowth. Tliis is downy.ratlier large, and
of an oval form ; consisting of a thick,
tough, leatheiy substance, that embraces
an oblong nut or stone, in which the ker-
nel or almond is inclosed, which is the
only part of the fruit tliat is capable of
being made use of. The dwarf, shrubby
sorts of this tree do not, however, in ge-
neral exceed three or four feet in height,
having slender stems, which send forth a
great number of .small branches near to
the ground ; and in the single-flowered
kind various suckers are frequently sent up
from tiie root. And in botli the double and
single-flowered almond-tree, all the young
branches arc thickly beset with flowers in
tlie spring, whicli, from their having a
ftne pale red colour, and continuing some
time in blow, are highly ornamental. The
single sort have their flowers coming out
about tlie end of March, and the double
kind in the beginning of April, each re-
maining about a fortnight in blow. The
sorts chiefly cultivated for use in this
covmtry are, according to Mr. Foi-syth,
the teniler-shelled almond, the sweet al-
mond, the Common or bitter almond, the
sweet Jordan almond, antlthe hard-shell-
ed almond. Those propagated only for
ornament are, the clwart and the double-
tloweinng almonds. — Amygdalus I'ersica,
or peach-tree. Its native country is not
known. It came to the Romans from
Persia, as its Latin name, mains Pei-aica,
indicates : and it lia.s been cultivated from
time immemorial in most parts of Asia;
it has been adopted by almost evcrj- na-
tion of Europe, and now flourishes abim-
dantly in America, where it has been in-
troduced by the Kuropeahs. Of this tree
we have only on^ distinct species ; but
th * ■ ;ies, and by
V 1 or kernel.
they may be almost indefinitely increabtd .
Hut though they are capable of beinji
greatly augmented in this manner, it is
probable that but very few possess the
necessary quaUties, as nureery-mcn sel-
dom cultivate more than twenty or thirt}'
sorts. As in the cultnation of this soit
of tree much ex]>ense is con.stanUy re-
quired iu walls or otlier suitable buildings,
none but such as produce fine fruit should
be attended to. This sort of trees will
grow to a consideralile height as stan-
danls ; but, in order to produce and ripen
fruit, requires the sheher of warm walls.
They flower early in the spring in com-
mon, the flowers appearing before the
leaves, mostly on tlic shoots of tlie pre-
ceding year, and either singly or in pairs
along their sides. They are formed each
of five small petals, with many stamina ia
the inidtllL, and a small roimd germen,
that becomes the peach. The fi;uit is dis-
tinguished into two sorts, the peach and
pavie, from the circumstance of the flesh
or pulp quitting or atlhcruig to the stone,
as in tlie former it easily separates, while
in the latter it atlheres firmly. There
are various sorts of peaches that may be
cultivated ; but for small gardens Mr.
Foray th recoimnends the following as tlie
most suitable : the earl}' avant, small
mignonne, the Anne peach, royal George,
i-ojal Kensington, noblesse, early Ne wing-
ton, Galland, early purple, chancellor, ni-
vette, tlie Catliarine, the late Newington,
Amygdalus nucipcrsica, or the nectarine
ti-ee. This is now generally considered
as a vaiiety of the peach ; but the two
trees cannot by any circumstances in thci .
growth, wood, leaves, or flowers, be dis-
tinguished from each other witli any de-
gree of certainty. The fioiits ai'e, how-
ever, readily discriminated in all their
different stages of growtli, that of the
nectarine having a smooUi, firm cuticle,
or rind, while in the peach it is covered
with a soft, downy substance. Besides,
the pulp or flesh of the former is much
more firm than that of the latter. There
are many varieties of the nectarine that
may be cultivated ; but those that chiefly
desene attention are, tlie Fairchild's, the
violet, the elrouge, tlie Newington, the
Roman, the temple, and the vermasli.
The white nectarine may also be cultiva-
ted, both for the goodness of its fruit, and
as being a curious variety.
AMYUIS, a genus of the Octandria
Monoginia class and order; its (i
ters are, that the calyx is a peria:.;
one-leafed, four-toothed, acute, eiii',
small, and pennanent ; tlic corolla con-
AMY
ANA
sists of four oblong, concave, and spread-
ing petals ; the stamina have awl-shaped,
erect filaments; anthers oblong', erect, of
the length of the corolla ; the pistillum
has a germ, superior, ovate, style thick-
ish, of the length of tlie stamens, and stig-
ma four-cornered ; the pericarpium is a
drupaceous and roundish ben-y ; and the
seed is a round, shining nut. There are
thirteen species, of which we shall notice
A. sylvatica, with leaves ternate, crinate,
and acute. This is an erect, leafy shrub,
fi-om two to fifteen feet high, according to
the soil and situation, abounding with a
turpentine of a strong disagreeable smell ;
it is found plentifully about Carthagena,
in woods near the sea, and flowers in Au-
gust \. maritima, small, shrubby, sweet
wood, with leaves ternate, crenulated and
obtuse. This is a dwarf shrub, yielding
a juice Uke that of tlie former, but more
agreeable, and smelling like rue : the ber-
ry is of the size of black pepper, black
when ripe, inclosing a globular, brittle
nut, in which is a white kernel. Swartz
doubts whether the preceding be a dis-
tinct species from this. It grows in very
barren coppices, in a calcareous rocky
soil, both near the sea, and on the interi-
or mountains of Jamaica, Hispaniola, and
Cuba, and flowers from June to Septem-
ber. A. gileadensis, balsam of Gilead
tree, with leaves ternate, quite entire, and
peduncles one-flowered and lateral. This
species is a shrub with pui-plish branches,
having protuberant buds loaded with bal-
samic rosin: the flowers pi-oceed from the
same buds by threes ; the bracte minute,
and slightly bifid. It has been doubted
whether this be a distinct species in itself
A. ambrosiaca, with leaves pinnate and
{)etiolate, and panicles crowded and axil-
ary. This is a tree, with a trunk thirty
feet high, branching at the top, with
branchlets leafy and flowery : leaves al-
ternate, with two or three opposite, ovate
leaflets on each side, ending in long points,
smooth, entire, on short petioles, gibbous
at the base ; flowers yellowish white,
axillarj', and corymbed; perianth very
small and foui--toothed ; petals lanceolate,
spreading at the tip ; filaments filifoiTO,
half as long as the calyx, inserted into the
tube; germ superior, subglobose, style
cylindrical ; stigma capitated, depressed,
and four-cornered ; fruit oyate, oblique,
four-celled, resembling that of the laurel,
the nucleus involved in a brittle covering,
four-celled, with four stones wrapped up
in a viscid red pulp, having a balsamic
smell and taste, hardening into a grey
rosin, and used for burning as a perfume
The whole tree is sweet-scented, and
yields a very odoriferous balsam from the
wounded trunk or branches, which is
used in the dysentery ; the dose is one
dram in red wine ; it is also used in hou-
ses and churches for bui'ning as a per.
fume. It grows in the woods of Guiana,
and by the sea-shore ; flowering and fruit-
ing in September A. balsamifera, sweet
amyris, white candle-wood, or rose-wood,
with leaves two-paired. This grows to a
considerable size, and is one of the most
valuable trees in the island of Jamaica ;
the wood is white, and of a curled grain
when young, but grows of a dirty cloud-
ed ash colour with age, bearing a fine
polish, and having a pleasant smell ; it is
heavy, and much esteemed among cabi-
net-makers. All the parts of tins tree
are full of wai-m ai'omatic particles, and
may be used in baths and fomentations :
the berries are oblong, and have the taste
of the balsam copaiba. An infusion of the
leaves has a pleasant flavour, is highly ce-
phalic, strengthens the nerves, and is par-
ticularly restorative to weak eyes. In
Jamaica there are several species of amy-
ris, the leaves and bark of which yield a
fine balsamic juice ; and if the body were
tapped at the proper season, a thick
liquor would transude, resembling that of
the Gilead balsam, to which the taste of
the bark and wood of the smaller branch-
es bears a very exact relation. Dr.
Wright apprehends that this wood, by
distillation, would yield a perfume equal
to the oleum rhodii.
ANA, among physicians, denotes an
equal quantity of the ingredients which
immediately precede it in prescriptions :
it is written by abbre%"iation a or a a ;
thus, ]5» tlmr. myrth. alum, a a, 9 j : that
is, take frankincense, myrrh, ana alum,
each a scruple.
AxA, in matters of literature, a Latin
termination added to the titles of several
books in other languages.
They are collections of the conversa-
tion and memorable saying's of men of wit
and learning; the Scahgeriana was the
first book that appeared with a title in
ima, and was afterwards followed by the
Perroniana, Tliuana, Nudaana, Menagi-
ana, and even by Arlequiniana, in ridicule
of all books in ana. The Menagiana are
accounted the best.
Ana, among occult philosophers; a
term used to denote the human mind ;
from whence some will have anasapta, a
daemon invoked by sick persons, to be
derived.
ANA
ANA
ANABASIS, in botany, a genus of the
Peijtanclria Digynia class and onler: es-
sen. char. ; calyx, three-leaved ; cor. five-
Eetalled : vberry, one-seeded, surrounded
y a calyx : there are four species.
"ANACAUDIUM, in botany, acajou, a
genus oftlie EnneandriaMonogynia class
and order ; its charactei-s are, that it has
hermaphrodite flowers, luid male flowers,
either mixed with the hermaphrodites, or
on a distinct tree. The calyx of the
former is a perianthium, five-leaved, leaf-
lets ovate, concave, coloured, erect, and
deciduous ; the corolla has five petals,
lanceolate, acute, three times as long as
the calyx, upright at bottom, reflex at the
end; the stamina have ten filaments,
united at the base and upright, nine of
them capillary, shorter than the calyx ;
the pistiUum. has a germ, kidney- shaped,
oblicjuely emarginate in front, style subu-
late, bent in, tlie length of the corolla ;
stigma small, roundish, depressed and
concave : no pericarpium ; receptacle
fleshy, verj' large and obovate ; the seed
a nut, kidney-shaped, large at tlie top of
tlic receptacle, with a thick shell, cellular
within, and abounding in oil. The calyx,
coi-olia, and stamina, of the male flowers,
as in the hermaphrodites ; the pistillum
has cither no germ, or one that is abor-
tive. There is one species, viz. A. occi-
dentale, cashew-nut, cassu or acajou.
The cashew is an elegant tree, 12 or 16
feet high, spreading much as it rises, and
beginnmg to branch at the height of five
feet, according to Browne ; but Long af-
firms tliat in good soil it spreads to the
size of a walnut tree, which it resembles
in the shape and smell of the leaves ;
the trunk seldom exceeds half a foot in
diameter; the leaves are coriaceous, sub-
ovate, shining, entire, petioled, and scat-
tered alternately ; and terminating, con-
taining many small, sweet-smeUing flow-
ers, on oblong receptacles, scarcely dis-
tinguishable from the peduncle ; the co-
rolla red, with commonly 10 stamens, one
ef which has no antlier, but it has fre-
quently eight, or only seven, all fertile ;
and there are sometimes female flowers,
entirely destitute of stamens. The fniit
has an agreeable subacid flavour, in some
degree restringent ; in some of a yellow,
and in otlicrs of a red colour, which diflTer-
ence may be probably owing to the soil
or culture. The juice of the fruit, fer-
mented, aflPords a pleasant wine; and
distilled, yields a spirit e.xceeding arrack
or rum, and serves to make punch, and
also to promote urine. The ripe fruit is
sometimes roasted and sliced, and thus
used for giving an agreeable flavour t«
punch. The restringency of the iuice
has recommended it as a remedy in drop-
sical habits. From one end of the apple
proceeds the nut, which is kidney-
shaped, inclosed in two she|is, tlie outer
of an ash colour, and smooth, and the
inner covers the kernel. Between these
sliells is lodged a tliick, inflammable, and
very caustic oil, which, incautiously ap-
pUed to the lips and mouth, inflames and
excoriates them. This oil has been .suc-
cessfully used for eating off" ring-w orms,
cancerous ulcers, and corns; but it
should be very cautiously applied. Some
females have used it as a cosmetic, in or-
der to remove the freckles and tan occa-
sioned by the scorching rays of the sun,
but it proves so corrosive as to peel oft"
the skin, and cause the face to inflame
and swell ; but after enduring the pain
of this operation for about a fortnight,
thin new skin, as it may be called, ap-
pears, fair like that of a new bom infant.
This oil also tinges linen of a rusty iron
colour, that can hardly be got out ; and
when smeared on wood it prevents decay,
and might, tliercfore, ser\'e for preserv-
ing house timber and ships' bottoms. The
fresh kernel has a delicious taste, and
abounds with a sweet mdky juice ; it is
an ingredient in puddings, Stc. and is
eaten raw, roasted, and pickled. The
neg^es of Brazil, who are compelled by
their masters, the Portuguese, to eat tliis
nut, for want of other sustenance, obtain
relief from this involuntarj' use of it in
various disorders of the stomach. When
the kernel is ground with cacao, it im-
proves the chocolate ; but if it be kept
too long, it becomes shrivelled, and loses
its flavour and best quaUties. The milky
jui^ce of the tree, obtained by tapping or
incision, will stain linen of a deep black,
wliich cannot be washed out ; but whe-
ther this has the same property with that
of the eastern anacardium, has not yet been
ascertained ; for tlie inspissated juice of
that tree is the best sort of lac which is
usedforstainingblack in Cliinaor Japan.
ANACHRONISM, in matters of litera-
ture, an error with respect to chronology,
whereby an event is placed earlier than it
really happened, in which sense it stands
opposite to parachronism.
ANACREONTIC verie, in ancient poe-
try, a kind of verse so called from its
being much nsed by the poet Anacreon.
It consists of three feet and a half, usually
spondees and iambics, and sometimes
auapests ; such is that of Horace,
ANA
ANA
-Lydia die per omnes.
1 he word anacreontic is sometimes
[ilaced at tlie beginning of convivial
song's, glees, &c. denotes a gay hilarity of
movement, and a free and easy style of
performance.
ANACYCLUS, in botany, a genus-of
plants of tlie Syngenesia Polygamia Su-
perflvia. Essen, char, receptacle chaffy,
seeds crowned with an omar^pnatc mar-
gin, those at the i-ay membranaceous at
the sidis. Thei'e are five species : of
which the creticus and orientalis grow
naturally in the islands of the Archipela-
go. They are low plants, whose branch-
es trail on the groimd. The first sort has
fine cut leaves, like those of chamo-
mile ; the flowers are small, white, and
grow single, with their heads declining;
these are like those of common may -weed.
The second has leaves like those of the
ox-eye ; the flowers are white, and like
those of chamomile.
ANAGALLIS, in botany, a genus of
plants, belonging to the Pentandria Mo-
nog}r nia class of Linnaeus ; the flower of
which is monopctalous, multifid, and or-
biciilar ; the fruit is a globose capsule,
containing only one cell, and dividing ho-
rizontally into two hemispheres ; the
seeds are numerous and angular. There
are six species.
ANACiKAM, in matters of literature,
a transposition of the letters of some
name, whereby a new word is formed,
either to the advantage or disadvantage
of the person or thing to whicli the name
belongs; thus, from Galenus is formed
Angelus : Irom James, Simea ; and so of
others.
Those who adhere strictly to the defi-
nition of an anagram, take no other liber-
ty than tljat of omitting or retaining tlie
letter h, at pleasure ; whereas others
make no scruple to use e for <e, v for w,
* for I, and c for k; and vice versa.
ANAGYRIS, bean-trefoil, in botany, a
genus of plants with papilionaceous
flowers, the vixillum of wluch is shorter
than any of the other petals, and its fruit
an oblong pod, containing kidney-like
.seeds : to this it is to be added, tliat three
leaves stand on every petal. It belongs
to the Diadelphia Decandria class of
Linnzus.
According to Martyn, there are three
species : viz. the fcctida, cretica, and ino-
dorata. The first grows wild in the
South of France, in Spain, Italy, and
Sicily ; also about Smyrna. It is a shrub
that rises 8 or ten feet high, and produces
itsjHowers in April and May, which arc
of a bright yellow colour, growing on
spikes, somewhat like those of the la-
burnum : tlie seeds are never perfected
in this country. The second is a native
of Canada, and some of tlie islands of tlie
Archipelago, and is verj rare in English
gardens. The third is an upright shrub,
equal to a middle-sized tree : branches
hanging down, frequently scandent : a
native of the woods of Cochinchina.
These may be propagated by laying
doM'n their tender branches in the spring,
observing to tongue them in the same
manner as the layers of carnations.
ANALCIME, in mineralogy, a species
of Zeolite, found cr}'stallized in the cavi-
ties of basalt. The primitive form of its
cnstals is a cube. It is sometimes found
crystallized in cubes, whose solid angles
are wanting, and three small triangular
faces in place of each; sometimes in po-
lyhedrons with twenty -four faces. Spe-
cific gi'avity 2. Colour white, sometimes
red. When nibbed, it acquires only a
small degree of electricity, and with dif-
ficulty. Before the blow-pipe it melts
without frothing into a white transparent
glass.
ANALEMMA, in geometry, a projec
tion of the sphere on the plane of the me-
ridian, orthographically made by straight
lines and ellipses, the eye being supposed
at an infinite distance ; and in the east or
west points of the horizon. See Maps.
As-iiEXMA denotes likewise an inst^^l-
ment of brass or wood, upon which this
kind of projection is drawn, with an hori-
zon and ciu'sor fitted to it, wherein the
solstitial cohu'e, and all circles parallel
to it, will be concentric circles ; ail cu-
cles oblique to the eye will be ellipses ;
and all circles whose planes pass through
the eye, will be right lines. The use of
this instrument is to shew the common
astronomical problems.
ANALOGY, in matters of literature, a
certain relation and agreement between
two or more things ; which in other re-
spects are entirely different ; thus the
foot of a mountain bears an analogy to the
foot of an animal, although they are two
very different tilings.
There is likewise an analogy between
beings that have some conformity or re-
semblance to one another ; for example,
between animals and plants, and between
metals and vegetables; but the analogy
is stillstrongcr between two different spe-
cies of certain animals.
Analogy, among grammarians, is the
correspondence which a word or phrase
ANALYSIS.
bears to the genius and received forms of
a language.
ANALYSIS, in a general sense, is the
resolution of something compounded in-
to its constituent parts. Hence,
AxALTSis, in chemistrj', is the separa-
tion of any substance into its constituent
parts, with a view of ascertaining their
nature, relative proportion, and mode of
union. An instance of this kind is to be
had in the decomposition of water, by
which it is found that the constituent parts
are hydrogen and oxygen, in the propor-
tion of fifteen parts of the former, and
eighty-five parts of tlie latter. As every
operation in chemistry is attended with a
disunion of parts, the formation of new
compounds is almost an invariable conse-
quence ; hence, the business of analysis
is intimately connected with the whole of
chemical science, and can be only tho-
roughly understood by one tliat is well
versed in every branch of chemistry. On
so extensive a subject, it is in vain to
attempt laying down precise rules for the
mode of operation generally. We may,
however, observe that a compound, once
formed, perpetually acquires the powers
of an element, in being able to unite, un-
decomposed, with other bodies, simple or
compounded, in various proportions ; and
thus to produce new substances, in which
the constituent parts often retain their
original affinities, and in analysis again
separate into their elementary substances.
We may refer to nitrate of ammonia,
which is a salt composed of nitric acid,
ammonia, and water, each of which is it-
self a compound, but in this particular
combination, it acts as an elementary
body : thus, nitric acid consists of azote
and oxygen : ammonia, of azote and hy-
drogen : and water, as we have seen, of
oxygen and hydrogen : so that, in truth,
there are only azote, hydrt)gen, and oxy-
gen, that enter into the combination of
nitrate of ammonia; but in their simple
state, they cannot be made to form the
salt ; it is requisite that tlie acid, the al-
kali, and the water, should be first form-
ed, in order to get the neutral salt.
The business of chemical analysis is to
resolve a body into its constituent parts;
but the first question is, to determine, in
every instance of analysis, whether the
resolution should proceed to entire sepa-
ration into real elements, or only i^o
those compounds which act as elements ;
as in the case referred to, whetl-«r the
nitrate of ammonia should b* resolved
into azote, hydrogen, and oxygen ; or
vhetlier it should not first be reduced in-
VOL.I
to lutric acid, ammonia, and water. The
former mode is best calculated for re-
search, the latter for utility ; but a mix-
ture of the two methods is commonly
adopted, where the proportion and nature
of tne compound produced has already
been fully ascertained by previous experi-
ment. The most rigid proof of the accu-
racy of analysis is, to be able to produce
the same compound, by unitingthe identi-
cal parts which wc have given as its con-
stituents. This can rarely be performed
in a manner perfectly satisfactorj'; but it
frequently happens that a substance may
be produced that resembles the one ana-
lysed, by employing similar constituents,
if not the identical substances. This
proof even is almo.st totally wanting in
the analysis of organised bodies, whether
vegetable or animal, especially when re-
duced to their ultimate elements, and
generally when only separated into their
imniecUate constituents. The agents made
use of in analysis are, heat, the electric
and galvanic fluids, if they are two fluids,
and the application of re-agents or sub-
stances, wluch indicate the parts of the
body to be examined.
Analysis, among logicians, Is a me-
thod of tracing things backward to their
source, and of resolving knowledge into
its original principles. It is also called
the method of resolution, and stands op-
posed to the synthetic method, or methotl
of composition. The art of this method
consists chiefly in combininjrour percep-
tions, and classing them together with ad-
dress ; and in contriving 9 proper expres-
sion of our thoughts, s* as to represent
their several divisions classes, and rela-
tions. This is clear!' seen in the manner
of computing by figires in arithmetic, but
more particularly -h the symbols appUed
in resolving algebraical problems.
Analysis, ar"Ong mathematicians, the
art of discove-'ing the truth or falsehood
of a proposiv'on, or its possibility and im-
possibility. This is done by supposing
the prop^it'on, such as it is, true ; and
examining what follows from thence, un-
til we arrive at some evident trutli, or
som' impossibility, of which the first pro-
position is a necessary consequence ; and
#om thence establish the truth or impos-
sibility of that proposition.
The analysis of tlie ancient geometri-
cians consisted in the application of the
propositions of Euclid, ApoUonius, &c. till
they arrived, proceeding step by step, at
the truth required. That of the modems,
though not so elegant, must however, be
allowed more rcadv and general. By this
U
ANA
ANA
last, peometrical demonstrations are won-
derftiily abridged, a number of truths are
frequently expressed by a single line, and
whole sciences may sometimes be learn-
ed in a few minutes, which otherwise
would be scarcely attained in many years.
Analysis is divided, witlx regard to its
object, into that of finites and infinites.
Analysis of infinite quantities, that which
is called specious aritlunctic. Analysis
of infinites, tlie same with fluxions. See
FtCXlOJTS.
AwALisis, in mineralogy, includes the
examination of metallic ores, and of the
other products of the mineralkingdom.
See Minerals, analysis of.
Analysis of soils, the means of ascer-
taining tlie nature, properties, and pro-
portions of the different materials of which
they are composed. The proper execu-
tion of this business enables tlie farmer to
form a just estimate of the value of the
diffei-ent parts of his lands, to make the
application of ameUorating substances
with propriety, and to understand the ef-
fects that may be produced by the combi-
nations of different matters. The appa-
ratus necessaryforthis business are, scales
and weights of different sizes; some por-
celain, glass, or stone-ware vessels, un-
glazed; some muriatic and sulphuric
acid, alkali, galls, and pure distilled water.
ANAMORPHOSIS, in perspective and
pmnting, a monstrous projection, or re-
presentation of an image, on a plane or
curve sui-ftvo?, which, beheld at a proper
distance, shallappear regular and in pro-
portion.
To delineate m anamorphosis upon a
plane : 1. Draw th« square A B C D, (Plate
I. Miscel. fig. 4,) of a bigness at pleasure,
and subdivide into a nimiber of little
squares. 2. In this tquare, called the
craticula prototype, let the image to be
represented deformed, bt drawn. 3. Then
draw the line a b (ibid. fig. 5.) equal to A
B, and divide it into the satn» number of
equal parts as the side of tht prototype
A B. 4. Erect the perpendicylar E V,
in Uie middle of a i, so much tlr.. longer
as the deformity of the imag^ is to be
greater. 5. Draw V S perpendicuVu- to
E V, so much the shorter as you wo«ld
have the ima^ appear more deformed.
From each point of division draw straight
lines to V, and join the points a and S
by the right line a S. 6. Through the
points d efg dmw right lines parallel to
a b, then will a b cdhe the space in which
the monstrous projection is to be deline-
ated ; this space is called the craticular
ectype. Lastly, in eveiy areola, or small
trapezium of the space a, b, c, d, draw
what appears delineated in the coiTespon-
dent areola of the square A B C D ; and
thus you will obtain a defonned image,
which will appear in just proportion to an
eye distant from it the length of F V, and
rai.sed above its height V S.
An image may be deformed mechani-
cally, if you place it, having little holes
made here and there in it with a needle,
against a candle, and observe where the
rays going through these holes fall on a
plane or curve surface ; for they will
give the corresponding points of tlic
image to be deformed.
The practical methods of drawing
these images is described in the Leipsic
Act, for the year 1712, where we have an
account of two machines, one for images
viewed with a cylindrical, and the other
with a conical mirror. The person who
has this instrument may take any point
at pleasure, and while he goes over the
outlines of it with one pen, another traces
the anamorphosis.
In the cloister of the Minims at Paris,
there ai*e two anamorphoses traced upon
two of the sides of the cloister, one repre-
senting a Magdalen, and the other St.
John writing his gospel. They are so
managed, that when \newed directly they
appear like a kind of landscape, but from
a particular point of sight they appear
very distinctly like human figures.
ANANAS. See Bkomelia.
ANAPiEST, in ancient poetr}^ a foot
consisting of two short syllables and one
long : such is the word scopiilos. It is
just the reverse of the dactyl.
ANAPHORA, in rhetoric, a verbal
figure, whereby one or more wordis are
repeated in the bcgining of several sen-
tences. This is alivelyandelegantfigure,
and serves very much to engage the at-
tention; for, by the frequent return of the
same word, the mind of the hearer is
held in an agreeable suspense till the
whole is finished. Such is that in the
Psalms : " The voice of the Lord is pow-
erful : the voice of the Lord is full of
majesty : the voice of the Lord shaketh
in me wilderness." Another from Cicero's
fine oration against Cataline : " You do
nothing, you attempt nothing, you think
nothing, but what I not only h^ar, but also
see and plainly perceive."
\NARHICHAS, in natural history, -wolf-
fish, a genus of fishes of the order of
Apodfca : head rounded, blunt ; fore-teeth
in each jew conic, large, divergent, six or
more ; grinders in the lower jaw and pa-
late rounded j gill-membrane seven-ray-
ANA
ANA
Oil ; body roundish, caudal-fin distinct.
There are three species. A. lupus, or
ravenous wolf-hsh, inhabits the northern
seas ; g^ws to 15 feet long ; it is a most
fierce ami ravenous fish, and will fasten
on any thing within its reach. It feeds on
shell-fish, which it grinds to pieces with
its teeth, and swallows shells and all :
moves slowly with sonietliing of a serpen-
tine motion ; the grindci-s are often found
fossile, and are calletl toad-stones ; tlxe
flesh is good, but not often eaten. The
fossile teeth were formerly much esteem*
ed for imaginary virtues, and were set in
gold and worn as rings. Notwithstanding
the fi rocity of this fish, wliich is as dread-
ful to the small inhabitants of the wa-
ter, as the wolf is to those on land, it is
sometimes attacked and destroyed by an
enemy of fai* inferior size and strength,viz.
tlie cyclopterus, or lump-fish, wliich, fas-
tening itself on its neck, adheres immove-
ably, tonnenting. it in such a manner as
to cause its death. The wolf-fish fre-
quents the deep part of tlu: sea, and in
the spring approaches the coast, in order
to deposit its spawn among marine plants :
the ova are about tlie size of peas ; and
the young are of a greenish cast, like that
of sea-wrack, among which they reside
for some time after their birth. See Plate
I. Pisces, fig. 3. A. minor is found in the
Greenland seas; and the A. pantherinus
inhabits tiie Northern and Frozen Ocean.
ANARRHLNUM, in botany, a genus of
tlie Didynaraia Angiospermia class and
onlcr: calyx five-leaved; corol with a
nectariferous prominence atits base point-
ing downwards ; the upper-lip flat, with-
out palate, and the orifice pervious ; cap.
sule two-celled, many-valved. There
are five species.
ANAS, in natural lUstory, a genus of
birds of the order Anseres. The bill in
tliis genus is strong, broad, flat or
depressed, and commonly furnished at
the end with an additional piece termed a
nail, the edges of tiie mandibles marked
witli shai-p teeth ; nostrils small, oval :
tongue broad, edges near the base fring-
ed ; toes four, three before and one be-
hind, the middle one tlic longest. Ac-
cording to Latham, there are 98 species,
besides varieties ; but Gmehn gives about
120 species.
From tlie swan downward to the teal,
they are all a clcan-pluniaged beautiful
race of binls, and some of them c xtiuisite-
ly so. Those which have been reclaimed
from a state of nature, and live depen-
dant on man, are extremely useful to
him : under his protection tliey breed in
great abundance, and, widiout requiring
much of his time and care, lea<l their
young to the pool, almost as soon as
hatched, where they instantly, with in-
stinctive perception, begin to search for
their food^ which at first consists chiefly
of weeds, worms, and insects ; those they
sift, as it were from the mud, and for that
purpose their bills are admirably adapt-
ed. When they are farther advanced in
life, thev pick up the sodden scattered
grain oit the farm-yard, which, but for
their assiduous searching^, would be lost.
To tliem also are allotted the larger
quantities of corn jvhich are shaken by
the winds from the.-^ier-ripened cars in
the fields. On this clean and simple foQ«|
they soon become fat, and their flesb3|'
accounted delicious and nourishing. ^
a wild state, birds of various kinds pre-
sene their original plumage ; but whei
tamed, tliey soon begin to vary, an4
shew the effects of domestication : this
is the case with tlie tame goose and the
duck, which differ as much fi-oni the wild
of their respective kinds, as they do from
each other We shall notice the follow-
ing, as among the most interesting of tlie
species :
Anas Cygnus, tlie wild swan, measures
five feet in length, and above seven in
breadth, and weiglis from tliirteen to six-
teen pounds. Tlie bill is three inches
long, of a yellowish white ; from tlie base
to the middle, and thence to the tip,
black ; the bare space from the bill over
the eye and eye-lids is yellow : the whole
plumage in adiUt birds is of a pure white,
and next to tlie skin they are clotlied
with a tliick fine down: the legs are
black. Tliis species generally keeps to.
gether in small flocks, or families, except
in the pairing season, and at the setting
in of winter. At the latter period they
assemble in immense multitudes, parti-
cularly on the large rivers and lakes of
the tfiinly-inliabitcd northern parts of
Europe, Asia, and America : but when
tlie extremity of the weatluT tlireatensto
become insupportable, in order to shun
the gathering storm, they shape tlieir
course high in tlie air, in divided and di-
minished numbers, in search of milder
climates. In such seasons they are most
commonly seen in various parts of the
British isles, and in otlier more soutlieru
countries of Europe. Tlie siune is ob-
served of them in tlie North American
states. They do not, however, remain
longer than till the approach of the
spring, when they again rctii-e northw'ard
to the arctic regions to breed, A few.
ANAS.
indeed, drop short, and perform that of-
fice by the way, for they are known to
breed in some of the Hebrides, the Ork-
ney, Shetland, and other solitar}- isles ; but
these are hardly worth notice : the great
bodies of them are met with in the large
rivers and lakes near Hudson's Bay, and
those of Kampschatka, Lapland, and Ice-
land. They are said to return to the lat-
ter place in flocks of about a hundred
at a lime in the spring, and also to pour
in upon that island from the north, in
neai'ly the same manner, on their way
southward, in tlie autumn. The young
which are bred there remain thi-oughout
the first year; and in August, when they
are in moult, and unable to fly, tlie na-
tives, taking advantage of this, kill them
with clubS) shoot, and hunt them down
with dogs, by which they are easily
caught. The flesh is highly esteemed by
them as a delicious food, as are also the
eggs, which are gathered in the spring.
The Icelander, Kamschatdales, and other
natives of the noithem world, dress their
skins with the down on, sew them toge-
ther, and make them into garments of
various kinds : the northern American In-
tlians do the same, and sometimes weave
the down as barbers weave the cauls for
wigs, and then manufacture it into orna-
mental dresses for the women of rank,
while the larger feathers are formed into
caps and plumes, to decorate the heads of
their chiefsand warriors. They also gather
the feathers and down in large quantities,
and barter or sell them to the inhabitants
of more civihzed nations. Much has been
ssud of the singing of the swan, in ancient
times, and many beautiful and poetical de-
scriptions have been given of its dying
song. No fiction of natural history, no
fable of antiquity, was ever more celebrat-
ed, often repeated, or better received ;
it occupied the soft and hvely imagination
of the Greeks ; poets, orators, and even
philosophers, adopted it as a truth too
pleasing to be doubted. The dull insipid
truth , however, is very different from such
amiable and affecting fables ; forthe voice
of the swan, singly, is shrill, piercing, and
harsh, not unlike the sound of a clarionet
when blown by a novice in music. It is,
nevertheless, asserted by those who have
heard the united and varied voices of a
numerous assemblage of them, that tliey
produce a more harmonious effect, parti-
cularly when softened by the murmur of
the waters. At the setting in of frosty
weather, the wild swans are said to asso-
ciate in pi-odigious multitudes, and, thus
united, to use ever}' effort to prevent the
waterfrom freezing : tliisthcy accomplisli
by the continual stir kept up amongst
them ; and by constantly daslnng it with
their extended wings, they are enabled
to remain as long as it suits their conveni-
ence, in some favourite part of a lake or
river which abounds with their food. The
swan is very properly entitled the peace-
ful monarch of the lake : conscious of his
superior strength, he fears no enemy, nor
suffers any bird, however powerful, to mo-
lest him ; neither does he prey upon any
one. His vigorous wingis as ashield against
the attacks even of the eagle,and the blows
from it are said to be so powerful as to
stun or kill the fiercest of his foes. The
wolf or the fox may surprise him in the
dark, but their efforts are vain in the day.
His food consists of the grasses and weeds,
and the seeds and roots of plants which
grow on the margins of the water, and of
the myriads of insects which skim over,
or float on its surface ; also occasionally of
the slimy inhabitants within its bosom .
The female makes her nest of the wither-
ed leaves and stalks of reeds and rushes,
and lays commonly six or seven thick-
shelled white eggs : she is said to sit upon
them six weeks before they are hatched.
Both male and female are very attentive
to their young, and wiU suffer no enemy
to approach them.
Anas olor, or mute swan. The plu-
mage of this species is of the same snowy
whiteness as that of the wild swan, and
the bird is covered next the body with the
same kind of fine close down ; but it
greatly exceeds the wild swan in size,
weighing about twentj'-five pounds, and
measuring jnore in the length of the body
and extent of the wings. This also dif-
fers, in being fumishedwith a projecting,
callous, black, tubercle, or knob, on the
base of the upper mandible, and in the
colour of the bill, which in this is red,
with black edges and tip ; the naked skin
between the bill and the eyes is also of
the latter colour : in the wild swan this
bare space is yellow. The swan, although
possessed of the power to rule, yet mo-
lests none of the other water-birds, and is
singidarly social and attentive to those of
his own family, which he protects from
every insult. While they are employed
with die cares of the yoUng brood, it is
not safe to approach near them, for tliey
will fly upon any stranger, whom they
often beat to tlie ground by repeated
blows ; and they have been known by a
stroke of the wing to break a man's leg-.
But, however powerful they are witht heir
wings, yet a slight blow on the head will
ANAS.
kill tliem. The swan, for ages past, has
been protected on the river Thames, Eng-
land, as royal property ; and it continues
at this day to be accounted felony to steal
their eggs. "By this means their in-
crease is secured, and they prove a de-
lightful ornament to that noble river."
Latham says, **fii the reign of Edward
IV. the estimation they were held in was
such, that no one who possessed a free-
hold of less than the clear yearly value
of five marks was permitted even to
keep any." In those times, hardly a piece
of water was left unoccupied by these
biixis, as well on account of tlie gratifica-
tion they gave to the eye of their lordly
owners, as that which they also aflTorded
when they graced the sumptuous board,
at the splendid feasts of that period : but
the fashion of those days is passed away,
and swans are not nearly so common now
as they were formerly, being by most peo-
ple accounted » coarse kind of food, and
consequently held in little estimation;
but the cygnets (so the young swans are
called) are still fattened for the table, and
are sold ver)' high, commonly for a gui-
nea each, and sometimes for more : hence
it may be presumed, they are better food
than is generally imagined. This species
is "Said to be found in great numbers in
Ru.ssia and Siberia, as well as further
southward, in a wild state. They are,
without an owner, common on the river
Trent, and on the salt-water inlet of the
sea near Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire : they
arc also met on other rivers and lakes in
difterent parts of the British isles. The
female makes her nest, concealed among
tlie rough herbage, near the water's edge :
she lays from six to eight large white
eggs, and sits on them about six weeks
(some say eight weeks) before they are
hatched. The young do not acquire
theu: full plumj^e till tlie second year. It
is found by experience that the swan will
not thrive, if kept out of the water : con-
fined in a court yard, he makes an awk-
ward figure, and soon becomes dirty, taw-
<lr\ , dull, and spiritless.
Anas Canadensis, or Canada goose, is
another useful species, which has been
reclaimed from a state of nature, and do-
mesticated ;md multiplied in many parts
of Europe, particularly in France and
Germany ; and it is not very uncommon
in England. It is as familiar, breeds as
freely, and is in everj- re-spcct as valuable
as the common goose : it is also account-
ed a great ornament on ponds near gen-
tlemen's seats. Mr. Pennant, in liis Arc-
tic Zoology, gives the following interesting
account of the mode of taking tlie Canridn
goose in Hudson's bay : " The Englisli <;t
Hudson's bay depend greatly on gecst .
oftliese and other kinds, for theirsupport;
and, in favourable years, kill three or four
thousand, which they salt and barrel.
Their annval is impatiently attended; it
is the harbinger of the spring, and tlie
month named by the Indians the Goose
Moon. They appear usually at our set-
tlements in numbers, about St. George's
Day, O. S., and fly northward to nestle in
security. They prefer islands to the con-
tinents, as further from the haunts of men.
Thus, Marble Island was found, in Au-
gust, to swaiTn with swans, geese, and
ducks ; the old ones moulting, and the
young at tliat time incapable of flying."
" The English send out their servants, as
well as Indians, to shoot these binls on
their passage. It is in vain to pursue them ;
they therefore form a row of huts made
of bows, at musket-shot distance from
each other, and place them in a hne across
the vast marshes of the country*. Each
hovel, or, as they are called, stand, is oc-
cupied by only a single person. These
attend the flight of the birds, and, on their
approach, mimic tiieir cackle so well, that
the geese will answer, and wheel and
come nearer the stand. The sportsman
keeps motionless, and on his knees, witli
his gun cocked, the whole time, and ne-
ver fires till he has seen the eyes of the
geese. He fires as they are g-oing from
him, then picks up another gun that lies
by him, and discharges that. The geese
which he has killed he sets up on sticks,
as if aUve, to decoy others ; he also makes
artificial birds for the same purpose. In
a gt)od day (for they fly in very uncert^n
and unequal numbers) a single Indian will
kill two hundred. Notwithstanding every
species of goose has a different call, yet
tne Indians are admirable in their imita-
tion of every one." — " The vernal flight of
the geese lasts from the middle of April
until tlie middle of May. Their first ap-
pearance coincides with the thawing of
the swamps, when they are very lean.
The autumnal, or the season of their re-
turn witli their young, is from the middle
of August to the middle of October.
Those which are taken in this latter sea-
son, when the frosts usually begin, arc
preser^•ed in tlieir feathers, and left to be
frozen, for the fresh provisions of the win-
ter stock. The feathers constitute an
article of commerce, and are sent into
England." This is the common wild
goose of the United States ; cinereous ;
head and neck black ; cheeks and chin
ANAS
white, also the vent and twl-coverts : it
is often tamed, and will breed with the
common goose, producing a larger off-
spring
Anas Anser, or tame goose. To de.
scribe the varied pliunage and tlie econo-
my of this well known and valuable do-
mestic fowl, may seem to many a need-
less task ; but to others, unacquainted
with ijiu-al afiiJi-s, it may be interesting.
Their predominant colours are white and
grey, witli shades of ash, blue, and brown :
some of them are yellowish, others dusky,
and many are found to differ very little
in appearance from the wild kind last de-
scribed— ^the original stock, whence, in
early times, tl\ey were all derived. The
only permanent mark, which all the grey
ones still retain, like those of the wild
kind, is the white ring which surrounds
the x'oot of the tail. They are generally
furnished with a small tuft on the head,
and the most usual colour of tlie males
(gander or stig) is pure white : the bills
and feet in both males and females are of
an orange red. By studied attention in
the breeding, two sorts of these geese
have been obtained : the less are by many
esteemed as being more delicate eating :
the larger are by others prefen-ed, on ac-
count of the bountiful appearance they
make upon the festive board. The ave-
rage weight of the latter kind is between
nine and fifteen pounds; but instances
are not wanting, where they have been
fed to upwards of twenty pounds ; this is,
however, to sacrifice tlie flavour of the
food to the size and appearance of the
bird, for tliey become disgustingly fat and
surfeiting, and the methods used to cram
them up are imnatural and ciniel. It is
not, however, altogether on account of
their use as food that tliey are valuable ;
their feathers, their down, and their quills,
have long been considered as articles of
more importance, and from which their
owners reap more advantages. In this
respect the poor creatures have not been
spared : urged by avarice, their inhuman
masters appear to have ascertained the ex-
act quantity of plumage of which they can
bear to be robbed, withoutbeingdeprived
of life. Mr. Pennant, in describing the
methods used in Lincolnshire, in breeding,
rearing, and plucking geese, says, "they
are plucked five times in the year; first
at Lady-day for tlie feathers and quills :
this business is renewed, for the feathers
only, four times more between that and
IVIichaelmas •" he adds, that he saw the
operation performed even upon goslings
of six weeks old, from which the feathers
of the tMls were plucked ; and that num-
bers of the geese die when the season af-
terwards proves cold. But tliis unfeeling
greedy business is not peculiar to one
country, for much the same is practised
in others. The c;u"e and attention bestow-
ed upon the brood geese, while they are
engaged in the business of incubation, in
the month of April, is nearly the same
every where ; wicker pens are provided
for them, placed in rows, and tier above
tier, not uncommonly under the same
roof as their owner. Some place water
and corn near the nests ; others drive
tliem to the water twice a day, and replace
each female upon her own nest as soon as
she returns. This business requires the
attendance of tlie gozzard (goose-herd) a
month at least, in which time the young
are brought forth : as soon afterwards as
the brood are able to waddle along, they
are, together with their dams, driven to
the contiguous loughs and fens, or marsh-
es, on whose grassy margined pools they
feed and thrive, without requiring any
further attendance until the autumn. To
these marshes, which otherwise would be
unoccupied, (exce^jt by wild birds,) and
be only useless watery wastes, we are
principally indebted for so great a supply
of the goose ; for in almost every country,
where lakes and marshes abound, the
neighbouring inhabitants keep as many as
suit their convenience ; and in this way
immense numbers annually attiun to fuU
growth and perfection ; but in no part of
the world are such numbers reai-ed, as in
the fens of Lincolnshire, where it is said
to be no uncommon thing for a single per-
son to keep a thousand old geese, each of
which, on an average, wUl bring up seven
young ones. So far those only are no-
ticed which may properly be called the
larger flocks, by which particular watery
districts are peopled; and, although their
aggregate numbers are great, yet they
form only a part of the large family : those
of the farm-yard, taken separately, appear
as small specks on a gi-eat map ; but
when they are gathered together, and
added to those kept by almost every cot-
tager throughout the kingdom, the im-
mense whole will appear multiplied in a
ratio almost incalculable. A great part of
those which are left to provide for them-
sei-ves during the summer, in the solitaiy
distant waters, as well as those which en-
hven tlie village gi-een, are put into the
stubble fields after harvest, to fatten upon
the scattered grain : and some are penned
up for this purpose, by which they attain
to greater bulk ; and it is hardly necessa-
ANAS.
py to observe, tliat they are then poured
in weekly upon the tables of Uie luxurious
citizens of every town in tlie kingdom.
But these distant and divided supplies
seem trifling, when compared with the
multitudes, which, in the season, are driv-
en in all directions, into the metropolis ;
tlie former appear only like the scanty
waterings of the petty streamlet ; the lat-
ter like the copious overflowing ton-ent
of a large river. To the coimtry market
towns they are canied in bi^ and pan-
niers ; to the great centre of trade they
are sent in droves of many tliousands. To
a stranger it is a most curious spectacle to
view these hissing, cackling, gabbling, but
peaceful armies, witii grave deportment,
waddling along, (like other armies) to cer-
tain destruction. The drivers are each pro-
vided with a long stick, at one end of which
a red rag is tied as a lash, and a hook is
fixed at the other : with the former, of
wliich the geese seem much afraid, tlicy
are excited forward ; and with the latter,
such as attempt to stray are caught by
the neck and kept in order ; or if lame,
they are put into an hospital-cart, wliich
usually follows each large drove. In this
manner they perform their joumies from
distant parts, and are said to get forward
at the rate of eight or ten miles in a day,
from three in the morning till mne at
night : those which become fatigued are
fed with oats, and tlie rest with bariey.
The tame goose lays from seven to twelve
eggs, and sometimes more : these the care-
ful housewife divides equally among her
brood geese, when they begfin to sit.
Those of her geese which lay a second
time in the course of the summer, are sel-
dom, if ever, permitted to have a second
hatching; but the eggs are used for house-
hold purposes. In some countries the do-
mestic geese require much less care and
attendance than Uiose of this country. The
goose hasformanyagesbeen celebrated on
account of its vigilance. The story of tlie
saving Rome l)y the alarm the v gave, when
the Gauls were attempting the Capitol, is
well known, and was probably the first
time oftheir watchfulness being recorded,
and, on that account, they were afterwards
held in the highest estimation by the Ro-
man people. It is certain that notliing
can stir in the nig^t, nor the least or most
distant noise be made, but the geese are
roused, and immediately begin to hold
their cackling converse ; and on the near-
er approacliof apprehended danger, they
set up their more shrill and clamorous
cries. It is on account of this property
that they are esteemed by many persons
as the most vigUant of all sentinels, whc&
placed in particular situations.
Anas Erjthropus, or barnacle of Eu-
rope. The barnacle weighs about five
pounds, and measures more than two feet
in length, and nearly four and a half in
breadtli. The bill, from tlie tip to the
comers of the mouth, is scarcely an inch
and a half long, black, and crossed witli a
pale reddish streak on each side : a nar-
row black line passes from the bill to the
eyes, the irides of which are brown : the
head is small, and as far as the crown,
together with the cheeks and throat,
white : the rest of the head and neck, to
the breast and shoiJders, is black. The
upper part of tlie plumage is prettily mar-
bled or baiTed with blue-g^y, black, and
white : the featliers of the back are black,
edged \vi\h white, and those of the wing-
coverts and scapulars blue-grey, border-
ed with black near their margins, and
edged with white : the quills black, edged
a little way from the tips with blue -grey:
the under parts and tail coverts white :
the thighs are marked with dusky lines
or spots, and are black near the knees;
the tail is black, and five inches and a half
long : tlie legs and feet dusky, ven' thick
and short, and have a stumpy appearance.
In severe winters, these biixls are not un-
common in England, particularly in the
northern and western parts, where, how-
ever, they remain only a short time, but
depart earlyin the spnngto their northern
wilds, to breed and spend the summer.
Anas Bemicla, Brent Goose. Brown ;
head, breast and neck black, the latter
with a lateral white spot : tail-coverts and
vent white : plentiful on the sea coast of
North America in autumn. It is consi-
dered by Mr. Wilson as the same with
the Barnacle Goose (A. Erythropus.)
Anas molissima, or eider duck. This
wild, but valuable, species is of a size be-
tween the goose and the domestic duck,
and appears to be one of the graduated
links of the chain which connects the two
kinds. The full-grown old males gene-
rally measure about two feet two inches
inlength,and two feet eighteeninbreadth,
and weigh from six to above seven pounds.
The female is nearly of the same shajjf,
though less than the male, weighing onl\
between five and six pounds; but her
plumage is quite diflTerent, the ground co-
lour being of a reddish brown, prettily
crossed with waved black lines ; and in
some specimens the neck, breast, and
belly, are tinged with ash : the wings are
crossed v.'ith two bars of white : quills
ANA
ANA
dark : the neck is marked with long-Itudi-
nal dusky streaks, and the belly is deep
browii, spotted obscurely with black.
The eider duck lays from three to five
larg«, smooth, pale, olive-coloured eg-gs ;
these she deposits and conceals in a nest,
or bed, made of a great quantity of tlie
soft, warm, elastic down, plucked from her
own breast, and sometimes from that of
her mate. The ground-work or founda-
tion of the nest is formed of bent-gi-ass,
sea-weeds, or such like coarse materials,
and it is placed in as sheltered a spot as
the bleak and solitary place can afford.
In Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, Lap-
land, and some pai-ts of the coast of Nor-
way, the eidci-s flock together, in particu-
lar breeding places, in .such numbere, and
their nests are so close together, that a
person in walking along can hardly avoid
treading upon them. The natives of these
cold chmates eagerly watch the time when
the first hatchings of the eggs are laid : of
these they rob the nest, and also of the
more important article, the down with
which it is lined, which they carefidly
gather and.carry off". These birds will af-
terwards strip themselves of their remain-
ing down, and lay a second hatching, of
which also they are sometimes robbed :
but it is said, that when this cmel treat-
ment is too often repeated, they leave the
place, and return to it no more. The
quantity of this valuable commodity, which
is thus annually collected in various parts,
is uncertain. Buffbn mentions one par-
ticular year, in which the Icelandic com-
pany- sold as much as amounted to upwards
of eight hundredand fifty pounds sterling.
This, however, must be only a small por-
tion of the produce, which is all sold by
the hardy natives, to stuff' tiie couphes of
the pampered citizens of more polished
nations. The great body of these birds
constantly resides in the remote northern,
fix)zen climates, the rigours of which their
thick clothing well enables them to bear.
They are said to keep together in flocks
in the open parts of the sea, fishing and
diving very deep in quest of shell-fish and
other food, with which the bottom is co-
vered ; and when they have satisfiedthem-
selves, they retire to the shore, whither
they at all times repair for shelter, on the
approach of a storm. Other less numerous
flocks of the eiders branch out, colonize,
and breed further southward, in both Eu-
rope and America : they are found on the
promontories and numerous isles of the
coast of Norway, and on those of the nor-
thern, and the Hebrides or western isles
of Scotland, and also on the Fern isles, on
the Northumberland coast, M'hich latter i^
the only place where they are known to
breed in England, and may be said to be
their utmost southern limit in that quarter,
although a few sohtary instances of single
birds being shot further southward along
the coast have sometimes happened.
Anas Marilla, scaup duck, or Blue-bill.
This species measures, when stretched
out, nearly twenty inches in length, and
thirty-two in breadth. The bill is broad
and flat, more than two inches long, from
the comers of the mouth to the tip, and of
a fine pale blue or lead colour, with the
nail black : irides bright deep yellow : the
head and upper half of the neck are black,
glossed with green : the lower part of the;
latter, and the breast, are of a sleek plain
black : the throat, rump, upper and under
coverts of the tail, and part of the thighs,
are of the same colour, but dull and more
inclining to brown. The tail, when spread
out, is fan-shaped, and consi.sts of fourteen
short, brown feathei-s. The legs are short,
toes long, and as well as the outer or la-
teral webs of the inner toes, are of a dirty
pale blue colour ; all the joints and the
rest of the webs are dusky. These birds
are said to vary greatly in their plumage,
as well as size ; but those which have come
under the author's observation were all
nearly alike. The scaup duck, Uke others
of the same genus, quits the rigours of the
dreary north in the winter months, and in
that season only is met with on various
parts of the American shores. It is well
known in England.
Anas Clangiila, the golden-eye. The
weight of this species varies from twenty-
six ounces to two pounds. The length is
nineteen inches, and the breadth thirty-
one. These birds do not congregate in
large flocks, they are varied with black
and white ; head tumid, violet ; at each
corner of the mouth a white spot. They
are frequent in the waters of the United
States during the winter, and take their
departure northward in the spring. In
their flight they make the air whistle with
the vigorous quick strokes of their wings ;
they are excellent divers, and seldom set
foot on the shore, upon which, it is said,
they walk with great apparent difficulty,
and, except in the breeding season, only
repairto it for the purpose of taking tlieir
repose. The attempts which were made
by M. Baillon to domesticate these birds,
he informs the Count de Buffbn, quite
failed of success. See Plate IIL Aves,
fig. 1 to 5.
-ANASARCA, in medicine, a species of
dropsy, wherein the skin appears puffed
ANA
ANA
up and swelled, and yields to the impres-
sion of the fing^ers, Uke dough Sec Me-
DICIHB.
ANASTATICA, the rote of Jericho, in
botany, a g'cuus of tlie Tctradynainia SiH-
culosa class of plants, the cul} x of w hich
is a deciduous pcriuntliium, consisting of
four oval, oblong, concave, erect, and de-
ciduous leaves; its flowers consist of four
roundish petals, disposed in tlie form of a
cposs ; and itsfruitis ashort bilocular pod,
containing in each cell a single roundish
seed. There are two species j one is
found growing natumlly on the co:ist of
the Red sea, in Palestine, and near Cairo,
in sandy places. The stalks are hgneous,
though the plant is annual, it is preser-
%'ed iu botanic gardens for tlie variety,
and in some curious gardens for the odd-
ness of tlie plant, which, if taken up before
it is withered, and kept entire in a dry
room, may be long preserved, and after
being many years in tliis situation, if the
root is placed in a glass of water a few
hours, the buds of the flowers will swell,
open, and appear as if newly taken out of
the g^und. The second species, called
the A. syriaca, is a native of Austria, Ste-
ria, Carniola, Syria, and Sumatra. These
plantii, being annual, can be propagated
only by seeds, which rarely ripen in Eiig-
land.
ANATOMY is the art of examining ani-
mal bodies by dissection. It teaches tlie
structure and functions of these bodies,
and shews nearly on what life and health
depend. When these are well understood,
a great step is made towards the know-
ledge and cure of diseases.
It is derived from the Greek verb,
<n«CTf /Kno), I cut up : yet we do not cora-
hend under it tlie mere cutting of dead
bodies ; but every operation, by which we
endeavour to discover the structure and
use of any part of die body.
As every animal bwly is the subject of
anatomy, we divide it into the hitnuin and
comparative. The lirst of tliesc, which is
confined to the human body, forms tlie
subject of tlie present article ; the last,
which is extended to the whole animal
creation, will be considered under the
head of Compahativk Anato.hi. The
offices or functions of the various parts of
the body are tlie objects of the science of
PursioLoor : to which article the reader
•,s referred for tliose subjects.
The limits to which we are confined,
by the nature of the present work, will
prevent us from entering much into the de-
tails of the structure and composition of
the human body. We shall present the
VOL. I.
Deader with a general sketch of the sub-
ject, as being more suited to the space
which tliis ardcle is allowed to occupy.
After a cursory view of the origin and
progress of anatomical science, we sliall
give a general description of the compo-
nent parts of the human body, and their
functions ; and proceed in tlie last place
to the more pardcular enumeration and
description of the various organs.
HISTOHT OW AKATOMT.
The want of records leaves us in the
dark, widi regard to tlie origin of this art;
yet it is reasonable'to conclude, that, like
most other arts, it had no precise begin-
ning. The nature of the thing would not
admit of its lying for a time altogedier
concealed, and of being suddenly brought
to light, either by chance, or genius, or
uulustrj-.
All the studies and arts which are ne-
cessary in human Ufe are so interesting
and obvious, that man in everj- situation
has always bj instinct and common sense
turned his thoughts to tliem and made
some progress in tlie cultivation of them.
To talk seriously of the invention of agri-
culture, architecture, astronomy, naviga-
tion, mechanics, physic, surgery, or ana-
tomy, by some particular man, or in one
particular country-, or at a time subsequent
to some prior sera, would be to discover
great ignorance of human nature. AVe
might just as well suppose, that, till a cer-
tain period of time, man was without in-
stinctive appetites, and without observa-
tion and reflection, and that in a happy
hour he found out the art of supporting
life by taking food. All such arts, in a
less or more cultivated state, were, from
the beginning, and ever will be, foimd in
all parts of the inhabited world.
The first men who lived must soon have
acquired some notions of the stnicture of
their own bodies, particularly of the ex-
ternal paitji, and of some even of tlie in-
ternal, such as bones, joints, and sinews ;
which ar^; exposed to tlie examination of
the senses in tlie living body.
This rude knowledge was indeed gra-
dually improved by the accidentsto which
the body is exposed, by tlie necessities of
life, and by the various customs, ceremo-
nies, and superstitions ofdiflerent nations.
Thus, the obsenance of bodies killed by
violence, attention to wounded men, and
to many diseases, the various waysof put-
ting criminals to death, the funeral cere-
monies, and a variety of such tilings, must
have shewn men, every day, more and
ANATOMY.
moce of themselves ; especially as curiosi-
ty and self-love would urge them power-
fully to observation and reflection.
The brute creation having such an af-
finity to man, in outward form, motions,
senses, and ways of life, the generation of
the species, and the effect of death upon
the body, being observed to be so nearly
the same in both, the conclusion was not
onlj' obvious, but unavoidable that their
bodies were formed nearly upon the same
model. The opportunities of examining'
the bodies of brutes were so easily procu-
red, indeed so necessarily occured in the
common business of life, that the hunts-
man in making use -of his prey, the priest
in sacrificing, the augur in divination,
and, above all, the butcher, or those who
might out of curiosity attend his opera-
tions, would have been daily adding to
the little stock of anatomical knowledge.
Accordingly we find, in fact, that the
Soutli-sea islanders, who have been left to
their own observation and reasoning, withu-
out the assistance of letters, have yet a
considerable share of nide or wild anato-
mical and physiological knowledge. When
Omai was in Dr. Hunter's museum, al-
thoughhe could not explain himself intel-
ligibly, it appeared plainly that he knew
the principal parts of the body, and
something likewise of their uses, and ma-
nifested a great curiosity, or desire, of
having the functions of the internal parts
of the body explained to him; particular-
ly the relative functions of the two sexes,
■which, with him, seemed to be the most
interesting object of the human mind.
The poems of Homer likewise shew us
that many facts were popularly known in
his time; he probablypcsscssed the gene-
ral information on the subject. The fol-
lowing passages display a knowledge of
some of the internal pai-ts of the body :
" Antilochus, asThoon turn'dhim round,
Transplerc'd his back with a dishonest
wound.
The hollow vein that to the neck ex-
tends,
Alongthe chine, hjs eager jav'lin rends."
Iliad, b. 13.
The stone, which Dioraedthrew at .Eneas,
is said to have broken the acetabulum, and
to have torn both the ligjiments which
connect the thigh in its situation. These
particulars are not mentioned in Mr. Pope's
translation, we therefore cite the original :
Tar pixXtf Aivetxo xmt* iir^tct, n^tc
11.5.1.305.
From the sources which have been just
enumerated was derived the anatomical
knowlege of early times. This know-
ledge was general or popular. Anatomy,
properly so called, viz. the knowledge
of the structure of the body, obtained by
dissections expressly instituted for that
purpose, is of much more recent origin.
Civilization and improvement of every
ki ad would naturally begin in fertile coun-
tries and healthful climates, where there
would he leisure for reflection, and an ap-
petite for amusement. It seems now to
be clearly made out, that writing, and ma-
ny otlier useful and ornamental inventions
and arts, were cultivstted in the eastern
parts of Asia, longbefore the earliest times
that are treated of by the Greek or other
European writers ; and that the arts and
learning of those eastern people were, in
subsequent times, gi-adually communica-
ted to adjacent countries, especially by
the medium of traffic. The custom.s, su-
perstitions, and climates of eastern coun-
ti'ies, appear, however, to have been as
unfavourable to practical anatomy, as they
were inviting to the study of astronomy,
geometry, poetry, and all the softer ai-ts
of peace. In those warm climates, animal
bodies run .so quickly into nauseous putre-
faction, that the early inhabitants must
have avoided such offensive employments
as anatomical inquiries, like tlieir posteri-
ty at this day. And, in fact, it does not ap-
pear, by the writings ofthe Grecians, Jews,
or Phoenicians, that anatomy was particu-
larly cultivatedby any of those nations.
The progress of anatomy in the early
ages of the world was more particulariy
prevented by a very generally prevalent
opinion, that the touch of a deatl body
conrmiunicated a moral pollution. When
we consider the extent and inveteracy of
tliis prejudice, we shall cease to wonder
at the imperfect state of anatomical know-
ledge in the periods now xmder review.
The practice of embalming the bodies of
the dead did not at all reconcile the Egyp-
tians to dissections. The person who made
the incision, through which the viscera
were removed, immediately ran away, fol-
lowed by the imprecations and even vio-
lence ofthe bye-standers, who considered
him to have violated the body of a friend.
The ceremonial law of the Jews was very
rigorous in this respect- Totauph seve-
ANATOMY.
r.il animals which they ncicounted unclean,
subjected tlie person to the necessity of
purifications, &.c. To touch a dead body
made a person unclean tor seven days.
" Wliosoever (says the Jewish lawgiver)
touchcth the body of any man that is dead
and purifieth not himself, defileth the ta-
bernacle of the Lord ; and tliat soul shall
be cut oH'from Israel."
In tracing it bnckwarcU in its infancy,
we cannot go farther into antiquity than
the times of the Grecian philosophers.
As an art in tl»c state of some cultivation,
it may be said to have been brought forth
and bred up among them, as a branch of
natural Icuowledge. We discover in the
w^ritings of Flato, that he luwl paid atten-
tion to tixe oi-ganization and functions of
the human body.
Hippocrates, who lived about four hun-
dred years before Christ and was reckon-
ed the eighteenth in descent from /Escu-
lapius, was the Ikvst who separated the
professions of philosophy and physic, and
devoted himself exclusively to the latter
pursuit. He is generally supposed to be
the first who wrote upon anatomy. After
the restoration of Greek learning, in the
fifteenth centuiy, it was so fitshionable for
two hundred } ears together, to extol the
knowledge of the ancients in anatomy, as
in otlier things, that anatomists seem to
have made it a point of emulation, who
should be most lavish in their praise ;
some from a diffidence in themselves ;
others tlnough the love of detracting from
the merit of contemporaries; many from
having laboriously stutUcd ancient learn-
ing, smd having become enthusiasts in
Greek literature ; but more, perliaps, be-
cause it was the fashionable turn of the
times, and w:ls held up as the mark of
good education and fine taste. If, how-
ever, we read the \\ orks of Hippocrates
with impartiality, and apply hie accounts
of tlie parts to what we now know of the
human body, we must allow his descrip-
tions tobe imperfect, incorrect, sometimes
extravagant, and often unintelligible, that
of the bones only excepted.
From Hippocrates to Galen, who flou-
rished towards the enil of the second cen-
tsiiry, in the decline of the Roman empire,
that is, in the spare of six hundred years,
!\ improved; the phi-
leringit as a most cu-
....,1.. ..,.>, ,.,,v .^.v.ing brunch of natural
knowledge, and tlie physicians, as a prin-
cipal foundation of their art. Uothofthem
in that interval of time, contributed daily
to the common stock, by more accurate
antl extended obscnations, and by ike
lights of improving philosophy.
Aristotle, a disciple of Plato, and pvfi-
ceptor of Alexander the Great, is no less
entitled to immortality for his immense
labours in natural history and comparative
anatomy, than as the founder of the Peri-
patetic philosophy, which for two thou-
sand years held undisputed swa\ over the
whole learned world. He had formed the
most enlarged design which perhaps was
ever conceived by any man ; no less than
that of a general and detjulcd history of
all nature, a plan by far too vast for the
short life of an individual. The love of
science which distinguished Alexander no
less than his ambition and thirst for glory,
led him to encourage and assist the plana
of Aristotle in a manner worthy of .so great
a princC; of so exalted a genius, and of
such magnificent designs. The sum of
money which he was thereby enabled to
devote to his works on natural history
would be almost incredible, did we nofr
consider the traits of g^atness which mark
every action of Alexander, and were not
the circumstance stated Ly writers of uu-
exceptionable autJiority. Athenjeus, Pli-
ny, and ..than, concur in representing it
at between one and two hundred thou-
sand pounds.
Shortly after the fotmdation of Alexan-
dria, a celebrated sciiool was established
there, to which the Greeks and other for-
eigners resorted for instniclion, and where
physic and every branch of natural know-
ledge were taught in the greatest perfec-
tion. Herophilus and Ei-asistratus, two
anatomists of this school, are particulap-
ly celebrated in the histor}" of anato-
my. They seem to be the first who dis-
sected the human body. At least in the
time of Asistotle, who preceded these anar
tomists by a very short intenal, brutes
only had been anatomised. It might have
been expected that the practice of em-
balming would afford favourable opportu-
nities of anatomical investigation, but the
rude miuiner in which the body was prepa-
red, and the dread of pollution, prevented
allinstructive examination. The progress
of the science required that anatomists
should have subjects, on which carefuland
deliberate dissection might be prosecuted
without fearof interruption. This benefit
was obtained through the taste which the
princes of that time displayed for the arts
and sciences. The Ptolomies inherited,
with their share of tlie empire of Alex-
di r, the love of science, which slionc so
cunsi)icuously in that monarch. Ptolemy
Phi!;idclphus invited to his capital the
gpittst men oftheaere: and by collecting
b(i " ' an immense ex-
P' :', of the magntft*
ANATOMY.
cent Alexandrian library. This king and
his predecessor seem to have overcome
the religious scruples which forbade the
touch of the dead body, and gave up to
the physicians the bodies of those who had
forfeited their lives to the law. Nay, if
tlie testimony of several authors may be
believed, Herophilus and Erasistratus dis-
sected sevei-al unfortunate criminals aUve.
There is, however, something inthisprac-
tice so repugnant to ever\- feeling of huma-
nity, that we oughtprobablytoconsiderit
only as an exaggerated report of the novel
practice of dissecting the human subject.
The WTitings of these anatomists have not
descended to us: ourknoweledgc of their
progress in anatomy is derived only fi*om
a few extracts and noticeswhich occur in
the works of Galen ; but these prove them
to have made great advances in the know-
ledge of the structure of the human body.
The Romans, in prosecuting their
schemes of universal conq»iest and domi-
nion, soon became acqu^nted with the
Greeks, and the intercourse of the two
nations was constantly increasing. Thus
the arts, the philosophy, and the manners
of the Greeks were introduced into Italy.
!Militar\" glory and patriotism,, which had
formerly been the ruling passion of the
Roman people, now gave way in some de-
gree to the soft arts of peace. The lead-
ing men of the Roman republic sought tlie
company and conversation of the learned
Greeks ; thus literature an<l philosophy
were transported from the Greeks to the
Romans, and gave rise to the taste and ele-
gance of the Augustan age. In this way
did conquered Greece triumph over the
unpolishedroughness of her conquerors.
Gracia captafenim victorem cefit, et artet
IiUulit a^esti Latio.
Although Rome produced orators, poets,
philosophers, andhistorians which maybe
brought into competition with those of the
Greeks, to the eternal disgrace of their
empire it mvist be allowed that tlieir his-
tory is hardly embellished with the name
of a single Roman who was great in science
or art, in painting or sculpture, in physic,
or in any branch of natural knowledge.
We cannot therefore introduce one Roman
into the history of anatomy. Pliny and
Celsus were mere compilers from the
Greeks. We may account for this appa-
rent neglect of anatomy among the Ro-
mans, as well indeed as for its slow pro-
gress among the Greeks, from some of
the'r religious tenets, as well as from the
notion already mentioned, of pollution be-
ing communicated by|touchingadead bo-
dy. It was believed, that the souls of the
imburied were not admitted into the a-
bodes of the dead, or, at least, that they
wandered for a hundred years along the
river Styx, before they were allowed to
cross it. Whoever saw a dead body was
obliged to throw some earth upon it, and
if he neglected to do so, he was obliged to
expiate his crime by sacrificing to Ceres.
It was unlawful for the pontifex maximus
not only to touch a dead body, but even
to look at it ; and the flamen of Jupiter
might not even go where there was a
grave. Persons who had attended a fu-
neral were purified by a sprinkling of wa-
ter from the hands of the priest, and the
house was purified in the same manner.
If any one (says Euripides, in Iphigenia)
pollutes his hands by a murder, by touch-
ing a corpse, or a woman who has lain in,
the altars of God are interdicted to him.
There was no anatomist orphysiologist,
of suflRcient reputation to attract our no-
tice, from the times of Herophilus and
Erasistratus to the age of Galen. This il-
lustrious characi er was born at Pergamus,
in Asia Minor, about the 130th yearof the
Christian sera. No expense was spared in
his education ; after tlie completion of
which, he visited all the most famous
schools of philosophy which then existed ;
and afterwards resided chiefly at Rome,
iu the service of the emperors of that time.
To all the knowledge which could be
derived from the writings of Hippocrates,
and the philosophical schools of the time,
Galen added the results ofhis own labours
and observations, and compiledfrom these
sources a voluminous system of medicine.
It is generally considered that the subjects
of his anatomical labours were chiefly
brutes ; and it is manifest from several
gassages, that his descriptions ai-e drawn
om monkeys. Indeed, he never express-
ly states that he has dissected the humas
subject, although he says he lias seen hu-
man skeletons. He must be accounted
the first who placed anatomical science on
a respectable footing ; and deserves our
gratitude for this, that he was the only
source of anatomical knowledge for about
ten centuries. The science declined with
Galen; his successors were contented with
copying him; and there is no proof of a
dissection of any human body from Galen
to the emperor Frederick 11. We may
obsen^c, that when any man amves at the
reputation of having carried his artfarbe-
yond all others, it seems to throw the rest
of the world into a kind of despair. Hope-
less of being able to improve theirart still
further, they do nothing. The great man«
who was at first only respectable, pvws
ANATOMY.
everj- day into higli
he is deiBed, and i \ : , ^ ;
tings becomes sacred and intallible. I'liis
was actually the fortune of Aristotle in
philosophy, and of Galen in anatomy, for
many ages; and such respect shewn to
any man in any age must always be a mark
of declining science.
Anatomy experienced the same fate as
learning in general on the decUne and fall
of the Koman empire. The moral and
intellectual character of the Romans had
been much dcbassd in the late* ages of
the empire. Philosophy and science were
manifestly degenerating, and their place
was supplied by a debased and coiTiipted
theology. The successive imiptions of
the northern barbarians accelerated the
approaching ruin. The great inundation
of the Goths into Italy, in the fifth centu-
ry, extinguished, with the Roman empire,
its laws, manners, and learning, and plun-
ged the world intothe depths ojfignorance
and superstition. The succeeding ten
centuries, which have received the appel-
lation of the dark ages of tlie world, pre-
sent a melancholy picture to the philoso-
phic observer of human nature ; a barren
and dreary waste, not enlivened by a sin-
gle trace of cxiltivation.
The followers of the Arabian prophet
dissipated the little remains of learning
that were left in Asia and Egypt. A con-
tempt of all human knowledge, and the
religious obUgation of extending the Ma-
hometan faith bymeansof the sword, made
these ignorantbarbarians the most danger-
ous and destructive foes to science and the
arts. The city of Alexandria, the school
of which had been the resort of the learn-
ed for centuries, was taken in the year
640,by Amrou, the general of the Caliph
Omar; the celebrated librarj' was burnt,
with the exception of those books which
related to medicine, which tlie love of hfe
Induced the Arabians to spare.
When the Saracens were established in
their new conquests they began to dis-
«em tlie utility of learning in tjic arts and
sciences, and particularlvin physic. .Ma-
homet had made it death for any Mussul-
man to learn the liberal arts : this prohi-
bition was gradually neglected, and many
of the caliphs distinguished themselves by
their love of letters, and the munificent
institutions which they founded for the
propagation of learning. The Greek au-
thors were collected, translated, and com-
mented on ; but thei"c was no improve-
ment nor extension of science made. In
anatomy, the Arabians went no further
than Galen, the perusal of whose works
supplied theplace of dissection. Theyi*'erc
.id by their
. „ . ^ and pollu-
tion, wiiich tliey had derived from the Jew*
The Arabian empire in the east was
avertumed by the Turks, who, still more
barbarous and illiterate than the Sara-
cens, carried ignorance and oppression
wherever tliey directed their foot^tc|).s.
They soon destroyed all the institutions
which the Saracens had formed for the
propagation of science, and threatened
Constantinople itself, which still retained
the faint and almost dying embers of
Greek knowledge. This city w as taken
and sacked in the middle of the fifteenth
century ; and the learned Greeks fled for
safety to the western nations of Eu-
rope, bringing with them the Grecian au-
thors on medicine,and translating them ;
which works, the invention of printing,
that happened about Xi\e same time,
greatly contributed to disperse tliroughout
Europe. People ha<i now an opportunity
of becoming acquainted with the writings
of Galen and the ancients, and, by these
means, of arriving at the source of that
knowledge which they had hitherto ob-
tained only through the char.nel of the
Arabian physicians. The superiority of
the former was soon discovered, and tlie
opinions of the Grecian writers were consi-
dered, even inanatomy, asunimpeachable.
For the restoration of anatomy, as well
as that of science in general, we are in-
debted to the Italians. But the first men
who signalized themselves in this path
partook of that blind reverence for the
words of Galen, which had reigned uni-
versally in medicine since his death, and
which concurred with the universally pre-
vailing prejudices of those times, con-
cerning tlie violation of tlie dead, to ob-
struct all advancement of the science. As
an in-stance of the latter circumstance, we
may mention a decree of Pope Boniface
Vlil.prohibitingtheboiHngand preparing
of bones, which put a stop to the research-
es of Mundinus.
Among the circumstances which contri-
buted to the restoration of anatomy is to
be reckone<l, the :issi.stance which it deri-
ved from the great painters and sculptors
otthisiige. A knowledge of ill
of tin* sinf:ue of ♦he body, at i
seniiul to the prosecution ol im -.c .uis.
Michael .\ngelo dissected men and ani-
mals, m onler to learn the muscles which
he underdie skin. A collection of anato-
mical drawings made by Leonardo da Vinci
at this period, is still extant, and, with
subjoined explanations, arc found in the
library of the king. Dr. Hunter bears
witness to the minute and accurate know-
ANATOMY.
l<*il^c wliicli tlicSo sketches discover, and
does not hesitate in considering' Leonai-do
as the best anatomist of that time.
About the middle of the sixteenth cen-
tin"\ the great Vesaliiis appeared. He was
boni at Brussels, and studied successive-
!)■ at the tUflercnt universities of France
andltxdy. Thusheac(|uiredallthe know-
ledge of antiquity. Not contented with
this, he took every opportunity of examin-
ing the human body, and followed the
aiiny of the emperor Charles V. into
France for that purpose. Vesalius was
the first who maintained that dissection
was the proper way of learning anatomy,
in opposition to the study of the works of
(ialen. His extensive researches into the
structure of man and animals led him to
detect the errors of Galen, which he freelj-
exposed, shewing from many parts of liis
works, tliat this great man had described
the human body from the di-ssection of
brutes. This conduct, which should have
excited the admiration and esteem of his
contemporaries, served only to rouse in
their minds the base and sordid passions of
jealousy and envy. Galen had held an
undisputed sway over the minds of men
for many centuries. His works were re-
garded as tlie only source of anatomical
knowledge, and liis opinion on medical
subjects, like that of Aristotle in philoso-
phy, was resorted to in all disputes as final
and decisive proof. The first* man who
penetrated this intellectuid mist, and
erected the standard of reason and truth,
in opposition to that of prejudice and au-
thority, might naturally ex-pectto encoun-
ter the opposition of tliose who had been
contented to go on in the beaten track.
The anatomists, who liad always lieldup
Galen in their lectures as the source of
all information, were indignant that his
faults should be discovered and laid open
by so young a man as Vesahus. The con-
troversies which arose from this cause
were favourable to the progress of anato-
my, as the several disputants were obliged
to confirm their own opinions, or invah-
date those of their opponents, by argu-
ments drawn from dissection.
Vesahus pubhshed, at the age of 25, liis
grand work on the structure of the human
body, with numerous elegant figures, sup-
posed to have been drawn by the cclebra-
led Titian. This work contains such a
mass of new information, that it may justly
be considered as forming an aera in the
history of anatomy We cannot help being
surprised that so young a man co«ild have
investigated the subject so deeply, at a
time when dissection was esteemed sacri-
le^oua, and was tlierefore carried on Se-
cretly, with great danger and diffiailty.
The great reputation of Vesalius procured
for liim the esteem and confidence of
Charles V. who made him his physician,
and kept him about his pei-son in all his
expeditions. His zeal for science proved
the cause of his death : for having opened
a person too soon, the heart was seen to
palpitate. He was condemned to perform
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; and as he was
returning to take the place of anatomical
professor at Venice, he was shipwrecked
on the island of Zante, and perished of
hunger. It would be unjust to pass over
unnoticed the names of Fallopius and of
Eustachius, who were contemporary with
Vesalius, and contributed greatly to the
advancement of anatomy. The anatomical
plates drawn and engraved by the latter
are executed with an accuracy which can-
not fail to excite surprise, even in an ana-
tomist of the present day.
Fi-om the time of Vesalius, the study of
anatomy gradually diffused itself over Eu-
rope ; insomuch, that for the last hundred
and fifty years it hasbeen daily improving
by the labour of man j' professed anatomists
in almost eveiy country of Europe.
In the year 1628, our immortal country-
man, Harvey, published his discovery of
the circulation of the blood. Itwasbyfar
the most important step that has been
made in the knowledge of animal bodies in
any age. It not only reflected useful
lights upon what had been already found
out in anatomy, but also pointed out the
means of further investigation; and accord-
ingly we see that, from Harvey to the pre-
sent time, anatomy has been so much im-
pi'Oved,-that we may reasonably questiott
if the ancients have been further outdone
by the moderns in any other bi-anch of
knowledge. From one day to another
there has been a constant succession of
discoveries, relating either to the sti-ucture
or functions of our body ; and new anato-
mical f>rocesses, both of investigation and
demonstration, have been daily invented.
Many parts of the body, which were not
known in Harvey's time, have since then
been broughtto light; and of tliose which
were known, the internal composition and
functions remained unexplained ; and in-
deed must have remained inexplicable,
without the knowledge of the circulation.
The principal facts relating to this sub-
ject were known before the time of Har-
vey : it remained for him to reject the«pe-
cious conjectures then maintained con-
cerning the blood's motion, and to examine
the truth of those facts which were then
known, and by experiments to discover
those which remained to be- detected.
ANATOMY.
This he did, and thereby rendered his
name inunonal.
It seems proper in this place to review
the several steps which were made in the
invcstigjition of this important subject.
Hippocrates believed that all the vessels
communicated with each otlier, and that
the blood underwent a kind of Hux and re-
flux from and to the heart, like the ol)bing'
and Howing of the sea. 'I'he anatomists at
Alexan<lria adopted a wrong but ingenious
opinion ; as they fo ind the arteries empty,
and the veins containing blood, in their
dissections, they imagined that the former
were tubes for the distribution of air, and
gave them that name, which they have re-
tained ever since ; and that the veins were
the only channels for the bloocL GaJen
:»scertained tliat the blood flowed both by
the arteries and veins, though he knew not
then its natural course. On the rQ\ii'al of
anatomy in Europe,tlie pulmonary circula-
tion was known to many eminent men.
This wascertainly the case with Servttus,
who fell a sacrilice, on account of his reli-
^ous opinions, to the savage bigotr.' and
intolerance of Calvin. Fabricius ab Aqua-
pendente, the j)receptor of o«ir famous
Harvey, particularly described the valves
of the veins, the mechanism of which
would absolutely prevent the blood fi-oin
flowing in those vessels towards tlie ex-
tremities. M hen Harvey returned from
his studies in Italy, hisattention being ex-
citefl to the subject, he began those expe-
riments, by which he learned and demon-
strated the fact of the circulation. Har-
vey's first proposition of the subject im-
presses conviction so strongly on tlie muid
that we are left in perfect astonishment,
how a circumstance so luminously evident
should have remained so long unobserved.
It must be granted, tliatthe heart projects
about two ounces of blood into the arte-
ries at every pulse ; what tJicn, it may be
asked, becomes of tliis large quantity of
blootl, unless it circulates? It must be
gpinted that tlie heart receives that quan-
tity prior to everj- pulse. From whence is
it received, unless the blood circulates f
Haney tied an artery, and the correspond-
ing vem received nobloo<.l; he tied a vein,
and all its branches, and those of the cor-
responding artery were choakeil with
blowl, even to the entire obstruction of
circulation and motion. But Harvey was
not acquainted with the tlirect communi-
cation Uiat exists between tliese vessels.
He imagined that tlie bloo<l transuded
from tlie arteries into the veins through a
spongy substance. Much yet remained to
be asccrtaifted by irycroscopical observa-
tions, and subtile anati}mical injectioiia
and dissections.
As opportunities of dissection became
more numerous, the defectsof the ohl wri-
ters in anatomy were discovered. Ingeni-
ous men, having gone through their edu-
cation, dctennined to consult natvu-c for
themselves. It is not to be wondered at
that errors and deficiencies in anatomy
were found in every page of the works of
Galen.to say nothingof Hippocrates, since
the human body, in his time, could not be
consulted for information. The authority
of the Greek writei-s on these subjects was
quickly demolished, and anatomy began
to be taught from the subject itself. Wo,
must not omit the influence, which the
writingsof our immortal countryman, Ba.
con, had on the prosecution of natural
knowledge, and in ever}"^ species of rea-
soning. The philosophy of Aristotle was
driven from the pre-eminent station which
it had .so long occupied, to make room for
tlie only solid and secure method of obser-
vation, experiment, and induction. At this
time the Academy del (Jimento arose in
Italy, the Hoyal Society in London, and the
Royal Academy in Paris. From this peri-
od, the importxint doctrine of rejecting all
hypothesis, or general knowledge, tdl a
sufficient number of facts shall have been
a.scertained, by careful observation and ju-
dicious experiments, has been ever)' day
growing into more cretlit. The anatomists
and phisiologists of these times distin-
guished themselves by a patient observa-
tion of nature itself, and an accurate ac-
count of the phacnomena which lliey ob-
stjrved.
After the discovery and knowledge of
the circulation of the blood, the next ques-
tion would naturally be about the passage
and route of the nutritiouspart of the food,
or chyle, fr»)m the bowels to the hlood-
vesseLs. The name of Asclli, an Italian
phy.sician, is rendered illustrious by the
discovery of the vessc.ls wiiicli <■•"•••< »i"«
chyle from the intestines. II' i
them full of a white licpmr on i
tery of living animals, and from lliis cir-
cumstance called tli<m milky or lacteal
vessels. For ~
in all parts of i
hvir — ■•■ •'
to.
tio:i- i , -. ,, ■ , - 1 . . ,
Pecquet, in France, was fortunate enough
to discover the thoracic duct, or common
tainkofallthc lacteals, which conveys the
chyle into tlie subclavian vein. And now
the lacteals having been traced from the
intestines to the thoracic ductj and that
ANATOMY.
ducthavingbcen traced to its termination
in a blood-vessel, the passage of the chyle
was completely made out. The discovery
of the absorbent vessels in othei- parts of
the body, where they are known by the
name of lymphatics, from the transparent
colour of their contents, very soon follow-
ed tliat of he lacteal and thoracic duct.
Kudbeck,a Swedcjisgenerally allowed to
have been the first who discovered these
vessels; but this honour was disputed with
him by Bartholin, alearned Dane. By these
vessels the old particles of our bodies,
which are no long'erfit to remain in it, are
removed and conveyed into the blood, to
be elimina cd by the excretory organs
Leeuenhoeck took up the subject of
anatomical inquiry, where others had left
it. He investigated the minute structure
of the body by the help of magnifpng
glasses; and was thereby enabled to de-
monstrate the circulation of the blood in
the pellucid parts of living animals ; the
red globules of the blood, and the animal-
cula of the semen were firet observed by
this anatomist. Malpighi also directed his
attention chiefly to the developement of
minute structure; as that of the glands or
«ecretory organs of the body.
About this time anatomy made two
great steps, by the invention of injections,
and the method of making anatomical pre-
parations. For these we are indebted to
the Dutch, particularly Swammei-dam and
Ruysch. The anatomists of former ages
had no other knowledge of the blood-ves-
sels, than what they coiUd collect from la-
borious dissections, and from examining
the smaller branches of them upon some
lucky occasion, when they were found
jnore than commonly loaded with red
blood. ButfiUingthe vascular system with
a bright coloured wax, enables us to trace
the large vessels with great ease, renders
the smaller much more conspicuous, and
makes thousands of the very minute ones
visible, which, from their delicacy,andtlie
transparency of their natural contents, are
otherwise imperceptible. The modern
art of corroding the fleshy pails with a
menstruum, and of leaving the moulded
wax entire, is so exceedingly useful, and
at the same time so ornamental, that it does
great honour to the ingenious inventor.
Dr. Nichols. The method of castingfignres
in wax, plaister, or lead, is also a great ac-
quisition to anatomy, as it enables us to
preserve a very perfect likeness of such
subjects as we but seldom meet with, or
cannot well presen-e in a natural state.
The modern improved methods of pre-
serving animal bodies, or parts of them, in
spirits, feas been of the greatest service to
anatomy; especiidly in saving the time
and labour of the anatomist, in the nicer
dissections of the small parts of the body.
For now, whatever he has prepared with
care, he can pi'eserve,.and the object is
ready to be seen at any time. And, in the
same manner, he can preserve anatomical
curiosities and rarities of every kind;
such as parts that are uncommonly form-
ed ; parts that are diseased ; the parts of
the pregnant uterus, and its contents.
Large collections of such curiosities,
which modern anatomists are striving
every whera to procure, are of infinite
service to the art ; especially in the hands
of teachers. They give students clear
ideas about many things, which it is very
essential to know", and yet, which it is im-
possible that a teacher should be able to
shew otherwise, were he ever so well
supplied with fresh subjects.
AVhen anatomy had thus become a clear
and distinct science, it was inculcated and
taught, in the different nations of Europe,
bj* numerous professors, with a zeal and
industry highly honourable to themselves,
and useful to mankind. As the ptejudices
of mankind respecting dissection have in
a great measure subsided, the difficulties,
which formerly obstructed anatomical re-
searches, have mostly disappeared, and a
sufficient quantity of subjects for anato-
mical purposescan generally be procured.
In most, perhaps in all, the countries of
the continent of Europe, the government
has provided for the want of anatomists
in this particular. In England, however,
it still remains a matter of considerable
difficulty and expense to procure the
means of instruction in practical anatomy ;
and, accm-dingly, while foreigners have
been enriching science with many splen-
did works, the name of one Englishman
cannot for many years past be recorded
in the annals of anatomy. We wish we
could announce to our readers any pros-
pect of a change in this respect; but
here literatiu*e and science are left to
themselves, and must advance unaided
by the patronage of government, or not
advance at all.
It would occupy us too long to detail
the labours and discoveries of all the emi-
nent men, who have immortalized them-
selves in anatomy during the last century.
M'e may state^ generally, that every part of
the human body has been most thoroughly
and minutely examined and described ;
and accurate and elegant engravings have
appeared of every part. So that a student,
in these days, possesses every facility for
the prosecution of his anatomical labours.
The bones and muscles liave been most
ANATOMY.
«l«^ntly represented and described by
Albinus, Cheseldcn, Sue, and Cowper.
The vascular system has been illustrated
by a splendid work of the immortal Haller.
Walker and Meckel of Berlin, and Scarpa
at Pavia, have bestowed equiJ, or even
superior, diligence in tracing the distribu-
tion of the most important nerves, and re-
presenting them in faithful engravings.
Mr. Cruikshank distinguished himself by
an excellent book on the absorbing sys-
tem ; and Mascagni has lately given to the
public a most elaborate account of the ab-
sorbing vessels, with very splendid plates.
Dr. Hunter, to whom anatomy owes more
in thiscountrj' than to any individual, has
published a complete historj', with beauti-
ful explanatory engravings, of the growth
of the human ovum, antlof the changes
■which the uterus undergoes after the
ovum has been received into its cavity.
His brother, Mr. John liunter, also de-
mands mention in this place, as an accu-
rate and minute dissector, and a padcnt
experimentalist. He surveyed, in his re-
searches, the whole field of animated na-
ture, and greatly promoted the science
of phisiology. He formed also the grand-
est and most beautiful anatomical cabinet
in Europe ; and this precious treasure has
now passed into the hands of the Royal
College of Surgeons in London. The
stnicture of the brain has been represent-
ed with unrivalled elegance by Vicq
D'Azyr, a French anatomist, in a folio
volume of coloured plates, which we hesi-
tate not to applaud as a chef d'otuvre of
anatomical science, and a most splendid
monument of the arts. Some parts of
this most important organ have also been
illustrated by the labours of Soemmering,
who still prosecutes the study of anatomy
with unwearied industry. We have late-
ly, from his hands, two most finished pro-
ducdons, in every respect, on the anatomy
of the eye and ear. It would be unjust
not to enumerate, with a due tribute of
applause, tlie labours of Zinn, Cassebohm,
and Scarpa, on the same subjects.
Morgagni, who taught anatomy in Pa-
dua, published a work of great utihty on
morbid anatomy. Dr. BalUie has of late in
this country prosecuted the same subject,
though in a difierent manner. He has
published a book on the morbid anatomy
of the body, and has illustrated hisdescrip-
tions by a collection of the most elegant,
expressive, and accurate plates.
Winslow, Sabatier, and Bichat, are the
authors of the most approved anatomical
systems in France, and Soemmering and
Hildebrant in Germany. We regi-et that
it is not in our po\\"eT to mention any cor-
VOL. I-
rect and complete system by an Englisk
writer. The imperfect and contemptibly^
ephemeral productions, published under
the auspices of booksellers, cannot have a
place in this enumeration.
CTIUTT or A^TATOXT.
Astronomy and anatomy, as Fontenelle
observes, are the studies which present
us with the most striking view of the two
greatest attribute^ of the Supreme Being.
The fu-st of these fills the mind with the
idea of his immensity, in the largeness,
distances, and number of the heavenly
bodies; the last astonishes, with his intel-
ligence and art in the variety and delicacy
of animal mechanism.
The human body has been commonly
enough known by the namje of microcos-
mus ; as if it did not differ so much frono
the universal system of natiu-e, in the sym-
metry and number of its parts, as in their
size.
Galen's excellent treatise on the use of
the parts was composed as a prose hymn
to the Creator, and abounds with as irre-
sistible proofs of a Supreme Cause, and
gorerning Providence, as we find in mo-
dem pliisico-theology. And Cicero dwells
more on the structure and economy of
animals, than on all the productions of na-
ture besides, when he wants to prove the
existence of the Gods, from the order and
beauty of the universe. He there takes a
survey of the body of man, in a most ele-
gant synopsis of anatomy, and concludes
thus ; " Quibus rebus expositis, satis do-
cuissevideor,hominisnaturaquantoomnes
anteiret animales. Ex quo debet intelligi,
nee figiuum situmque membrorum, nee
ingeniimcntisque.vinitalemefRcipotuiastt
fortuna." The satisfactJon of mind which
arises from the study of anatomy, and the
influence which it must naturally have on
our minds as philosophers, cannot be bet-
ter conveyed than by the following pas-
sage from tlic same author; " Quiccontu-
ens animus, accepit ab his cognitionem
deorum, ex qua oritur pietas : cui con-
juncta justitia est, reliquzque virtutes;
ex quibus vita beata exsistit, par et similia
deorum, nidla alia rs' nisi immortalitate,
qux nihil ad bene vivendum pertinct»
ccdcns coelestibus."
It would be endless to quote the ani-
mated passages of this sort^ which arc to
be found in the ph\'sicians. phi!fv:opherw,
andtheologists, who have cor.-' " " " i.-
structure and functions of anii: »
view towartls the Creator, ii -^ .^ >'^'V
that must strike us with the most aA\-fuI
conviclion. Who ean know and consider
\
ANATOMY.
the tliousand evident proofs of the aston-
ishing art of the Creator, in forming and
sustaining- an animal body such as ours,
without feeling the most pleasing enthu-
siasm ? Can we seriously reflect \ipon this
awful subject, without being almost lost in
adoration ! Without longing for another
life after this, in which we may be grati-
fied with the highest enjoyment which our
faculties and nature seem capable of, tlie
seeing and comprehending the wholejplan
of the Creator, informing the universe,
and directing its operations.
In the excellent work of Archdeacon
Palcy, on natural theology, this view of
the subject is most ably explmned and
illustrated; and the subject is pursued
through all its details. We strongly re-
commend this work, as exliibiting, in a
popular form, a very interesting view of
the structure and functions of animal bo-
dies ; and we subjoin the following ex-
tract, as a veiy successful Application of
the argument.
" It has been said, that a man cannot
lift his hand to his head, witliout finding
enough to convince him of the existence
of a God. And it is well said ; for he has
only to reflect, familiar as this action is,
and simple as it seems to be, how many
things are requisite for the performing of
it: how many things which we understand,
to say nothing of many more, probably,
which we do not ; viz. first, a long, hard,
strong cylinder, to give to the arm its firm-
ness and tension ; but which, being rigid,
and, in its substance, inflexible, can only
turn upon joints: secondly, therefore,
joints for this purpose, one at the shoulder
to raise the arm, another at the elbow to
bend it ; these joints continually fed with
a soft mucilage, to make the parts slide
easily upon one another, and hol<len to-
getlier by strong braces, to keep them in
their position : then, thirdly, strings and
wires,*, e. muscles and tendons, artificially
inserted, for tlie purpose of drawing the
bones in the directions in which the joints
allow them to move. Hitherto, we seem
to understand the mechanism pretty well ;
and,tmderstandingthis,we possess enough
for our conclusion: nevertheless, we have
hitherto only a machine standing still ; a
dead organization — an apparatus. To put
the system in a state of activity ; to set it
at work ; a fiirther provision is necessary,
fix. a comnmnication with the brain by
means of nerves. We know the existence
of tliis communication, because we can see
the communicating threads, and can trace
them to the brain ; its necessity we also
know, because, if the thread be cut, if the
conummicationbe intercepted,the muscle
becomes paralytic: but beyond thisw^
know little ; the organization being too
minute and subtle for our inspection.
" To what has been enumerated, as ofii-
ciating in the single act of a man's raising
his hand to his head, must be added, like-
wise, all that is necessary, and all that con-
tributes to the growth, nourishment, and
sustentation of the limb, tlie repair of its
waste, the preservation of its health ; such
as the circulation of the blood through
eveiy part of it ; its lymphatics, exhalantSj
absorbents ; its excretions and integu-
ments. All these share in the result ; join
in the efi'ect : and how all these, or any of
them, come together, without a design-
ing, disposing intelligence, it is impossi-
ble to conceive."
But the more immediate purposes of
anatomy concern those who are to be the
guardians of health, as this study is ne-
cessary to lay a foundation for all tl\e
branches of medicine.
The more we know of our fabric, the
more reason we have to believe, that, if
our senses were more acute, and our judg-
ment more enlarged, we should be able to
trace many springs of life, which are now
hidden from us ; by the same sagacity we
should disco\'er the true causes and na-
ture of diseases, and thereby be enabled
to restore the health of many, who are
now, from our more confined knowledge.,
said to labour under incurable disoixiers.
By such an intimate acquaintance witlithe
economy of our bodies, we should disco-
ver even the seeds of tliseases, and de-
troy them, before they had taken root in
the constitution.
This, indeed, is a pitch of knowledge
which we must not e.xpect to attain. Butj
surely, we may go some way; and, there-
fore, let us endeavour to go as far as we
can. And if we consider that health and
disease are the opposites of each other,
there can be no doubt, that the study of
the natural state of the body, which con-
stitutes the one, must be the direct road
to the knowledge of the other. What
has been said, ofthe usefulness of anatomy
in physic,will only be called in question by
the more illiterate empirics among physi-
cians. They would discourage others from
the pursuit of knowledge which they
have not themselves, and which, there-
fore, they cannot know the value of, and
tell us that a little of anatomy is enough
for a physician.
That anatomy is the very basis of sur-
gery every body allows. It is dissection
alone that can teach us where we may cut
the living body with freedom and dis-
patch ; where wc may ventvire with grciit
ANATOMY.
titcumspectioii and <lelicacy ; and where
we must not, upon any account, attempt
it This inlbnns th« head, gives dexte-
rity to tlic liand, and fumiHarizcsthe heart
witli a sort of neccssai-y inljunianity, the
use of cuttinj^ instruments upon our fel-
low-creatures.
Mere it possible to doubt of the advan-
tages which arise in surgery, from a know-
ledge of anatomy, we might have ample
conviction, by comparing tlie present
practice with that of the ancients: and
upon tracing the improvements which
hii\ e been made in later times, tliey would
be found, generally, to have spnmg from
a more accui-ate knowledge of the parts
ooucerned. In the hands of a good anato-
mist, surgery is a salutary, a divine art ;
but when practised by men who know
not the structure of the human body, it
often becomes barbarous and criminal.
The comparison of a physician to a ge-
neral is both rational and instructive. The
human body, under a disease, is the coun-
try which labours under a civil w ar or an
invasion. The physician is, or should be,
tlie dictator or general, who is to take the
command, and to direct all tlie necessary
operations. To do his duty witli full ad-
vantage, a general, besides other acquire-
ments, useful in liis profession, must make
Iiimself master of the anatonty and physi-
ology, as we may call it, of the countvy.
He may be said to be master of the ana-
tomy of the countrj', when he knows tlie
figtire, dimension, situation, and connec-
tion, of all the principal constituent parts ;
such as tlie lakes, rivers, marshes, moun-
tains, precipices, plains, woods, roails,
passes, fords, towns, fortifications, &c. By
the physiologj- of tlie country, which he
ought hkewise to undei-stan(l, is meant
all die variety of active influence which
is produced by the inhabitiuits. If tlie
general be well instructed in all these
points, he will find a hundi-cd occasions
of drawing advantages from them ; and
without such knowledge, he will be for
ever exposed to some fatal blunder.
QE.'VERAI. ACCnt'NT UF THK COXP08ITI02T
OF THE BMDT.
After having considered the rise and
progress of anatomy ; tlie \arious disco-
veries that have been niude in it from
time to time ; the great number of dili-
gent observci"s who have applied them-
selves to tliis art; and the importance of
the study, not only for the prevention and
cure of diseases, but in furnisliing the
hveliest proofs of ilivine wisdom; the
following questions seem naturally to
arise. For what purpose is there such a
variety of parts in the human body P Why
such a complication of nice and tender
machinery ' Why v as there not rather a
more simiUc, less dciicate, and less ex-
pensi^•e frame ?
That beginners in the study of anatomy
may acquire a satisfactory, general, idea
of these subjects, we shall furnish them
with clear answers to all such questions.
L£t us then, in our imagination, make a
man : in other words, let us suppose tliat
tlie mind, or immaterial part, is to be pla-
ced in a corporeal fabric, to hold a corres.
pondencc with other material beings, by
the intervention oi' tlie body ; and then
consider, a prion, what will be wante<l for
her accommodation. In tliis inquirj" we
shall plainly see the aecessity, or advan-
tage, and therefore the final cause, of
most of the parts, which we actually find
in tlie human body. And if we consider,
tliat, in order to answer some of tlie requi-
sites, human art and invention would be
very insufficient, we need not be surpris-
ed if we meet witli some parts of the body,
tlie use of which we cannot yet make out;
and witli some operations or function;)
which we cannot e.\plain. We can see
and comprehend that the whole bears the
strongest marks of exceUing wisdom and
ingenuity; but the imperfect senses and
capacity of man cannot pretend to reach
evciy part ofa machine, which nothing less
than the intelligence and power of the Su-
preme Ueing could contnve and execute.
To proceed then ; in the first place, the
mind, the thinking immaterial agent,
must be provided with a place of imme-
diate residence, which shall have all the
requi.sites for the union of spirit and body;
accordingly, she is provided with the
brain, where she dwells as g<ivernor and
superintendant ofthe whole fabric.
In tlie second place, as she is to hoki a
corresrjondence with all the material be-
ings which surround her, she must be sup-
plied with organs fitted to receive the dif-
ferent kinds of impressions tliat they will
make. In fact, tlierefoi-e, we see that she
is pi-ovidcd with the organs of sense, as
we call them ; tlie eye is adapted to light,
the ear to .sound, the nose to smell, die
moutli to taste, and the skin to touch.
In the tliinl place, she must be provi.
ded with organs of communication be-
tween herself, in the brain, and those or-
gans of .sense, to give her information of all
the impressions tliat :ire made upon ihcm:
and she must have organs between her-
self, in tlie brain, and every other part of
the body, fitted to convey her commands
and influence over the whole. For tliese
purposes the nerves arc actually givcQ.
ANATOMY.
They ai«e chords, which rise from the
hxain, the immediate residence of the
mind, and disperse themselves in branches
through all parts of the body. They are
intended to be occasional monitors against
all such impressions as might endanger the
well-being of the whoje, or of any parti-
cular part, which vindicates the Ci-eator
of all things in having actually subjected
us to those many disagi-eeable and p:un-
ful sensations, which we are exposed to
from athousand accidents in life.
Further, the mind, in this corporeal
system, must be endued with the power
of moving from place to place, that she
may have intercourse witli a variety of
objects ; that she may fly from such as
are disagreeable, dangerous, or hurtful,
and pui-sue such as are pleasant or use-
ful to her. And accordingly she is fur-
nished witli limbs, and with muscles and
tendons, the instruments of motion, which
we found in every part of the fabric
where motion is necessarj'.
But to suppoil, to give firmness and
shape to the fabric, to keep the softer
parts in their proper places, to give fixed
points and the proper direction to its mo-
tions, as well as to protect some of the
more important and tender organs fi-om
external injuries, there must be some
jirm prop-work interwoven through the
whole. And, in fact, for such pui-poses
the bones are given.
The prop-work must not be made into
one rigid fabric, for that would prevent
motion. Therefore there are a number of
bones. These pieces must all be firmly
boimd together, to prevent their disloca-
tion, and this end is perfectly well an-
swered by the ligaments. The extremi-
ties of these bony pieces, where tliey
move and rub upon one another, must
have smooth and slippery surfaces, for
easy motion. This is most happily pro-
vided for by the cartilages and mucus of
the joints.
The interstices of all these parts must
be filled up with some soft and ductile
matter, which shall keep them in their
places, unite them, and at the same time
allow them to m6ve a little upon one an-
other. This end is accordingly answered
by the cellular membrane, or adipous
substance.
There must be an outward covering
over the whole apparatus, both to give it
a firm compactness, and to defend it from
a thousand injuries, which, in fact, are the
very purposes of the skin, and other in-
teguments.
As she is made for society and inter-
course with beings of her own kind, she
must be endued with powers of expres-
sing and communicating her thoughts by
some sensible marks or signs, which shall
be both easy to herself, and admit of great
variety. Hence she is provided with the
organs and faculty of speech, by which
she can throw out signs witli amazing fa-
cility, and var}' them without end.
Thus we have built up an animal body,
which would seem to be pretty complete ;
but we have not yet made any provision
for its duration : and, as it is the nature
of matter to be altered and worked upon
by matter, so in a very Uttle time such a
livingcreature must be destroyed, if there
is no pro^^sion for repairing the injuries
which she must commit upon herself, and
tlie injuries which she must be exposed
to from without. Therefore a treasure of
blood is actually provided in the heart
and vascular system, full of nutritious and
healing particles, fluid enough to pene-
trate into the minutest parts of the animal.
Impelled by the heart, and conveyed by
the arteries, it washes eveiy part» builds
up what was broken down, and sweeps
away the old and useless materials.
Hence we see the necessity or advan.
tage of the heart and arterial system : the
overplus of this blood, beyond what was
required to repair tlie present damages
of the machine, must not be lost, but
should be returned agiun to the heart;
and for this purpose the venal system is
actually provided. These requisites in
the animal explain, a prioriy the circula-
tion of the blood.
The old materials, which are become
useless, and are swept ofi' by the current
of blood, must be separated and thrown
out of the system. Therefore glands, the
organs of secretion, are ^ven, for sti^n-
ing whatever is redundant, vapid, or noxi-
ous, from the mass of blood : and, when
strained, it is tlirown out by excre-
tories.
Now, as the fabric must be constantly
wearing, the reparation must be carried
on without intermission, and the strainers
must always be employed : therefore
there is actually a perpetual circulation
of the blood, and tJie secretions are al-
ways going on.
But even all this provision would not be
sufiicient ; for that store of blood would
soon be consumed, and the fabric would
breakdown, if there were not a provision
made for fresh supplies. These we ob-
serve, in fact, are profusely scattered
round her in the animal and vegetable
kingdoms ; and she is provided with hands,
the finest instruments tliat could have
been contrived for gathering them, and
for preparing them in a variety of difte-
rent ways for Uie mouth. These supplies.
ANATOMY.
which we call food, must be considerably
changed ; they must be converted into
blood: therefore she is provided with
teeth for cutting and bruising the food,
and with a stomach for melting it down ;
in short, with all the organs subservient to
digestion. The finer parts of the aliments
only can be useful in the constitution :
these must be taken up, and conveyed in-
to the blood, and the dregs must be thrown
ofi". With this view tlie intestinal canal is
constructed. It separates the nutritious
part, which we call chyle, to be conveyed
into the blood by the system of absorbent
vessels ; and the feces pass downwards,
to be conducted out of the body.
Now we have got our animal, not only
furnished with what is wanted for its im-
mediate existence, but also with the pow-
er of spinning out that existence to an in-
definite length of time. But its duration,
we may presume,must necessarily be Umi-
tcd : for as it is nourished, grows, and is
raised up to its full strength and perfec-
tion, so it must, in time, in common with
all material things, begin to decay, and
tlien hurry on to final ruin. Hence we
see the necessity of a scheme for renova-
tion. Accordingly, a wise Providence, to
perpetuate as well as to presen'e his
work, besides giving a strong appetite for
iife and self-preservation, has made ani-
mals male and female, and given them
such organs and pa.ssions as will secure
the propagation of the species to the end
of the world.
Tlius we see, that by the very imper-
fect survey wliich human reason is able
to take of this subject, the animal man
must necessarily be complex in his cor-
poreal system, and in its operations. He
must have one great and g^eral system,
the vascular, branching through the whole
for circulation : another, the nervous, with
its appendages, the organs of sense, for
every kind of feeling : and a third, for the
union and connection of all those parts.
Besides these primary and general sys-
tems, he requires others, which may be
more local or confined : one for strength,
support, and protection ; the bony com-
pages : another for the requisite motions
of tlie parts among themselves, as well us
for moving from place to place ; the mus-
cular part of the body : another to pre-
pare nourishment for the daily recruit of
the body ; the digestive organs : and one
for propagating the species ; th,e organs
of generation.
In taking this general survey of what
would appear, a priori, to be necessary for
adapting %n aium»l to the situalioas qf
humanity, we obsprve, with great Batis>
faction, that man is in fact made of such
systems, and for such purposes. He has
them al), and he has nothing more, except
the organs of respiration. Breathing we
cannot account for afiriori, we only know
that it is in fact essenti.il to life. Not-
withstanding this, when we see all the
other parts of the body, and tlieir func-
tions, so well accounted for, and so wisely
adapted to their several pnrpt u-
not doubt tliat respinition i^ *.
"We find, in fact, that the bloou m n> cir-
culation liecomes altered in its properties,
and that these are renewed by the al)-
Borption of the oxygenous or pure part
of the atmosphere in the lungs; we find
also, that this function is the means of
supporting the temperature of the animal.
The use and necessity of all the differ-
ent systenw in a man's body is not more
apparent, than the wisdom and contrivance
which has been exerted in putting them
all into the most compact and convenient
form, and in disposing them so, that they
shall mutually receive and give helps to
one another, and that all, or many of the
parts, shall not only answer their princi-
pal end or purpose, but operate success-
nil ly and usefully in many secondary
ways.
If we understand and consider the
whole animal machine in this light, and
compare it with any machine, in which hu-
man art has done its utmost, suppose the
best constructed ship that ever was built,
we shall be convinced, beyond the possi-
bility of doubt, that there is intelligence
and power far surpassing what humanity
can boa.st of.
In mak'mg such a comparison, there is
a pecuUarity and superiority in the natu.
rj machine, which cannot escape obser-
vation. It is this ; in machines of humaa
contrivance or art, there is no internal
power, no principle in the machine itself,
by which it can alter or accommodate it-
self to any injury which it may sufler, or
make up any injury which is reparable.
But in the natural machine, the animal
body, this is most wonderfully provided
for by internal powers in the machine it-
self, many of which are not more certain
or obvious in their eftects, than they are
above all himian comprehension as to the
manner and means of their operation.
Thus, a woimd heals up of itselt'; a bro-
ken bone is made firm again by callus ; a
dead part is separated and thrown off^
noxious juices are driven out by some of
the emunctories ; a redundancy is remo-
ved by some spont^qpug bl(^»ling} a
ANATOMY.
bleeding naturaily slops of itself; and a
great loss of blood, fi-om any cause, is in
some measure compensatedby acontract-
ing power in the vascular system, which
accommodates the capacity of the vessels
to the quantity contained. The Stomach
gives information when the supplies have
been expended, represents with gi-eat ex-
actness the quantity and quality of what
is wanted in the present state of the ma-
chine, and in proportion as she meets with
neglect, rises in her demand, urges her
J)etition in a louder Toice, and with more
brcible arguments. Fo!" its protection, an
animal body resists heat and cold in a very
wonderful manner, and preserves an equal
temperature in a burning and in a free-
zing atmosphere. .
There is a farther excellence or su-
periority in the natural machine, if possi-
ble, still more astonishing, more beyond
all human comprehension, than what we
have been speaking of. Besides those
internal powers of self-preservation in
each indindup.!, when two of them co-
operate, or act in concert, they are en-
dued with powers of making other ani-
mals or macliines like themselves, which
again are possessed of the same powers of
producing others, and so of multiplying
the species without end. These are pow-
ers which mock all human invention or
imitation, they are characteristics of the
Divine Architect.
As the body is a compound of solids and
fluids, anatomy is divided into,
1. The anatomy of the solids, and
2. The anatomy of the fluids.
The solids of the human body consist
of,
1. Bones, which give support to the
other pai-ts of the body;
2. Cartilages, or gristles, vihich are
much softer than tlie bones, and also flexi-
ble and elastic ;
3. Ligaments, which are more flexible
s^ll, and connect the ends of the bones to
each other;
4. Membranes, or planes of minutely
interwoven and condensed cellular sub-
stance ;
5. Ccllvdar substance, which is fonned
of fibres and plates of animal matter more
loosely connected, and which forms the
general uniting medium of aU the struc-
tures of the body ;
6. Fat, or adipous substance, an animal
oil contained in the cells of the cellular
membrane;
7. Muscles, which are bundles of fibres,
endued with a power of contraction ; in
popular language they form the flesh of
an animal;
8. Tendons, hard inelastic cords, which
connect the muscles or moving powers to
the bones or instruments of motion ;
9. Viscera, which are various parts,
adapted for different purposes in the ani-
mal economy, and contained in the cavi-
ties of the body, as the head, chest, abdo-
men, and pelvis;
10. Glands, organs which secrete or se-
parate various fluids from the blood;
1 1 . Vessels, which are membranous ca-
nals, dividing into branches, and transmit-
ting blood and other fluids ;
12. Cerebral substance, or that which
composes the brain and spinal marrow,
which is a peculiar soft kind of animal
matter :
13. Nerves, which are bundles of white
fibrous cords, connected bj^ one end to
the brain, or spinal marrow, and tlience
expanded over e^ery part of the body, in
order to receive impressions from exter-
nal objects, or to convey the commands of
the will, and thereby produce muscular
motion.
The fluids of the hmnan body are,
1. Blood, which circulates through the
Vessels, and nourishes the whole fabric .
2. Persiplrable matter, excreted by. the
vessels of the skin ;
3. Sebaceous matter, by the glands o^
the skin ;
4. Urin^, by the kidneys ;
5 Ceruminous matter, secreted by the
glands of the external ear ;
6. Tears, by the lachrymal glands j
7. Saliva, by the salivary glands;
8. Mucus, by glands in various parts of
the body, and by various membranes ;
9. Serous fluid, by membranes lining
circumscribed cavities ;
10. Pancreatic juice, by the pancreas ;
11. Bile, by the Hver;
12. Gastric juice, by the stomach;
13. OU, by the vessels of the adipose
membrane ;
14. Synovia, by the internal surfaces of
the joints, for the purpose of lubricating
them;
15. Seminal fluids, by the testes ;
16. Milk, by the mammarj- glands.
The account of these animal fluids wHl
be found chiefly under the article Puxsio-
tOGT.
'I'he anatomical deecription'of the body
is technically arnuiged under the following
heads :
1. Osteology, or the description of the
structure, shape, and uses of the bones.
2. Syndesmologj', or a description of the
connection of bones by ligaments, and of
the structure of the joints.
ANATOMY.
3. Myoiogy, or doctrine of the moving
jiowers or muscles.
4. Angeiology, or description of the
vessels engaged in nourishingthe body.in
absorption, and in tlie removal of super-
fluous parts.
5. Adenology,or account of the glands,
in Which various Hquors arc separated or
proparcd from the blood.
6. Spluiichnology, or a description of
the (liflerent bowels which serve various
and dissimiliir purposes in the uniniAl eco-
nomy.
7. Neurolog}', under which title the
brain, the nerves, and the orgnins of sense
must be comprehended.
The functions carried on in animals, in
the explanation of which physiolog}^ con-
sists, and for the detailed account of which
we refer the reader to the article Phtsio-
LORT, may be thus arranged.
1. Digestion, or the conversion of extra-
ncou.s matter into a substance fit for the
nourishment of their own bodies.
2. Absorption, by which the nutritive
fluid is taken up and conveyed into the
vascular system, and by which tlie old
parts of our body are removed.
3. Respiration, or the exposure of the
nutritive fluid to the action of the atmos-
phere.
4. Circulation, or the distribution of
the converted matter to every part of the
animal, for its repair and augmentation.
The process is named circulation, from the
mode in which it is carried on in the ge-
nerality of animals.
5. Secretion, or the separation and de-
position of the particles composing the
structure of animals and vegetables, as
well as the formation of various substan-
ces which they produce from the circu-
lating fluids.
6. Irritability, or the principle by which
living fibres contract, by means of which
absorption and circulation are came<l on,
and which is more strikingly manifested
by tlie occasional exertions of the muscu-
lar powers.
7. Sensation, by which animals become
conscious of their own existence, and of
that of external bodies.
8. (leniration, by which new beings, si-
milar to tilt pai'ent^, are formed and pro-
duced.
FAnTICDLAK AXATOMirAL DESCRIPTtOX OF
THE IIIMAN- HOUT.
Afler a cursory notice of the cellular sub-
stance, which forms the grand uniting me-
dium of the various structures in the body,
and of membranes, winch are formed of
that substance, we shall proceed to de-
scribe the other part.s, chiefly according
to the technical arrangement above men-
tioned.
t'e//?//flrffMAs/anrt%or,cellular membrane,
tela cellulosa or muco.sa of Latin writers,
is tlie medium wiiich connects and sup-
ports all the various parts and structures
of the bod)^ Any person may gain a gene-
ral notion of this substance, by observing
it in joints of veal, where it is always in-
flated by the iuitchers. It consists of an
assemblage of fihi-es and laminx of animal
matter, connected to each other so as to
form innumerabh; cells or small cavities,
from which its name of cellular is derived.
It penadeseverypartof the animal struc-
ture. By joining together the minute fi-
brils of muscle, tendon, or nerve, it forms
obvious and visible fibres; it collects tliese
fibres into lai^e fasciculi ; and by joining
such fasciculi or bundles to each other,
constitutes an entire muscle, tendon, or
nerve. It joins together the individual
muscles, and is collected in their intervals.
It surrounds each vessel and nerve in the
body ; often connecting these parts to-
gether by a firm kind of capsule, and in a
looser form joining them to the neigh-
bouring muscles, &c. When condensed
into a firm and compact stnicture, it con-
stitutes the various membranes of the bo-
dy, which, by long maceration in water,
may be resolved into a loose cellular tex-
ture. In the bones it forms the basis or
ground-work of their fabric, a receptacle,
in the interstices of which the earth of
bone is deposited. As cellular substance is
entirely soluble in boiling water, it is as-
cribed by chemists to that peculiar modi-
fication of animal matter termed i^elatine.
In consequence of its solution by the uni-
ted agencies of heat and moisture, tlie
muscidar fibres separate from each other,
and form tlie other structures of the body.
ITiis effect is seen in meat which is sub-
jected to long boiUnjf or stewing for the
table, or indeed in a joint wliich is mere-
ly over-boiled.
Its watery solution assumes, when cold,
the appearance of jelly ; and, after a par-
ticular mode of preparation, constitutes
glue.
The interstices of the cellular substance
are lubricated andmoi.stened by a serous
or watery fluid, poiired out by the exha-
lant arteries, and again taken in by the
lymphatics. It thus awjuires a pliancy
and softness, which adapt it particularly
to sene as a connecting medium for parks
which have motion on each other. The
importance of this property will be best
understood by obserx ing the eflccts of
ANATOMY.
its less. InflatnihatioD or absciess often
causes an induration or consolidation of
the cellular texture, by which the integu-
ments are fixed to tlie muscles, the mus-
cles are fii-mly united to each other, and
to the surrounding parts, and the mo-
tions of the . whole are considerably im-
ptured.
From the universal extent of this cellu-
lartexture,twoConclusions may be drawn;
1st, it forms the basis of the whole animal
fabric, in such a way, that if we conceive
every part removed but this, the form of
the whole would still be expressed in cel-
lular substance ; 2dly, it forms a connec-
tion and passage between all parts of the
body, however remote in situation, or dis-
similar in structure. For the cells of tliis
substance every where communicate ; as
we may collect from facts of the most
common and familiar Occurrence. In em-
physema, where air escapes from the lung
wounded by a broken rib into the cellu-
lar substance, it spreads rapidly from the
chest into the most remote parts of the
body ; and has even been known to gain
admission into the eye-baU. A similar
diffusion of this fluid may be effected by
artificial inflation, which is commonly
practised by butchers on the carcases of
calves. In anasarca, or preternatural ac-
cumulation of fluid in the cellular sub-
stance, the most depending parts are tlie
most loaded ; and punctures in these drain
the water oft" from the whole body.
^(Upoiis substance, or fat. — The cells of
the cellular substance, in many parts of
the body, are destinedfor the reception of
a fluid, termed fat. This is of an unctuous
nature, inflammable, lighter than water,
tisually inodorous, and, generally speak-
ing, similar to the vegetable oils. It is
wliite in young animals, and becomes yel-
lower as they advance in age : this differ-
ence may be seen in the carcases of a calf
and cow. It is always more or less fluid
in the Uving gubject ; in carnivorous ani-
mals, and in man, it retains much of its
oily appearance after death ; but in herbi-
vorous animals it constantly assumes a con-
crete form. Dr. Hunter called those parts
of the cellular substance which contain fat,
adipous cellular substance,- and distinguish-
ed the other by the epithet recticular.
As the fat is deposited in cells, it as-
sumes in general a kind of gi-anular form.
It varies considerably in consistence. That
of the orbit is the softest in the body, and
forms a well-known epicurean bornie
boiiche, in a boiled calf's head. The fat
about the kidneys becomes particularly
ha;\i after death, and is Called suet. The
globules or portions of this are veiy large,
and it contains on the whole less cellular
substance than any fat in the body. There
is generally a layer of fat under the skin ;
whence a membrana adiposa has been
sometimes enumerated as one of the com-
mon integuments of the body.
Some parts of the body never contain
fat, even m subjects who have the greatest
accumulation of this fluid. This is the case
with the scrotum, the integiurtents of the
penis, and the eye -lids : it is obvious that
the functions of these parts would be
completely destroyed, ifthey were subject
to the enormous accumulations of fat,
which occur in other parts of the body.
Several of the viscera also nev{tr contain
any fat, probably for the same r/^ason ; this
is the case with the brain a;id lungs.
The quantity of fat varies according to
the age, the state of health, and the pecu-
liar habit or disposition of the individual.
It is not found in the early periods of foetal
existence ; and cannot be distinguished
with any certainty sooner than the fifth
month after conception.
In the foetus, and for some time after
birth, the fat is confined to the surface of
the body, and is only found in a stratum
under the skin. It begins, however, gra-
dually to be deposited in the intervals of
the muscles, and on the surface of some
viscera. In old subjects, however thin
they may seem on an external view, there
is always much fat, penetrating even the
sfubstance of the muscles : the bones are
greasy throughout ; the heart is more or
less loaded, as are also the parts in the ab-
domen.
There is a considerable difference in the
quantity of fat in different individuals : and
in some there is a propensity or disposi-
tion to its accumulation ; a sedentary life,
copious food, and tranquil state of the
mind, are particularly favourable to the in-
crease of fat, which sometimes proceeds to
such a pitch, from the continuance of these
causes, that it must be considered as a dis-
ease, and is attended with the greatest in-
convenience to the individual. General
diseases of the frame are commonly at-
tended with an absorption of the fat from
the cellular substance : acute disorders
cause a very rapid emaciation. In no case
is the adipous substance more completely
removed from the whole body than in
anasarca, where its place is supplied by a
serous fluid.
The uses of the fat seem to be, in part,
common to it with the cellular substance:
It connects contiguous pai-ts, and at the
same time prevents their coalition. It ad-
ANATOMY.
mite of their moving on each other with
freedom and facility. Its deposition under
the integuments gives a roundness and
convexity to the suI^"ace, on which the
beauty of the human form principaily de-
pends. Indeed, its accumulation in pur-
ticuliu" situations immediately influences
the outline of tlie part; as in tiic orbit,
the cheek, and the buttocks. The ef-
fects of its loss is most disagreeably mani-
fested in tlie lank cheek and hollow eye
of an emaciated patient.
It has been sujjposed that tlie fat ab-
sorbed under ceilain circumstances is
applied to the nutrition of tlic body ; as
in hybernating animals.
Membranes. — In the foregoing observa-
tions on cellular substance, we have stated
tliat membranes are formed by u conden-
sation of that substance. They consist of
thin sheets of compacted and close cellu-
lar texture. This is proved by long ma-
ceration in water. I'he fluid gradually
penetj-ates the interstices, and i-esolves
the membrane into a loose and flocculent
substance. They are found in every va-
riety of density and softness.
A graiid use of membranes is, to line
what anatomists call the circumscrided ca-
vities of the body. These are hollow
spaces, containing fae different viscera,
and in every instance completely and ac-
curately filled by such viscera ; so that
Uie term cavity, when used by anato-
mists, does not, as in common language,
denote a void or empty space.
Membranes have a smooth internal po-
lished surface, tui-ned towards the con-
tained viscera. This is constantly moist-
ened by a lubricating fluid exlialed by the
mijiutc arteries of tJie part, and bestows
on tlie surface of the membrane the
greatest softness and smoothness. Hence
the motions of the viscera ;u'e performed
with perfect facility, and they are pre-
vented from adhering to each other, or to
tlie sides of the contaming cavity. The ex-
tent of such cavities is bounded and de-
fined by tlie hning membranes, and hence
arises tlie epithet circumscnl>eiL To in-
crease the facility of motion, the surface
of the contained viscera is covered by a
continuation of the same membrane, and
alw.vs tliercfore possesses tlie same
smoothness and pobsli with the sides of
the cavity. The membrane lining a cir-
cumscribed cavity is a complete and en-
tire sac, which is reflected over all the vis-
cera contained in the cavity. In tlie carcase
of an animal just slaughtered, the lubrica-
ting secretion flics oH in the form of a fine
vapour when the cavitv of the belly or
VOL I.
chest is laid open. It is nothing more
tlian an increase of this natural secretion,
combined perhai)s with a deficient ab-
sorption, that gi\ es rise to dropsies of tlie
diflerent cavities.
The opposite or external surface of the
membrane is rough and cellular ; and ad-
heres to the various paits which form the
sides of the cavity.
Another use of membranes is, to form
blood-vessels or tubes for conveying the
notiitious fluid to all parts of the body.
The bore or hollow of the tube is per-
fectly smootli and polished, so tliat tlie
blooil experiences no obstiiiction in its
course ; and tlie external surface is rough,
to connect it with the suiTOunding parts.
In a similar manner are formed die stOr
mach and intestines, which receive the
food; the uiTJiary bladder, which holds
the urine, &c.
It must be obvious, that for all tlie pur-
poses wliich we have enumerated, whe-
ther for lining circumscribed cavities, for
conveying tlie blood, for receiving tlie
food, or holding any otlier liquoi-s, it is
essentially necessaiy tliat membranes
should be impermeable to fluids in the
hving state.
The bones are the most solid parts of
the body. They are composed of a vas-
cular substance, not diftcring materially
in structure from that of the rest of the
body, except that there is deposited in
its interstices an earthy matter, which
gives to the whole mass rigidity, strength,
and a permanent figure. The nutrient
vessels of arteries, membranes, and hga-
ments, occasionally deposit lime, and
cause the ossification of those parts.
The account of the original formation
of the bones in tlie foetus, is technically
termed osteogeny. The pai-ts of tlie young
foitus, which are afterwaixls to become
bones, are at firet cartilaginous ; and tlieir
substance is rendered w hite and firm, in
pi-oportion to tlie quantity of lime depo-
sited in it. The quantity at the time of
birtli is only sufficient to give firmness to
tlie whole mass, not to prevent its ttexi-
bihty.
The extremities of all the long bones
consist of large portions of cartilage, and
tlicse by degrees become bony. The for-
mation of bone begins in the centre of
the cartilage, ami gradually extends fi-oni
thence to tlie remote parts, so that the
separate piece of bone, formed at the ex-
tremity, remains till near the time of pu-
berty, conjoined to the body of the bone
/
ANATOMY.
by a cnist of cartilage. In tliis state it
ii technically termed an epiphysis. The
body, or middle part of the bone, is call-
ed the iliiiphysis. The projecting parts,
or processes of bones, are also in many
instances originally epiphyses. The time
by which tlicse epiphyses are consolidat-
ed by a bony union with the diaphysis, va-
ries in dilTerent bones, but it is not pro-
longed in any much beyond the age of
puberty.
We perceive an evident advantage in
the bones of the foetus being formed as
they are. Their flexibility admits of the
form of the hmbs becoming adapted to
the varjing figure of the pelvis, through
which they must pass ; and their elastici-
ty, which is powerful, restores thera af-
terwards to their natural shape.
The animal substance contained in
bones is demonstrated by immersion in
weak acids, which dissolve the earth, and
leave a kind of cartilage similar to that
in which the bone was originally formed.
Long boiling in a close vessel removes
the gelatinous substance, which is dis-
solved in the water. The earth of bones
is demonstrated by calcination, which
drives off the animal matter, and leaves
the earth alone behind. Tliis earth con-
sists chiefly of phosphate of lime ; but
there is also a small proportion of carbo-
nate of lime. In young subjects the ani-
mal substance predominates, and the
bone appears redder, in consequence of
the arteries being larger and more nume-
rous. The bones of old persons contain
more earth, and are consequently whiter
and less vascular.
Some recent experiments have shewn
the quantity of jelly contained in bones to
be much larger than was supposed, and
as it forms a verj' good soup when dis-
solved in water, the circumstance is of
considerable importance, as furnishing an
article capable of supplying much whole-
some nutriment. The quantity of soup
furnished from a given bulk of bruised or
pounded bones, boiled in a vessel with a
closed lid, considerably exceeds that
which can be extracted from the same
quantity of meat. Of coui-se the articular
pleads of bones, and the reticular texture,
in general furnish the greatest quantity.
It has been generally taught, that bones
are composed of fibres and laminae : the
fact is, that they consist of a reticulated
texture, very similar to cellular substance
in other parts of the bo<ly.
According to the obvious diflferences
in their forms, bones are divided into tlie
long and flat.
Two kinds of structure may be obHerr-'
ed in all bones : in the one, the boTiy
substance is condensed, and leaves no in-
terstices ; in the other, there is a mere
net-work of bony fibres and plates, leav-
ing numerous intervals. The latter is
termed the cancellous substance of bones.
The cylinder of a long bone is com-
posed entirely of the firmer substance,
and in its centre is hollowed out to con-
tain the marrow. In those extremities of
the bones, which form the joints, which
are greatly expanded, in order to increase
the extent of surface, there is a thin layer
of the compact substance, but all the in-
terior is cancellous. In broad or flat
bones, the firmer substance is formed into
two plates or tables, and the intenal be-
tween these is occupied by cancelU.
Many advantages arise from this ar-
rangement of the earth of bones. The
long bones are made slender in the mid-
dle, to allow of the convenient collocation
of the large muscles aroimd them ; they
become expanded at their extremities, to
afford an extent of surface for the forma-
tion of joints, and the support of the
weight of the body. A cavity is left in
the middle; for if all the earthy matter
had been compacted into the smallest
possible space, the bones would have
been such slender stems, as to be very
unsuitable to their offices ; and if they
had been of their present dimensions, and
soUd throughout, they would have been
unnecessarily strong and weighty.
The phenomena, which result from
feeding an animal with madder; sufficient-
ly demonstrate the existence of blood-
vessels and absorbents in the bones.
There is a strong attraction between the
earth of bone and the colouring matter ;
by means of which they unite and form a
beautiful red substance. The whole of
the bones of an animal assume this colour
soon after an animal has been taking the
madder. If it be left off, the bones in a
short time resume their natural white ap-
pearance, from the absorption of the red
colouring substance. The short time in
which gi'owing bones become thoroughly
dyed, and in which again the preternatu-
ral tint is lost, prove that even in tliese,
the hardest parts of our frames, there' iS a
process of removal of old p«irts, and de-
position of new ones constantly going on.
That bones po.ssess nerves, as well as
arteries, veins, and absorbents, cannot be
doubted. Although in the naturd state
they seem to be insensible, they become
extremely painful when diseased; and
again, a fungus, which is sensible, some-
ANATOMY.
limes grows out of a bone, though it may
have no connexion whatever with the sur-
rounding soft parts ; of course it must
have derived its nerves, by means of
which it possesses sensation, from tlie
bone out of which it arose.
Bones ai'e covered by a strong and firm
membrane, termed periosteum, on wliich
the vessels are first distributed; from this
they descend into tJie substance of tlie
bone. The vessels enter through holes
which are evident on the .surface, and
which are larger and more numerous in
the extremities of the long bones than in
tlie middle.
OF THE MAHRQW.
This is of an oily nature. It hardens
when cold, in herbaceous animals ; but
it remains fluid in tliose which are cami-
\orous. It has a reddish and bloody ap-
pearance in joung animals ; but this soon
goes off". It is contained in fine membra-
nous cells, which do not communicate
with each other. The marrow occupies
the tube left in tlie middle of the long
bones, and also fills the cancelli of tlieir
extremities.
The cellular substance, which contains
the marrow, being condensed upon the
inside of the walls of tlie bone, and adhe-
ring to them, has been termed the perioi-
tevm iiUevnum.
We ol)serTe in the principal bones arte-
ries, much larger than those which nou-
rish the bone, penetrating these bodies ob-
liquely, and spreading tlieir branches
upon the medullan- cells.
\arious unsatisfactory opinions have
been proposed concerning the use of the
maiTow. The utiUty of the bones be-
ing formed as they arc, small and tubular
in the middle, expanded and spongy at
their extremities, lias been already ex-
^ilained. If then spaces are necessarily
left in their interior p;u1.s, tliose spaces
must be filled with something ; for they
cannot 1)C left void, or the immense pres-
sure of the atmosphere would cru.sh tlieir
sides, and destroy tlic vacuum. There is
no matter in the animal body more suit-
able to fill their spaces than the marrow ;
and it is to be rcgai-ded as a paj-t of the
adipous system of the animal.
From the circumstances which have
been detailed in tlie foregoing account,
-wr. the great and genei-al viiscularity of
bonos; the quantity of soft substance cx-
i.sting in every part of tliem ; their growth
and mutation of form in disease, &c. it is
natural to conclude, that there exist in
the composition of every bony fibre, arte-
ries for its formation, absorbents for its
removal, cellular substance for tlie con-
nexion of its parts, and nencs to give ani-
mation to tlie whole. In this view of the
subject, we see no essential diflerence of
structure between bones and otlier parts
of the body ; nor do we expect any essen-
tial difference in tlie functions of their
nutrient and otlier vessels. We naturally
conclude that bony fibres arc formed anil
repaired, and that they undergo mutation
and removal in the same manner, and
from the same causes, that soft parts do.
CAHTIIJiOE.
Is a semipellucid substance, of a milk-
white or pearly colour, entering into the
composition of several parts of the body.
It holds a middle rank, in point of firm-
ness, between bones, or hard parts, and
the softer constituents of the human
frame. It appears, on a superficial ex-
amination, to be homogeneous in its tex-
ture ; for, when cut, the surface is uni-
form, and contains no visible cells, cavi-
ties, nor pores ; but resemliles tlie section
of a piece of glue. It possesses a very
high degree of elasticity ; which property
distinguishes it from all otlier parts of the
body. Hence it enters into the compo-
sition of parts, whose functions require
the combination of firmness with pliancy
and flexibiUty : tlie preservation of a cer-
tain external form, with the power of
yielding to external force or pressure.
Cartilages are covered by a membrane,
resembling, in texture and appearance,
as well as in its office, the periosteum of
bones ; tliis is termed the perichondrium.
They receive arteries and veins from this
membrane : these vessels, however, have
never been demonstrated in the cartila-
ginous crusts of articular surfaces. Ab-
sorbent vessels cannot be actually shewn,
but their existence is abimdantly proved
by many phenomena. The conversion of
caililage into bone is alone sufficient for
this purpose. The cartilaginous sub-
stance is gradually removed, as the for-
mation of the bone advances. In afiec-
tions of the joints, their cartilaginous co-
verings are often both entirely destroyed,
or partially removed •. which appearances
can only be ascribed to tlic action of ab-
.sorbent vessels
It docs not seem to possess nerves, as
it is entirely destitute of sensibility.
The thinner cartilages of the body are
resolved by maceration into a kind of
fibrous substance ■ e. g- those of the or-
ANATOMY.
gans of sense. Those of the ribs are
found by long maceration to consist of
concenti'ic oval lamina:. In some there
are tendinous fibres intermixed ; as in
those of the vertebrx.
Anatomists divide cartilages into two
kinds : the temporary and the permanent.
The foi-mer are confined to the earlier
stages of existence : the latter common-
ly reLiin their cartilaginovis structure
throughout eveiy period of life.
The temporary cartilages, are those in
which the bones of the body are formed.
They are hence called by the Latin wri-
ters ossesccntes. All the bones of tl'.e bodv,
except the teeth, are formed in a nidus of
cartilage. The form of the bone, with its
various processes, is accurately repre-
sented in these cartilaginous primordia ;
and it is the substance alone which
changes.
The permanent cartilages are of vari-
ous kinds. We find them composing the
external ear, external aperture of Uie nos-
trils, and eje-lids. The lai-jnx is entirely
composed of this substance ; and the tra-
chea, with its branche-s, is furnished with
cartilaginous hoops, by which these tubes
are kept permanently open, for the readv
passage of air to and from the lung-s.
The bodies of the vertebrse are joined
by large masses of a peculiar substance ;
pai-taking of the properties and appear-
ance of cartilage and ligament, which
allow of the motions of these parts on each
other, without weakening the support that
is afibrded to the upper parts of the body
in general, and to tlie head in particular,
by the vertebral column. These carti-
lages impart a great elasticity to the spine ;
by which the eflecis of concussion from
jumping, from falls, &.c. are weakened,
and destroyed, before they can be propa-
gated to the head. AVhen the body has
been long in an erect position, the com-
pression of these cartilages, bj- the supe-
rior parts, diminishes the heiglit of the
person. They recover their former length,
when freed from this pressure : hence a
person is taller when he rises in the morn-
ing, than after s'!staining the fatigues of
tlie day, and the diflerence has sometimes
amfninted to an inch.
Cartilagesare <iometimes interposed be-
tween the articular surfaces of bones,
where they fill up in-egii iai-itie.s, that
might otherwi.se impede the motions of
the part ; and increase tlii- seciu-itv of the
joint, by axlaptiiig the articular surfaces
\, to each other.
!']'•> urfViiliir s iru.rcs of bones are, in
' ! bv a thin crust of
cartilage, having its surface most exqui-
sitely polished, by which all friction in the
motions of the joint is avoided, and the
ends of the bones glide over each other
with the most perfect facility.
JVomeiiclaiiire of bones. — The processes
or apophyses of bones bear different
names, according to their figures. Hence
we find them described under the terms
of head (roundish ball) ; condyle (a flat-
tened head) ; neck ; tuberosity ; spine ;
&c. others have particular names from
supposed resemblances.
The cavities or depressions of bones
are called cotyloid, when deep ; glenoid,
when shallow. Again, we have pits, fur-
rows, notches, sinuosities, fossse, sinuses,
foramina, and canals.
Cminectioji of bones. — Anatomists have
divided these into three cla.sses; Symphy-
sis, Synarthrosis, and Diarthrosis.
The term symphysis merely denotes
the union of the conjoined bones, without
any reference to peculiar form or motion ;
hence it is divided, according to the
means bj" which it is effected, into
1. Synchondrosis, where cartilage is
the connecting medium : this is exempli-
fied in the junction of the ribs and ster-
num ; of the bodies of the vertebrse ; and
of the ossa pubis :
2. Synneurosis or syndesmosis ; where
ligaments are the connecting bodies, as in
all the moveable articulations :
3. Syssarcosis ; where muscles are
stretched from one bone to another.
The synarthrosis, or immovable con-
junction of bones, consists of,
1. Suture ; where the bones are mutu-
ally indented, as if sewn together:
2. Harmonia ; where the conjunction is
effected by plane surfiices :
3. Gomphosis; where one bone is fixed
in another, as a nail is in a board. The
teeth afford the only specimen :
4. Schindylesis; where the edge of one
bone is received into a groove in another:
as the nasal plate of tiie ethmoid, in the
vomer.
Diarthrosis, or moveable conjunction of
bones. The conjoined parts of the bones
are covered with a smooth coi-tilage, and
connected by one or more ligaments. It
lias three subdivisions; viz.
1. Enarthrosis, or ball and socket ;
where a round head of one bone is re-
ceived into a cavity of another, and con-
sequently is capable of motions in all di-
rections ;
2. Arthrodia ; where the cavity is more
superficial, and much motion not allowed ;
3. Ginglymus ; where the motions are
ANATOMY.
restricted to two directions, as in the hinge
of a door. ^
The skeleton consists of an assemblage
of all the bones in the body, excepting the
05 hyoides. It is said to be a natural ske-
leton when the bones are connected by
means of their own Ugaments or cartila-
ges ; an artificial one, when wire or
other extraneous substances are employ-
ed.
U is divided into tlie head, trunk, and
extremities.
The head consists of the cranium and
the face. The former of these parts con-
sists of 1 or 2 ossa frontis ; 2 ossa parieta-
lia ; 1 OS sphenobasilare ; 2 ossa tempo-
rum ; 2 mallei ; 2 incudes; 2orbicularia;
2 stapedcs ; and 1 os zthmoideum : on
the whole, of 15 or 16 bones.
The face has 2 ossa maxillaria superi-
pra ; 2 ossa palati ; 2 ossa maix ; 2 ossa
nasi ; 2 ossa lacrymalia or uncuis ; 2 ossa
turbinata inferiora ; 1 os vomer ; 1 max-
illa inferior ; 32 teetli ; on tlie whole, 46
bones.
The OS hyoides consists of a body, 2 la-
teral portions called cornusi, and 2 sural
processes called appendices.
The bones of the head are therefore 61
or 62 ; with the os hyoides 66 or 67.
In the neck there are 7 cervical verte-
brae ; in the chest 12 dorsal vertebrae ; 24
ribs ; 2 or 3 bones of the sternum; in the
loins 5 lumbar vertebra ; in the pelvis 1
sacrum, 4 ossa coccygis, 2 ossa innomi-
nata.
Therefore the whole trunk has 5i7 or 58
bones.
The shoulders have two clavicles, and
2 scapulae; the arms 2 humeri; tlie foi-e-
arms 2 ulnae and 2 radii ; tlie wrists 2 os-
sa scaphoidea; 2 ossalunaria; 2 ossa
cuneiformia; 2 ossapisiformia; 2 ossa tra-
pezia; 2 ossa trapezioidea ; 2 ossa magna;
2 ossa uncif»)rmia; the metacarpi lOmeta-
carpal bones ; the fingers 10 posterior
phalanges, 8 middle phalanges, 10 ante-
rior phalanges, and 8 sesamoid bones.
The l)ones of the upper extremities are
in the whole 72.
The thighs have 2 femora ; the legs 2
tibiae, 2 patellae, and 2 fibulx ; the tarsi 2
astragali, 2 oSsa calcis, 2 ossa naA icularia,
6 ctmeiform bones, 2 ossa cuboidca ; the
metatarsi 10 metatxirsal bones ; the toes
10 posterior phalanges, 8 middle phalan-
ges, lOanterior phalanges, and 6 sesamoid
bones.
The bones of the lower extremities
are 66.
The whole skeleton contains 259 or 261
bones.
Of die bones just enumerated, the os
frontis, spheno-occipitale, ethmoideum,
vomer, inferior maxilla, the vtrtebrae, sa-
crum, and OS coccygis, the bones of the
sternum, and the os linguale medium, or
body of the os hyoides, are single bones ;
and being placed in the middle of tlie bo-
dy, are consequently symmetrical. Of all
the other bones, there is a pair, consisting
of a bone for the right, and another for
the left side.
The structure of the whole skeleton is
therefore symmetrical; since an imagina-
r\- perpendicuhir line drawn throngii the
whole would divide even the single bones
into a riglit and a left half, exactly resem-
bling each other. This obsenation must
however be taken with some allowance ;
since the corresponding bones of one side
are not always perfectly similar to thos.-
of the opposite ; nor do the twohiJves of
tlie single bones always exactly agree in
foi-m, 8cc.
The entire natural skeleton of a man of
middle stature, in a dried state, weighs
from 150 to 200 ounces ; that of a woman
from 100 to 160 ounces.
Bones of the lietid. — The cnanium is the
oval bony cavity containing the brain ;
the face is placed at the anterior and low-
er part of this cavity, and holds some of
the organs of sense, and the instruments
of mastication.
The bones of tlie head are joined by
sutures, a mode of union nearly peculiar
to themselves ; hence, when all tlie soft
parts are destroyed b} maceration, they
still remain most Hrmly connected to each
other, excepting the front teeth and the
lower jaw. The .sutures are formed by
numerous sharp and ramified processes
of the opposed edges of the diiTerent
bones, shooting into con-esponding vacui-
ties of each other. In some instances,
however, the bones seem to be joined by
tlie opposition of plane suifaccs, and here
the union appears extcniaiiy like a mere
line, insteaclof the irregular zigzag course
which it takes in the former cn.se The
la.st mentioned junction is called har-
monia.
In the foetal state, the bones of the cra-
nium do not touch each other, but are
separated by considerable intervals of
membrane, and have tliin extenuated
m;ugins, which allow them to ride over
each other when subjected to jiressure.
The larger and more conspicuous of these
intervals are called fontanelles, and allow
of the pulsation of the br.iiii being felt in
a young subject. The importance of this
structure, in allowing the head to accom-
ANATOMY.
■fiodale itself to the varying figure of the
parts through which it passes, in the act
of parturition> and to sustain the violent
pressure which it experiences in the same
act, is sufficiently obvious. In the pro-
gress of ossification the edges of the
Kones meet each other, and become uni-
ted by the sutures. The use of these in
the adult cranium cannot be satisfactorily
assigned, nor do we see any difference
that would arise, if the head had been
composed of one piece only, without any
suture. In old persons the sutures often
become more or less generally obhterated.
The individual bones ai-e very firmh'
connected by this mode of union. The
e<Igesofthe different bones overlap each
other at different parts, so that they are
mechanically locked together, and can-
not be driven in by any force (U/ extenio.
The bones of the cranium are compo-
sed of two plates of compact bony sub-
stance, called the external, and internal
or vitreous tables ; and an intervening
more or less obvious reticular texture,
termed diploe. The proportion of these
constituent parts varies very considerably;
the diploe is in no case of a very loose or
open texture. The thickness of indivi-
dual skulls is svibject to great variety ;
and there is much difference in the va-
rious parts of the same skull. For the
internal surface is every where exactly
moulded to the form of its contents, in-
stead of influencing them, as we might
have expected a Jrrion. Hence the con-
volutions of the brain, the vessels which
ramify on its surface, &c. all leave prints
on the inner table. Tiie ordinary thick-
ness varies from about the fifUi of an
inch to almost a mere line.
The common number of the bones of
the cranium is, as we have already stated,
7 : but this is often increased by small
portions formed between the others, and
surrounded by distinct sutures. These
are called ossa, triquetra, or wormiana.
The form of the cranium is elliptical,
and pretty regularly so, particularly on
the front, tipper and back part, and sides.
The smaller circle of the ellipse is in
front, and the larger behind. It is tolera-
bly smooth, externally, except its basis,
and it is almost entire or unperforated,
except at tiie same part. In this .situation,
however, it possesses numerous holes, or,
as they are technically named, foramina,
which transmit blood-vessels to the brsun,
and tlie nine paira of ner^es which arise
from tliat oi*gan.
The upper and lateral parts of the cra-
nium constitute a bony vault or arch, for
protecting the brain : this part is distin-
guished by the name of the ^ull cap.
Individual bones of the liead. — The os
frontis forms the upper and anterior part
oftlie skull, the eyebrow, and tlie roof
o^the orbit.
The ossa parictalia are called also ossa
bregmatis, since the fontanelles or breg-
mata are formed between their edges.
They compose the whole upper and most
of the lateral parts of the skull, and pos-
sess an irregularly quadrangular figure.
The ossa temporum compose tlie lower
part of the sides, and the middle of the
basis of the cranium. They are divided
into a squamous portion, a mamillarv", and
a petrous portion. The former of these
has a process contributing to the zygoma,
or bony arch, at the side of tlie cranium,
under which the temporal muscle passes.
The second is also remarkable, by forming
a large nipple-like protuberance towards
the basis cranii. The third, which pro-
jects into the cavity of the skull, con-
tains the organ of hearing.
The OS spheno-occipitale has generally
been described as two bones. The occi-
pital portion forms the posterior portion
of the basis cranii, and a part also of tlie
back of the bony case.
The sphenoid portion is situated in the
middle of the base of the skull, and ex-
tends aci*ossitfrom one temple to another.
It is extremely irregtdar in its figure, and
divided into a body placed in the middle,
two alx on the sides, and two pterygoid
processes projecting downwards.
The OS ethmoides occupies the middle
of tlie forepart of the basis cranii. It lies
in the interval between the two orbits, and
contributes to the cavity of the nose. It
consists of an irregular assemblage of
bony cells and processes, of a very thin
and delicate fonnation. It has a cribri-
form or horizontal plate towards the brain :
a nasal or perpendicular plate ; 2 turbi-
nated bones ; cells; and two orbital plates.
The sutures joining these are the co-
ronal, between the os frontis and the
two ossa parietalia ; the sagittal, be-
tween the two ossa parietalia ; the lamb-
doidal, joining the ossa parietalia to the
OS occipitis ; the squamous, between the
temporal and parietal bones.
The foramina occurring in the cranium,
for the transmission of nerves, are ; 1,
those of the cribriform plate oftlie eth-
moid bone : 2, f. optica : 3, f. lacera or
bitalia : 4, f rotunda : 5, f. ovalia : 6,
meatus auditorii intenii : 7, f. lacera in
basi cranii : 8, f. condyloidea anteriora :
9, foramen magnum.
ANATOMY.
Those which transmit blood vessels
are ; 1, canales caroctici : 2, f. spinosa :
3, f. lacera in basi ci-anii : 4, f. magnum.
Bonet of the face — The ossa n:»si con-
stitute the arch of the nose. The ossa
lacrjmalia or iingriisarc placed at the fore-
part of the inner edge of the orbits, and
contain an excavation which holds the
lacrymal bag.
'I'he ossa malarum form the prominen-
ces of the cheeks.
The ossa roaxillaria supcriora form the
largest portion of the upper jaw, and most
of the bony palate, or roof of the mouth;
they contain also the upper teeth.
The ossa palati form tho back part of
the bony palate.
The ossa tnrbinata inferioraare situat-
ed in the cavity of the nose.
The former completes, with the nasal
portion of the ethmoid, the septum that
divides the two nostrils.
The maxilla inferior is articulated to
the basis cranii, and holds the lower teeth.
The bones of the cranium and face
compose the two orbits, or p) ramidal bo-
ny cavities, holding the organs of vision ;
to each of these, seven bones contribute.
They also form the cavity of the nose,
which is very extensive, and includes
portions of nearly all the bones of the
face, and some of the skull. It has va-
rious cells, formed in the bones of the
skull and face, opening into it.
The teeth. — These organs are composed
internally of a verj' hard bony substance ;
and are covered externally by a still hard-
er matter, called the cortex or enamel.
Each tooth has a body or crown, which
is the part seen in the mouth ; a neck,
round which the gum adheres ; and one
or more fangs or roots, which are sunk in
a process of the jaw, called the alveolar.
These bodies arc not formed in a nidus
of cartilagfe, like bones, but on a soft
vascular body, called a pnlp, which may
be compared to the core, on which a horn
is formed. This is suiTounded by a deli-
cate membrane, called the capsule of the
tooth. AVhcn the teeth are beingformed,
these pulps and capsules, with the rudi-
ments of the teetli, are lodged in cavities
hollowed out of the jaw bone. They af-
terwards rise, and, piercing the gum, ap-
pear in the mouth.
Teeth diflcr from other bones in pos-
sessing no vessels nor nen-es intheirsub-
stance. As they are destined for the
merely mechanical function of triturating
the food, such parts would not have been
suitable to this office. The pain of tooth-
ach arises from a ncr\c, whicrh, with u
vessel, resides in a hollow, formed in the
centre of the fang and body of each tooth.
These p.irts ai-e exposed by the decay.
The teeth, in consequence of possessing
no vessels, are only affected by chemical
and mechanical causes. They do not
repair the effects of trituration, nor of
accidental injury; nor do they suffer from
any of the diseases which aflTect other
bones.
There are two sets of teeth ; the first
are fewer in number, and smaller in size ;
as they fall out at a certain age, to make
room for other larger ones, they are call-
ed deciduous or temporarj'. The second
set lasts throughout life, and are called
tlie adult or permanent set.
The latter consists of 32 teeth ; 16 in
each jaw. There are four incisorcs or
cutting teeth in front; 2 canini or cuspi-
dati, or dog teeth, placed one on each
side of the former; 4 bicuspides behind,
the last ; and 6 molares behind these.
From the late period at which the last
molaris appears, it is called the dens sa-
pientiae, or wise tooth.
The temporary set consists of twenty
teeth ; ten in each jaw. There are 4 in-
cisores ; 2 cuspidati ; and 4 molares.
The permanent teeth are lodged at
first in cavities of the jaw, near the root.s
of the temporary ones; and, as these last
are shed, rise up to supply their places.
The bone of the tongue is called os
hyoides, from its very accurate resem-
blance to the Greek v- Itconsistsofabody,
two comua, and two appendices, whicii
are in fact so many separate bits of bone.
The bones of the trunk consist of those
of the spine, thorax, and pelvis.
The spine consi.sts of twenty-four true
or moveable vertebrx ; an os sacrum, and
an OS coccygis (which indeed is compo-
sed of four pieces) ; these last bone-.-,
bearing considerable resamblancc to the
vertcbrsc, are called sometimes the false
vertebrx.
Each vertebra has a body, which is
situated anteriorly, and consists of a cy-
lindrical piece of bone ; a pcrioration be-
hind this, in which the spinal man-ow
runs ; two superior and two inferior arti-
culating pi-ocesses, by which it is joined
to the bone immediately above and below
it ; two transverse processes, and one spi-
nous process, which, projecting behind,
forms a sharp ridge, from w hirh the name
of spine has been applied to the \\hole
column.
The vertebrx are divided into three
classes, according to thf ir sMtiat-on : the
seven upper ' il : of
ANATOMY.
these, the first, that immediately supports
tlie head, is called the atlas ; and the
second, from a remai'kable bony process
which it possesses, the vertebra: dentata.
Tiie twelve next are called dorsal verte-
bra:, and are distinguished by having the
ribs articulated to them. The hve last
ai-e called lumbar. These all differ from
each other in some circumstances. The
most obvious distinction arises from the
size : the upper ones are the smallest, and
there is a gradual increase as we desceml.
The column of tlie spine, when viewed
altogether, is not perpendicular; it stands
forward in tlie neck, recedes in the up-
per pavi. of the back, and projects again
in the loins. Holes are left between tlie
bones, for the transmission of the nerves
wliicli arise from the spinal marrow.
Tlie sacnim forms the back of the pel-
vis, and is followed out in front. In form
it is triangular, and the base is joine^ to
the last vertebra. It is perforated by a
canal, in which the temiination of the me-
dulla spinalis is lodged. Its apex has
connected to it the os coccygis.
The tiiorax is formed by the twelve
dorsal vertebrx, the ribs, and sternum.
The ribs are long, curved, flattened, and
narrow bones, attached behind to tlie
dorsal vertebra:, both in their bodies and
transverse processes, and joined in front
to a piece of cartilage. They are twelve
in number, and the seven upper ones,
whose cartilages are affixed to the sides
of the sternum, are called true ribs ; the
five loweroncs, the caililages of which do
not reach so far, are called the false ribs.
The sternum is a broad and flat bone,
placed in the front of the chest. It con-
sists of two pieces of bone, and of a carti-
lage called the ensiform. The clavicles
are articulated towards its upper parts,
and the cartilages of the ribs are joined
to its sides.
The pelvis is formed by the two ossa
innominata, or haunch bones, the sacrum,
and OS coccygis. The former are very
large and Hat bones, expanded into a
broad surface above for the support of
tiie abdominal viscera, and the attachment
of tlie abdominal muscles, and furnished
with liirge tuberosities below, for the sup-
port of the body in the sitting position.
Each 08 innomhiatum is divided into the
ilium, ischium, and pubes. It is firmly
joined to the sacrum behind, and to the
opposite bone in front, by the sympliisis
pubis. The conjoined portions form an
arch, called the arch of the pubes. The
cavity of the pelvis is much larger in the
female than in the male, as it holds the
uterus and vagina, in addition to what it
contains in the male, and as the fcctus
passes through it in parturition.
The bones of the upper extremity are
distributed into those of the shoulder,
arm, fore-arm, and hand.
The shoulder contains two ; the scapula
and clavicle. The former is situated at
tlie upper and outer part of the chest, and
is joined to the end of the clavicle.
The humerus is a long and neai-Iy c) -
lindrical bone, joined by a round head to
the scapula above, and articulated witli
the radius and ulna below.
The fore-arm has two bones ; the ulna,
which is joined by a hinge or ginglymus
to the humei-us ; and tlie radius, which
has a cavity playing upon a rounded head
of that bone. The prominent extremity
of the ulna, which forms die elbow, is
called the olecranon. The hand is di-
ded into the carpus, "or wrist, the meta-
carpus, and tlie fingers and tliumb.
The carpus contains eight bones, dis-
posed in two phalanges, of which tlie first
forms, with the radius, the joint of the
wrist, and the second is articulated to tlie
metacarpus.
The bones of the first phalanx are tlie
OS scaphoidcs, lunare, cuneiforme, and
pisiforme : those of the second, os tra-
pezium, trapezioides magnum, and unci-
forme.
The metacarpus lias five bones, and
each of tlie fingers tliree ; the thumb only
two.
In the lower extremity we have the fe-
mur, the largest of the cyhndrical bones
in the body. This has a round head, con-
tained in a socket of the os innominatum :
tlie great trochanter forms a conspicuous
process at tlie upper and outer part of the
bone. Below it has two condyles, which
form part of the knee.
The leg has two bones; the tibia and
fibula. A large flat portion of the former,
covered only by skin, is called the shin.
The foot is composed of the tarsus, meta-
tarsus, and toes. The tai'sus has seven
bones : — 1. Astragalus, composing the
ankle, with the lower portion of the tibia
and fibula. 2. Os calcis. 3. Os navicu-
lare. 4. Os cuboides. 5, 6, 7. Ossa cu-
neiformia. The metatarsal bones are five
in number, and the bones of each toe are
three, except the great toe, which has
only two.
svxiuiSMOLOur, on docthixk of the
JOINTS.
Cotistniction of a joint. — The ojiposed
surfaces of bones, which form joints, are
ANATOMY.
covered by a thin crust of cartilage, most
exquisitely smooth and polished. Hence
they move on eacli otlier, in whatever di-
rection their sti-ucture admits, without
any hindrance from friction. Tlicy are
tied togetlier by strong and unyielding
cords resembling tendons, and known by
the name of ligaments. These keep the
surfaces of the bones together, and re-
strict their motions to certain directions.
In owler still further to promote the fa-
cility of motion, and to obviate every pos-
sibility of friction, the cartilaginous sur-
faces are smeared with an unctuous fluid,
called synovia, which makes them per-
fectly slipper}. This fluid is confined to
the surface of the joint by means of a thin
and delicate membrane, called the cap-
sular ligament, which envelopes the joint.
It is secreted from portions of a fatty sub-
stance, called the synovial glands. The
ligaments are usually situated on the out-
side of the capsula; but in many instances
they are contained in the cavity of the
joint, pasiiing from the centre of one bone
to anotlicr. These ai'C called interarticu-
lar ligaments.
Particrilar joints. — Joint of the lower
jaw. This is formed between the con-
dyle of the jaw and a hollow in the tem-
poi>al bone. It contains a moveable car-
tilage, which renders the articulation
more secure, when the jaw is brought
forwartls on the bone under certain cir-
cumstances.
The connection of the head to the ver-
tebrae is effected by means of two promi-
nences of the occiput, which are received
into corresponding cavities of the atlas.
By tliis joint the nodding motions of the
Lead are performed. But the atlas itself
turns horizontally round the tooth-Hke
process of the ^ ertcbra dentata, and as
tlie head is closely connected to the atlas,
it is carried round at the same time.
Therefore, die lateral or rotatoiy motions
of the head urc performed by a different
joint from tliat which performs the nod-
ding motions. Neither of these articula-
tions admits of very extensive motion ;
but the deficiency is compensated by tlie
mobility of the vertcbnc, which enable
us to carry the head freely in any direc-
tion we may wish. The head rests near-
ly in equilibrio on the spinal column ; yet,
if left to itself, it would fall forwartls, as
the joint is not precisely in the centre of
the basis ci-anii. To counteract this ten-
dency, there is a ligamentous substance
extended from the spinous processes of
the cervical vertebra: to Uie occiput, and
\ OL. 1.
called the ligamentum muchx. In quad-
rupeds this can be best seen, as the
weight of the head is there supported to
a much greater disadvantage. The mus-
cles also contribute to keep the head up-
right; and hence, vk-hen a man <lrops
asleep sitting, the relaxation of the ex-
tensor muscles causes the head to nod
forwards.
Joints of the spine. — The spine, or back-
bone, is achiiin of joints of very wonder-
ful construction. Aarious, difficult, and
almost incon.sistent, offices were to be ex-
ecuted by the same instrument. It was
to be fiim, yet flexible ; finn, to support
the erect position of the body; flexible,
to allow of the bending ot the trunk in
all degrees of cun-ature. It was further,
also, to become a pipe or conduit for the
safe conveyance of a most important part
of the animal fi-ame, the spinal marrow ;
a substance, not only of the first necessity
to action, if not to life, but of a nature so
delicate and tender, so susceptible, and so
impatient of injur}', as that any unusual
pressure upon it, or any consitlerable ob-
struction of its course, is followed by
paralysis or death. It was also to afford
a fulcnim, stay, or basis, for the insertion
of the muscles which are spread over the
trunk of the body, in which trunk there
are not, as in the Umbs, cylindrical bones,
to which they can be fastened ; and like-
wise, which is a similar use, to furnish a
support for the ends of the ribs to rest
upon.
The breadth of the bases, upon which
the parts severally rest, and the closeness
of the junction, give to the chain its finn-
ness and stability; the number of parts,
and consequent frequency of joints, its
flexibility; which flexibilitj'. we may also
observe, varies in different parts of the
chain ; is least in the back, where strengtli
more than flexure is wanted ; greater in
the loins, which it was necessar}' should
be more supple than the back ; and great-
est of all in Uie neck, for the free motion
of the head. Then, secondly, in order to
afford a passage for the descent of the
medullajy substance, each of these bones
is borerf through in tlie middle in such a
maiUK'r, as that, when put together, the
hole in one bone falls into a line and cor-
responds with the holes in the two bones
contiguous to it; by which means the
perforated pieces, when joined, form an
entire, close, uninterrupted channel. But,
as a settled posture is incousisient with
its use, a great difficulty still remained,
which was, to prevent the vcrtebnc from
.\a
ANATOMY.
shitting upon one another, so as to break
the line of tlie canal as often as the body
moves or twists, or the joints gaping ex-
temallv, whenever the body is bent for-
wards,'and the spine dierenpon made to
take the form of a bow. These dangers,
which are mechanical, are mechanical-
ly provided aguinst. The vei'tebrse, by
means of their pi-ocesses and projections,
and of the articulations which some of
these form with one another at Uieir ex-
tremities, are so locked in and confined,
as to maintain, in what are called the bo-
dies or bi-oad surfaces of the bones, the
relative position nearly unaltered ; and to
tlu-ow tlie cliange and the pressure jjro-
duced by flexion almost entirely upon the
intervening cartilages, the springiness
and yielding nature of whose substance
admits of all the motion which is necessa-
ry to be performed upon them, witliout
suiy chasm being produced by a separa-
tion of tlie parts. 1 say of all the motion
which is necessary ; for, althougli we
bend our backs to every degree almost of
inclination, the motion of each vertebrae
is very small : sucli is the advantage
which we receive from the chain being
composed of so many links. Had it been
composed of three or four bones only, in
bending the body the spinal marrow must
have been bruised at every angle.
The substimces which connect tlie bo-
dies of the vertebrae to each other, called
the intervertebral cartilages, ai-e tliick,
tirm, and elastic. They are similar in
shape, and nearly so in size, to the bones
which they join. They are thicker before
than behind, so that, when we stoop for-
wards, the compressible cartilage, yield-
ing to the force, brings the surfaces of the
utljoining vertebrse nearer to a state of
parallelism than they were before, instead
€jf increasing the inclination of their
planes, which mubt have occasioned a
fissure or opening between them : and
their elasticity restores the body to its
former state, when tlie compressing force
ceases.
In order still furtlier to ihcrcase the
strength of the compages, and to add a
greater security against luxation, the ver-
tebrx are articulated to each otl»er by
means of the processes before mentioned.
And tliese processes so lock in with and
overwrap one another, as to secure tiie
body of the vertebra, not only from acci-
dentally slipping, but even from being
pushed out of its place by any violence
short of that which would break the bone.
The roots of the spinous processes are
ulso joined to each other by very strong
and highly elastic ligamentous substanceB,
which will tend powerfully to restore the
column alter it has been bent forwards.
The general result is, that not only the
motions of the human body, necessary for
the ordinary offices of life, are perfonned
with safety, but that it is an accident
hardly ever heard of, that even the ges-
ticulations of a harlequin distort his
spine.
The ribs are ai-ticulated by their pos-
terior extremities to the bodies and to
the transverse processes of the vertebrx,
and the true ribs are also joined by means
of their cartilages to tlie sternum. Two
great advantages* are derived from die
ribs having this cartilaginous portion.
The effect of blows, or of any accidental
violence, is eluded, by the flexibility
which they thus obtain ; and tlie elastic
power of the cartilages restores the ribs
to their former position, after they have
been raised by the intercostal muscles in
breathing.
Joints of the upper extremity. — The clavi-
cle is articulated to the sternum at one
end, and to the scapula at the other.
l"he shoulder is fonned by a round
hea<l of the humerus, which plays in a
cup of the scapula ; and the ends of the
bones are inclosed by a thick and strong
ligamentous membrane, called the orbi-
cular ligament. There is here, therefore,
every latitude of motion allowed.
In the elbow, on the contrary, the joint
is a mere hinge : lateral modon is restrain-
ed by strong ligaments placed at the sides
of the joint, and the fore-arm can there-
fore be moved only forwards and back-
wanls. This joint is formed between the
ulna and the humerus.
The wrist is formed by the junction of
the radius witli the first phalanx of cai-pal
bones. Its motion is very little more than
that of a gingljTnus. The rotation of the
hand and wrist, or what anatomists call
the pronation and supination, are per-
formed by the radius revolving round the
ulna, and can7ing the hand with it. In
this case the elbow joint is fixed ; neither
does the joint of the wrist move ; but the
radius moves freely round the ulna, and
the hand is included in the motion. The
pronation and supination of the hand are
well exemplified in the use of the broad-
sword, and in cudgel-playing.
The carpal and metacarpal bones are
united by joints and ligaments, but have
no obvious motion on each other. The
phalanges of the fingers are also articu-
lated by ginglymi.
The bones of the pelvis are inseparably
ANATOMY.
Qonnectcd by adhering cartilaginous sur-
faces and immense ligaments. Siicli is
the strength of this union, that it will yield
to no force but one that would destroy
:md cnish the whole fabric.
Joints oftlieluioer e-rhftnittf. — In the hip,
which sujjport.sthc whole body, and which
is the centi-e of motion of the whole in
moving from place to place, we find an
apparatus, admitting of extensive motion,
but at the same time most carefidly guard-
ed and strengthened. There is a very
large rounded head of the tliigh received
into a deep cup of the fis innominatum.
Here it can revolve freely, and is prevent-
ed from escaping by thick and strong
riiung edges, that guanl the brim of the
cavity. From tliese edges there springs
a very tough and stout orbicular ligament,
which is firmly stretched overthe head of
the bono, and implanted into a conti-acted
part called the neck. In order to ])rovide
still further for the security of so impor-
Umt a joint as tlie hip, there is a sliort,
strong ligament arising from tlie hea<l of
the ball, and implanted in the bottom of
the cup. Tlus affords a very great obsta-
cle to any force tending to displace the
bone ; but at the same time lies in the
bottom of the cavity, soasnot to interfere
wiih any of the orthnar)' motions.
The knee-joint is formed by three
bones : tlie head of the tibia, the condyles
of the femur, and the patella. It is a gin-
glymus, and its motions are acconUngly
restrained by two strong lateral ligaments,
and it is secured still iurther by two im-
mense ligamentous ropes within the ca-
vity of the joint, called the crucial Ug^-
ments.
The ankle isa gingl^moid joint, formed
by the tibia and fibula, together with the
astragalus. This joint, which is an im-
portant one, as bearing the weight of the
whole body, is .strengthened at its sides
by twobony processes, called the internal
and external malleoli or ankles.
The bones of the tarsus, metatarsus,
and toes, are articulated, like those of the
hand.
Muscles consist of bundles of red fibres;
but the colour is not essential, since it
can be removed by repeated washings and
maceration.
The tlireads composing a muscle are
enveloped by cellular substance, which
connects it to the suiTounding parts.
Each bundle consists of numerous fibres,
so smaU, lliat our instruments of research
cannot arrive at the ultimate or original
fibre : hence, any perceivable fibre, how-
ctver small, isfonned by tl>e juxta-position
of numeroiis fibrillae ; and, as we employ
magnifying instniments of greater power,
a fibre, which before seemed simple, re-
solves itself into a congeries of still more
minute threads. We ])ass over in sikncc
the dreams of \-arious investigators, who
have busied themselves in looking for the
ultimate muscular fibre ; these researches
do not assist us in explaining the pheno-
mena of muscular action. The cohesion
of the constituent particles of the moving
fibre is maintained by the vital power :
hence, a desul muscle will be torn by a
weight of a few ounces, which in the
living body would have siippoited many
pounds. The muscular fibre receives a
copious supply of vessels and nerves.
Tendons are formed by an assemblage
of longitudinal parallel fibres. They are
extremely dense andtoujj^i, of a splendid
white colour, which is beautifully con-
trasted with tlie florid red of a healthy
mtiscle. The musciUar fibres terminate
in these bodies, and they are connected to
the bones. They possess no apparent
nenes, and very few and small blood-
vessels.
There is always an exart relation be-
tween the joint and the mu.scles that move
it. Whatever motj^n the joint, by its me-
chanical constrviction, is capable of per-
forming, th«t motion tlie annexed muscles,
by the'' position, are capable of produc-
iiij5:. For example, if there be, as at the
knee and elbow, a hinge joint, capable of
motion only in the same plane, the muscles
and tendons are placed in directions pa-
rallel to tl»e bone, so as by their construc-
tion to produce that motion, and no other.
If these joints were capable of freer
motion, there are no muscles to produce
it. where.is, at the shoulderand the hip,
M'here tlie ball and socket joint allows by
its constniction a potatory or sweeping
motion, tendons arc placed in such a posi-
tion, and pull in such a direction, as to pro-
ducethe motion of which tlie joint admits.
In the head and hand, there is a specific
mechanism in the bones for rotatorj' mo-
tion ; and there is accordingly, in the obli-
que direction of the muscles belonging to
them, a specific provision for putting this
mechanism of the bones into action. The
oblique muscles would liave been ineffi-
cient without that particular articulation,
and that particular; ' iwouldhavc
been useless witliu -des.
As the muscles act uii]% .<> contraction,
it is evident that the reciprocal eaergetic
ANATOMY.
motion of tiie limbs, or their motion with
force in opposite directions, can only be
produced by the instrumentality of oppo-
site or antagonist muscles, of flexors and
extensors answering to each other. For
instance, the biceps and brachialis inter-
nus, placed in the front of the arm, by
their contraction, bend the elbow, and
with such degree offeree as the case re-
quires, or the strength admits of The
relaxation of these muscles after the effort
would merely let the fore-arm drop down:
for the back stroke, therefore, and that
the arm may not only bend at the elbow,
but also extend and straigthen itself with
force, other muscles, as the triceps and
anconeus, placed on the hinder part of the
arm, fetch back the fore -arm into a straight
line with the humenis, with no less force
than that with which it was bent out of it.
It is evident, therefore, that the animal
functions require that particular disposi-
tion of the muscles which we call anta-
gonist muscles.
It often happens that the action of mus-
clesis wanted, where their situation would
be inconvenient. In which case, the bo-
dy of the muscle is placed in some com-
modious position at a distance, and it com-
municates with the point of action by
slender tendons. If the muscles which
move the fingei-s \iad been placed in the
pahn or back of the V,and, they would
have swelled that part to. an awkward
and clumsy thickness. The Wautv, the
proportions of the part, would hava heen
destroyed. They are therefore dispose^^l
in the ai-m, and even up to the elbow, and
act by long tendons strapped down at the
wrist, and passing under the ligament to
the fingers, and to the joints of the fin-
gers, whicli they are severally to move.
In the same manner the muscles, which
move the toes and many of the joints of
the foot, are gracefully disposed in tlie
calf of the leg, instead of forming an un-
wieldy tumetaption in the foot itself
The great mechanical variety in the
figure of the muscles may be thus stated.
It ajjpears to be a fixed law, that the con-
traction of a muscle shall be towai-ds its
centre. Therefore the subject for me-
chanism on each occasion is, so to modify
the figure, and adjust the position of the
muscle, as to produce the motion requir-
ed, agreeably with this law. This can
only be done by giving to different mus-
cles a diversity of configuration, suited
to their several offices, and to their situa-
tion with respect to the work which they
have to perform. On which account wc
find them under a multiplicity of forms .
and attitudes; sometimes with double,
sometimes with treble tendons, some-
times with none ; sometimes ohe tendon
to several muscles, at other times one
muscle to several tendons. The shape of
the organ is susceptible of an incalcula-
ble variety, whilst the original property
of the muscle, the law and line of its
contraction, remains the same, and is
simple. Herein the muscular system may
be said to bear a perfect resemblance to
our works of art. An artist does not alter
the native quaUty of his materials, or
their laws of action. He takes these as
he finds them. His skill and ingenuity
are employed in turning them, such as
they are, to his account, by giving to the
parts of his machine a form and relation,
in which the"se unalterable properties may
operate to the production of the effects
intended.
The muscular system would afford us
numerous examples of what may be call-
ed mechanical structure : i. e. of such
contrivances, employed to attain certain
objects, as a human artist would adopt on
similar occasions. One of tlie muscles of
the eye-ball presents us with a very per-
fect pulley ; by means of which the globe
of the eye is moved in a direction exactly
contrary to the original application of the
force. This muscle, which is called the
trochlearis, arises from the very back
part of the orbit : it has a long and slen-
der tendon, running through a pidley in
the inner part of the front margin of the
orbit, and then going back to be fixed in
the hind portion of the eye-ball. Thus it
di*aws the globe obliquely upwai-ds and
forwaids, although the line of the con-
traction of the muscle is directly back-
ward.
In the toes and fingers, the long ten-
don, which bends the first joint, passes
tlu'ough the short tendon, which bends
the second joint
The foot is placed at a considerable
angle with tlie leg. It is manifest, tliere-
fore, that flexible strings, passing along
the interior of the angle, if left to them-
selves, would, when stretched, start from
it. The obvious preventive is to tie them
down, and this is done in fact. Across
the instep, or rather just above it, the
anatomist finds a strong ligament, under
which the tendons pass to the foot. The
effect of the ligament, as a bandage, can
be made evident to the senses ; for if it
be cut, the tendons start up. The sim-
plicity, yet the clearness of this contri-
vance, its exact resemblance to establish-
ed resources of art, place it among the
ANATOMY.
inost indubitable manifestations of desigii
with which we are acquainted.
The number of the muscles of the
human body is so great, and the circum-
stances which demand attention in every
muscle are likew ise so numerous, that a
particular description of each would ex-
tend this article beyond its prescribed
limits. We shall therefore merely give a
catalogue of the muscles ; which, toge-
ther with the references to the annexed
plates, will give the readw a sufficiently
clear notion of the subject.
Muscles of the scalp. — 1. Fronto-occipita-
lis, or epicranius.
Muscles oftlie ear. — 1. Attollens auricu-
1am; 2. anterior auris; 3, 4. retrahentes
auricidam ; 5. major helicis ; 6. minor he-
licis ; 7. tragicus ; 8. antitragicus ; 9.
transversus auriculae ; 10. laxator tyxn-
pani major; 11. laxator tvmpani minor;
12. tensor tvmpani ; 13. stapedeus.
Muscles of the eye. — 1. Orbicularis pal-
{)ebrarum ; 2. corrugator supercilii; 3.
cvator palpebrae superioris; 4. attollens
oculi ; 5. abductor oculi ; 6. depressor
oculi; 7. adductor oculi : these are also
called recti: wr. rectus superior, ejrter-
nus, inferior, and intemus ; 8. obliquus
superior ocidi, or trochlearis ; 9. obliquus
inferior oculi.
Mitsclea of the nose. — 1. Compressor na-
rium ; 2. levator labii superioris et alse na-
si ; 3. nasalis labii superioris ; 4. depres-
sor alx nasi.
Muscles of the lips. — 1. Levator labii su-
perioris; 2. zygomaticus major ; 3. zygo-
maticus minor ; 4. levator anguli oris; 5.
depressor anguli oris ; 6. depressor labii
inferioris; 7. buccinator; 8. orbicularis
oris ; 9. anomalus maxillae superioris ; 10.
levator menti.
LoTcerjaio. — 1. Biventer maxillae, ordi-
gastricus ; 2. masseter ; 3. temporalis; 4.
pterjgoideus externus ; 5. pter} goideus
intern us.
^tck. — 1. Latissimus colli, or platysma
myoides! 2. stemo-cleido-mastoideus.
Tongtie QJid thynid cartilage. — 1. Omo-
hyuideus; 2. sternohyoideus ; 3. stemo-
thjTeoideus; 4. hyothyreoideus ; 5. mus-
culus glandulac tliyreoidex; 6. stylohy-
oideus ; 7. styloglossus ; 8. mylohyoideus ;
9. gcniohyoideus ; 10. hyoglossus; 11. ge-
nioglossus; 12. lingualis.
Muscles of ' the pharynx and palate. — 1.
Stylopharyngeus ; 2. constrictor pharjn-
gis superior; 3. constrictor medius; 4.
constrictor inferior ; 5. saJpingo-pharyn-
geus ; 6. palato-pharyngeus ; 7. constric-
tor istluni faucium j 8. levator palati mol-
lis; 9. circumflexus palati; 10. azyguB
uvulae.
Muscles oft/w lai-ynx. — 1. CricotLyreoi-
deus; 2. crico-arj'tenoideus pf '• — •■' -
crico-arytenoidcus lateralis;
deus obliquus; 5. arytenoidLi
sus ; 6. thyreo-arytenoideus ; 7. tliyreo-
epiglotticus.
The whole number of muscles about
the head, neck, and throat, is therefore 72.
Muscles of the abdomen. — 1. Obliquus
externus abdominis ; 2. obliquus intemus
abdominis; 3. transversalis abdominis ; 4.
rectus ubdom'mis ; 5. pyramidalis ; 6. dia-
phragma or septum transvcrsum.
Muscles of the thorax. — 1. Sterno costa-
lis, or triangularis sterni ; 2. serratus pos-»
ticus superior; 3. serratus posticus infe-
rior ; 4, 5, 6. scalenus anterior, medius,
and posterior; 7 to 18. levatores brevio-
res costarum ; 19 to 21. levatores longi-
ores costarum ; 22. intercostales extenii ;
23. intercostales intemi; 24. quadratus
lumborum.
Muscles moring the head and spine. — 1 .
Splenius capitis ; 2. splenius cervicis ; 3.
biventer cervicis ; 4. complexus ; 5. tra-
chelomastoideus; 6. transversus cenicis;
7» cervicis descendens ; 8. lon^ssimus
dorsi ; 9. sacrolumbalis ; 10. spinalis cer-
vicis; 11. spinalis dorsi; 12. multifidus
spinae ; 13 to 22. interspinales cervicis ;
23 to 28. interspinales lumborum ; 29.
rectus capitis posticus major; 30. rectus
capitis posticus minor; 31. obliquus ca-
pitis superior; 32. obliquus capitis infe-
rior; 33. rectus lateralis; 34. rectus ca-
pitis anticus major; '35. rectus anticus
minor ; 36. long^s colli ; '37 to 43. inter-
transversi colli priores; 44 to 49. inter-
transversi coUi posteriores; 50 to 57. in-
tertransversi dorsi ; 58 to 62. intertrans-
versi lumborum.
Muscles of the anus and paineum. — 1.
transversus perinei ; 2. transversus peri-
nei alter ; 3. sphincter ani ; 4. levator ani ;
5. musculus coccjTgeus ; 6, curvator coc-
cygis.
Muscles pecuKar to tlie male organs of ge-
neration.— 1. Cremaster; 2. erector perns ;
3. accelerator ; 4. compressor prostata.
Muscles peculiar to the female organs of
generation. — 1.' Erector clitoridis; 2.
sphincter vaginae; 3. depressor urethra:.
The whole number of muscles of the
trunk 105.
Muscles of the upper extreimttj. — Shoul-
der. 1. Pectoralis major; 2. pectoralis
minor; 3. subclavius ; 4. serratus mag-
nus; 5. trepazius ; 6. latissimus dorsi ; 7
rhomboidcus minor; 8. rhomboideus
major; 9. levator anguli scapulc; 10.
ANATOMY.
cleltoides; 11. supruspinatus ; 12. infra-
spinatus ; 13. teres major ; 14. teres nu-
iior ; 15. subscapulai'is.l
Arm. — 1. Biceps flexor cubiti ; 2. bra-
cliialis internus; 3. coracobrachialis ; 4.
triceps extensor cubiti ; 5. anconeus.
Fore-arm. — 1. supinator radii longas ;
2, 3. extensor carpi radialis longior et
brevior ; 4. extensor carpi ulnaris ; 5. ex-
tensor' communis digit;>rum miuius ; 6.
extensor proprlus auricularis; 7. abduc-
tor longus pollicis manus ; 8. extensor
major pollicis manus ; 9. extensor minor
poUicis; 10. indicator; 11. flexor carpi
ulnaris; 12. palmaris longiis; 13. flexor
carpi r;uiialis ; 14. pronator radii teres ;
45. flexor digitoioim sublimis, or perfora-
tus ; 16. flexor profundus, or perforans ;
17 to 20. musculi lumbricales; 21. flexor
longiis pollicis manus ; 22. supinator ra-
dii brevis ; 23. pronator radii quadratus.
J\fuscles of the hand. — 1. abductor bre-
vis pollicis manus ; 2. opponens pollicis
manus; 3. flexor brevis pollicis; 4. ab-
ductor pollicis ; 5. palmaris brevis ; 6.
abductor digiti minimi ; 7. flexor propri-
us digiti minimi ; 8. abductor ossis meta-
carpi digiti minimi; 9 to 11. interossei
intemi manus; 12 to 15. interossei exter-
ni manus.
Tlic muscles of the upper extrertiity
ape 58.
Jfitivcles of the thi^h. — 1. Tensor fasciae
latae ; 2. gluteus maxiinus ; 3. gluteus
medius ; 4. gluteus minimus ; 5. ))yrifor-
mis ; 6, 7. geminus superior and inferior ;
8. obturator internus ; 9. quadratus femo-
ris; 10. biceps flexor cniris; 11. semi-
tendinosus ; 12. semimembranosus ; 13.
psoas minor; 14. psoas major; 15. ilia-
cus internus ; 16. sartorius ; 17. gracilis ;
18. rectus extensor cruris ; 19. vastus
externus ; 20. \'astus internus ; 21. cni-
ralis; 22. pectineus ; 23. triceps adductor
femoris; 24. obturator externus.
Musck» of tlie le^. — 1. Gastrocnemius
or gemellus ; 2. solciis ; 3. plantaris ; 4.
popliteus ; 5. flexor longus cbgitorum pe-
dis ; 6 to 9. lumbricales pedis ; 10. flexor
kmg^s hallucis; 11. tibialis posticus;
12. peroneus longus ; 13. peroneus bre-
vis; 14. tibialis anticus ; 15. extensor
longus digitomra pedis ; 16. peroneus
tertius.
Mwidet of the foot. — 1. Extensor pro-
prius hallucis ; 2. e.xt^nsor brevid tUgito-
rum pedis; 3. flexor brevis digitorum
pedis ; 4. abductor hallucis ; 5. transver-
sus pedis ; 6. abductor digiti minimi pe-
dis ; 7. flexor brevis digiti minimi pedis ;
8 to 10. interossei interni pedis ; 11 to 14,
interossei extemi pedis.
The muscles of the lower extremity
are 54 ; and the whole number of the
body 289. But as they are the same on
both sides, this must be doubled, which
will give 578 ; an enumeration which is
pretty nearly correct.
^OB&AKS CONCERNED IS THE KEnUCTION
A5D ASSIMILATION OF THE FOOD.
Organs of mastication and deglutition. —
The two jaws, with their teeth, and the
tongue, ai-e the principal agents in the
business of mastication.
Tlie articulation of the condyle of the
lower jaw with the glenoid cavity of the
temporal bone admits of tlie former part
being moved in various directions. Its
depression and elevation cause the open-
ing and shutting of the mouth. It can be
brought forwai-ds, and earned backwards ;
and admits also of being moved to one
side or tlie other. It is by a combination
of these various motions that the food is
masticated, or reduced into a soft and
pulpy form. The diflferent teeth which
are placed in various pai-ts of the cavity
of the moutli are adapted, by their form
and situation, for varlousparts of the pro-
cess of mastication. The anterior ones,
which have a thin cutting edge, and in
which the superior overlap the inferior,
act like tlie blades of a pair of scissors.
These cut tlie food into smaller morsels ;
and serve us also in biting off" a portion
from any mass of food which we may be
eating. The back teeth have broad bases,
furnished with obtuse prominences ; and
they shut perpendicularly on each other.
These are therefore well adapted for tlie
gi'inding and trituration of the food. As
their office requires a greater muscular
force, they are placed in the back of the
mouth, near to the centre of motion, and
whei-e, consequently, the action of the
muscles is felt with the greatest effect.
I'he cutting teeth are placed in front, at
a greater distance from the attachment
of the muscles, because their office does
not require so gjeat a muscular exer-
tion.
The tongue is of considerable utility in
contributing to mastication, as it serA'esto
move the food about in the cavity of the
mouth, and to subject it again to the ac
tion of the grinding teeth, when it has
escaped from between their surfaces.
'I'he muscles of this organ, which we have
emimcrated in the myological division of
the article, ^ve it a power of motion in
every direction.
But the simple act of mastication would
i^ATOMT.
viily reduce the food into a powder, or at
all events into a drj- mass, that coiild not
be swallowed withm ■ . • 'ifliculty. To
obviate this inconv s plentiful-
ly moistened with - ....... Muid called
saliva, and is thereby converted into a soft
paste, which can be cooveyed into tJie
stomach with perfect facility. The source
of this fluid is, in several glandular bodies,
situated near the mouth, and sending ex-
cretory ducts, which convey the secret-
ed fluid into that cavity. As the jaws
move, the muscles compress these ghuids,
and .squeeze tlic secreted fluid into the
mouth. The tongue is con.stantly em-
ployed in bringing again under the action
of the teeth those portions of the food
which escape fi-om between them ; and
the closure of the lips prevents it from
falling out of the mouth.
The trtie salivary glands are three in
number, on each side of the heacL The
largest is placed in tlie space left between
the ear and the lower-jaw-bone ; and is
called, from its situation, the parotid, ks
duct pierces tlie middle of the cheek.
The two others are placed under the
tongue, and are called the subma.xillary
and sublingual. Their ducts join to open
by a common orifice, at the sitle of tlie
membrane called the frenum of the
tongue, which ties the under surface of
thatoi^an to the inside of the lower iaw.
Besides these large salivary glands, there
are other small granular bodies, wliich
pour a mucous fluid into the mouth ;
these are named, acconliug to their situa-
tion, glandulz labiates, buccales, &c.
The cavity of tlie mouth in which tlie
process of mastication goes on is not a
very extensive one. There is a small
space left between the checks and the
teeth externally; but within the teeth the
tongue occupies neiu"ly the whole room.
The upper boundary is formed by the pa-
late or roof of the niuuth, and the lower
by the surface of the tongue. The mouth
opens behind, by atolerable free commu-
nication, into a membranous bag, called
the pharynx. The surface of tlie mouth
is every where covered by a soft and
smootli membrane. This is of course
kept const:uitly in a moist state, as the
glamls above enumerated continually pour
more or le.ss of their secretion into the
cavity. The membrane of tlie mouth is
continuous with the external surface of
the body -, but tlie skin assumes a more
delicate organization, as must be appa-
rent to every body, from the change of
colour at the lips.
Bag of the pfiartfnx. — The nvasticatcd
aliment is collected on tlie back of tlie
tongue, which is then carried upwards,
and backwards, to discharge it into the
phary iix. This bag is covered by muscu-
lar fibres (forming the muscles called
constrictores pharyagis) whicli contract,
successively, in onler to propel the food
towards the stomach. But as there are
several organs communicating with the
pharynx, the food might pass in a wrong
direction, if the parts were not so con-
trived as to prevent such occurrences.
In the upper and anterior part of the
pharynx, tlie nostrils open by two large
and free apertures. Between these and
the entrance from the mouth is found a
fleshy and moveable curtain, called tlie
soft palate, or velum pendulum palati.
There is asmall body, of a jiointed figure,
projecting from tlie middle of this organ,
and known by the name of the uvula.
This curtain and the uvula can be easily
seen in the throat of a living person. It
admits of being elevated so as to shut
the opening of the nostrils ; and its ac-
tion is exemplified in the act of vomiting:
the food is forcibly thrown into the pha-
i-ynx, and woidd pass mostly into the
nose, were it not prevented by the soft
palate. From tlie uvula the membrane is
continued on either side, in an arched
form, towards the root of the tongue, and
it contains a glandular body, eddied the
tonsil, which secretes a mucous fliud, to
lubricate the parts, and facilitate tlie pas-
sage of the aliment. The larjnx opens
into the pharynx, just at the root of th'-
tongue; over tliis part, which is U\
the glottis, everj' morsel of the food im;-'
necessarily pass ; yet, so exquisitely ten-
der is the membrane of tlie wind pipe,
that tlie contact of the smallest extr.uu'-
ous body excites a convidsivc paroxysm
of couching, tliat docs not cease until the
oHendmg matter be removed. Here then
are two objects to be efl'ected ; the func-
tion of respiration requires thatthe wind-
pipe should have a free communication
with tlic external air, while the irritable
nature of its membrane d«»mand8 that no
extraneous body -' " " ' i admission.
These points are t 1 by means
of a strictly mechu.ii- ... . w,.wivancc ; by
a structure which pi"oduccs the required
eflcct, inde|X'ndcntly of the will of the
animaJ, and merely in consequence of
those motions which the organs perform
in the oflicc of deglutition. At the back
of the tongue, and just in front of the
glottis, is a cartilaginous v-alve, called the
epiglottis. When the parts are at rest,
tiiis valve stands pci-pcndicular, and con
ANATOMl.
*equently does not interfere with the pas-
sage of the air into the wind-pipe. In the
act of swallowing', the tongue Ls carried
backwards, and the wind-pipe is drawn
up : hence the epiglottis becomes me-
chanically applied over the opening, and
at this moment the food enters the pha-
rynx over it, and by its pressure closes tile
aperture still more completely. As soon
as the food has passed, tlie tongue and
wind-pipe resume their fonner position,
the elasticity of tlie cartilage restores it
to the erect state, and the glottis is again
free for the continuance of respiration.
So completely does this simple mechan-
ism answer the proposed end, that, al-
though ever}' morsel of food passes over
the glottis, the accident of any portion
going the wrong way, as it is termed, is
comparatively'rare, and can only arise
from our being imprudent enough to
laugh or talk while we are swallowing.
In either of these cases air must pass out
of the ti-achea, and, by so doing, it lifts
up tlie epiglottis.
The pharynx opens below in the oeso-
phagus, a muscular tube, which conveys
the food into the stomach. The aliment,
in its farther pi-ogress, goes through dif-
ferent viscera contained in the abdomen ;
and we shall therefore proceed with a de-
scription of that cavity. ^
The tcnn abdomen includes a large
portion of the body. It is bounded above
by the cartilages of the ribs, and by the
diaphragm, which separates it from the
chest, at the back part, by the bodies of
the lumbar vertebra ; in front and at the
sides, by the abdominal muscles ; and be-
low, by the bones of the pelvis.
It is every where lined by a membrane
called the peritoneum. The surface of
this is perfectly smootli and polished, and
moistened by a serous exhalation pix)du-
eed by the minute arteries of the part.
This membrane not only lines tlie cavity
of the abdomen, but also covers all the
viscera contained in that cavity, so that
the exterior surface of each part consists
of what anatomists call its pei-itoneal coat.
Hence the motions of these pai-ts upon
each other, and upon the surface of the
cavity, are performed with perfect facility.
The productions of the membrane,
which gives tliese exterior investments
to the viscera, ser\e also to confine them
in their rebtive positions.
The cavity is subdivided into three re-
gions, the epigastric, which includes all
the space above an imaginaiy line drawn
acrossthebelly,from the greatest convexi-
ties of the cartUag€5 of Uie seventh true
rib ; the umbilical, which is the division
between thishne and another drawn from
the anterior superior spines of the ilia ;
and the hypogastric, which is the space
left below the last hne.
The sides of the epigastric region,
which are the spaces covered by the car-
tilages of the ribs, ai*e called hypochon-
dria : the sides of the umbilical region are
named the loins : and those of the hypo-
gastric the groins.
The stomach is a lai-ge membraneous
reservoir, receiving the food from the ceso-
phagus, and retAining it until a certain
change, called digestion, is pi-oduced. Its
figure is conical, as it is largest at the left
end, and gradually decreases in size to-
wards the right: these are called the great-
er and smaller extremities of the stomach.
It is also bent inits couree, so that we
describe a greater and smaller cur^'ature
or arch. It has two openings, one clo.se
to the diaphragm, called the cardiac, su-
perior, or esophageal ; the other, just at
the smaller end, is called the pjloric, or
lower orifice. The capacity of the sto-
mach varies from about 5 to 11 pints.
Its stinicture is muscular ; and this is
necessary in order to propel the food
when digested. Under the muscular coat
is found the internal, or villous, tunic; the
arteries of which paur out the gastric
juice, the chief agent in the digestion of
the food.
The pylorus, which word is derived
from two Greek terms, signifying the
keeper of the gate, is a contracted ring, by
which the stomach communicates with the
small intestine. It prevents the food from
passing out of the stomach before it has
been sufficiently acted on by the gastric
juice.
The stomach receives a portion of peri-
toneum as the oesophagus passes the dia-
phragm. There is also a process coming
from the liver, called the lesser omentuiD,
or mesogaster. This is attached to the
lesser arch of the stomach. The great
omentum, or the caul, is affixed to the
greater arch of the stomach, and hangs
from thence over the surface of tlie intes-
tines, being interposed between them and
the parietes. It is also attached to a part
of tlie colon : its use is unknown.
The small intestine is divided into three
pails; the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum;
but this distinction is an arbiti-ary one, and
not founded on any difference in struc-
ture. It consists of a membranous tube,
about an inch, or an inch and a half in di-
ameter, and four times the leng^ of the
subj ect. Not withstandi ng this great le ngth,
itis collected, by means of numerous turn
i
ANATOMY.
\t\ga and convolutions, into a comparative.
\y small space. These convolutions of the
small intestine occupy the chief part of
the umbilical and hypogastric regions of
the abdomen. They are connected in
their situation by means of a broad folded
membrane, called the mesentery. This
protluction of the peritoneum is about six
inches broad at its commencement, but it
expands gradually, something after the
manner of a fiui, so that it becomes broad
enough, ultimately, to cover the whole
lengm of tlie small intestine. It serves to
keep the different convolutions of the ca-
nal ni a certiun relative position, and al-
lows, at the same time, a considerable
freedom of motion, without any danger of
intangling. In tracing the course of the
small intestine, we follow the duodenum
from the lesser extremity of the stomach,
in the righthypochondrium, making three
turns close on the backbone, and then
coming out just overtlie left kidney. The
general direction of the canal from this
point, independently of its various turn-
ings and wmdings, is towards the right
gi'oin, where the ilium terminates by en-
tering the ccccum.
The small intestine possesses three
coats similar to those of the stomach, viz.
an external or peritoneal ; a middle or
muscular ; and an internal, or villous, tu-
nic. The latter forms a great many trans-
verse, loose, and floating processes, call-
ed valvulx conniventes ; by means of
which tlie extent of surface of the villous
•oat is very much augmented. Numerous
glandular bodies are found in parts of tlie
canal, collected into small parcels, and
kence called glanduisc agminata.
The food wliich is reduced by the ac-
tion of the stomach into an homogeneous
mass, Ci^led chyme, enters the small in.
testine, where it undergoes a furtl^tir
change, and becomes chyle. It « pro-
pelled along the canal by tliP muscular
•oat of the intestine, and the villous tu-
nic absorbs from it the nutritious parti-
eles. It passes along every turn and wind-
ing of tins long canal, continually subject-
ed to the action of the absorbing vesseb.
The residue of the alimentan' matter is
sent into the large intestine, from which
it is expelled in the form of fxccs.
The large intestine is a canal of about
two or three inches in diameter, and seven
feet in length. It is divided into the coc-
cum, colon, and rectum. The ccccum is a
bag situated in the right groin, and receiv-
ing the termination of the ilium. The
latter interstice enters in such a manner,
that the passage of the allraent is sdlowed
VOL. I
from it into the coecum, but prevented
from returning. The part which effects
this is called the valvvila coli. A smaU
process, about equal in size to an earth-
worm, is connected to the ccccum. It is
called appendix cocci vermiformis, and its
use is unknown.
From the right groin tlie intestine
ascends on the tight side of the abdomen
over the kidney, under the name of co-
lon: ittiirns completely over the abdomen
at the upper part, and descends alongthe
left side to the left groin ; here it make«
a large tuni over the brim of the pelvis,
and enters that cavity, where it takes the
name of rectum, which terminates at the
anus. We distinguish in the colon 'he right
or ascending portion; the middle or trans-
verse arch ; the left or descending ; and
the sigmoid flexure. The r'.^t and left
portions of this gut are closely bound
down in their situations by two portions
of peritoneum, called ligamenti coli. The
transverse arch has a broad process con-
nected to it, by which it is loosely attadi-
ed : this is called the mesocolon.
The large intestines have a peritonea],
a muscular, and a villous coat ; but they
have no valvule conniventes. The longi.
tudinal muscular fibres are collected into
tliree bands, which, being shorterthan tlie
rest of the intestine, occasion the other
coats to be gathered up in folds between
them, and thereby give the intestine & sac-
culated appearance.
The residue of the alimentary matter,
which the large iptestine receives from
tlie small, in c(>«iverted in the former ca-
nal into a substance of peculiar odour,
colour, and consistence, called fscces ; in
which form it is expelled from the body.
Parte gubservient to theftinctions of the aU-
mentary canal, and cmitaitied in the cavity
of the abdomen.
The liver is the largest glandular mass
in tlie body, and is placed towards the
right side of the epigastric region. Its
thickest portion fills the right hypochon-
drium; athinnerpartofthe gland extends
across the middle of the epigastric region
to tlic left hypochondrium. Its size is
greater in proportion as tlie animal is
younger. In the adult it is contained
within the cartilages of the ribs; but in
the foetus it extends to the navel, and fills
half Hi e belly. Its upper surface is con-
vex, and in close contact with the concave
under surface of the diaphragm. Its under
or concave surface rests chiefly on the
stomach. It is divided into a right and
left lobe, and lobulus spigelii. It has a
ANATOMY.
posterior and thick, an nntefior and.thin,
niiirgiji. Its colour, in the most healthy
«tate, is of a reddish btown; but it often
deviates from this. Its wcig'ht, in an adult
man ofmiddling'statvirc, is about 3 pounds.
Jt is connected to the diaphragro by four
ligaments, viz. 1. ligamentum latum, or
suspejisorium. which divides the right and
left lobes from each other. The front
edge of this part contains tlie fibrous re-
mains of tlie umbilical cord of the foetus,
which, assumingthe appearance of aroimd
rope, is called the round hgament. 2, 3.
Ligamenta lateralia, or dextrum, et sinis-
trum. 4. I/igamentum coronarium.
The liver is covered exteriorly by peri-
toneum, and there ai'e certain fissures and
excavations on its surface. 1. Fossa, for
the gall-bladder, in the under surface of
the right lobe. 2. Fissure on the anterior
thin margin, for the entrance of the umbi-
lical vein. 3. Portae, or large transverse
notch, at which the blood-vessels enter,
andfrom which thehepatic duct proceeds.
4. Notch for the inferior vena cava. 5.
Excavation for the bodies of the vertebrx.
The liver is composed of a tolerably
firm and close substance, consisting of a
closely united congeries of different ves-
sels. These vessels are the vena porta-
rum,the hepatic artery, the hepatic veins,
and the biliary ducts. The former vessel
carries to the liver the blood which has
circulated through the different abdomir
nal viscera. It ramifies in tlie liver like
an artery, and tht secretion of the bile is
supposed to take p\%c& from the blood
which it conveys to the liver. The.blood
of this vein, as well as that brought by the
hepatic artery, for the nourlshnUnt of the
liver, is returned l)y the large Lopatic
veins to the inferior vena cava. The
small branches of the hepatic duct, which
conveys the secreted bile from the liver,
appear like small yellow pores, when a
section of the liver is made, and hence
they are called pori biliarii.
The mesogaster, or little omentum, is
attached to the portae of the liver. The
vena portarum, the biliary ducts, the he-
patic arterj', and the hepatic plexus of
ner\-es, pass along the right side of this
process; and the part in which they are
situated is called the capsula Glissoni.
Underthe edge of this partis an opening,
•leading to the bag of the great omentum,
and called the foramen epiploicum.
GALL-BLAnnKR XTTD BILIART DUCTS.
T/ie gall-bladder is a membranous bag,
serving as a reservoir for the bile. Its
shape IS that of a pear, being broader at
one end, and diminishing conically to-
Avards the opposite extrftmity. The broad
e«d is called the fundus ; and the small-
er pai't of the neck the viscus. Its ave-
I'age capacity may be about one ounce.
It is firmly bound to the surface of the
liver by peritoneum. Its inner surface is
elegantly i-eticulated, and furnishes a
viscid mucus that mingles with the bile.
The hepatic duct is continued in a
straight course from the liver to the duo-
denum, in which it opens. It passes, how-
ever, in an oblique manner, between the
coats of the intestine, before opening into
its cavity. Hence the contents of the in-
testine cannot enter the duct; and the
more fully the intestine is distended, the
more completely is this prevented by the
compression of the duct between the in-
testinal tunics. The neck of tlie gall-
bladder is gradually contracted into »
small tube, called the cystic duct, which
joins the hepatic at an acute angle, aftei-
first running parallel with it. The re-
mainder of the hepatic duct, after the
junction with the cystic, is often called
the ductus communis choledochus. The
surface of the cystic duct, as well as that
of the neck of the gall-bladder, has nu-
merous small folds of the internal mem-
brane, which must retard and obstruct
the course of the bile.
Pancreas. — Is a gland of the conglome*
rate Idnd ; that is, composed of numeroas
minute portions, united by cellular sub-
stance. It is connected by one end to the
commencement of the duodenum, and ex-
tends across the vertebrae,behindthe less-
er arch of the stomach, to the spleen.
Its length is about six inches; its breadth
one and a half; and its thickness half an
inch.
Each of the small molecules wliich com-
pose this gland has an excretory duct;
these unite together into largcrandlarger
trunks, and the main tube of all runs
along thfc centre of the gland, and joins
the ductus communis choledochus just
before thatduct opens into the duodenum
Spleen. — This part, which in common
language is called the milt, is a soft and
livid mass, interposed between tlie great
end of the stomach and the diapliragm. It
weighs about six or seven ounces. It
consists of a congeries of cells filled with
blood, as the arteries and veins of the
organ communicate with them. It is
closely connected to the great end of the
stomach by vascular ramifications, which
the splenic vessels send to the stomach.
It has a concave and convex surface ; an
anterior and posterior extremity ; and an
external peritoneal covering.
ANATOMY.
oncxTti or SESPtBiTioir.
As these are conUined in the cavity of
the thorax, we shall consider the subject
in the form of a description of tliat cavitv
and its contents.
The cavity of the thorax is the space
mcludcl In' the dorsal vertebrx behind,
by the ribs with their cartilages, the ster-
nly, and intercostal muscles, at the sides
and fore part; and liy the diaphragm be-
n' A "^^"^ <=*^"'ty is lined by a membrane
called the pleura, which has a smooth in-
ternal surface, constantly moistened by a
serous exhalation.
The ca\ity ot the chest contains two
djsbnct membranous bags, called the
nght and left bags of the pleura; each
ofthc.se holds the lung of its own side,
and is entirely separated from the oppo.
Site one. Tlie pleura not only forms a
bag which hold.s the lung, biit is also re-
flected over the surface of the viscus, be-
stowing on it a smooth exterior invest-
ment. This is called the pleura pulmo-
nalis, to tlisUnguish it from the other,
which is named pleura costalis.
If the cartilages of the ribs be divided
on one side of the chest, the correspond-
ing bag of the pleura will be opened ; and
it will tlien appear, that this is separated
from the opposite one by a partition, which,
extends from tlic sternum in front to the
vertebrs: behind, and is known by the
name of mediastinum. The pleura may
be compared to two bladders placed late-
rally with respect to each other, but adher-
ing only partially, and separated by van-
ous intenening'bodies. Thus, the' heart
and adjoining large blood-vessels, the
oesophagus, and the division of the trachea
into the two bronchi, are placed between
the two pleurx. The mediastinum then
is the space included between the opposed
surfaces of the two bags of the pleurar,
and containing the parts above mentioned.
The name of anterior mediastinum is ap-
plied to a small interval left between tlie
two pleura:, just behind the sternum, and
occupied only by a loose cellular texture.
The po-sterior mediastinum is a larger
space in front of tlie bodies of the verte-
brae; it containsthe descending aorta, the
vena azygos, thoracic duct, asophag^,
and the par vagum.
The capacity of the chest taken altoge-
ther varies, acconling as we estimate it in
a state of inspiration or expiration; being
largest in the former, and smallest in the
latter state. The right b^ of the pleun
is considerably larger than tlic left, as i»
also the right' lung.
In Oie living state, the lung is in close
contact with the surtuce of the cavit), and
follows all tlie motions of the sides ot the
chest. It is distended by the inHu.vof air,
when the chest is enlarged ; and tlic air is
expelled from Uie lung, when the chest i«
diminished. As soon as the thorax is
opened in the dead subject, the lung falls
down from tlic sides of tlie chest, or, in
technical language, coUapses, and then a
large empty space is seen between it and
the ribs. From this representaljon it
should appear, that Uie iangs are quite
passive in the business of respiration.
The lungs 3XQ two in number : one be-
ing contained in each bag of the pleura.
They are loose and unconnected in these
bags, excejtat one point, towards theup-
per and posterior portion of each viscus,
where the great vessels enter them, and
where the bag of the pleura is continu-
ous with the reflected portion of the mem-
brane. These are called the ligaments of
the huigs.
Their colour varies considerably. It ig
always vei-ging more to a red, in propor-
tionasthe subject isyonnger; intlieaJult,
it has more of a spotted and livid cast-
Towards the back of tlie lungs it .' \ always
much deeper,from the gravitation of blood
in the vessels in consequence of the posi-
tion of the subject. It is lighter, when the
lungs contain much air.
The lungs are subdivided into lobea ;
of which the rightcontains three, and the
left two. Their substance is composed of
a congeries of minute membranous cells,
about equal in size to a pin's head, and as
these are more or less filled with air, they
give tlie lung a peculiar spongy feel,
These cells communicate with the ulti-
mate ramifactions of the air vessels, and
receive air from that source. The pul-
monary vessels ramify minutelv in them,
and. thereby expose the bloon to the ef-
fects of the contained air ; and in lliis ex-
posure tlie object of respiration is effected.
The tvimlpipe. The tube, which con-
veys tlie e.vtemal air into the lungs, may
be divided into three parts ; the larynx,
the trachea, and the bronchi.
The larynx is a hollow cartilaginous or-
giin, placed at the top of the trachea. The
air which passes through tliis from tlie
lungs, in expiration, produces tlie voice.
The cavity of the lar}nx opens above at
the root of the tongue, and below into the
trachea. The organ is composed of five
pieces of cartilage : viz. the thyroid and
cricoid cartilages and epiglottis, and two
arytenoid cartilages.
The th>Toid cartilage is the lai|^st, and
ANATOMY.
consists of two irregularly quadrangular
pieces, united in front at an obtuse angle.
This part projects in the front ottheneck,
and much more conspicuously in the male
than in the female sex : it is called po-
mum Adami.
The cricoid cartilage may be compared
to a ring with a seal, of wliich the broad
or sea! part is placed behind, and the nar-
rower portion in front. It is directly un-
der the thjrroid cartilage.
The arj'tenoid ai'e two pyramidal por-
tions of cartilage, connected by regular
moveable articulations to the back of tlie
cricoid.
The epiglottis is the softest caililage of
Ihe laryn.\. It has a basis firmly tied to
the thyroid cartilage, while its opposite
extremity, which is very thin, is of a
rounded figure, and stands directly up-
wards, except during deglutition, when it
descends so as to cover the opening of tlie
larynx.
The thyroid cartilage is tied by three
ligaments to the os hyoides above, and by
as many to the cricoid cartilage below ;
but the most important ligaments of these
parts are the iigamenta glottidis ; which
arise fi-om the front of the arytenoid car-
tilages, and are attached to the posterior
surface of the front portion of the thyroid:
A longitudinal slit, called the rima glotti-
dis, is left between these, and it is by the
passage of the air through that slit that
the voice is formed. Hence, from the
great share which these ligaments have in
forming the voice, the name of chordae
vocales has been given to them.
The larynx is fined by a vascular and
very sensible membrane, copiously mois-
tened with mucus, in order to defend it
from the external air. It admits of free
motion in the neck, and its parts are also
moved on each other ; particularly the
arytenoid cartilages, whose movements,
by jltering the size of the niina glottidis,.
and the state of tension of the chordae vo-
cales, contribute most immediately to the
variations in the tone of the voice.
The trachea is that portion of the aerial
tube, which is placed between the cricoid
eartiiages and the origin of the bronchi.
It isa cylindi-ical membranous tvibe, offrom
5 to7-8thsofan inch in diameter. It
funs along the middle of the fore-part of
tJie neck, having the large blood-vessels
of the head on each side, and being con-
nected behind to the oesophagus. Soon
after it has entered the chest, it divides
into the two bronchi.
The tube of the trachea is furnished
with hoops of cartilage, by wlvich it is
kept permanently open for the passage of
the air; these are not, however, complete
circles, being deficient behind. The lin-
ing of the tube is highly vascular and
sensible, and covered with a copious mu-
cous secretion, which is rendered neces-
sary by the constant curi'ent of aipto
which it is exposed.
The bronchi are merely the two bran-
ches into which the trachea divides for
tlie two lungs ; and of these the right is
the largest and shortest. They ramify
through the lunges dividing into smaller
and smaller branches ; and the ultimate
ramifications communicate with the air-
cells.
OnGA:!TS OF CIRCf LATION.
The heart is the centre of the circulat-
ing sj stem ; being the source of the ar-
teries, and the termination of the veins.
The younger the subject, the larger is
the heart in proportion to the body. It is
often smaller in tall and strong men, than
under different circiunstances.
It is connected at its posterior part, be-
hind the sternum, by the large bloodves-
sels, being unattached every where else,
and merely confined in its situation by the
pericardium.
The pericardium is placed in the cavity
of the chest, behind the second, third,
fourth, and fifth ribs of the left side. It
is covered to the right and left by the
bags of the pleura, which adhere by a
loose cellular membrane It is not actual-
ly connected by any part of its surface
to the sternum. Below, it rests on the
diaphragm, and adheres very firmly to the
superior surface of the tendon of that
muscle.
'I'he cavity of the pericardium is
lai-ger 'ban the heart, so that this viscus
can move freely in it.
The bag of the pericardium in shape
resembles the figure of the heart itself,
being conical. Its substance is thick and
compact, and it is much more dense and
strong than the peritoneum or pleura.
Where the great vessels are connected
to the heart, this membrane becomes re-
flected over its surface ; and hence the
substance of the heart has a close invest-
ment from this membrane, besides being
contained loosely in the bag-like portion.
A small portion of the large blood-ves.
selsis included within the cavity of the
pericardiiun ; particularly of the aorta
and pvdmonary artery; which are conse-
quently covered by the reflected por-
tions.
The internal surface of the p^i<ieiU'4J^
ANATOMT.
ym is moistened by a serous secretion
from the exhalant arteries ; which is col-
lected after death into a few drops of a
clear ligl^t yellow liquor. It is an un-
natural increase of this that constitutes
dropsy of the pericardium. This fluid
in tlic living state lubricates the opposed
surfaces of tlie heart and pericardium,
and thereby facilitates tlieir motion on
each otlier, and prevents their accretion.
The heart, which is contained almost
entirely in the left side of the chest, re-
sembles a half cone ; hence we distin-
guish in it a basis or broad part; and an
apex or narrower portion ; a convex and
a flat surfoce. Tne basis is placed to-
wards the right, and backwards ; the apex
points obliquely to the left, forwards and
downwards. The basis is opposite to the
seventh or eighth vertebra of the back,
and the apex points to the cartilage of
the fifUi or sixtJi left rib. The position
however varies by tlie motion of the dia-
phragm in respiration, as it is drawn
down in a strong inspiration, and again
rises in expiration, itsposition alsoseems
to vary slightly, according to the situation
of the body in lying.
A small portion of the left lung seems,
as it were, removed just at the apex of
the heart ; so that tliat part of the viscus
is not covered by the lung Uke the rest,
but touches the front of the chest.
Those cavities of the heart which are
sailed the right are placed in front ; and
the left cavities are towards the back
part ; so that the epithets anterior and
posterior would correspond more nearly
with Uie true position of diese parts, than
those of right and left.
The flat surface of the heart looks di-
rectly downwards, and rests on the ten-
don of the diaphragm; this, therefore, in
point of position, is inferior; tlie convex
surface is turned upwards, forwards, and
obliquely towards the left, so that it may
be called the superior surface.
The weight of tlie human heart, when
removed from the body, with its pericar-
dium, is from 10 to 15 ounces.
Like tlie heart of all warm-blooded
animals, this organ consists of two
hearts, closely and intimately connected.
One of these is concerned with the cir-
culation through the body, or the greater
circulation ; the other with the circula-
tion through the lungs, or the minor cir-
culation. These might perform their of-
fices, if separate and even distant from
each other. Each of these hearts con-
sists of two cavities; an auricle, or mem-
branous bay, placed at th.e mouths of the
veins ; a ventricle, or 8tl\jng muscular
organ, placed at the orifice of the artery,
and constructed for the purpose of driv-
ing the blood into that vessel and its
branches.
The two auricles are placed at the ba^
sis or broailest part of the heart ; and the
two ventricles, composing the cliief bulk
of the organ, are found in front of the
former cavities.
In the following description of the
structure of the heart, we shall trace tlie
parts in Uie same order in which tlie
blood paeses through them. This fluid,
then, after circulating through the blood-
vessels of the body, after serving the
various purposes of nutrition, secretion,
&c. is returned into the right auricle of
the heart by tliree large veins, viz. the
superior and inferior vena cava, and the
great coronar)' vein. The properties of
this blood have been so altered in its
course, that it is necessary for it to be
subjected to the action of tlie atmosphere
in the lungs, before it is again fit to be sent
into the arteries of the body. The right
auricle derives its name of auricle ftxjm
a small fringed process, which is found
at its anterior part ; tlie rest of the cavity
is called the sinus of the venx cavae.
The lining of this ba^, as indeed that of
all tlie other parts of tlie heart, consists
of a smooth and pofished surface. The
muscular fibres of the auricle are not nu-
merous nor large ; they &re aminged in
parallel fasciculi, which have been com-
pared to the teeth of a comb ; and hence
the epitlietof musculspectinati has been
given to tliem.
The right auricle transmits the blood
into the right, anterior, or pulindnaiy
ventricle, through a lai-ge circular orifice,
called the aimuTus venosus, or the auri-
cular orifice of the ventricle. When this
latter cavity contracts, the blood would
be driven back towartls the auricle, were
not this prevented bv a valve, called the
tricuspidal or triglocliine. This valve is
formed by a production of the lining
of the heart, divided into tliree point-
ed portions. These are tied by tencUnous
strings to certain projecting packets of
the muscular fibres, called the fleshy co-
lumns of the ventricle. The structure
of tlie ventricle is verj' diflerent from
that of the auricle, it is a strong mus-
cular cavity, adapted to the office of for-
cibly projecting the blood tlirough the
arterial ramifications ; whereas the auri-
cle is a mere reservoir, holding the blood
until the ventrical has emptied itself by
its contraction
ANATOMY.
The pulmonary artery, which arises
from the upper and anterior part of this
ventricle, -conveys the blood into the
lungs. The opening' of this artery, which
is called the arterial orifice of the ventri-
cle, is furnished with three valves, called
sigmoid or semilunar, which prevent any
retrograde motion of the blood from the
artery towards the heart.
The venous blood, by being exposed to
the atmospheric air in the lungs, is alter-
ed in its properties, and becomes arterial
blood, in which state it is returned to the
left auricle of the heart by four pulmo-
nary veins, two of which belong to each
lung. This left or posterior auricle con
and highly elastic. The internal surface
of this coat is perfectly smooth, so that
the blood glides along it without impedi-
ment ; the external surface is connected
to that coat which surrounds it. The
middle, or, as it is called, tlie muscular
coat, is composed of a congeries of cir-
dular fibres, separable into numerous
strata, but not much resembling muscu-
lar fibres as found in other situations.
The external coat of the artery is made
of condensed cellular substance, which
unites these vessels to the neighbouring
parts.
It appears that the larger vessels have
the greatest elastic power, with'ilshe small-
sists of a large cavity, called the sinus of" est muscular force; while these properties
the pulmonary veins ; and of a smaller
process or auricula. It is situated quite
at the upper and back part of the heart,
and transmits the blood through the au-
ricular orifice of the left ventricle into
that cavity. This opening is perfectlj' si-
milar in all essential circumstances to the
corresponding part on the right side of
the heart But its valve, being divided
into two portions only, is called mitralis,
from a comparison with a bishop's mitre.
The left ventricle is much thicker and
stronger than the right. It feels exter-
nally almost like a solid mass of flesh ;
while the right is comparatively thin and
iabby. The reason of this difference is
•bvious. The left ventricle has to drive
the blood to the most remote parts of the
body, whereas the right only sends it
through the lungs. The aorta arises
from the left ventricle, and its mouth is
guarded by three semilunar valves. This
IS the tnmk from which the arteries of
the whole body arise.
STEUCTURE OF THE AnXEUIES.
Those vessels, through which the blood
flows from the heart into every part of
the body, are called arteries. The term,
which is derived from "-^f, air, and f*ioea^
I hold, was firet adopted by the anato-
mists of the Alexandrian school, in con-
sequence of the erroneous opinion which
they entertained, that the.se vessels were
designed for the distribution of air
throughout the body.
The larger arteries have thick and
elastic sides, so that they remain open
when divided, and present a regularly
circular aperture. The sides may be se-
parated into three strata of dissimilar
substances, which are technically called
coa;ts. The innermost, which is generally
termed the cuticular coat, is thin, strong.
exist in reversed proportions in the small-
er vessels. In the large arteries muscular
Eov/er is unnecessary, for the force of the
eart is fully adequate to the propulsion
of the blood ; but in the smaller arteries,
where the effect of the heart's action de-
clines, a proportionate muscular power is
allotted to the vessels, to urge on the cir-
culating fluids.
The arteries have their nutrient arte-
ries and veins, their absorbents, and their
nerves.
All the arteries proceed from one great
vessel, as the branches spring from the
trunk of a tree ; and we proceed to notice
certain circumstances observable in tlieir
ramifications.
1. When an artery gives off' a branch,
the conjoined areas of the two vessels
make a greater space for the blood to
move in, than the area of the original ves-
sel. The increase of dimensions in the
branches of a large artery is slight; but in
those of a small one it is so considerable,
that Haller has estimated it as surpassing
by one third that of the trunk from which
they sprung. The conjoined areas of all
the small arteries so greatly exceed that
of the aorta, that the same anatomist, in
opposition to former opinions, aflirms that
these vessels are conical, the basis of the
cone being in the extreme arteries, and
the apex in the heart.
2. When a large artery sends off a
branch, its course does not, in general, de-
viate further from that of the trunk than
an angle of 45 degrees. Sometimes a
branch, which has gone off at an acute an-
gle, returns, and proceeds in a contrary
direction to that of the trunk. Sometimes
indeed a large artery does proceed from
the trunk at nearly a right angle, as the
renal arteries. Though the large arteries
generally ramify at acute angles, there is
great diversity in the branching of th*
smaller ones.
ANATOMY.
3. Arteries i pursue a
straight, but a i . , _ use ; this is
remai'kably the c:ise in some instances ;
as in the spermatics, those of the face and
occiput, and in most oQiie smaller arte-
ries.
4. Though the ramification of arteries
may be compared to the branching- of
trees, yet it differs materially in this par-
ticular, that the different branches fre-
quently con join. This conjunction istech-
nically termedjif we bon-ow thetemi from
the Greek language, their anastwiosis ,- if
from the Latin, their iiwsmdation. This
union of arteries rarely happens among
the larger ones, but frequently amongthe
smaller ; and increases in number in pro-
portion to the minuteness of the vessels.
The utility of the inosculations of arteries
is evident; were it not for this circum-
stance, if any arterial tnuik were acci-
dentally compressed, so that tlie current
of blood in it should be for some time
obstructed, the parts which it supplied
niust perish. But in consequence of tlie
frequent communications of these tubes
with each other, the blood can pass from
the adjacent ai-teries into all the branches
of any one accidentally obstructed.
When arteries inosculate, two currents
of blood, moving in opposite directions,
must come together, and retard each
other's motion. This probably is the rea-
son, why larger arteries, in which the
blood flows with rapidity, so seldom con-
join ; whilst the smaller ones, in which
the blood's motion is more tardy, commu-
nicate in surprising numbers, and witli a
frequency proportionate to their minute-
ness. The ver}' frequent communications
of the minute arteries prevent the preju-
dicial consequences of obstruction of the
trunks almost as effectually, as if those ar-
teries themselves communicated by more
direct and larger channels.
All these minute arterial tubes are capa-
ble of enlargement f and it is an ascertain-
ed fact, that even the aorta itself mav be
gradually obstructed at some distance from
the heart, without the parts which it sup-
pUes being deprived of notirishment.
From an attentive ' consideration of all
these circumstances, it has been conclud-
ed, that the mwlenite increase of the
areaof the branches of large arteries; tlie
acute angles at which they divide ; their
•early rectilinear course ; and the rare oc-
c\irrence of inosculation between them ;
are designed to facilitate the rapid motion
of the blood in them, so that it may arrive
unchanged, and in the same state tliatit
was in when projected from tlie heart, at
ttwit part of the body, for tlic nourishment
of which it was intendc<l : whilst, on the
contrary, the great incix-ase of the area of
the smaller vessels, the variety ofthcir an-
gles, their tortuous course, and tlieir fre-
quent commimications, were designed to
check the velocity of the blood's motion,
when it has arrived at that part, where
secretion is to be performed, and nutrition
is to take place. Contrary opinions have
indeed been maintained; andfor the fur-
ther discussion of tliis subject, we must
refer the reader to tlie remarks on the
circulation in the article Putsiologt.
Termination of the arteries. — When these
vessels have become very minute, tliey
terminate in two ways: they either turn
back again, and become veins, and return
the blood to the heart, or they send off
fine vessels, which abstract something
from tlie circulating blood, and are there-
fore called secerning arteries. Though
none but minute arteries are ever reflect-
ed to become veins, yet many of them arc
of sufficient magnitude to admit common
waxen injection ; and when this experi-
ment succeeds, the continuity of the arte*
ries and veins is very manifest It seems
therefore to follow from this faciUty of
conununication, tliatthe mass of the blood
is constantly and freely circulating, in or-
der to undergo that change which is ef-
fected in tlie lungs, whilst but a small part
of it proceeds into the very minute arte-
ries, for the purpose of having secretions
made from it. For these arteries, however
minute, must be considered large, in com-
parison with the exility of othei-s, which
cannot be injected with wax, and even
reject the red globules of the blootl, or
aomit them in such small proportion, that
they do not impart the red colour to tlie
fluid which moves in those vessels. Now,
we may venture to aflirm that these glo-
bides do not much exceed in diameter
the 150,000th part of an inch, which cir-
cumstance sufficiently shows the minute-
ness of the lesser arteries.
The secern: : in general
too minute onstration ;
they archo%\i. ... •" ■ .i ...i.;;
in the kidney, tor \
seen continued into :,.
Subtile injections, when tlirown into the
larger arterial trunks, oozp out onthcMir-
flir. ■• . ■ , : • ■ ■ r
Sli^ ,1
to 111- |- . -illifS
ofsecc; cforc,
rather ti :.. : , ,-;idsus
to believe, that the secerning arteries ab-
stract the particles of nutrition, or the ma-
terials which compose the fabric of the
body, from the circulatii^ fluids, and dc-
ANATOMY.
posit them fi-om th«ir open mduths, so as
oy this means to build up and keep in re-
pair the structure of the body.
Distribution of the arteries. — The great
artery, whose branches supply the whole
of the body, is named the aorta. It arises
from the upper part of the left ventricle ;
and emerges from the heart, between the
pulmonary artery and the right auricle.
It first ascends in the chest ; opposite the
upper edge of the second rib it bends
backwards till it reaches the left side of
the spine, in which situation it descends
from the foui-th or fifth dorsal to the last
lumbar vertebra.
By the arch of the aorta is meant that
part of the vessel which arises from the
heart, and bends across the chest. It
sends off the following branches : the two
fii-st arising at right angles close to the
heart ; the three following fi'om the con-
vexity of the arch :
1. Right coronary arteiy of the heart.
2. Left coronary artery of the heart.
3. Arteriainnominata, a common trunk,
dividing into
1. Right subclavian.
2. Right common carotid.
3. > Left common cai-otid.
4. 3 Left subclavian.
The common carotid artery is destined
for the supply of the head. It emerges
from the chest by the side of the trachea :
mounts upwards in front of the vertebrs,
and parallel with the trachea, till it reach-
es the upper margin of the thyroid carti-
lage, without sending offa single branch.
At this part it divides into the external
and internal carotid arteries, the former
of which is distributed to the outside of
the head ; the latter to the brain.
The external carotid continues its
course upwards between the jaw and the
ear, being imbedded in the substance of
the parotid gland.
Branches of the external carotid artery.
1. Superior thyroideal.
a. Laryngeal branchi
2. Lingual artery.
a. Hyoideal branch.
b. Artery to the back of the tongue.
c. Raminal arteiy.
3. Facial or labial, or external maxil-
lary.
a. Ascending palatine branch.
b. Arteries to the surrounding
glands.
c. Inferior labial artery.
d. Coronary artery of the lower lip.
e Coronary artery of tiie upper lip.
f. Nasal arteries,
4. Ascending pharyngeal artei^.
5. Occipital artery.
6. Posterior artery of the ear.
7 Supei-ficial temporal artery.
a. Branches to the parotid gland.
b. Anterior auricular arteries.
c. Transverse artery of the face.
d. Middle temporal artery.
e. Anterior temporal branch.
/ Posterior temporal branch.
8. Internal maxillary artery.
a. Middle artery of the dura ma-
ter, or spinous artery.
b. Inferior maxillaiy artery.
c. Pterygoid branches.
d. Deep temporal branches.
e. Artery of the cheek.
f. Alveolar artery of the upper jaw.
g. Infra-orbital artery.
h. Superior palatine branch.
i. Nasal branch.
The internal carotid artery enters into
the skull, through the canal formed in the
substance of the temporal bone. And its
branches ramify through the substance of
the brain. All the arteries of the brai»
have thinner coats than these vessels pos-
sess in any other part of the body.
Branches of the internal carotid artery.
1. Ophthalmic artery, supplying all tlie
parts contained in the orbit
a. Lacrymal branch.
b. Ethmoidal arteries.
c. Superior and inferior muscular
branches.
d. Central artery of the retina.
e. Ciliary arteries.
/. Superior and inferior palpebral
branches.
g. Nasal artery.
h. Frontal artery.
2. Communicating branch.
3. Anterior artery of the brain.
4. Middle artery of the brain.
The subclavian artery passes over the
first rib, and behind the clavicle, into the
cavity of the axilla. There it takes the
name of axillary, and is covered by the
pectoral muscles. Emerging from the
armpit, its name is again changed for that
of brachial. This part of the trunk rvms
along the inside of the arm, close to the
edge of the biceps muscle, until it reach-
es the elbow joint, where it divides int»
the branches ^at belong to the fore arm .
Branches of the subclavian artery.
1. Internal mammarv.
ANATOMY.
2. Inferior thjToideal.
«. Thyroid l)r;inch.
b. Ascentliiig thyi-oid arteij'.
c. Transverse artery of the neck.
d. Transverse artery of the shoulder,
or supra scapiiiarj-.
3. ^'ertebrJ, a large trunk passing
through perfbrations in tlie transverse
pi-ocesses of the cervical vertebrae, and
through the foramen nuignuin of 'he skull
to the brain, where it unites with its fel-
low of tlie opposite side, to form the ba-
silar arterj'.
<j. Inferior artery of the cerebellum.
0. Arteries to the spinal marrow.
c. Superior arteiy of the cerebel-
lum.
</. Posterior or deep seated artery of
the brain.
N. IJ. The arterial circle of M'illis is a
large anastomosis ; by which the two ca-
rotids are joined togctlicr, and united al-
so to the basilar arteiy.
4. Superior intercostal.
5 Deep-seated ccrviciJ artery.
6. Superficial cervical artery.
Braticlies of t/te axiBary artery,
1. Superior or short thoracic.
2. Inferior or long thoracic.
3. Thoracic artery of the shoulder.
4. Deep thoracic artery.
5. Infra-scajjulai" artery.
6. Posterior circumflex,
r. Anterior circumflex.
JBranc/iea of the l/rac/tiMailert/.
1. A'arious mu9ci(^ branches.
2. Prarunda humeri major, or' greater
deep-seated artery of the arm.
3. Medullary artery of the humerus.
4. Lesserdtep-seatedartery ofthe arm.
5. (ireat anastomizing branch.
6. Kadi a! artery.
7. Ulnar artery.
The two bst branches are those into
which the trunk of the brachial divides
at the elbow. They run along tlie fore-
aiin to the wrist.
Branches of t fie radial artery.
1. Recurrent branch.
2. Superficial artery of the p;dm.
3. Branch to the back ofthe wrist.
4. Branches to the back of tlic tliuntb
and fore -finger.
The artery then enters the palm, and
forms the deep-seated arterial arch ofthe
palm.
VOL. I
Branches ofthe nhmr artery.
This vessel, whe« it has arrived at the
wrist, passes forwards into 'he palm of
the hand, more supei-ficially tlian the ra-
dial, and forms tlic supeiUcial arch ofthe
palm.
1. Ilecurrc lit artery.
2. Interosseous artery.
o. Posterior branch.
«. Interosseous recurrent.
b. iteiterior btHnch.
3. Branch to the Back of the hand.
4. Deep pabnar branch.
5. Three large digital arteries.
Branches of tlie descending portion of the
aorta in tite chest.
1. Common bronchial artcrj'.
2. UighAnd left broncliial aiteries.
3. Esopliagcal arteries.
4. Lower intercostal arteries.
The aorta pa.sse8 through the dia-
phnigm at the lower part of tlie chest, and
takes the name of abdominal aorta. It
is still situated on the left side ofthe bo-
dies of the vertebrae, and at the fourth
lumb&r vertebra it terminates by dividing
into the two common iliac trunks.
Branches of tlie ubdoniinal uorta.
1. Right and left phrenic arteries.
2. Caeliac artery.
a. Coronary artery ofthe stomach.
b. Hepatic Mtery.
et Duodeno-gastric, or gastro-
epifjloic artery.
j3 Superior pyloric artery.
y Cystic arterj'.
c. Splenic artery.
ct Pancreatic arteries.
j9 Short arteries to the sto-
mach,
y , Left gastro-epiploic artery.
3. Superior mesenteric artery.
a. From 12 to 20 large branches to
the small intestine.
b. Middle colic artery.
c. Ileocolic artery.
4. Renal or emulgent arteries.
5. Spermatic arteries.
6. Inferior mesenteric artery.
a. Lef^ colic branch.
b. Internal hemorrhoidal brancli.
7. Five pairs of lumbar arteries.
8. Two common iliac arteries.
9. Middle s.icral arterj'.
The common iliac quickly divides into
the external and internal iliac branches,
of which the former goes to the thigh,
the latter enters the cavitv ofthe pelvis.
C c
ANATOMY.
Branches of the intemal iliac artery.
1. Ileo-lumbar artery.
2. Lateral sacral arteries.
3. Vesical arteries.
4. Middle hemoirrhoidal.
5. Uterine branch.
6. Obturator artery.
7. Gluteal arter}".
8. Ischiatic arterj'.
9. Pudendal artery.
a. External hciibn'hoidal branches.
b. Arter}'of the perineum.
c. Dorsal artery of the penis.
d. Deep arteiy of the penis.
The external iliac arterj- having chang-
ed its name for that of femoral, ni ns along
the front of the thigh, and then bends in-
wards to the ham, where it takes the
name of popliteal. It passes throiigh the
latter space to the leg, when it terminates
by dividing into two, of m hicli one runs
along the front, and the other the back
of the leg.
Branches of the external iUac artery.
1. Epiga.stric artery.
2. Circumflex artery of the ilium.
Branches of tJie femoral artery.
1. Branches to the l}Tnphatic glands,
and integuments.
2. External pudic arteries.
3. Deep-seated arteiy of the thigh.
a. External circumflex arteiy.
b. Internal circumflex arterj-.
c. First and second perforating
branches.
4. Branches to the neighbouring mus-
cles.
5. Great anastomosing branch.
Branches of t/ie popliteal artery.
1. Superior intemal articular artery.
2. Superior external articulai- artery.
3. Middle articular artery.
4. Inferior intemal articular artery.
5. Inferior external articular artery.
6. Anterior tibial artery.
7. Posterior tibial artery.
Branches of tlie anterior tibial artery.
1. Recurrent branch.
2. Various small muscular branches.
o. External and intemal malleolar arte-
ries.
4. Tarsal and metatarsal arteries.
5. Dorsalis hallicis.
Branches of theposteiior tibial ai-tery.
1. Large muscular branches to the so-
leus.
2. Medullar}' artery of the tibia,
3. Peroneal or fibular artery.
a. Anterior branch.
b. Posterior branch.
4. External plantar artery.
a. Four digital arteries.
5. Intemal plantar artery.
There is another large arterial ti-unk in
the body, besides the aorta, called the
pulmonary artery ; this rises from the
right ventricle, and conveys tlie venous
blowl to the lungs, for tlie purposes of
respiration.
OF THE VEIXS.
The blood is constantly moving in the
arteries from the trunksintothe branches;
in the veins it follows a directly opposite
course, and flows from the branches to
the trunks.
There are seven large venous trunks in
the body, to which all the blood is return-
ed; three of these, viz. the superior and
inferior vena cava, and the coronar}' vein
of the heart, return the blow!, which has
circulated through the body into the right
auricle of the heart ; the other four are
tlie pulmonarj' veins, and bring the blood
back fi-om the lungs to the left auricle.
The coats of the veins are thin when
compared with those of tlie arteries ;
hence the blood can generally be plainly
seen through tliem ; and hence when di-
vided they collapse, instead of presenting
a circular section, as arteries do. It is
difficult to separate them into coats, yet
they are said to consist of two ; viz. a
smootli and highly pohshed intemal one,
which lines the canal ; and a rough, cellu-
lar external tunic, in which no muscular
power resides. Hence the circulation
proceeds through these vesselsmerely by
the impulse of the arterial blood, and is
not aided by any action of the containing
tubes.
The veins are ,much more numerous,
and also larger than the arteries. In most
parts of tlie body each artery has two
veins lying by its side ; and in many in-
stances there is another numerous set of
veins besides these. Hence the venous
system is much more capacious than the
arterial ; and tliis difference is so great,
that the veins are supposed to contain
nine parts out of thirteen of the whole
mass of blood. This g^eat capacity of the
venous system obviates the effects of any
ANATOMY.
casual obstruction to the ready transmis-
sion of blood through the hmgs; for the
whole of the veins are not distended in a
natural state, but serve as an occasional
reservoir, in which the blood, constantly
urg'cd forwards by the heart, may be held
till the cause of obstruction has ceased.
Rut as such retardation in the coiu^e of
the venous blood would tend to drive
back the whole mass on the minute veins,
w Inch are tlie least able to bear it, such
retrograde motion is pi-evcnted by valves,
which exist in jjitat numbers in the ve-
nous system. These are thin membranes,
having a semilunar edge attached to the
side of the vein, and a straight edge float-
ing in the cavity of the vessel: they arc
placed in pairs. When the blood is going
on in its natural direction, they lie close
to the sides of the tube; but, when it at-
teinpts to return, the blood raises the
Ioo.se edge, and that meets in the centre
of the vessel with the corresponding part
of the opposite valve, andthus closes the
canal. Thus, when an obstruction takes
place, each portion of a vein has to sup-
port that column of blood only which is
contained between its own valves. Still,
as these vessels possess no powersof their
own, and are too far removed from the
lieai-t to feel its influence on the passage
of blood through them, we find that the
circulation is afl'ected in them by external
causes, as position, &c. Hence the legs
swell after long standing; and hence also
the veins of these parts are apttobecome
enlarjjed and varicose.
Tyifitribution of the veins. — This is for the
most part similar to that of the arteries,
as each of the latter vessels have generally
two accompanying veins, (which bear the
same names as the concomitant arteries)
named venae sodales artcriarum. But in
some situations there is a chiss of veins not
corresponding to the arteries, but nmning
under the skin, and termed cutaneotis or
superficial veins. These are found par-
ticularly in the extremities, and vary much
in size at different times.
The vena cava superior is formed by
three large trunks.
1. Vena azygos, which returns the
blood from the sides ofthe chest, and runs
along the middle of the spine.
2. Right subclavi.an, which is ;ilso made
up by three venous trunks, viz. the inter-
nal jugular, tlie external jugular, and tiic
axillary.
3. Left subclavian, formed in the same
manner as the right.
The external jugular vein returns the
blood from the outside of the head, and
runs along the neck, just under the skin.
We sometimes bleed from tliis In affec-
tions ofthe head.
The internal jugular is a very large ves-
sel, lying deeper in the neck, and close to
tlie carotid artery. It brings back tlic
blood from the brain. The danger in at-
tempts at suicide consists in dividing this
vessel or the carotid artery, and not the
external jugular vein. The axillary vein
is made up ofthe vessels which bring the
blood back from the arm. Besides the
deep-seated veins, we have here a large
supei-ficial vessel, nmning along the out-
side ofthe fore-avm and arm, aud called
the cephalic vein ; another on the inside,
named the basilic. Between these in the
fore-arm are found some veins called the
median. At the bend ofthe elbow these
last make up two large trunks, of which
one opens into the basilic, and the other
into the cephalic vein. These are called
vena mediana basilica, and vena mediana
cephalica. It is the latter veins that we
generally bleed, when tliat operation is
performed in the arm ; and as they rim
directly over the arterj", the latter vessel
is endangered by the lancet'.
The inferior vena cava is a very large
trunk, runningalong the .spine at the riglit
side of the aorta. It returns the blood
from all the lower parts of the body. It
is made up by the junction of the two
common iliac veins ; and as it ascends
througii the abdomen, it receives the fol-
lowing venous ti-unks; tlie lumbar, sper-
matic, renal, and the immense venx
cavse hepaticx.
The common iliac vein is formed by the
junction of the external and internal iliacs.
The latter brings back the blood from the
cavity of tlie pelvis; the former returns
it from the lower extremity.
We have two large cutaneous veins to
notice in the leg and thigh ; viz. the sa-
phena major, which runs up along the in-
ner side both of tlie leg and tliigh, and
can be di.stinctly seen in the living person
when in the erect posture ; the sajihena
minor, which runs over the calf of the leg.
The former terminates in the femoml
vein near the abdomen, tlie latter in the
popliteal vein.
The vena portanim is a large vessel,
formed by the union of those veins which
belong to tJie stomach tmd intestines, the
spleen and pancreas. It conveys the blood,
which has circulated through those organs
to the liver, and it branches out in that
gland as arteries do, in other parts. Its
blood is returned from the liver by the
hepatic veins, which have been already
noticed.
ANATOMY.
OROXTIS or ABSOBFTtO!T.
The absorbents are a minute kind of
vessels found in animal bodies, whicli at-
tract and imbibe any fluid that isbroujjht
near their mouths. They are somiiuite
and transparent, as not to be discovered
in ordinary (^section ; but by great la-
boOr they have at lengtli been detected in
preat numbers in every tribe of aninia]s.
As these vessels are transparent, their
contents are visible, which circumstance
occasioned them to receive the different
denominations of lactealsand lymphatics.
The former were so called, because they
imbibed the chyle, a milky fluid, from the
bowels; whilst the latter, contain!n.c^ much
lymph, which they had taken up from all
the interstices of the body.were tlierefore
named lymphatics. The discovery ofthis
system of vessels is refeiTed to the seven-
teenth century. But at first their number
did not appear sufliicient to perform the
whole function of absorption ; neither had
they been discovered in birds or fishes,
whence anatomists still retained the idea
that the veins participated in this impor-
tant office. The merit offirst demon.stra-
ting'the absorbing vessels in those animals
belongs to Mr Hewson, Mho assisted in
the labours of the first eminent anatomical
school in London, where anatomy was
most ably taught by Dr. Hunter. And it
is to the immortal Hunter that we are in-
debted for fully proving the important
doctrine, that the whole business of ab-
sorption isperformedby the vessels which
we are now considering. They have of
late been injected in stich great abun-
dance, that they appearfuUy adequate to
perform their office.
If, as we firmly beUeve, these vessels be
the only ones which perform the office of
absorption, they must exist in even' part
of the body. Forthere is no spot on the
surface of the skin from which ointment
may not be taken up, nor any internal
part from which blood, when accidentally
effused, may not be absorbed; nay, the
very matter composingthe te.xture of our
bodies is undergoing coutintial removal
and renovation. These vessels must there-
fore be supposed tobeginby open orifices
generally throughout the body, although
the fact can be demonstrj-.tedin the intes-
tines only. On the inner surfaces of these
organs they appear to the unaided eye
fine and pointed tubes: but by the mi-
croscope theirmouths are discerned to be
patulous, and like a cup. The beginning
absorbents soon join together, and after
some time form minute vessels, capable of
htting injected by anatomists : these again
conj<Mn, and form larger vessels, which
ate still discoverable with gi-eat diffi-
cidty.
In structure and arrangements these ves-
sels have great similitude to veins : they
have in consequence been namedby some
anatomists the lymphatic veins. I-ike the
veins, theirsides are thin and transparent,
thoiigh of considerable strength : like the
veins, they frequently communicate toge-
ther, or, as it is technically termed, anas-
tomose. The advantage derived from
these communications is obvious : for by
these means, the dissimilar matters which
they take up from various parts are mix-
ed together, and blended with the IvTnph,
which they imbibe from the interstices of
the body, and which serves as the vehi-
cle for such heterogeneous particles ;
. they also prevent accidental pressure
made on a few vessels from obstnicting
the progress of tlie absorbed fluids, which
are in that case conveyed forwards by
collateral channels. Like the veins also,
these tubes, by conjoining, form a t\ibe of
smaller area than the united areas of the
vessels before their jxmction. The efiect
of this construction is the same as in the
veins ; that is, an acceleration in the cur-
rent of the Ij-mph, in proportion as it
comes nearer to the trunk of the absorb-
ing vessels. The diameter of the thoracic
duct bears but a small proportion to the
united diameters of all the minute ab-
sorbents in the body, and when this duct
has been opened, the lymph has flowed
from it with a force and jet hke that with
which the blood issues from a large vein.
Like the veins, the absorbents are furnish-
ed with numerous valves, which prevent
any retrograde motion of their fluids, and
also prevent any portion of the vessel
from sustaining the weight of more fluid
than is contained between its valves. Tlie
absorbents, however, differ from the veins
in one very material circumstance, tiz.
that they have a power of contraction,
and are able of themselves to propel their
contents. Whoever reflects on the phe-
nomena of absorption can scarcely doubt
tliat these vessels have a cont;-actile pow-
er, by which they refuse admission to
noxious substances, whilst they readily
imbibe those that are salutaiy. Iftlicse
vessels are observed in the mesentery,
when turgid with absorbed chyle, their
contents will disappear in a certain tract,
and again become visible; a phenomenon
that can only be explained by supposin.g
the vessel to contract at that part, ana
urge forwards its contents. Haller found
that the thoracic duct contracted when
stimulated, so that there can be little
ANATOMY.
iloubt of thts 1,^ muscular
throughout tin r v, j.on . \LrMl.
'I'lic absorbcntjj are fouiid iii consider-
able numbers iimlerthe skin of tJie extre-
mities J and w hen they arrive at tlie groin
andarmpit, tliov passtJirough little bodies
about the si/o of small beans, Mhich are
called Ivniphatic f^lands. The absorbent
vessels, as tin
rally sfjjaratf
tcnninate in l:...;
an equ:d number '
froMi the gland, cdh; :•
more principal absoil>in;4 vessi-ls. 'Ihc
absorbents, which enter tlic glaiKl, arc
usually denominated vasa infereutia, and
those which go out of it, vasa eflerentia.
If quicksilver be poured into the fomier
vessels, the gland swells, and a great deal
of quicksilver appears to be deposited in
it; and afterwards, if tlie power {iiiipel-
ling the injection be continued, it is seen
coming out of the gland by the vaaa effer-
«ntia. It seems therefore to follow, that
the pi'ogrt'ss of the absorbed fluid is
checked a little in these glands, and it is
pro'- ■'<!» '''t some change is effected in
its .rough them. This opinion
is . by observing, that these
glands abound with blood-vessels, which
probably pour some fresh anim:U juices
into those which are contained in tlie
lymphatic vessels.
The lymphatic glands are found in
great numbers in the groin, armpit, and
side of the neck, apparently serving like
barriers to the absorbents of the head
and extremities, as they approach to the
large veins of the tnmk. The absorb-
ents of the intestines, which contain the
chyle, a scarcely animalizcd fluid, some-
times pass through three or four sets of
glands, before they arrive at the thoracic
duct; hence they are called lacteal ves-
sels pnmi, secundi, tertll, or quarti gene-
ris. The place where the lacteals conjoin,
and meet with the Ivmphatics from the
lower parts of the body, to form the tho-
racic duct, appears in animals like a re-
senoir, and has been named the recepta-
culunk chyli. The vessel tluis formed,
penetnites the diaphragm, in conjunction
with the aorta, and is called tlie thoracic
duct, (n this situation it lies close on tlic
back bone, between the vena azygos and
the aorta. Towards the neck, it leaves
the bone to reach the left subclavian vein,
into which its contents are poured ; the
absorl>ents of the left arm and side of
the head having previously joineil it. The
passage of blood from the vein into the
duct is eficctually precluded by meaas of
valves.
The absorljents of the rij^it arm and
aide of the head form a smaller trunk on
tlie light side, which opens into the cor-
responding pait of the right subclavian
vein.
Thus, all the old materials of the body,
which the absorbents are continually re-
moving, ail the new matter imbibed from
the surface, all the redundant lymph
taken up from the interstices of the bn<ly,
and all the chyle occasionally obtained
from the boAvels, are conveyed into tlie
large veins near the heart. Jt is, in short,
chiefly by this system of vessels, that th«
blood is augmented in quantity, or alter-
ed in quality ; they replenish the body
with nutriment, and occasionally taint it
with infection.
It is sufficient to inform the reader, that
tliese ves.sels exist in great numbers in all
parts of tlie body, without entering into
any detailed description of their particu-
lar distribution. We may just obsen e,
that the coui-se qf these vessels, and their
entrance into glands, become occasionally
demonstrated in disease. When irritated
by any local mischief, they form red
streaks, manifest on the surface of the
body ; and the irritating or poisonous na-
ture of the matters which they imbibe
causes swelling and inflammation of the
glands in which this matter is deposited.
Thus the glands in the groin swell from
the absorption of venereal matter; those
in the axilla become affected in cancer,
and in the inoculation for the small pox.
OF THK riUHAAT OROAirS.
The urine is secreted in two large
glands, called the kidnics. These arc
situated behind the peritoneum, in that
part of the abdomen termed the lumbar
region, where they are surrounded by a
((uantity of loose cellular and adipous
substance. Their form resembles pretty-
exactly that of the kidney bean. There
seems to be asmall part as it were scoop-
ed out, opposite to the bodies of the ver-
tebrae; at this, which is called the notch
of the kidney, the blood-vessels enter.
When we make a cut through the .sub
stance of tliis organ, it is found to be
made up of two substances, differing in
appearance. The e.vterior is called the
cortical or arterial part, the interior, which
consists of several conical p' ••■ •<^
named the urinifcrous. The he
perfectly white, if a kidf.'-v :
ANATOMY.
Several very minute converging tubes are
seen running- through the uriniierous por-
tion, and terminating by open mouths on
their conical points; these, whicli can be
filled with minute injection from the ar-
teries, and the open mouths of which can
be seen witln the aid of a small magnify-
ing power, are the excretory tubes, or
tubuli uripiferi, of the kidney. The urini-
ferous portion of the gland forms about
fifteen conical projections, termed papil-
Ix ; on each side of which the excretory
tubes open in great numbers. The pa-
pillje project into short membranous ca-
nals, called infundibula ; and these ter-
minate in a common receptacle, situated
at the notcli of the kidney, and known by
the name of the pelvis. From this, a ca-
nal about equal in size to a writing quill,
the ureter, conveys the secreted fluid into
the bladder.
The bladder is a membranous and mus-
cular reservoir, receiving the urine as it
is found In the kidnies, retaining it until
it has accumulated in some quantity, and
then expelling it through a canal called
the urethra.
The internal surface of the bladder is
formed by a smooth membrane, constant-
ly covered with a mucous secretion, which
defends it from the irritating effects of the
contained fltild. It has a muscular coat,
sometimes described as a muscle, under
the name of detrusor uiinas ; and that
part of the fibres, which is situated round
the opening of the urethi-a, Is called the
sphincter vesicae, as it keeps the aperture
constantly closed, until we make an effort
for the expulsion of the contained fluid.
The ureters open into the lower part of
the bladder ; and open in such a manner,
that, although the urine flows readily from
them Into the receptacle, none can return.
They pass between the muscular and In-
ternal tunics, before they penetrate the
latter.
The bladder is situated just behind the
ossa pubis ; and is partly covered by the
peritoneum. The urethra proceeds from
Its lower and anterior surface, and this
part is called the neck of the bladder ; it
then goes under the arch of the pubis.
It forms in the female a canal about an
inch and a half, or two inches long, which
opens in the cavity left between the labia
pudendi. In the male it is about nine in-
ches in length, and runs along the under
part of the penis to the extremity of that
organ, where it opens,
ORGAirS OF GENZRATIOir.
The parts wluch the two sexes per-
form, in the important business of prO'
pagating the species, are so entirely dif-
ferent, that we shall not be surprised at
finding that the male and female organs
of generation are wholly dissimilar to each
other.
The germs or rudiments of the future
beings are produced by the female, in or-
gans called the ovaria. But these remain
inert and useless, luiless called into ac-
tion by the fecundating influence of the
male. The fecundating fluid is prepared
in two glands, called the testes. When
the germ has been acted on by this fluid,
it passes through a canal called the fallo-
pian tube, into tlie uterus, where it Is re-
tained until it has acquired a considerable
magnitude ; and from which it is expell-
ed at the end of nine months. The se-
minal hquor of the male is poured into
the urethra, and is Introduced by means
of the penis into a membranous cavity of
the female, called the vagina.
External parts of geiiei-ation in the fe-
male. Over the surface of the pubis,
there is a greater accumulation of fat and
cellular substance than in tlie male ; and
the prominence caused' by this structure
is called mons veneris. A longitudinal
cavity extends from this eminence in
front to the anus behind ; and the sides
of it are bounded by two folds of the skin,
called labia pudendi, or alae majores.
The whole of these parts taken together
constitute tlie pudendum, or sinus pudo-
ris. The mons veneris, and the outer
surface of the labia, are covered with hair
to a greater or less extent.
The parts contained within this longi-
tudinal cavity are covered by a more de-
licate kind of Integuments, than that
wliich composes the general surface of
the body. A change takes place in tlie
organization of the skin, somewhat simi-
lar to that which is observed at the lips.
Hence the surface of the parts contained
within tlie labia has a red, smooth, and
soft covering ; which is besmeared with
a cebaceous secretion of peculiar odour,
fumlshed by numerous small glands, lying
just under the surface. This unctuous
matter is required in order to defend the
parts from tlie ui-ine ; and also to obviate
the effects of that rubbing on each other,
which must be occasioned by the motions
of the body.
Towards the upper part of the longi-
tudinal slit, left between tlie labia, a
small prominent organ is discerned, call-
ed the clitoris. This exactly resembles
the male penis in structure. It only pro-
jects, however, about a quarter of an
ANATOMY.
inch. We dlstinGpuish in it a glans and
prcputium, whicTi resemble, on a small
scale, the pai'ts of the same name in tlie
male.
Below the clitoris are two small folds,
called the nymphae. These are connected
above to the preputiiini clitoridis ; they
diverge from each otlier, as tliey extend
below. They vary much in size; in a
natural state they may measure about
half an inch at tlie broadest part. They
are of a much greater magnitude in tlie
Hottentot female, and have given rise to
the reports of travellers, that the sinus
pudoris is covered iu those pei-sons by a
curtain, or api-on of skin. About three
(luai-tci-s of an inch below the clitoris, we
meet with a round aperture, which is
the termination of the femsUe urethra :
and just below this is the opening of the
vagina; which opening is technically
called OS externum uteri. This has a
ver>' different appearance in a young girl,
and in a maiTied woman. In the latter
jt is a large and free aperture, fully ade-
quate in size to the admission of the pe-
nis ; in the former it is shut up in a great
mexsure by a thin membrane, called the
hymen. This closes the lower portion of
the OS externum, to various extents in
different subiects ; and is torn and de-
stroyed by the consummation of mar-
riage. Some little excrescences, suppos-
edto be tlie remains of the ruptured hy-
men, are called caruncula; myrtiformes.
llie anus is found about one inch behind
tlie commencement of the vagina.
The vagina, or canaiis uteri, is a mem-
branous canal, about five inches in length,
extending almost directly backwards
from the os externum. Its sides are dense
and tough ; and the surface is covei-ed
with numerous wrinkles and prominences,
which are less conspicuous in women who
have had children than in virgins.
The uterus is a hollow organ ; but its
cavity is so small in the impregnated
state, and its sides are so thick and dense,
that it feels like a solid fleshy mass. Its
broadest and largest part, which is called
the fundus, is situated directly upwards.
The snudler and narrower portion, term-
ed the neck, is downwards. The length
of the organ, from the fundus to the end
of tlie neck, is about three inches ; its
breadth at tie fundus about one inch, and
at the cervix considerably less. It is si-
tuated witliin the cavity included by the
bones of the pelvis. The peritoneum
passes from the bladder to the anterior
surface of tlie uterus, and completely co-
vets the organ. It ia extended from the
two sides of the uterus to the bones of
the pelvis, forming two broad duplica-
tures, called tlie broad ligaments of the
uterus; each of which includes tlirce
parts, named the appendages of the ute-
rus : viz. the ovarium, fallopian tube, and
round lig^ament.
The cavity of the uterus opens into
the posterior part of the vagina by an
orifice, named the os lincse or os internum
uteri.
The round ligament of the uterus is a
fibrous chord, passing from the fundus
uteci through the abdominal ring, and
sei'ving to confine this oi-gan in its pro-
per situation.
The ovarium is an oval fleshy body, si-
tuated towards the posterior surface of
tlie broad ligament. It contains some
small watery vesicles, called ovula gi-aafi-
ana, which are supposed to be the germs
of tlie future beings, that are to be called
into action by the stimulus of tlie male
semen.
The fallopian tube is a convoluted ca-
nal, commencing by a very minute oinfice
from the corner of the uterus, running
along tlie upper margin of the broad liga-
ments, and gradually increasing in size,
till it ends near the ovarium by a broad
trumpet-siiaped mouth, open to the ca-
vity of tlie abdomen, and having an ele-
gant an-angement of plaits and fringes
surrounding the aperture, whence it is
often called the fimbriated extremity of
the tube.
.Male organs of generation. — The testes,
or glands, which produce the semen, are
contained in the scrotum, a bag fomied of
common integ^unents, and hanging from
the front of the pelvis between tiie tiiighs.
A prominent line, called the ra])he, runs
along the middle of tliis, and divides it
into two equal portions. The testes are
surrounded and connected in their situa-
tion by a loose cellular substance. They
are of an oval shape, and about equal in
size to a pigeon's egg. They hang from
the abdomen by the spermatic chords,
which consist of the arteries, veins, lym-
phatics, and excretory tubes of the testes,
united by a cellular substimcc,and cover-
ed by a muscle, called the crcinaster, by
the action of which the testis is occasion-
ally drawn up towards the belly.
The substance of tlie testis is covered
by two membnmous tunics, one, which
immediately invests it, and is called tu-
nica aibuginea ; anotlier, which surrounds
this more closely, and forms a bag, in
which tlie testis hangs, the tunica vagi-
na!i8.
ANATOMY.
There is a small body partly distinct
from the testis, aiid placed behind it,
called the epididymis.
I'he substance of the testis is found by
dissection lo be soft ; and it is composed
of a congeries of very minute tubes,
named tubiili seminiferi, wluch may be
imravelled and sepai-ated by macerating
in water, although tney were previously
connected into the appearance of a tieshy
mass. The diameter of these tubes is
estimated at l-2m/th of an inch ; and the
number of tliem at about 60,00U. If they
were joined together, they would foim a
tube of about 5UU0 feet long. These
tubes terminate idtimately in a single
smsA] canal, which, by its innumerable
turns and windings, maJces up the whole
epuiidymis. If tiiis could be completely
drawn out, it would be about 30 feet
long. It increases rather in size towards
the end of the epididymis, and leaves
that body in the form of a simple and
unconvoluted tube, assuming tlie name
ofvas dcfei-ens, and ascending along tlie
back of tlie spermatic chord to tlie abdo-
men. It can be readily distinguished in
that situation in the living person : it feels
like a hard chord, about the size of a
crow quill.
When the spermatic chord has entered
the abdomen, the vas deferens leaves it,
runs along tlie back of the bladder, and
opens into the commencement of the ure-
thra.
VesicuLe semnales.— Before the vas de-
ferens terminates in the iiretlira, it is
joined at an acute angle by tlie canal of
the vesicula seminahs.
These vesicles are two soft bodies, ly-
ing in contact with the under-surtkce of
the bladder, and formed, each of them,
Jjy the convolutions of a single membran-
ous tube. An injected liquor thrown into
the vas deferens wiU pass into the vesi-
cula seminalis, rather than into the ure-
thra ; for the opening into tliat canal is
extremely small, while the communica-
tion witli the vesicula is large and free.
Hence it h^s been suppossd that these
vesicles are reservoirs for retaining the
fluid formed in the testicles until it is
wanted.
Mr. John Hunter has howcTer pretty
clearly demonstrated that the vesiculac
ate not intended to contain semen, but
that they secrete a peculiar fluid, to sub-
sene the purpose of generation. See his
" Obsenations on certain parts of the
Animal Economy."
Prottate gland. — The origin of the ure-
thra is aurrounded by the substance of
this gland, which in size and form much
resembles the chesnut Kumei-ous open-
ings are found in the commencement of
the uretlii-a, which discharge on pressure
a whitish viscid fluid, secreted in the sub-
substaiice of the prostate. A portion of
the gland projects into the lower part of
the coniniencemcnt of the urethra, and
has received the name of caput galhnagi-
nis : it is on this that the opening's of the
canals, formed by the junction of the vasa
deferentia and vesicidae seminales are
found.
The urethra is subservient to two pur-
poses ; tlie expulsion of the semen in the
act ot copulation, and the conveyance of
the urine fi-om the bladder, its surface is
perfectly smooth, and is covered and pro-
tected by a mucous secretion. The dia-
meter of this canal varies slightly at dif-
ferent parts, but may be stated generally
at about one-eighth of an inch. At its
first departure from the bladder, it is
suri-ouiided for one inch by the prostate ;
it is then continued as a simple membran-
ous tube, but surrounded by muscular
fibres for another inch ; this is called the
menibi-anous poi-tion of the urethra. In
the rest of its passage it is surrounded by
a vascular substance, called corpus spon-
giosum ; this is accumulated in a consi-
derable mass at its commencement, where
indeed the urethra is broader than in dliy
other situation, and this is called the
bulb. The seminal and prostatic liquors
are poured into the bulb of the urethra,
and are fbi*cibly expelled from tlience
by a sort of convulsive contraction of a
muscle, whose fibres surround this part
of the canal; the ejaculator seminis.
The glans penis is nothing more than a
portion of the same vascular mass, which
surrounds the rest of the urethra, cover-
ed by a very delicate, sensible, and finely
organized integument.
The bulb, corpus spongiosum, and
glans, we susceptible of the same erec-
tion as the body of the penis; which is
indeed essential to the performance of
their function.s, in conveying the fecun-
dating liquor into the body of the female.
The penis consists of two bodies, call-
ed crura, or corpora cavenosa, which
arise separately from the bones of the
pelvis ; but join so as to form afterwards
a single organ. Each cms consists of a
very strong and dense hgamentous tube,
filled internally with cellular substance,
into the cells of which the arteries open,
and from which the veins commence.
The arteries pour the blood into these
organs with great energy, in obedience
ANATOMY.
to the paAslons of the mind, and thereby
distend the ligamentous tubes until they
feel perfectly hard and rigid, in which
state the whole organ is fitted for the
function which it nas to perform in the
act of copulation. The urethra, sur-
rounded by its spongy substance, runs
along the under surface of the corpora
cavernosa, and the glans penis is situated
at tlie anterior extremity of these parts.
The body of the penis is covered by
common integuments,which, beingadapt-
ed to cover the organ in its extended
state, fall into wrinkles when it is col-
lapsed. These are continued beyond the
end of tlie glands, and are inflected, so as
to form a hood or covering to the glans,
called the prepuce. The latter part is
connected to the mouth of the urethra by
a small fold named the frenum. The
surface of the glans, and tlie lining of
the prepuce, are smeared with an unctu-
ous matter of peculiar odour, furnished
by some small glands.
OF THE BRAIK ASD HEBTES.
The brain is a soft, and somewhat white
substance, situated in tlie cavity of the
skull, and corresponding in form to that
cavity. Its parts are supported by a firm
membrane, called the dura mater, and its
substance is more immediately invested
by a deUcate membrane, called the pia
niater.
The structure of the brain is remark-
ably constant and uniform ; very seldom
deviating from the accustomed standard.
Varieties of formation occur, not unfre-
quently, in most other parts of the body ;
but the parts of the brain preserve an al-
most invariable relation of form, position,
magnitude, and connection ; which seems
to prove, that the right performance of
the functions of this organ requires an
exactness in the structure of individual
parts.
Accorthngto Sccmmerring, the weight
of the brain varies from 2/A. S^oz. to 5lA.
3ioz. Of two hundred brains, which this
anatomist examined, none weighed four
pounds, whereas Haller states its weight
as amounting in general to five pounds.
The weight of the br^n, compared to
that of the body, is an inverse ratio to
the age of the subject In young foetuses
it is soft and almost fluid : it becomes of
a more solid consistence in increasing
age, and is firmest in old persons.
The dura mater is a very firm and
compact membrane, adhering closely by
vessels and fibres to the internal surface
VOL I.
of the cranium. It is therefore to be re-
garded as the periosteu.n of the internal
table of the cranium, as well as a mem-
brane for supporting and investing the
brain. It is described by anatomis.s as
consisting of two layers, intimately con-
nected in general, but separated from
each other at particular parts, so as to
leave vacancies between them, called si-
nuses, into which the veijis of the brain
pour their blood. The chief of these are,
tlie superior longitudinal, the two lateral,
and tlie torcular herophili. There are
besides some smaller ones, as the infe-
rior longitudinal, ttie cavernous, the cir-
cular, the superior, and the anterior pe-
trosal. They all terminate idtimatelv in
the lateral sinus, which, quitting tlie cra-
nium, takes the name of internal jugular
vein.
On the upjjer part of the dura mater
some small eminences are observed, aris-
ing from clusters of white granular bo-
dies, situated between this membrane
and the pia mater; they are the glandulsc
Pacchioni, and fill the pits which may be
observed in-tlie skull-cap. The ramifica-
tions of the spinous artery, which is tlie
cliief nutrient vessel of the dura mater,
are very conspicuous on each side of tlie
head. The inner surface of the dura
mater is smootli and shining, and lias no
connection witli the pia mater, except
where veins pass from the latter mem-
brane to the sinuses.
The processes which the dura mater
forms, for separating and supporting the
different parts of the brain, are, 1. the
falx cerebri ; 2. tentorium cerebelli ; 3.
falx cerebelli.
The two membranes which immedi-
ately invest the brain were considered as
one, and called the pia mater, until a
more minute investigation had shewa
that it could be divided into two lavcrs.
The outer one is called tunica araclinoi-
dea. This is spread over the visible sur-
face of the brain, is of a pale white co-
lour, yet in in some degree transparent,
very thin, and devoid of evident vessels.
It is seen most evidently, where it passes
between the two lobes of the cerebellum,
and about the middle of the basis cere-
bri: in otlier parts it adlieres so inti-
mately to the pia mater, that the distinc-
tion can scarcely be demonstrated.
The pia mater every where covers the
external surface of the brain, and there-
fore s«nds processes into all tlie convolu-
tions of tliis organ. It is extremely vas-
cular, and a great portion of the blood,
which Uie brain receives, is spread out
Dd
ANATOMY.
upon its surface in minute vessels. The
outer surface is tolerably smooth ; the
inner universally villous, from the torn
orifices of innumerable vessels, which
entered the substance of the brain.
The surface of the brain appears con-
voluted, so as to resemble the windings
of the small intestines. These convolu-
tions do not in general penetrate more
than one inch, or an inch and a half, into
tile substance.
The contents of the cranium are divid-
ed into cerebmm, cerebellum, and me-
dulla oblongata.
The cerebrum is the upper, and by far
the largest, portion : it occupies all the
superior part of the vaulted cavity of the
skull, and rests below on the tentorium,
the petrous portions of the temporal
bones, the sphenoid, alas, and the orbits.
Its upper surface presents a regularly
convex oval, narrower in front than be-
hind. It is divided into a right and left
hemisphere by a deep longitudinal fis-
sure, into which the falxcerebridescends.
Each hemisphere is divided into two
lobes by means of the fissura magna Syl-
vii. Tliis fissure commences 'at the basis
of the brain, opposite to the lesser ala of
the sphenoid bene ; the anterior lobe is
that portion of the hemisphere situated
in front of the fissure ; and the posterior
lobe is the division placed behind.
The hemispheres of the cerebrum are
united together at about two inches and
a half from the surface of the brain, by
means of a medullary body, called corpus
callosum. This is about three inches in
length, and three quarters of an inch in
breadth.
As there are no distinguishable parts
in the upper portions of the hemispheres
of the cerebrum, it is customarj' to pare
all these away in dissection, nearly to the
level of the corpus callosum, in order
that we may be able more easily to open,
and more particularly to examine, certain
ca\dties, which are situated at the sides
of that body, and are called the lateral
ventricles.
On making a section of the brain, we
perceive that it is composed of two sub-
stances ; an exterior one, which is of a
grey colour, and an interior one, which is
white. These are simply termed the ci-
neritious and white substances, or sub-
stantia cinerea et alba ; or, from the for-
mer surrounchng the latter, as the bark
does the wood of a tree, they are named,
in contradistinction, the cortical and me-
dullary substances of the brain.
The two lateral ventricles are situated
in the substance of the brain, by the side
of the corpus callosum, (one in either he-
misphere). The cavity begins in the front
lobe of the brain, as far forwards as the
commencement of the corpus callosum ;
it runs from before backwards, in a direc-
tion parallel to that body, and at its poste-
rior endbends downwards, and returnsoT)-
liquely from behindforwaj-ds, to terminate
almost under its superior extremity. At
the place where the ventricle bends, in
order to run downwards, tliere is a parti-
cidar elongation passing into the posterior
lobe, forming a triangular-pointed cavity,
and tenninating in a cul de sac. This is
the digital cavity, or cornu posterius, of
the lateral ventricle. These and the other
ventricles of the brain contain a small
quantity of a watery fluid. The disease of
hydrocephalus is a morbid increase of
quantity in this fluid, which accumulates
sometimes to the amount of some pounds,
distending and dUating the ventricles
enormously The learned Soemmerring,
who may justly be esteemed the first of
modern anatomists, places the censorium
commune in this fluid. He has traced all
the nerves of the brain to the sides of the
ventricles; and concludes, that impres-
sions made on these nerves will be trans-
mitted to the water of the ventricles,
which he considers as the organ of the soul.
The two lateral ventricles are separated
by a perpendicular partition, called the
septum lucidum, which passes from the
coipus callosum to the fornix. It contains
a small triangular cavity, called by some,
the fifth ventricle of the brain. It has no
communication with the other cavities of
the brain.
The fornix is a roundish medullary bo-
dy, lying between the two ventricles at the
lower part. It arises by two anterior cru-
ra from the front of the brain ; these unite,
to form the body or pillar of the fornix,
which separates behind into two posterior
crura, that run into the reflected portion
of tlie ventricles. Under the anterior part
of the fornix is a small slit-like opening,
by which the two lateral ventricles com-
municate.
The choroid plexus is a production of
the pia mater, contjuning a vast number
of arterial and venous ramifications, float-
ing almost loosely in the cavity of the ven-
tricles. It is first observed in the reflect-
ed portion of the ventricle, where it is the
broadest and largest : it diminishes in size
as it ascends, and terminates just at the
opening of communication between the
two cavities. The choroid plexuses of the
two ventricles ai-e united bv a middle ex-
ANATOMY.
pansion, passinj^ uiKler the fornix, and
called tlie velum.
The lateral ventricle contmns certain
eminences, which form its sides ; the cor-
pus striatum is the anterior and superior
eminence, >frey on its external surface,
and striated internally. The posterior emi-
nence in each ventricle is called the thala-
mus nervi optici ; it is hemispherical, and
white, and joined to its opposite one by
an union of substance, called the soft com-
missure. The hippocampus major is a
large clongnted eminence, lying in the de-
scending portion of the lateral ventricle:
and the hippocampus minor is a smaller
one, i n the (ligital cavity.
The pineal gland, orconarium, is found
behind the optic thalanii. Its si/e is about
that of a small horse-bean ; its colour
grey, and figure conical. Two small me-
dullary chords connect it to the optic tha-
lami. In the substance of tliis body is
found a small quantity of a gritty matter,
nearly resembling sand. It consists of a
number of semi-transparent and light yel-
low grains. Soemmerring, who first dis-
covered that this belonged to tiie healthy
structure of the brain, calls it the acervulus
of the pineal gland. This little body has
been more attended to and noticed than
it would otherwise have been, in conse-
quence of the chimerical dream of Des-
cartes, who represented it us the seat of
the soul.
Below the pineal ghind is a square por-
tion of the brain, divi<led into four super-
ficial eminences, called corpora quadrige-
mina, and from these a thin production
extends to the cerebellum, under the
name of valvula cerebri.
By drawing asunder the optic thalanii,
and separating their soft commissure, we
expose the third ventricle of the brain.
This appears as an oblong cavity, about
an inch and a quarter in length. A round
medullary rope is seen in front of it, and
a similar one behind; these ai-e called the
anterior and posterior commissures. A
round aperture is observed under tlie an-
terior commissiu*e, beyond which the ven-
tricle terminates by a|)ointed and conical
extremity, from w liich a short process is
continued to the pituitary gland, under
the namcof infimdibulum. The foramen
commune anterius is an opening observetl
between the optic thalami before they are
disturbed, and leading from the aperture
of communication, which connects the
two lateral ventricles under the fornix, into
the third ventricle. Just before the pos-
terior commissure a round opening is
found, leailing thi-ough a short cansU, in
front of tlie tubcrcula quadrigeinina, to the
fourth ventricle. It is named canalis me-
dius, iter ad quartum ventriculum, or
aquxductus Sylvii. Thus the four first
ventricles of the brain have afree commu-
nication with each other.
Under the posterior lobes of the ccre-
bnim there is found a transverse ])ro<hic-
tionofduramater, called tenloriuni, which
is attached to the internal transverse ridge
of the occiput behind, and to the petixjus
portions of tlie temporal bone in front.
Under this membrane lie the two lobes of
the cerebellum, separated by a small per-
pendiculaj- production, called the falx ce-
re belli.
The fourth ventricle is a cavity, left be-
tween the upper and posterior surface of
the medulla oblongata, and the front of the
cerebellum. It extends laterally to a con-
siderable distance in the crur.i cerebelli:
a groove runs along the middle of the me-
dulla oblongata, which constitutes the
front of the ventricle, and terminates at
tlie end of the cavity in a point. From
the lateral productions, and the pointed
termination of the cavity, it has been
named the calamus scriptorius.
The pituitary gland is a firm substance,
differing in texture from the bpain, and
lodged in the sella turcica. Its name is
derived from a supposition that it secreted
the mucus of the nose, which in ancient
times was supposed to flow from the head.
It is connected by the infundibulumto tlie
basis of the brain. Behind the last men-
tioned part, at the basis cerebri, are seen
two small rounded emloences, called cor-
pora subrotunda. The cnira cerebri are
twolai'ge medullary processes going from
the cerebrum to tlie medulla oblongata.
The cerebellum is situated in the lower
fosssE of the occipital bone, under the ten-
torium. It consists of an intemiixtui<e of
cortical and medullary substance, arrang-
ed differently from the order obsei-ved m
the cei-ebruni. A pei-pendicular section of
tliis part discovers a ver>- alegant structure
in this respect. A thick trunk of medul-
lary matter sends otl" processes, in every
direction; from these other branches pro-
ceed, all of which are surrounded by cor-
tex. This is called the arbor vitae. The
arbor vita constitutes the crus cerebelli
on each side, and these processes join the
medulla oblong:»ta.
The niedu!' ••'■' ~\ta is a Large me-
dullary (irotr sting on the basi-
lar process ot It. lis connection
with the crura cerebn and cerebelli have
been already noticed. A inedullarv chord
is continued from i' "• end, under
tlie name of medul
Medulla npinali". i iii'> is a roundish
ANATOMY^
medullai*y chord, about the size of the
fore-finger, arising within the cranium
from the medulla oblongata ; leaving that
cavity at the foramen magnum occipitale,
and continued along the canal left m the
spine to the upper lumbar vertebrae,
where it terminates b)' forming the Cauda
equina.
It sends off a pair of nerves at each in-
tcnal between two vertebrae. It is co-
vered immediately by pia mater and tuni-
ca arachnoidea, and more loosely by a
sheath of dura mater, which lines the
whole spinal canal. It is plentifully sup-
plied with blood vessels. The ner%'es
come off from this body in numerous
threads, quite separate from each other
at first, but uni ting afterwards. The cauda
equina consists of the medulla spinalis,
entirely resolved into a bundle of such
threads.
Structure of the JVerves. — The nerves
are soft, white, and fibrous chords, nearly
of a cylindrical shape, arising from the
brain, or medulla spinalis. When they
leave the bi-ain, the pia mater collects the
fibres into larger or smaller fasciculi.
The medullary filaments of the nerves
are covered by a vascular membrane, call-
ed by Reil neurilema, which detachespro-
cesses from its inner surface, to sun*ound
and invest the smaller divisions and fibres
of the medullar}' substance. By immers-
ing a ner\'e in alkali, its medulla is dissolv-
ed, and the containing membranous tubes,
formed of neurilema, are left. Acids dis-
solve the neurilema, and leave the medul-
lary fibres. These organs receive a con-
siderable supply of blood from vessels
ramifying on their neurilema.
By maceration in water, and careful dis-
section, a nervous trunk may be separated
into numerous threads ; and each of these,
when examined in a microscope, seems to
be an assemblage of proportionably small-
er fibres. Greater magnifying powers
shew those fibres, which before appeared
simple, to be composed of still smaller
threads ; and it is doubtful, whether the
ultimate nervous fibre can be discovered.
All that is said, therefore, of the form,
course, &c. of these ultimate fibres is
wholly conjectural. The fibresdo not pro-
ceed m a straight uninterrupted course,
but join frequently with each other.
A nerve divided in the living subject
retracts : the medulla is expressed from
its extremities, by the contraction of its
membranes, in the form of globules. If
the animal be killed at some distance of
time from the operation of dividing a
nerve, the divided extremities are rather
swoln, and are connected by a newly
formed matter. Anatomists have disput-
ed greatly, whether or not this be a real
nerve. As this question can hardly be
decided by merely anatomical testimony,
it appeal's most philosophical to inquire,
whether the new matter will perform the
functions of a nerve ; and this has been
completely proved by the experiments of
Dr. Haighton, in the first part of the Phi-
losophical Transactions for the year 1795.
In some parts of the ner\'ous system,
little tubercles, or knots, called ganglia,
are found in the couree of the nerve, and
are usually formed by the concurrence
of several branches. These bodies are of
various figures, but generally flattened.
They partake more of the red colour than
the ti'unks of the nerves on which they
are formed, as they possess more nume-
rous blood-vessels. They contain nervous
fibres, surrounded by a firm vascular sub-
stance.
By the term, origin of a nerve, we un-
derstand its connection with the brain or
spinal marrow. This end is called its
sensorial extremity, being considered as
the point to which it conveys the impres-
sions made on it by external objects, and
from which it receives the commands of
the wiD, to be transmitted to the organs ■
which it supplies.
There is considerable difference in form,
structure, and consistence, between the
individual nerves.
The nen^es are arranged in pairs, as
they are exactly similar on botli sides of
the body. Hence any pair of nerves con-
sists of the right and left ner^'e.
They are sometimes divided into those
of the brain; and those of the medulla spi-
nalis ; or into the nerves of the organs of
sense, the nerves of motion, and the mixed
nerves ; or, according to the nature of the
parts which they supply, into voluntary
and involuntary nerves.
The quantity of nerves distributed to
the different structures in the body varies
greatly. The organs of sense receive the
most copious supply — riz. the eye, the
nose, labyrinth of the ear, ends of the
fingers, glans penis et clitoridis, and the
rest of the skin. Muscles have also a
large share of nerves : the blood-vessels
are much more sparingly furnished. The
nerves of the viscera are very small in
proportion to the size of the organs.
Bones, cartilages, tendons, ligaments,
membranes, marrow, fat, have no dis-
cernible nerves.
Nerves ramify through tlie body some-
thing like arteries : thus, a nervous trunk
ANATOMY.
sentls off branches : these, again divided,
form ramifications : and in their further
progress form twigs, filaments, 8cc. and
this division goes on, until the nerve, from
its smallness, can be no longer traced.
Yet we can manifestly discern the nerves
in some instances, as in the organs of
sense, terminating in a pulpy expansion.
Like the arteries, ncr%es communicate
with each other ; and it is conjectured
that these communications, like those of
the blood-vessels, are designexl to obviate
the effects of the injury of compression
of any particular nenous trunk. In some
parts these communications are very nu-
merous, so as to constitute a minute net-
work of nervous filaments, called aplexus.
Description of the particular nerves. —
There are in the whole body thirty-nine
pairs of ner>'es ; of which nine arise from
tlie brain, and thirty from the spinal mar-
row. There is another pair, called the
great sympathetic, which can hartlly be
ascribed to cither of these classes.
JsTerves of the brain.
1st. pair. Olfactory ner\'es; arise from
the corpora striata, and go through the
cribriform lamella of the ethmoid bone to
tlie pituitar}' membrane of the nose.
2d pair. Optic nerves ; arise from the
thalami nervonim opticorum,and proceed
to the eye-ball, where they are expanded
to form the retinae.
3d pair. Nenn motores oculorum ;
arise from the crura cerebri, and are dis-
tributed to some of the muscles of the
eye-ball.
' 4th pair. Nervi trochleares ; come from
tlie valve of the brain, and supply the
trochlearis muscle of the eye.
5th pair. Nervi trigemini ; arise from
the side of the medulla oblongata. This
nerve divides into three branches, of
which the first, or ophthalmic, goes into
the orbit, and after giving a few branches
there passes out on the forehead. The
second, or superior maxillarj", supplies
the parts about the upper jaw; a remark-
able branch of it is the infra-orbital, which
comes through the large hole under the
orbit to the face. The third, or inferior
maxillary, is distributed to the lower jaw
and atljacent parts.
6th pair. Neni motores extemi ; from
the medulla oblongata to the external
straight muscle of tJie eye.
rth pair. Nervi auditorii. This pair
consists of two nerves lying in contact,
but completely distinct from each other,
both in their origin, course, and distribu-
tion. The portio mollis of this nerve is
distributed to the labyrinth of the ear.
The portio dura goes through the tempo-
ral bone, and is very widely spread over
the face. These nerves are more cor-
rectly termed nervus auditorius, and ner-
vus facialis. The chorda tympani is »
branch of communication between the fa-
cial nerve and the lingual branch of the
inferior maxillary.
8th pair. Par vagum ; arises from the
medulla spinalis, before it quits the cra-
nium. It receives an accessory branch,
that originates from the upper portion of
the medulla spinalis, contained in the cer-
vical vertebrx. The par vagum passes
along the neck, in company witli the ca-
i-otid artery and the internal jugidar vein.
It sends oH" in the upper part of tJie neck,
1. the glossopharyngeal nerve ; 2. supe-
rior laryngeal ; and 3. the accessory
branch. The trunk that enters the chest,
and gives rise to the inferior laryngeal or
recurrent nerve. It afterwards becomes
connected to the asophagus, and passes
the diaphragm in conjunction with tliat
tube, to be distributed finally to the sto-
mach ; sending ' in its passage several
branches which supply tlie lungs.
9th pair. Nervi linguales ; arise near
the former, go through the foramen con-
dyloideum, and supply the muscles of tlie
tongue.
J^ei-ves of the medulla spinalis. — The cer-
vical nerves, soon after they come out
from between tlie vertebrae, communicate
witli each other. They supply all the
muscles which are situated about the ver-
tebrae of the neck. The second sends a
large branch, which ramifies extensively
over the occiput.
The nen-e of the diaphragm, called the
phrenic or diaphragmatic, arises princi-
f)ally from the fourth cervical nerve. It
ies close on the anterior scalenus muscle,
then goes over the pericardium to the
diaphragm.
The four lower cer\'ical ner\es, and the-
first dorsal, concur in forming the axillai-y
plexus, from which tlie upper extremity
derives its supply. These are largfe ner-
vous trunks, coming out at the side of tlie
neck, and variously united to each other.
They go behind the clavicle with the axil-
lary arter}-. This plexus sends off the
following branches :
1. Ncr^i thoracic!, accompanying the
thoracic arteries.
2. Ner\us supra-scapularis, distributed
with the artery of the same name.
3. Nervus axillaris, following tJie course
of llie posterior circumflex artery.
4. Cutancus inlernus, running oyer the
ANATOMY.
brachial artery to the elbow, and then ra-
mif)nng under the skin of the inner side
of til e fore -arm.
5. Cutaneusextemus, distributed along
the outer side of the fore-arm.
6. Median nerve, a large trunk accom-
panying the brachial artery, then pro-
ceecling to the hand, and supplying the
thumb, with the two neighbouring fingers,
and the radial side of the ring finger.
7. Radial nerve, bends round the os
humeri, from the inner to tlie outer side
of the bone ; it is distributed superficially
to the back of the hand and fingers.
8. Ulnar nerve, accomp.inying the nerve
of the same name to the hand, where it
supphes the little finger, and the ulnar
side of the ring finger.
The twelve pairs of doi-sal nerves sup-
ply the muscles in their neighbourhood.
They give also numerous branches of
communication to the great sympathetic.
The five paii-s of lumbar nerves send
branches to the neighbouring muscles, and
give communicating filaments to the g^eat
sympathetic. They also produce two
nenes distjnbuted to the front of the
thigh; viz. the anterior crural, which
goes out of the pelvis near the external
iliac artery, and has an extensive distribu-
tion to the tlijgh and leg; and tlie obtu-
rator nerve, which belong also to mus-
cles on tlie front of tlie thigh.
The sacral nerves give communicating
branches to tlie great sympathetic ; and
several filaments to the organs of gene-
i-ation in both sexes, to the bladder, rec-
tum, &c. They mostly, however, unite to
form the great sciatic nerve, which is the
largesttnmkin tlie body. It goes out of
the pelvis at the back part, and passes to
the thigh. Here it sometimes is pressed
by the weight of tlie body in sitting, and
causes the effect of the foot going to
sleep, as it is expressed in common lan-
guage. This nerve is distributed to the
back of the thigh, and over the whole leg
and foot
Great sympathetic or intercostal nerve. —
It is first formed by a small filament of
the 6tli pair, or nervus motor externus,
together with another devived from the
ptei^'goid branch of the superior maxil-
lary. In the upper part of the neck this
nerve h:rs a very large ganglion lying on
the vertebrae, called the superior cervical
ganglion. This ganglion receivesbranches
of communication from the five upper
pairs of cervical nerves, and sends off a
nranch to the heart. The trunk descends
along the neck, and forms an inferior cer-
vical ganglion, which has communicating
filaments from the neighbouring spinal
nerves, and sends several branches to the
heart, forming the cardiac plexus. The
sympathetic neive then passes tlirough
the chest, over the heads of the ribs, re-
ceiving branches from each dorsal nerve,
and forming a dorsal ganglion between
every two vertebrae. In its course it sends
off the splanchnic nerves, which go
through the diaphragm, and form a vast
and most intimate plexus about the root
of the casliac artery, called the cacliac
plexus, from wliich the liver, pancreas,
spleen, large and small intestines, and
kidnies, derive their nerves. All these
organs receive several filaments, united
so as to form plexuses, and surrounding
their arterial trunks.
The trunk of the great sympathetic en-
ters the abdomen, and goes over the lum-
bar vertebrae, receiving branches of com-
munication, and forming lumbar ganglia ;
it is then continued along the front of the
sacrum, where the sacral nerves supply
communicating filaments, and where five
sacral ganglia are formed.
OBGAKS OF SEKB£.
Org'an of vision. — The globe of the eye
is contained in a bony socket, formed by
the bones of tlie cranium and of the face.
It is furnished with muscles which can
move it in every direction, and surround-
ed by a verj- soft and delicate kind of fat,
which yields to it in all its motions. It is
composed of certain membranes, called its
tunics or coats, and of otlier parts tei-med
humours.
Its figure is very nearly spherical ; but
the transparent portion in front is the sec-
tion of a smaller sphere than tlie globe.
The optic nerve, to which the eye-ball is
attached posteriorly, enters considerably
on the inside of the axis of the eye.
Tlie coats of the eye are disposed con-
centrically ; and the exterior, which is very
dense, firm, and tough, is called the scle-
i-otica. This does not cover the whole
globe, but leaves a circular opening in
front, filled by the transparent cornea,
which, although pellucid, is a very fii-m
and strong membrane. Hence, the sclero-
tica and cornea together form a very com-
plete exterior case, which defends and
supports the more delicate parts within.
The necessity of having the front of the
globe transparent, for the purpose of ad-
mitting the mys of light, is obvious.
Under the sclerotica a soft and vascular
membrane surrounds the eye-ball, and is
called the choroid coat. It is connected
ANATOMY.
to the sclerotica by a loose sullic8ion,which
can be destroyed by blowing kir between
the membranes ; but in front tliis udliesion
is stronger, and forms a white circle named
orbiciilus or ligaincntiim ciliare. The co-
lour of the choroid coat is a deep brown,
appi-oaching to a black, and this colour is
derivetl from a substance called pigmen-
tum nigrum, which separates from the
choroid by maceration, and dissolves in
water so as to render it turbid.
The inner surface of the choroid coat,
which is universally coloured by pigmen-
tum nigrum in tlie human subject, is
sometimes called timica niyschiana, as
Ruysch endeavoured to prove that it form-
ed a distinct membrane from the external
part. It is this inner surface that possess-
es the brilliant colours observable in ani-
mals, whence the appellation of tapetum.
This surface lies in contact with the retina,
but does not adhere to that membrane.
On the front of the eye, however, and be-
yond the anterior margin of the retina, the
choroid is closely attached by means of
numerous and verj' delicate folds, called
the ciliary processes, to the surface of the
vitreous humoitr, roimd the margin of tlie
crystalHne lens.
The iris is a membrane continued trans-
versely across the eye-ball,behind the cor-
nea, and appearing as a continuation of
the choroid from the orbiculus ciliaris.
The round opening in the front of this
membrane is called the pupil ; it allows
the passage of the rays of light into the
interior of the eye. This aperture varies
in its dimensions according to the quantity
of light to which the organ is exposed : a
strong light causes the pupil to become
contracted,in order to exclude a portion of
the rays of light which oft'end the organ.
The aperture is dilated in a weak Ught, to
let in as many rays as possible. Some
anatomists have thought proper to employ
themselves in debating at length, whether
these motions arise from a really muscular
structure or no ; but wc believe that they
have not yet settled the point comjiletely.
The name of iris was apphed to this
part, from the diversity of colours obser-
vable in it in cUfferent individuals ; and
it is the colour of this tliat produces the
colour of the eye, in the popular sense of
the phrase. There is a remarkable cor-
respondence in this point between the
skin and hair and the iris. A light com-
plexion and hair is accompanied with bhie,
grey, or the lighter colours of the iris ;
while a dark skin and black hsur are at-
tended with the dark brown iris.
In that curious variety of the human
race called the Albinos, Mhere the skin
and hair arc of a dead milk-white hue, io
consequence of a total absence of the
rete mucosumor colouring principle, the
colouring matter of the iris and choroid is
also deficient, and these parts appear red,
from the numerous blood-vessels which
they contain.
The posterior surface of the iris is co-
vered by pigtnentum niginim, and is called
tiic uvea.
Under the choroid coat is found a third
membrane of the eye-ball, called the reti-
na, which is formed by the expansion of
the meduUarj' substance of the optic nerve,
and forms the immediate organ of vision.
It is of a yellowish grey colour, and so ex-
tremely soft as almost to be lacerated by
tile slightest touch. Its outer surface is
entirely unconnected with the choroid
coat; and the inner surface is expanded
on the vitreous humour^ but not connected
to it. It terminates in front by a distinctly
defined edge, where the ciliary processes
begin to adliere to the vitreous humour.
On the inside of the retina are seen the
branches of an artery and vein, which en-
ter through the centre of the optic ner\e,
(arteriaet vena centralis oculi). The part
at which it enters the eye is termed the
porus opticus, and is of course insensible ;
and hence physiologists have explained
the reason why the optic nerve is inserted
out of tlie axis of tlie eye ; as otherwise
the axis of vision would have fallen on an
insensible part of the retina.
On the outer, or temporal side of the
retina, there is a fold of the membrane of
a bright yellow colour, in the recent state,
and there is also said to be an aperture.
These circumstances were first pointed
out by Soemmerring, and have been
named after him.
The vitreous htimouroccupiesthe great-
est share of the globe of the eye. It con-
sists of a clear water contained in a cellular
substance, which is so petfcctly transpa-
rent as to resemble piu« glass, whence its
name is derived. The cellular substance
is condensed on the surface into a smooth
membrane, called the membrana hyaloi-
dea. This is marked in fnmt by a circtdar
series of black radiated hues, caused by
the adhesion of the ciliary processes,
which, hke other parts of the choroid, are
covered with pip^ientum nigrum. Under
these a circular c^inal runs, named the ca-
nal of Petit.
The crystalHne humour or lens is im-
bedded in the front of the vitreous hu-
mour. Its size is about that of a pea, hut
it is much mt 'if
a wa.xy cons !
growing gnuiu any rirnicr luwai'u^ un; eci:
ANATOMY.
tre. The lens is contained in its proper
capsule, the posterior surface of wWch
adlieres firmly to the tunica hyaloidea ;
but its separation can sometimes be effect-
ed without rupturing it. It has no appa-
rent connection to this capside. It is an
opaque state of this body that constitutes
the disease called cataract.
The aqueous humour is a small quantity
of ti-ansparent water, placed immediately
behind the coniea, and occupying the
space between that membrane and the
crj stalline lens : it is easily reproduced
when let out.
In the midst of the space occupied by
this humour the iris is found, and it di-
vides the space into two portions, called
the anterior and posterior chambers of the
eye ; which communicate by. means of the
pupil. The anterior is much the largest
of these.
The choroid coat,ciHai"y processes, and
iris, are very vascular, and derive their
supply from the ciliary branches of the
ophthalmic artery.
Tlie iris is very largely supphed with
nerves from a small ganglion, named len-
ticular, formed on a branch of the ner-
vus motor, or nerve of the thiixl pair.
These are called tlie cihary nerves.
Of the eye-lids (uid lacrymal apparatus. —
The eye-ball is covered by two moveable
curtains, formed by a folding of tlie com-
mon integument, and called the eye-lids.
In order to keep these unifonnly expand-
ed, and to prevent them from foi-ming
wrinkles, each of them contains athin por-
tion of cartilage, adapted in figure to the
convexity of the globe, and caUedthe tar-
sus. In order to provide still furtlier for
the greatest possible facility of motion, the
eye-lids are hned by a smooth and poUshed
membrane, and the globe of the eye is
covered by the same membrane, on its an-
terior pai't : this is called conjunctiva, as
it serves to connect the front of the eye-
ball to the eye-lids.
The junctions of the eye-Hds are called
the internal and external canthus, or angle
of tlie eye.
They are opened by the levator palpe-
brx lifting up the upper lid ; and this mus-
cle is in a state of constant action so long
as we keep our eyes open. They are
closed by the circular orbicularis palpe-
brarum.
The cilia, or eye -lashes, are two rows of
strong curved hairs implanted in the op-
posed edges of the two eye-lids, and ad-
mirably calculated for protecting the eye
from dust or other foreign bodies
The hairy prominences above the eye-
lids are the supercilia, or eye-brows ; the^e
are veiy moveable ; they serve as a pro-
tection to the eyes, and are much con-
cerned in expressing the passions.
In order to facilitate the motions of the
eye-lids and eye-balls on each other, the
surface of the conjunctiva is constantly
moistened by a watery and mucilaginous
fluid, poured out by the arteries of the part.
The incrustations of the mucilage in the
night would glue the eye-hds together ;
but this effect is obviated by a natural (rint-
ment, formed in a very elegant grandular
apparatus on the inner surface ofthe tarsi .
We there find about 16 or 17 longitudinal
parallel rows of veiy minute glandular bo-
dies ; and these pour out their sebaceous
secretion from a series of apertures on the
edges of the eye-lids. They are called
the meibomian glands, and ciliarj" ducts.
The fluid just described is constantly
formed on the surface ofthe conjunctiva ;
but on extraordinary occasions, as when an
imtating foreign body is in the eye, or in
consequence of affections of the mind, a
fluid is poured out in greater abundance,
which has the name of tears, and is secre-
ted by the lacrjmal gland. This is a small
conglomerate gland, situated in the orbit,
near the upper eye-lid, and having ducts
which terminate on the surface of tlie con-
junctiva ; but which, on account of their
minuteness,are hardly demonstrable in the
human subject. The utility of this secre-
tion in washing away any foreign substance
must be sufficiently obvious.
The'superfluous part ofthe lacr3Tnal se-
cretion is conveyed through two very fine
tubes to a small bag, situated at the inter-
nal angle ofthe eye. These tubes com-
mence by open mouths, called the puncta
lacrymalia, from the inner extremities of
the eye-lids, and are about equal in size to
admit a hog's bristle.
There is a little fleshy projection at the
corner of the eye, and between the two
puncta, called caruncula lacrymalis.
The lacrymal sac is a small membranous
bag, placed in the hollow formed at the
inner edge of the orbit. The tendon of
the orbicularis palpebrarum, which gene-
rally foims a shght eminence visible
through the skin, crosses the middle of
this bag.
A canal, called the ductus nasalis, and
lodged in a groove ofthe superior maxilla-
ry bone, conveys tlie tears into the nose;
where it tei-minates by an open orifice
within the inferior turbinated bone.
OBGAN OF BEAnilTG.
The organ is divided into two parts, the
external and internal ear, by the membra-
ANATOMY.
nti tympani. The situation oftlie former
on tlie out side of the heaclis well knowTi;
the hitter is contained in the petrous por-
tion of the temporal bone.
nie externa! ear consists of two parts,
viz. tlie pinna, or ear, popularly so called,
and a tube called meatus aucUtoriiis ex-
tcrnus leading from the pinna to the mem.
brana tympani. These parts serve for col-
lecting; sounds, and conveyingthem to tlie
membrana tympani.
The pinna consists of a convoluted car-
tilage inclosed by common integuments.
The lower part, which is pierced for ear-
rings, has no cartilage, and is called the
lobulus. The helix isthe fold formingthe
external circumference of the ear ; the
next eminence to this, which forms the
margin of the great cavity of the external
car, is called anthelix ; it separates at lU
upper and anterior end into two processes
named crura. The projection immediate-
ly in front of the meatus isthe tragus, and
tliat immediately opposite, the antitragiis.
The great cavity within the anthehx, and
leading to the meatus, is called the con-
cha. Several sebaceous glands are situa-
ted in the folds of the ear.
The meatus extemus is formed first by
a portion of cartilage, continuedfromthe
pinna, and more interiorly it consists of a
canal in the substance of tlie bone. Tliis
bony part does not exist in tlie foetus,
where the meatus is wholly cartilaginous.
TIic common integiimentscontinued from
tiie pinna hue the meatus extemus, and
the cuticle is produced over the membnu
na tympani.
The surface of the meatus, at its com-
menccmcnt, is furnished with numerous
fine hairs, and the canal is moistened by a
secretion of an oily and inflammable na-
ture, called cenmien. This is produced
by numerous small glands, visible on the
external surface of the meatus, and dis-
tinguishable by their yellowish colour.
The cerumen concretes, and is collected
sometimes in such quantity as to induce a
slighi degree of deafness, which is easily
removed by svTinging with warm water.
The membrana tympani, which isacir-
«ular menibi"ane above aquarterofan inch
in iliameter, is sti-etched across the inner
extremity of tlie meatus, :uid derives its
name from acomparison with adrum head,
to which il hears someanalogj' in its use.
In the foetus ii. is stretched on a distinct
bony ring, cidled the anniilus auditorius.
This ring is deficient at its upperpart, and
has no bony union to the rest of the tem-
poral bone, but it becomes imited soon
after birtli,
VOL. I.
This membrane is concave onit* exte-
rior surface, and convex towartLs the tim-
panum. Its position is inchned, the upi)er
margin being more towards tlie outside of
the head, and the under part farther in-
wards ; so that the superior part of the
meatus forms an obtuse angle, and the in-
ferior part an acute angle, with the mem-
brane.
The internal ear consists of two d'lvi'
sions, viz. tlie tjnipanum and the laby-
rintli.
The tympanum is an irregular bony ca-
vity, which will about admit the end of a
finger, hollowed out of the temporal bone,
just within the membrana tympani. It has
several communications with the neigh-
bouring parts.
Opposite to the membrana tympani are
two openings, which lead to tlie labyrinth
of the ear. The upper one is named the
fenestra ovalis, the lower one the fenestra
rotunda, and tlie projection between them
is called the promontory. The fenestra
ovalis is filled, as we shall presently see,
by one of the little bones of the tympa-
num, and the fenestra rotunda is closed
by a membrane.
The eustachian tube, or iter a palato ad
aurem, opens in front of the tympanum.
It commences by an expanded cartilagi-
nous orifice at the back of tlie nostrils,
passes through the substance of the tem-
poral bone, and terminates by a contract-
ed orifice in the tympanum. Its office is
to convey air into the cavity of the tympa-
num. The membrana tympani is tlirown
into vibrations by the impulse oftlie sono-
rous undiJations of the air, and tliat vibra-
tion could not take place unless there was
air in the inside as well as on the outside
of the membrane. Water, or any other
fluid, would not have answered the pur-
pose. Hence an obstruction of this tube
causes deafness, which surgeons have at-
tempted to remedy by puncturing the
membrana tvTnpani. An opening m the
latter membrane ofasmall extent doesby
no means injure hearing ; for many per-
sons have the power of impelling tobacca
smoke, or agitiUing the flame of a candle,
througli tlie ear, and yet seem to have a
perfect use of the organ. In these cases
the air or smoke enters the eustachian
tube from the throat, and passes through
the unnatural aperture in the membrane.
The mastoid process of the temporal
bone is composed intemall)" of numerous
cells, communicating with each other,
and finally opening into the back p.irt of
the tv-mpanum. These io not exist ia
tlie foetus.
F. c
\
ANATOMY.
The cavity of the tympanum contains a
chain of small bones called ossicula audi-
tiis, connected by one end to the njembra-
na tjTnpanI, and by tlie other to the fe-
nestra ovalis. Of these the first, which is
compared to a hammer, is called the mal-
leus; the second is namedthe incus, the
third the orbiculare, and the fourth the
stapes.
The malleus possesses amanubrium or
handle, a long and short process, and a
head which forms an articular surface.
The incus resembles a grinding tooth,
with its two fangs diverging. We remark
in it a body, the surface of which is hol-
lowed out to receive the head of the mal-
leus : a long and a short leg.
The orbiculare is of the size of a small
grain of sand. It is attached to the ex-
tremity of the long cms of the incus and
the stapes.
The stapes has an exact resemblance
to the iron part of a stirrup ; it has a head,
two crura, and a basis.
The handle of the malleus isfirmly con-
nected to the membrana tympani ; and
hence arises the external concavity and
internal convexity ofthe membrane. The
head of that bone is joined to the body of
the incus, whose long leg is articulated to
the head ofthe stapes Tjhe basis of the
stapes fills up the fenestra ovalis. The
ends of the bones forming these articula-
tions are covered with cartilage, and fur-
nished with capsules like other joints.
The bones ofthe tympanum have some
small muscles connected to them by which
they are moved outwards, or towards the
membrana tympani, and inwards, or to-
wards the fenestra ovalis. The first of
these motions relaxes, the latter stretches
the membrane. ITie names oftbese mus-
cles are, tensor tympani, laxator tympani,
and stapedeus.
The nerve called chorda tympani passes
across the tympanum between the handle
of the maUeus and the long leg of the
incus.
The use ofthe ossicula auditus seems
to be that of transmitting the vibrations of
the air from the membrana tympani to tlie
labyrinth. The final use ofthe muscles
which moves these bones is unknown.
The labyrinth of the ear consists of
three parts :— 1. A spiral bony canal,
twisted like a snail-shell, and thence call-
ed the cochlea. 2. Three semicircular
bony canals : and 3. A small cavity, call-
ed the vestibulum, into which the cochlea
and the semicircular canals open. These
parts are formed ofthe hardest bone in
the body, almost equal in solidity to ivoty.
and the petrous portion ofthe temporal
bone, which incloses them, is of a similar
structure. In the foetus the labyrinth 'm
suri'ounded by a softer and looser kind of
bone, so that it can be most easily dissect-
ed at that age.
The vestibulum is about equal in size
to a large pea, and the fenestra ovalis
opens into the middle ofthe cavity. It
has also five openings from the semicir-
cular canals ; the superior and exterior
joining by one of their extremities, and
opening by a common hole.
The cochlea has two turns and a half.
Its canal turns round a bony centre, called
the modiolus, to which is attached a thin
plate of bone, projecting into the cavity
ofthe cochlea, and named lamina spiralis.
This projecting plate divides the canal of
the cochlea into two paits : one opening
into the vestibulum, the other at the fe-
nestra rotunda. The latter is called the
scala tympani, the former scala vestibuli.
The vestibulum, cochlea, and semicir-
cular canals, are lined by a delicate vascu-
larmembrane, on which tlie portio mollis
of the seventh pair of nerves is disti'ibu-
ted. This membrane contains a clear
water.
The filaments of the auditorj' nerve
pass from the meatus auditorius internus
through a number of very small apertures
which lead to the labyrinth, and they ter-
minate on the vascular membrane ofthe
labyrinth, so that the nervous pulp is ex-
posed almost bare to the contained fluid.
The distribution ofthe ner\'e on the coch-
lea is particularly beautiful. The aque-
ducts of the ear are two very fine tubes,
])assing from the vestibuhim and cochlea
to open on the surface of tlie dura mater.
OR6AN OF SBtELLUZVG.
The nose is a cavity of very irregular
figure, formed chiefly by the bbnes ofthe
face, and commimicating with tlie various
sinuses or bony cells formed in the head.
It is separated by the brain above by
the cribriform lamella of the ethmoid
bone. This separation is a perfect one,
and the two cavities of tlie ci-anium and
nose are wholly distinct from each other,
although they are supposed, l>y the unin-
formed in anatomy, to communicate to-
gether.
The bottom ofthe cavity is formed by
the upper surface ofthe pallet.
The general cavity is divided into two
equal halves, called nostrils, by the sep-
tum narium, a thin and flat bony parti-
tion, descending from the cribriform la-
ANATOMY.
meUa to the palate. The flat surface of
the septum may therefore be said to form
the inner side of tlic iioi>tri] ; and its outer
side presents three bony eminences, cail-
<-d the conchz narium, or turbinated
bones.
Moreover, the following excavations or
sinuses open into the cavity at various
, parts. Two frontal sinuses ; numerous
cells of the ethmoid bone ; two sphenoi-
dal sinuses ; and two great hollows in the
upper jaw-bone, called the antra, or max-
iliai-v smuses.
The front openings of the nostrils are
well known. Tliis aperture is heart-slia-
ped in the skeleton, the broadest part be-
ing towards the mouth ; but it is much al-
tered in tlie recent subject by the apposi-
tion of pieces of cartilage, tlie broaclest of
which are the lateral portions, termed alae
nasi. Behind, the nostrils open by large
apertures into tlie upper and anterior part
of the pharynx, above the velum pendu-
lum paiati.
The sides of the bony cavity just de-
scribed are covered by a tliick, soft, and
very vascular membrane, called mem-
brana schneidcriana, or pituitaria. Its
surface is con.stantiy moistened by a se-
cretion of mucus from the arteries, with
which it is very copiously supplied. This
prevents the effects which tlie current of
air in respiration would otlierwise pro-
duce, of drj'ing the membrane. It is only
an increased quantity of this secretion,
altered too somewhat in its (juality, that
is discharged from tlie nose in coldk, and
which is popularly supposed to come from
the brain. Tlusmembrane extends into the
cells which communicate with the nose,
but is tliinner and less vascidar there.
The ethmoidal cells open into the cavi-
ty of the nose, partly above, and partly
under, the loose edg^ of the siipcrior tur-
binated bone. The frontal sinuses open
into the front of these cells; and the
sphenoidal sinuses into tlie back part of
them. The antrum maxillare has a round
opening between the two turbinated
bones. The nasal duct opens under tlie
inferior of Uiese bones : and tlie expand-
ed orifice of the eustachian tube is just at
the communication between the back of
the nose and the pharynx.
The filaments of tlie olfactory nerves,
having penetrated tlie cribriform lamella,
are distributed to the pituitary membrane
that covers the septum n:isi and superior
turbinated bone.
Several small branches from the fifth
pair are also distributed on the nose, at
diflerent parts.
oftexir ov tjucit.
It would be a waste of words to de-
scribe tJie situation and form of die tongue.
This organ presents a most interesting
subject to the pbisiologist, from the con-
cern which it has in the functions of mas-
tication, deglutition, and articulation, be-
sides that it constitutes the organ of the
sense of taste.
Its bulk is made up of ntimerous mus-
cles, which arc distinct at their origin, but
become mixed and confused at their in-
sertion into the tongue. The union of these
fibi*es with each other, and with tlie fatty
substance which connects tliem, consti-
tutes the peculiar 8ub.sUuice of the
tongue. It is covered externally by a
continuation of tlic common membrane of
the moutli. Tlusmembrane, however, on
the edges, tip, and upper siuiace of the
organ, is covered wiUi small projecting
processes, called papillz, in which the
sense of taste resides.
Towards tlie back of the tongue seve-
ral mucous glands are found, witli open-
ings that would admit a bristle. These
secrete a fluid, to f;icilitate the passage of
the food through tlie isthmus faucium.
Next to these openings, and still at the
posterior part of tlie organ, are found
eight or ten large papiUz, arranged in the
form of the letter V, with the pointed
part towards the throat. These are tlie
pipillac magnx or capitatse. They consist
of a round body, surrounded by a circu-
lar foia of membrane. These also are
mucous glands.
The most numerous class of papillz are
those which occupy the sides and tip of
the tongue. These are the smallest in
size, so as to have been compared to the
villi of tlic skin ; and conical in shape.
They are called papillae conic je or villosx.
Among these a few larger ones are scat-
tered, the papillx semilenticularcs.
The tongue receives three lai^e nerves
on each side ; 1st, the glossopharyngeal
branch of thu eightli pair, distributed to
the back of the tongue and upper part of
tlie pharjnx : 2ndly, the lingual nerve,
or nerve of the 9th pair, whicii supplies
the muscles: and 3rdly, the lingual
branch of the inferior maxillary, which
goes to the papillx chiefly.
OBOAX OF THE SKSSE OF TOrCH.
This sense maybe considered, in the
mo.st enlarged acceptation of the term, as
residing in tlie surface of the body in gc-
nenJ : ui a more limited view, we rejprd
ANATOMY.
the ends of the finders as more particu-
larly adapted, by tneir organization, for
exploi'ing the tangible properties of bo-
dies.
The skin, or exterior covering of thebo-
dy, is divided into three layers, Hz. the
cuticle, the rete mucosum, and the cutis.
These parts are called the common inte-
guments of the body. To them a fourth
is sometimes added, viz. the adipous
membrane. But although there is gene-
rally a layer of fat imder the skin, tills is
not invariably the case.
The cutis vera, or true skin, is a very
dense and compact membrane, formed,
as it were, by a general condensation of
the cellular substance on the surface of
the body. It is this that forms leather,
when subjected to the operation of tan-
ning. Its tliickness varies in different
parts of the body. It possesses consider-
able elasticity, by virtue of which it yields
to any distending power, and on the cessa-
tion of such force recovers its former
state. It has also a species of contracti-
lity, which is evinced by its cornigation
from cold. Its colour in the iuliabitants
of all countries is white. It ])ossesses
great vascularity, and has alsoai) abvmdant
supply of nerves, which bestow on it
acute sensibility. It is thrown into
folds in different parts of the body, in
consequence of their motions on each
other ; this may be particularly obsei-ved
in the hands and fingers. ItJs surface is
also marked by lines, crosising and inter-
secting each other variously, and inter-
cepting spaces of all shapes and descrip-
tions.
Such parts of the cutis as are the most
highly organised have numerous fine
hair-like processes, called villi. These
are more vascular than other parts, and
receive also a more cop'ous supply of
nenes. Such parts enjoy a higher and
more acute sensibility. This is the case
with the ends of the fingers, which, both
by their form and organization, are more
especially fitted to act as organs of touch.
It is also observed in the lips, and in the
glans penis.
The rete mucosum is a soft mucous
substance, readily demonstrable in the
negro, where it is thick and of ablack co-
lour, but hardly discernible in the Euro-
pean. This is the seat of the colouring
matter of the skin.
The cuticle is a thin semi-transparent
covering, possessing no particular arrange-
ment of parts, no vessels nor nerves. It
adhcres,however, closely to the subjacent
parts, and is exactly moulded to the siir-
face of the cutis. It is best seen after
the action of a blister, when it is elevated
by an effusion of fluid under it. In the
dead Ijody it may be separated from the
cutis by putrefaction, or by immersion in
hot water. In this way it may be remov-
ed, entire, from the hand and fingers, so
as to resemble a glove.
It forms an insensible medium, interpo-
sed between the nerves of the organ of
touch and external objects ; and as it co-
vers the whole exterior of the body, our
surface is actually dead- When removed
from any part, it is speedily renewed by
the cutis. Its thickness varies in different
parts; being greatest where it is exposed
to friction, as in the palms and soles. Its
thickness is here also inereased by fric-
tion, as we may observe, by contrasting
tlie hand of a labourer witli that of a per-
son who does not use his hands in the
same rough manner.
It appears that the cuticle is impen'ioug
to fluids, as the serum contained in a blis-
tered part does not transude; neither does
a dead body become dried while covered
by this expansion ; but when that is re-
moved, it is speedily reduced by evapora-
tion to a state of dryness. Yet it must be
penetrated bythe vesselsinalivingbody,
as is proved by the immense discharge
both of sensible and insensible perspira-
tion. Probably, also, the absorbents open
on it by patulous orifices ; for mercurial
ointment, rubbed on the skin, affects the
system.
Sehacemis glands are formed under the
skin, in a few situations only, as about the
nose and external ear.
Hairs consist of an insensible excre-
scence produced from the cutis. Each
hair grows from a small bulb, and is
lengthened by means of additions made
to it in tlxe bidb. These bodies perforate
the cuticle.
J\'ails areportions of a horny substance,
connected to the ends of the toes and fin-
gers. Their surface, corresponding to the
back of the finger, is convex, and tolera-
bly smooth; the opposite part is laminated
and concave. These laminae adhere to
coiTcsponding ones of the cutis. The in-
teguments advance for some length over
the root of the nail, so as to cover a con-
siderable portion of it ; and the cuticle
adheres closely to its surface. The nail
grows like the hair, by additions from
below.
The account of the progress of the em-
bryo after conception, or the description
of the gravid uterus and its contents, toge-
ther with the enamerati«n«f those circiua-
^i^ailik^k'K.
ANATOMY.
stances of anatomical stnicture, which are
peculiar to the foetus, will be given under
the article Fcktcs.
XXPUVATIOX OP THK AWATOJCICAL PLATES.
Plate I.
Fig. 1. A front view of the skeleton.
1. The cranium.
2. Os frontis.
3. 3. The orbits.
4. Upper jaw-bone.
5. Teeth.
6. Lower jaw-bone.
7. The seven true ribs.
8. The five false ribs. ^
9. First bone of the sternum.
10. Second bone of the sternum.
11. Ensiform cartil;ige.
12. The five liunbar vertebrx.
13. Ihum, or haunch-bone.
14. Os ischii.
15. Os pubis.
16. Os sacrum, or bone of the rump.
17. Symphisis pubis.
18. Thigh-bone.
19. Head of the thigh-bone.
20. Trochanter major.
21. Patella, or knee-pan.
22. 23. External and internal condyles
of the thigh.
24. Tibia.
25. Fibula,
26. Bones of the tarsus.
27. Bones of the metatarsus.
28. Bones of the toes.
a. The clavicle, or collar-bone.
b. Scapula, or shoulder-blade.
c. Humerus, or bone of tlie arm.
d. Ulna.
e. Radius.
f. First row or phalanx of carpal bones.
g: Second row or phalanx of carpal bones.
h. Bones of the metacarpus.
I. First phalanges of the fingers.
k. Second phalanges of the fingers.
L Third phalanges.
m. Three phalanges of the thumb.
Fig. 2. View of the light ventricle aitd pidmo-
nary artery laid open.
These parts are marked A a in Plate VI.
Fig. 1.
a. A triangidar flap of the fleshy side of
the ventricle, turned back, to expose tlie
cavity.
b. Columns camex of the heart.
e. Tricuspidal valve.
rf. The three semilunar valves in the
mouth of the pulmonary artery, which »
slit open.
e. e Cut edges of the ventricle.
Fig. 3. Vie^v of the catyity of the left ventri-
cle, and mouth of tfie aorta.
a. a. Cut edges of the ventricle.
b. Column 36 camea.
c. Chonl?E tendinx.
d. Mitnd valve.
e. Semilunar valves of the aofta.
Plate II.
Fig. 1. Back rnew of the skeleton.
1 . 2. Ossa parietalia.
3. Os occipitis.
4. Os temporis.
5. Mastoid process of the temporal
bone.
6. The seven cen'ical vertebrz.
7. The twelve dorsal vertebrx.
8. The five lumbar vertebrx.
11. Os sacrum, or rump-bone.
12. Os coccygis, or crupper bone,
13. Ilium.
9. Ischium.
14. Neck of the thigh-bone.
15. Trochanter major.
16. Trochanter minor.
17. Condyles of the thigh.
18. Malleolus extcmus.
19. Malleolus internus.
20. Os calcis.
Fig. 2.
TTie small bones contained in the
tympanum of the ear.
1. Malleus.
2. Incus.
3. Os orbiculare.
4. Stapes.
Fig. 3. A Tf'nrp of the same bones, as joined
to each ot/ier, and as connected to the mem-
brana tympani.
e. Membrana tympani with the handle
of the malleus connected.
/. Head of the malleus joined to
^, which is the body of* tlie incus.
/i. Base of the stapes.
Fig. 4. A view of the labyrinth of tlie ear.
a. Three semicircular canals unopened.
b. Section of tlie cochlea.
c. Auditory nerve.
d. Branches of the nerve going to the
vestibulum and semicircular canals.
r. Trunk of the nen-e most beauttfulhr
#
ANATOMY,
minified on the solid axis, and projecting'
bony plate of tlie cochlea.
Fig. 5. Second vie-.o of the labyrinth ; repre-
senting the vestibttlum avd semicircular
canals laid open, and the branches of the
auditory nei've terminating on those parts.
b. Cavity of the vestibulum.
Plate IU.
Fig. 1. Af'ont view of the muscks.
The right side of the figure represents
the first or most superficial stratum : on
the left side the second layer is exhibited.
It would be impossible to refer to all the
muscles exhibited in this and the follow-
ing muscular plates : we must therefore
confine ourselves to the more obvious and
important ones.
a. Orbicularis palpebrarum.
b. Orbicularis oris.
c. Zygomatici.
d. Sterno-cleidomastoideus,
1. Platysma myoides.
2. Pectoralis major,
c. Latissimus dorsi.
3. Obliquus extemus abdominis.
4. Rectus abdominis.
-J- Pectoralis minor.
/. Serratus anticus.
J-. Obliquus extemus abdominis.
5. Deltoid muscle.
6. Biceps flexor cubiti.
h. Supinator radii longus.
i. Pronator radii teres.
k. Flexor carpi radialis.
/. Extensors of the thumb.
m, n. Two heads of the biceps flexor
cubiti.
0. Opponens pollicis.
p. Muscles of the little finger.
q. Flexortendonsof the fingers,
r. Flexor di^tonim profundus,
s. Flexor longus pollicis.
7. Tensor vaginae femoris.
8. Sartor ius.
9. Vastus extemus.
10. Rectus extensor femoris.
11. Vastus intemus.
12. Tibialis anticus.
13. Extensor muscles of the toes.
14. Extensor tendons of the toes.
Fig. 2. Posterior surface oftheeye-U4s,-with
the lacrymat glcmd.
a, b. Posterior surface of the eye-lids.
The perpendicular parallel lines are form-
ed by rows of the sebaceous or meibomian
glands.
c. c. t. e. Cut edge of the tunica con-
junctiva, w^here that membrane was re-
flected from the eye-Uds to the eye-ball.
d. Lacrymal gland.
e. Openings of its ducts on the surface
of the conjunctiva.
f Pacta lacrymalia.
g. Caruncula laciymahs.
Pig. 3. Front view of the eye-brov and eye-
lids ; designed to shew the margins of the
latter, andt/ieir union with each otha:
b. Fold of tlie skin between the upper
eye-lid and the eye-brow.
c. Orifices in which the hsurs of the
eye-lash were implanted.
/ Openings of the ducts of the seba-
ceous glands along the margin of the
eye-lid.
d. m. Superior and inferior punctum la-
crymale, or external openings of tlie ca-
nals, by which the teara are conveyed to
the lacrymal bag.
h. Canm§ulalacr)'malis.
g. External canthus or angle of the
eye ; the opposite part is the internal can-
thus.
Fig. 4. View of the lacrymal passages.
a. a. Puncta lacr}'malia.
b. b. Lacrymal ducts, commencing from
the puncta, and terminating in
c. The lacrjmal bag.
d. Nasal duct.
e. Its termination at the nose.
/. Lacrymal gland.
Pi^TE rv.
Fig. 1. A posterior view of the muscles ; in
Tohich the rigJU side exhibits the superfcial,
and tlie left a deeper-seated stratum.
m. Temporal muscle.
b. Supraspinatus.
c. Infraspinatus.
d. Teres minor.
e. Teres major.
/. Pyriformis.
g. Vastus extemus.
h. Biceps flexor cruris.
«'. Semitendinosus.
k. Peronei muscles, &c.
I. Their tendons.
m. Levator scapulx.
1. Trapezius.
2. Rhomboideus.
3. Lati.ssimus dorsi.
4. Splenlus capitis.
5. Complexus.
ANATOMY.
^^^
6. Scrratus inferior posticus.
7. 7. Sftcrolumbalis ai\d longissimus
dorsi.
8. Deltoid.
9. 9. Triceps extensor cublti.
11. Gluteus maximus.
12. Gluteus medius.
13. Flexors of the knee-joint.
14. Gastro-cnemius.
15. Soleus.
16. Tcndo achillis.
Fig. 2. A view of the surface of tlie hrain,
exposed by removing the skull-cap.
On the right side the brain is covered
by its dui"a mater : that membrane is cut
through, and turned aside, so as to ex-
pose the left hemisphere.
Pig. 3. Tfie skull and firain cut thi-ough
horizontally in about the midtUe.
It shews the difference of the cortical
and medullarj' substances, and the union
of tlie two hemispheres by the corpus
callosum.
d. The dura mater, which covered the
brain, and formed tlie falx, thrown back.
e. e. Cineritious substance.
g. Medullary substance.
h. Corpus callosum.
Fig. 4. The basis of the brain, with the
origin of the nerves.
a. a. Anterior lobes of the brain.
b. b. Middle lobes.
c c. Posterior lobes.
d. d. Two lobes of the cerebellum.
/. Pons varioli, or medulla oblongata.
e. McduUa spinalis.
Plate V.
Fig. 1. Superficial view of the contents of
tite abdomen
d. d. Omentum.
c c. Liver.
f-fff- Various convolutions of small
intestine.
a. a. a. Transverse arch of the colon
covered by the omentum.
Fig. 2. is a scheme to represent the whole
tract of the intestinal canal, as the sto-
mach and some othi-r parts do tiot come
into vit-u' in tlie preceiUng Jisfitre. The
an-o-ici represent the course of the aliment.
m. End of the otsophagu.s.
R. The stomach.
h. Pylorus.
g. i. k. I. Various convolutions of small
intestine.
e. Caput coli.
m. Appendix vermiformis.
f Ascending colon.
n.a. a. Ti*ansverse arch of tlie colon.
b. Sig^noidflexureof the colon.
c. Rectum.
Plate VI.
Fig. 1. ./? vie^a of the heart and lungs, iidth
tlie adjacent targe blood-vessels of the tfi<t>.
rax and abdomen.
A. Right ventricle of the heart.
e. Right auricle.
1.2.3. The three lobts of the right
lung.
4. 5. Two lobes of the left lung.
a. Origin of the pulmonary artery.
b. Arch of the aorta.
.T. Arteria innominata.
y. y. Right and left carotid arteries.
?/. w. Jugular veins.
E. E. Left subclavian vein.
c. Superior vena cava.
k. Descending aorta, sending off differ-
ent bi-anches to the abdominal viscera;
as, /, the celiac ; m. superior mesenteric ;
n. inferior mesenteric ; o. p. renal arte-
ries.
h. Trunk of the inferior vena cava.
V. q. Renal veins.
r. Trunk of the absorbing s^'stem,
called the thoracic duct.
d. Termination of that duct in the an-
gle formed by the junction of the left
subclavian and jugular veins.
Fig. 2. ^ vien of the thorax and abdomen,
representing some parts not seen in PltUe
V. anil Twiu exposed by lifting up the
Uver.
1. Thyroid gland.
2. Trachea. Ti»e large blood vessels
correspond to tliose of the preceding
figure.
3. The heart.
4. Left lung.
5. Right lung.
6. Under surface of the left lobe
of the liver.
7. Under surface of the right lobe.
8. The stomach.
9. Great omentum.
10. Small intestines.
11. 11. The coverings of the abdomeR
rut through and turned aside.
1'?. Bladder <if urine.
ANA
ANA
lo. Lesser omentum.
14. Gall-bladder.
Fig. 2. Gall-bladder and biliary ducts, (ind
pancreas.
K. Hepatic duct, formed by various
brandies coming from the liver.
L. Cvstic duct.
I. Gall-bladder.
N. Ductus communis.
P. Pancreas with its duct.
Q. A portion of the intestines, with a
longitudinal slit, the opening of tlie united
ducts.
ANAXAGORAS, in biography, a cele-
brated philosopher among the ancients.
He was born in Ionia about the 70th olym-
piad, became the disciple of Anaximencs,
and was afterwards a lecturer himself at
Athens. In this city he was cruelly per-
secuted, and at length banished. He
went to Lampsacus, where he was greatly
lionoured during his life, andstill more re-
spected after his death. Statues have
been erected to his memoiy.
Anaxagoras was a mathematician, and
wrote, during his imprisonment at Athens,
upon the quadrature of the circle. As a
philosopher, he introduced some impor-
tant innovations, as they were then called,
biit wliich redound much to his honour .-
he maintained, in opposition to the com-
mon systems of a plurality of Gods, that an
infinite mind is the author of all motion and
life. Plato asserts, that Anaxagoi"as taught
that " mind was the cause of the world,
and of all onler," and tliat, "while all
things else are compounded, this alone is
pure and unmixed:" he ascribes to this
principle two powers, r/z. toknow, and to
move. Testimonies to this purpose in fa-
vour of Anaxagoras are numerous ; Plu-
tarch, speaking of the Ionian philosophers
who flourished before this great man,
says, that they made fortune, or blind ne-
cessity, the first principle in nature ; but
Anaxagoras aflfirmed, that a pure mind go-
verns the universe. By Diogenes Laerti-
us he is represented as the first person,
" who superadded mind to matter." He
died in the year 428 before Christ, and
throughout liis life he supported the cha-
racter of a true philosopher. Superior to
the motives of avarice and ambition, he
resigned in early life a patrimony, that
would have secured liim distinction and
independence, in order that he might
give himself up wholly to the pursuits of
science, and in the mitlst of the vicisa-
tudes of fortune preserved an equal mind.
Being asked, just before Iiis death, whe-
ther he wished to be carried for intenpeot
to his native city, he replied, "it is unne-
cessary: the waytotheregionsbelowisev-
erj' where alike open :" and in answerto a
message sent him at the same time by the
senate of Lampsacus, requesting to be in-
formedin what manner they might honour
liis memory after his decease, he said,
"By ordaining the day of my death to be
annually kept as a holiday in all the schools
of Lampsacus." This request was com-
plied with, and a festival called Anaxago-
ria was instituted on the occasion.
ANAXIMANDER, in biogTaphy, a very
celebrated Greek philosopher, was born
at Miletus on the 42d olympiad; for, ac
cording to Apollodorus, he was 64 years
of age in the second year of the 58th olym-
piad. He was one of tlie first who pub-
licly taught philosophy, and wrote upon
philosophical subjects. He was the kins-
man, companion, and disciple of Thales.
He wrote also upon the sphei-e and geo-
metry, and fi-amed a connected series of
geometrical truths : he also wrote asum-
maiy of his doctrine, and carried his re-
searches into nattire very far, for the time
in which he lived. It is said that he dis-
covered the obhquity of the zodiac ; that
he first pubhshed a geographical table ;
that he invented the gnomon, and set up
the first sun-dial in an open place at Lace-
daemon. He is said to have been tho
first who dehneated the sm-face of the
earth, and marked the divisions of land
and water upon an artificial globe. He
taught, that an infinity of things was the
principal and universal element; that this
infinite always preserved its unity, but that
its paits underwent changes; that all
things came from it ; and that all were
about to return to it. He held that the
worlds are infinite ; that the stars are
composed of air and fire, which are car-
ried about in their spheres, and that these
spheres are gods ; that the stin has the
highest place in the heavens, the moon
the next, and the planets and fixed stars
the lowest; that the earth is a globe,
placed in the middle of the universe, and
remains in its place, and that the sun is
28 times larger than the earth.
ANCHOR, in maritime aflPairs, an ex-
tremely useful instrument, serving to re-
tain a ship or boat in its place.
It is a very large and heavy iron insti-u-
ment, with a double hook at one end, and
a ring at the other, by which it is fastened
to a cable.
It is cast into the bottom of the sea, or
rivers, where, taking its hold, it keeps
ships from being drawn awaybytlie wind,
tide, or cun-ents.
The parts of an anchor are : 1. The
ANC
AND
ring to whicli the cable is fastened: 2.
the beam, or shank, which is the longest
part of the anchor : 3. the ami, which is
that which nins into tlie ground: 4. the
flouke or fluke, by some called the palm,
Uie brood and peaked part, with its barbs,
like the head of an arrow, which fastens
into the g^-ound : 5. the stock, a piece of
wood fastened to the beam near the ring,
serving to guide the fluke, so that it may
fall right, and fix in the ground.
I'hc following" ai-e the dimensions of the
^t vt ral parts of an anchor, as given by M.
Boiigier. The two arms generally form
the arch of a circle, the centre of which
is 3-8ths of the shank from the vertex, or
point where it is fixed to tlie shank ;
each arm is equal to the same length or
radius, so that the two arms together
make an arch of 120 degrees : the flukes
arc half the length of die arms, and their
breadths two fifths of the said length.
Win respect to the thickness, the cir-
cumference of the throat or vertex of the
shank is generally made about l-5th part
of its length, and the small end two thirds
of the throat : the small end of the ai-ms
of the flvikes three foui-ths of the circum-
ference of the shank of the tliroat.
Ciust iron anchors have been proposed,
and indeed, from the improvements in
tliis metal, it is probable they would be
cheap and seniceable But when we
consider the great impoi-tance of anchors
to the lives and property intrusted in
shipping, it would not be an act of pru-
dence to make an anchor of any material
but the very best. It appears reasonable,
that a cast iron anchor, made bi-oad in the
flukes, and strong in the shank, and forti-
fied with a kind of edge-bar, knee, or
bracket, in each angle, between tlie arm
and the shank, might prove as trust-wor-
thy as a forged anchor, and be more than
equal to the strain of any cable which is
made.
There are several kinds of anchors : 1.
the sheet anchor, which is the largest,
and is never used but in violent storms,
to hinder the ship from being driven
ashore : 2. the two bowers, which are
used for ships to ride in a harbour: 4 tlie
streimt anchor : 5. the jjrapnel. The iron
of which anchors are made ought neither
to be too soft nor too brittle ; for, if the
iron be brittle, the anchor is apt to break,
and if it be too soft, the anchor will
bend. In onler to give them a proper
temper, it is the practice to join brittle
with soft iron, and for this reason the
Spanish and Swedish iron ought to be
preferred.
The shank of an anchor is to be three
times the length of one of its flukes, and
vol,. T.
a ship of 500 tons hath her sheet anchor
of 2000 weight; and so propOrtionablv
for others smaller or greater, although
Aiibin observes, that the anchors of a
large vea.sel are made smaller in propor-
tion than those df a small one.
The anchor is said to be a-peak, when
the cable is perpendicular between the
hawse and the anchor.
An anchor is said to come home, when
it cannot hold the ship. An anchor is
foul, when, by the turning of the ship, the
cable is hitched about the fluke. To
shoe an anchor, is to fit boards upon the
flukes, that it may hold the better in soft
ground. When the anchor hangs right
up and down by the ship's side, it is said
to be a cock bell, upon the ship's coming
to an anchor.
The inhabitants of Ceylon use large
stones instead of anchoi"s ; and in some
other places of the Indies, the anchors
are a kind of wooden machines loaded
with stones.
ANCHORAGE, in law, is a duty taken
of ships for the use of the port or harbour
where they cast anchor : for the ground
there belonging to the king, no man can
let fall anchor thereon, without paying
the king's officers for so doing.
ANC HITS A, in botany, tlie alkanet, a
genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class
of plants, the calyx of which is an oblong,
cylindric, acute perianthium, divided
into five segments, and permanent ; the
corolla consists of a single petal ; the tube
is cylindric, and of the length of the cup ;
the limb is lightly divided into five seg-
ments, erecto-patent and obtuse ; the
opening is closed by five oblong, convex,
prominent, and connivent squamulx:
there is no pericarpium : the cup becomes
larger, and serves as a fruit, containing in
its cavity four oblong, obtuse, ami gib-
bous seeds. There are thirteen species :
though according to Martyn only ten.
They are mostly biennial, except when
they gi-ow in rubbish, or out of a wall.
They may all be easily propagated by
seeds, sown in the autumn.
ANCISTRUM, in botany, a genus of
the Uiandria Monogj-nia class and order :
calyx four leaved : no corolla : stigma
many-parted : drupe dry, hispid, one cell-
ed. There are three species. A. de-
cumbens resembles bumet in the herb
and mail ler of flowering: it is remarka-
blc for ihe yellow awns to the calyx, re-
sembling fox's nails. A native of New
Zc:iland. A.lucidumisanativc of the Falk-
land islands, introduced here in 1777 by
Dr. Fothergill ; it flowers in May and June.
ANDALUSITF., or Artwii/jfir," in minera-
logy* a species of the. Felspar family, dis-
F f
AND
AND
covered by Boumon in a primitive CTani-
tic mountain in Forez. Colour flesh red,
sometimes approaching to rose red. Mas-
sive, and crystallized in rectangular four-
sided prisms. Specific gravity 3.16. In-
fusible by the blow-pipe without addition.
It is distinguished from felspar by its gfreat
hardness, and higher specific gravity, and
from conmdum, by its inferior specific
gravity and its form. It is now found in
tlie primitive mountjuns in Sp^n and
France, with quartz and mica, and some-
times in a mica state at Braunsdorf, near
Freyberg in Saxonj'.
ANDRACRNE, in botany, a genus of
the Monoccia Gynandria class of plants ;
the corolla of the male flower is formed of
five eniarginated slender petals, shorter
than the cup ; the female flower has no
corolla ; the fruit is a capsule containing
three cells, with two obtuse trigonal
seeds, roundish on one side, and angular
on the other. There are three species.
ANDREA, in botany, a genus of the
Crj'ptogamia Musci class and order. Es-
sen, char, capsule verj' short, turbinate :
fringe simple, of four incurved concave
teeth, united at their tips, and bearing the
lid and veil. There are two species.
ANDROIDES, in mechanics, an auto-
maton, m the figure of a man, which, by
virtue of certain springs, &c. duly con-
trived, walks and performs other external
functions of a man. Alb ertus Magnus is
recorded as having made a famous an-
droides, which is said not only to have
moved, but to have spoken. Thomas
Aquinas is said to have been so frightened
when he saw this head, that he broke it
to pieces ; upon which Albert exclaimed,
" Periit opus tripnta annorum." Artificial
puppets, which, by internal springs, run
upon a table, and, as they advance, move
their heads, eyes, or hands, were common
among tlie Greeks, and from thence they
were brought to the Romans. Figiu-es,
'•t puppets, which appear to move of
themselves, were formerly employed to
work miracles ; but this use is now super-
seaed, and they serve only to display in-
genuity, and to answer the purposes of
amusement One of the most celebrated
figures of this kind was constructed and
exliibited at Paris, in 1738; and a particu-
lar account of it was published in the Me-
moirs of the Academy for that year. This
figure represents a flute-player, which
was capable of performing various pieces
of music, by wind issuing from its mouth
into a German flute, the holes of which it
opened and shut with its fingei-s : it was
about 5^ feet high, placed uj)on a square
pedestal 4^ feet high, and 34 broad. The
air entered the body by three separate
pipes, into which it was conveyed by nine
paii-s of bellows, that expanded and con-
tracted, in regular succession, by means
of an axis of steel turned by clock-work.
These bellows performed their functions
without any noise, wliich might have dis-
covered the manner by which tl\e air was
conveyed to the machine.
The three tubes which received the air
from the bellows passed into three small
reservoirs in the trunk of the figure. Here
they united, and ascending towards the
throat, formed the cavity of the mouth,
which terminated in two small lips, adapt-
ed in some measure to perform their pro-
per fiinctions. Within this cavity was a
small moveable tongue, which, by its mo-
tion at proper intervals, admitted the air,
or intercepted it in its passage to the flute.
The fingei-s, lips, and tongue, derived
their proper movements from a steel cy-
linder, turned by clock-work. This was
divided into fifteen equal parts, which, by
means of pegs pressing upon the ends of
fifteen different levers, caused the other
extremities to ascend. Seven of these
levers directed the fingei-s, having wires
and chains fixed to their ascending extre-
mities, which, being attached to the fin-
gers, made tliem to siscend, in proportion
as the other extremity was pressed down
by the motion of the cylinder, and vice
versa; then the ascent or descent of one
end of a lever produced a similar ascent
or descent in the corresponding fingers,
by which one of the holes of the flute was
occasionally opened or stopped, as it
might have been by a living performer.
Three of the levers served to regulate the
ingress of the air, being so contrived as to
open and shut, by means of valves, the
three reservoii-s above mentioned, so that
more or less strength might be given, and
a higher or lower note produced, as oc-
casion required. The lips were, by a si-
milar mechanism, directed by four levers,
one of which opened them to give the air
a freerpassage,the other contracted them,
the tliird drew them backward, and tlxe
fourth pushed them forward. The lips
were projected upon ttiat part of the flute
which receives the air, and, by the differ-
ent motions already mentioned, modified
the tune in a proper manner, 'rhe re-
maining lever was employed in the direc-
tion of the tongue, which it easily moves,
so as to shut or open the mouth of the
flute. The just succession of tlie several
motions, performed by the various parts
of tliis machine, was regulated by the fol-
lowing simple contrivance. The exti-emi-
ty of the axis of the cylinder terminated
ANDROIDES.
on the right side by an endless screw,
consisting of twelve threads, each placed
at the distance of a line and an half from the
otlier. Above this screw was fixed a piece
of copper, and in it a steel pivot, which,
falling in between the threads of the scbc w,
obliged the cylinder to follow the threuds,
and, instead of turning directly round,
it was continually pushed to one side.
Hence, if a lever was moved, by a peg
placed on the cylinder, in any one revolu-
tion, it could not be moved by the same
peg in the succeeding revolution, because
the peg would be moved a line and a
half beyond it by the lateral motion of
the cy Under.
Thus, by an artificial disposition of these
pegs in difrcrent parts of the cyhnder, the
statue was made, by the successive ele-
vation of the proper levers, to exhibit all
tlie different motions of a flute-player,
to the admiration of every one who saw
it Another fig^ure, constructed by the
same artist, V'aucanson, played on the Pro-
vencal shepherd's pipe, held in its left
hand, and with the right beat upon a drum.
The performances of Vaucanson were
imitatecl, and even exceeded, by M. de
Kempehn, of Presburg, in Hungary. The
andnjjdcs constnicted by tliis gentleman,
in 1760, was capable of playing chess. It
was brought over to England in 1783, and
remained here for more than a year. It
is thus described : The figure is as large
aslife, in a Turkish dress, seated behind a
table, with doors 3^ feet long, 2 deep,
and 2^ high. The chair on which it sits
is fixed to the table, which is made to run
on four wheels. It leans its right arm on
the table, and in its left hand holds a pipe ;
with this hand it plays after the pipe is
removed. A chess-board of 18 inches is
fixed before it. The table, or rather chest,
contains wheels, levei-s, cyhnders, and
other pieces of mechanism, all of which
are publicly displayed. The vestments of
the figure were then lifted over its head,
and the body seen full of similar wheels
and levers. There is a little door in its
thigh, which is likewise opened : and with
this, and the table also open, and the figure
uncovered, the whole is wheeled about
the room. The doors are then shut, and
the automaton is ready to play ; and it al-
ways takes the first move. At every mo-
tion the wheels are heard, the image
moves its head, and looks over every part
of the chess-board. When it checks the
queen it shakes its head twice, and thrice
in giving check to the king. It likewise
shakes its head when a false move is made,
replaces the piece, and makes its own
move, by which means the adversary loses
one. M. de Kempelin exliibited his auto,
maton at Petersburg, \ ienna, Paris, and
London, before tliousands, many of whom
were mathematicians, and chess-players,
and yet the secret by which he governed
the motion of its arm was never discover-
ed, lie valued himself upon the construc-
tion of a mechanism, b} wliich the arm
could perform ten or twelve moves. It
then needed to be wound up like a watch,
after which it was capable of continuing
the same number of motions. Tliis auto-
maton could not play unless M. de Kem<
pelin, or his assistant, wa« near it, to di-
rect its movements. A small square box
was frequently consulted by tlie exhibitor
during the game, and in this consisted the
secret, which the inventor declared he
could communicate in a moment Any
person who could beat M. de Kempelin
at chess, was sure of conquering tlie au-
tomaton.
Remark by the British Editor.— When
this piece of mechanism was exliibited in
London, it played a great number of move*
without requiring to be wound up, and it
was worked by a M. Anthon, who walked
about tlie room,witl»out any apparent com-
munication, during the performance. The
chess-board was part of the top of the
square counter, or table, to which the
figure was attached in a leaning posture.
When the back of the figure was opened,
an upright iron axis was seen, with two
strong springs, which apparently were in-
tended to restore the quiescent position
after any move ; and when the doors of
the counter were opened, two compart-
ments were seen, formed by an upright
partition in the interior space. In one of
them was seen a brass barrel, resembling
that of a barrel organ, having sixteen ver-
ticle bars or levers, so placed as if to be
tripped by the barrel; and there was also
some wheel-work : and in the other com-
partment there was little, except a brass
horizontal arc, or quadrant, with a brass
radius, most probably capiuble of being set
to different angular situations. The hand
of the figure lay upon a cushion, and every
approaching move was announced by the
discharge ol a click, and the buzzing noize
of a fly was heard until the move was com-
pleted. The fore -arm was first raised
about two inches by a vertical motion at
the elbow : it was then carried horizon-
tally, until the hand was immediately over
the piece to be taken up, at which time
the fingers suddenly opened, the hand
dropped, seized the piece, rose again,
made the move, and dropped the piece on
the square to which it had arrived But
in case the advcrsarj's piece were to be
J
AND
ANE
taken,it was first seized in the manner here
described, and carried clear off" the board
and dropped, and the subsequent move
then made into the empty square. After
the game was played, the Baron Kcmpe-
lin gave tlie figure a knight, and it moved
the piece in succession, without any pause,
by the proper course, till it had passed
every square in the board, as was shewn
by an assistant placing a counter on each
square, as the knight quitted it.
What can be deduced from so slight and
transient a public view of this apparatus ?
— very little. It seems as if the greatest
skill had been exerted in producing the
mechanical effects, and that the communi-
cation of the player (Anthon) with the ap-
paratus may be a riddle of no great depth.
The si.xteen pulls from the baiTcl may
bear some relation to the eight rows of
squares, twice taken for the two sides, the
white and the black ; and as the moves
are all reducible to those of the castle of
the bishop, from wiiich they differ in ex-
tent of shift only, (except that of the
knight, which is an immediate combination
of both) we may guess that the pull might
determine the line to be played in, and
the quadrant the distance from the back
row. But it is useless to extend our con-
jectures, with such scanty means.
The same Baron Kempelin exhibited,
in his private parlour, a small speaking in-
strument or organ, which he said was not
then in a finished state. It was a kind of
box, which he brought out and placed
upon a table. Speaking without notes
from the recollection of four and twenty
yeai"snow elapsed, I judge its dimensions
were about two feet in length, one foot
wide, and eight or nine inches deep. It
was open ; but we were prevented from
seeing the inside by a cloth put over it.
The Baron put his hands under the cloth,
so that his nght arm was disposed longitu-
dinally in the box, and seemed to press a
pair of bellows: the other hand was put
in crosswise at the end, near the place of
the right hand, and seemed to be employ-
ed with keys, or some appai-atus, or per-
haps both hands may have been so em-
ployed. When he made the instrument
speak, he raised his right elbow, and gra-
dually pressing it down, the sound was
heard. It was monotonous, as if from a
single pipe, about the pitch of D, above
the middie C, concert pitch; and the
words papa and mama were uttered
very distinctly, in a slow drawlingmanner;
that is to say, tliere was a want of the
usual inflectionsoftone, and the soundfell
off in intensity towards the end. After
several other words had been spoken, a
lady asked in French, if it could not speak
sentences, and the Baron asked what it
should say. She answered " Que je suh
mechante" and the instrument said " Vous
etes mechante, mais vous etes anssi bonne."
Kratzenstcin has given some account
of the principles of an engine of this kind,
in a work extracted in the Journal de
Physique : and Dr. Young has cursorily
mentioned this subject in his lectures,
with some diagrams.
ANDROMEDA, in astronomy, a small
northern constellation, consisting of twen-
ty-seven stars, visible to the naked eye,
behind Pegasus, Cassiopiea, and Perseus.
The number of stars placed in this con-
stellation by Ptolemy is 27; by Tycho
Brahe 23 ; by Hevelius 47 ; and by Flam-
stead 66. The constellation has been
thought to resemble a woman almost na-
ked, with her feet at a distance from each
other, andher arms extended and chained.
AsmiOMEDA, in botany, a genus of the
Decandria Monogjnia class of plants;
the calyx of which is a veiy small acute
coloured and permanent periantliium, cut
into five segments ; the corolla consists
of a single petal, of an oval form, inflated
and quinquefid ; the fruit is a roundish
cap.sule, containing five cells, in which
are several roundish shining seeds. There
are 25 species.
ANDROPOGON, in botany, a genus of
the Polyganiia Monoecia class of plants,
the calyx of which is a bivalve, oblong,
obtuse glume ; the corolla is also a bi-
valve glume, smaller and thmner than the
cup ; there is no pericarpium ; the seed,
which is single, oblong, covered and arm-
ed with tlie arista of tiie flower, is includ-
ed in the glumes of the calyx and corol-
la. There ai-e 32 species.
ANEMOMETER, among mechanical
philosophers, aninstniment contrived for
measuring the strength of the wind.
There are various kinds of anemometers ;
tliat of which Wolfius gives the structure
is moved by sails like those of a wind-
mill. He experienced, he says, the good-
ness of it, and affirms that the inward
structure may be presei-ved to measure
even the force of running water, or that
of men and horses when they draw. In
the memoirs of the academy of sciences
is described a new anemometer, which
expresses on paper, not only the several
winds tliat have blown during the space
of the last 24 hours, but also the strengtJi
and velocity of each. In the philosophi-
cal Transactions for the year 1/66, Mr.
Brice has described a method of measur-
ing the velocity of the wind, by means of
ANE
ANE
that of the shadow of clouds passing over
the surface of the earth. This, however,
in general exceeds that neartlie j^ound.
M. d'Ons en Bray invented an anemome-
ter, which of itseli" expresses on paper,
not only the several winds that have
blown during tlie space of twenty-four
hours, and at what hour each began and
ended, but also the strength and velocity
of each. See Memoii-s Acad. Scien. Anno
1734.
ANEMONE, in botany, a genus of the
Polyandria Polygynia clsBs and order. Its
characters are, that it has no calyx ; that
the corolla has petals in two or three
rows, three in a row, somewhat oblong ;
the stamina have numci"ous filaments, ca-
pillary, hiUf the length of the corolla :
anthers, twin and erect : the pistillum
has numerous gt;rms on a head, styles
acuminate, and stigmas obtuse : no peri-
carpium ; receptacle globular or oblong ;
seeds very many, acuminate, retaining
the style : there are about 30 species.
The garden anemones are natives of the
cast, from whence their roots were origi-
nally brought ; but cultiu^ has so impro-
ved tliem, that they are become the chief
ornaments to our gardens in the spring.
To jjrepare the soil for these plants, take
a quantity of fresh, light, sandy loam, or
hazel-earth, from a common or dry pas-
ture, not dug above ten inches deep ;
mix this with a thiitl jiart of its quantity
of rotten cow-dung, and lay it up iu a
heap ; turn this over at least once a
month, for eight or ten months, and every
time pick out the stones, and break the
clods. After this mixture has been twelve
months made, it will be fit for use. The
beds of this earth must be prepared in
September, and s()ould be made six or
eight inches deep, in a wet soil : but in a
dry one, three inches will be sufficient;
lay this compost at least 2X feet thick,
with about four or five inches of rotten
neat's dung, or the rotten dung of an old
melon or cucumber bed, at the bottom; in
a wet soil let tlie beds be rounded, so that
the water may run off; but in a dry soil let
them be nearer to a level : three- weeks
after the compost has been laid in, stir it
about six inches deep with a spade, and
then with a stick draw lines each way of
the bed, at six inches distance, so that the
whole may be in squares ; then make a
hole three inches deep in the centre of
each square, and plant a root in each ;
and when all are planted, rake the earth
of the whole bed -smooth, so as to cover
the roots two inches thick. The season
of planting these roots tor fonvwrd flow -
ei-s is tlie latter end of September ; and
for those of a middle season is (Ictober :
this is best done at a time when there are
gentle rains. Some roots should also be
saved, to be planted after Christmxs, for
fear of accidents to the former fi-om very
hard weather. These usually flowertliree
weeks after those planted in autumn.
They are pro]):»gateQ two ways, cither by
dividing the roots or by sowing. The
roots arc to be divided as soon as they are
taken up out of the ground; they will suc-
ceed, if broken into as many parts as there
are eyes or buds in them ; but they flow-
er most strongly, if not parted too small.
The way by sowing is this ; choose first
some good kinds of single anemones, call-
ed the gardeners poppy anemones ; plant
these early, and tliey will produce ripe
seeds tliree weeks after the flower fii-st
blows. This must be carefully gathered,
and in August it should be sowed in pots
or tubs, or a well prepared bed of liglit
earth, rubbing it between the hatuls witlj
a little diy s:u»d, to prevent several of the
seeds from clinging together, and spread-
ing them as even as possible all over the
bed ; after this a light hair brush should
be drawn many times over the surface of
the bed, to pull asunder any lumps of seed
that may yet have fallen togclher ; obser-
ving not to bnish off the seed, and as
nuich as possible not to brush it into
lumps. When this is done, some light
earth, about a quarter of an inch deep,
should be sifted over the bed. If the
weather be hot, the bed must be at times
covered with mats laid hollow, and gently
watered. In about ten weeks after sow-
ing the plants will appear, if the season
has been favourable, and tiiey are to be
carefully defended from tlie hard frosts
by proper covering, and from the heat of
the sun afterwards, by a moveable reed
fence. As the spring ailvances, if the
weather be dr\', they must be gently wa-
tered,andwhentheirgTeen !. ' ,\,
there must be a quarter of . \-
earth sifted over them, and ti,. ..^, .... .in
at Michaelm:is ; and the bed must be
kept clear from weeds, and the following-
spring they will flower. The single or
poppy anemones will flower most part of
the winter and spring, when the seasons
are favourable, and in a warm situation ;
and they require little culture, for it will
be sufficient to take up the roots every
other year ; and when they arc t;»ken up,
they should be planted ag-ain very early
in the autumn, or else they will not flow-
er till the spring. There arc some fine
blue colours among these single ane-
ANE
ANG
mones, which, with the scarlets and reds,
form a beautiful mixture of colours ; and
as these begin to flower in January or
FebruaiT, when the weather is cold, they
will continue for a long- time in beauty,
provided that the frost is not too severe.
The seeds of these are ripe by the middle
or end of May, and must be gathered
dailj' as they ripen, because they will
annual, and has been cultivated here more
than 200 years. The seeds are dii-ected
for use by the London and Edinburgh
Pharmacopeias. Common fennel, another
species of ancthum, is much used for culi-
nary purposes, and likewise in medicine.
.\NEUR1SM, or AsEURTSM, in surgery,
a throbbing tumour, distended with blood,
and fonned by a dilatation or rupture of
soon be blown away by the winds. The .jL*n artery.
roots of wood anemone may be taken up ' ANGEL, in commerce, the name of an
when tlie leaves decay, and transplanted
into wildernesses, where they will thrive,
and in the spring have a good effect in
covering the ground with their leaves and
flowers. The blue anemone flowers at
the same time with tlie foregoing, and in-
termixed with it, makes a fine variety.
Double flowei-s of both these sorts have
been obtained from seeds. This, and most
of the other wild anemones, may be pro-
pagated by offsets from the root, which
they put out plentifully ; and they will
grow in most soils and situations. Vir-
ginian anemone, and .some others, produce
plenty of seeds, and may be readily in-
creased also that wav.
ANEMOSCOPE, a machine invented to
tell the changes of the wind. It should
consist of an index moving about a circu-
lar plate, like the dial of a clock, on
which the 32 points of the compass are
drawn, instead of hours. The index,
pointing to the divisions in the dial, is
turned by an horizontal axis, having an
handle-head at its outward extremity.
This handle-head is moved by a cog-
wheel on a perpendicular axis, on the top
of which is fixed a vane, that moves with
the course of the wind, and gives motion
to the whole machine. The contrivance
is simple, the number of cogs in the wheel
and rounds in the trundle-head must be
equal, because it is necessary, that when
the vane moves entirely round, the index
of the dial should also make a complete
revolution. A different anemoscope is
described in the Phil. Trans, vol. xliii.
part ii. and one is described in Martin's
Phil. Brit. vol. ii.
ANETHUM, in botany, dttt, a genus of
the Pentandria Digynia class and order.
Essen, char, fniit ovate, somewhat com-
pressed, striate : petals involute, entire.
There are three species. The common
dill differs from fennel, in having an an-
nual root, a smaller and lower stem ; the
leaves more glaucous, and of a less plea-
sant smell ; the seeds broader and flatter.
This plant grows wild among the corn in
Spain and Portugal, and also near the coast
in Italy, and near Constantinople : it is an
ancient gold coin in England, of which
some are still to be seen m the cabinets of
the curious. It had its name from the
figure of an angel repfresented upon it. It
was 233 caratsfine, and weighed four pen-
ny-weights. Its value differed in different
reigns.
ANGELICA, in botany, a genus of the
Pentandria Digfvnia class of plants, the ge-
neral umbel of which is roundish and mul-
tiple ; the partial umbel, while in flower,
is perfectly globose ; the general involu-
crum is composed of either three or five
leaves; the partialinvolucrum is small, and
composed of eight leaves; the proper
perianthium is small and quinquedentate;
the general corolla is unifonn ; the single
flowers consist each of five deciduous,
lanceolated, and slightly crooked petals ;
the fruit is naked, roundish, angular, and
sepai-able into two parts : the seeds ai'e
two, of an oval figure, plain on one side,
and convex or striated on the other.
All the sorts may be increased by seeds.
The common angelica delights in a moist
soil, in which the seeds should be sown
soon after they are ripe ; and when the
plants are about six inches high, they
should be transplanted ata large distance,
about tliree feet asunder, on the sides of
ditches or pools of water. In the second
year they will flower, and their stems may
be cut down in May, and heads will be
put out from the sides of the roots, and
thus they may be continued for three or
four years ; but if they have been permit-
ted to seed, their roots would perish soon
after. — The stalks of garden angelica were
formerly blanched, and eaten as celery.
The young shoots are in great esteem
amongthe Laplanders. In Norway, bread
is sometimes made of the roots. The gar-
deners near London, who have ditches of
of water in their gardens, propagate great
quantities of this plant, which they sell to
the confectioners, who make a sweet-
meat with the tender stalks cut in May.
Bohemia and Spain are supposed to pro-
duce the best : the College of London,
formerly directed the roots brought from
Spain only to be kept in the shops. Lin-
ANG
ANG
nxwi, however, assures us, that the plant
proves most vigorous on its native north-
ern mountains, and p^ives a decided pre-
ference to the root dug here, either early
in the spring or late in the autumn. The
roots of angelica arc one of the principal
aromaticsof European growth, though not
much regarded in the present practice.
They have a fragrant agreeable smell, and
a bitterish pungent taste ; on being chew-
edthey are first sweetish, afterwards acrid,
and leave a glowing heat in the mouth and
^ces, which continue for some time.
The stalk, leaves, ami seeds, appear to
possess the same qualities, though in an
inferior degree. Dr. Lewis says, that on
wotinding the fresh root early in thespring,
it yields, from the inner part of the bai-k,
an unctuous, yellowish, odorous juice,
which, gently exsiccated, retains its fra-
grance, and proves an elegant, aromatic,
gummy, resin. Rectified spirit extracts
the whole of the virtues of the root ; wa-
ter but very little ; and, in distillation witli
the latter, a small portion of very pungent
essential oil may be obtained. The Lap-
landers extol the utility of angelica, not
only as food but as medicine. For coughs,
hoarseness, and other disorders of the
breast, they eat the stalks, roasted in hot
ashes ; they also boil the tender flowers
in dairy milk, till it attains the consistence
of an extract; and they use this to pro-
mote perspiration in cataiThal fevers, and
to strengthen tlie stomach in diarrhsea, &c.
According to the explanations of Sir John
Pringle, the herb is antiseptic, but the
efficacy of the leaves is soon lost by drying
them. The seeds also, which come near-
est to the roots, can scarce be kept till the
spring after they are gathered, without
the loss of their vegetative power, as well
as a diminution of their medicinal virtue.
These are the only parts of the plant
which are ordered by the London College,
and that only i n compound spirit of aniseed.
The aromatic quaUty of the root is more
considerable than that of any other part;
but many other simples surpass angelica in
aromatic and carminative powers; it is sel-
dom employed in the present practice.
All the parts of the wild angelica are simi-
lar in quality to those of the former spe-
cies, but rather weaker, and the former
may be more easily procured. Cows,
gtjats, and .swine, eat it, but horses refuse it.
ANOIOFTERIS, in botany, a genus of
the Crj-ptoganiia Filices. Essen, char,
fructification oval, sessile, in a line near
the margin of the frond, approximate in a
double row, one celled.
AXGIOSHERMA, in botany, a term
u^edj^by Linnxus, to express the second
order of the Didynamix plants, which
have seeds not lodged naked within the
cup, as in Gymnospermia, but inclosed in
a capsule, and adhering to a receptacle
in the middle of a pericarp. The class of
Didynamia contains the labiated and per-
sonated plants. The Angiospermia are
the personated ; the others the labiated
kind. In this order many of the corollas
are personate, or labiate, with lips closed;
some, however, have bell-shaped, wheel-
shaped, or triangular corollas. To have
seeds inclosed in a pericarp is common to
all ; and hence the name of the oixler An-
giospermia. Thisordercontains 87 genera.
ANGLE, in geometrj', the inclination
of two lines meeting one another in a
point, and called the legs of the angle
See Gbometrt.
ANGLING, may be defined the art of
catching fish by a rod and line, furnished
with a hook and bait, or artificial fly. It
is divided into two species principally,fly
fishingandbaitfishing: the first is perform-
ed by the use of artificial flies, which are
made to imitate natural flies so exactl}',
that fish take tliem with equal eagerness.
The .second species of anghng is effected
by tlie application to the hook of a variety
of worms, grubs, smaU fish, pai-ts of fish,
and anumberof otlier matters, which shall
be detailed more particularly.
Fly fishing requires more skill and ad-
dress than bait fishing; and the formation
of the artificial flies, for it is an art in itself
of so much nicety, that to give any just idea
of it, we must clevote an article to it par-
ticularly. See FisHiKo Flixs.
To constitute a g^d angler, a know-
ledge of the natural Ivistory of the fish he
desires to take is essentially necessarj- ;
without this, he cannot perfectly know Uie
bait most suitable to them at different sea-
sons, and in different situations ; which is
so far from being obvious, that tliere are
many small rivers which are considered as
totally exhausted of tlieir fish, by the ge-
nerality of anglers, where, however.afew
of extraordin;u*y skill will find good sport,
and take many fish of the best kinds.
The fish caught by angling in tliis part
of the world are, the salmon, salmon-trout,
cotl, bull-head, flounder, weak-fish, sea-
basse, black -fish, perch, rock, drum, cat-
fish, eel, red drum, &c.
Several of tliese only inhabit the salt
waters, others migrate regularly from the
seaup the rivers to deposit tlieir eggs, and
some are found in tlie liesh waters only.
In the lakes, rivers, and other streams of
the interior, are caught rock, perch of
different kinds, a salmon trout, gudgeon,
carp, chub, roach, rcdfin, sucker, miimow
ANGLIXG.
(called minn\ ), wliite and yellow-bellied
catfish, eel, sunfish, or old wife, pike, &c.
&c. The common and silver minnow, on
account of their diminutive size, are used
only as bait.
To this list a veiy large addition might
be made, but it woiUd consist of names,
like several of tlie above, often local, and
confined exclnsively to a particular state
or district, or applied, in different parts of
the country, to fish in eveiy respect unhke
each other. This vague nomenclature is a
source of constant error, and obviously in-
dicates the convenience, and even neces-
sity, of an universal language, such as sci-
entific natural liistory presents us with.
Baits for fish are principally natural ; a
few artificial ones are used, chiefly in
fishing for pike and perch, made to imi-
tate small fish, frogs, &c. The natural
baits are whatever is commonly eaten by
fish, as worms, maggots, grubs, caterpil-
lars, snails, small fish, frogs, roe of fish,
beetles, butterflies, moths, was|5S, grass-
hoppers. Vegetable baits are sometimes
used, as beans, wheat, barley, and peas,
which last are best when green, and
slightly boiled; paste made of dough,
bread, or flour, mixed with oil, and a little
cotton to unite it together, also forms bsdt.
It is generally best to colour it red, parti-
cularly for smelts.
Maggots ai-e best procured by han^ng
up a bullock's liver, scarified pretty deep-
ly all over, covered loosely, so as to ad-
mit flies. In two or three days, living
maggots will appear on it, when it shoidd
be taken down and put into a pan, till
the gentles attain their full size ; a suffi-
cient quantity of fine sand and bran is
then to be put over the liver in the pan ;
and the maggots will in a few days come
into it and scour themselves, which ren-
ders them tough, clean, and fit to be han-
dled. Those produced in autumn wiU
continue in that state all the winter, if
they can get just under the surface of the
earth. In the spring, as the weather be-
comes warm, they change into flies.
The cadbate is a very excellent bait.
This is an imperfect insect, resembling a
worm, inclosed in a tube formed of ag-
glutinated pebbles, out of which the head
and six feet are protruded when in mo-
tion ; it is the larva of the genus Phryga
nea, and is to be found in great plenty in
gravelly and stony rivulets; and by the side
of streams in large rivers among stones ;
when you want them, turn up tlie stones,
and you will find the best sticking to
them. When a sufficient quantity of
them are proc»trcd, hang them up in a
linen bag, and dip them, in the bag, once
a day into water, for four or five days.
They will then turn yellow, and become
tough and fit for use, being much better
than when they first came out of the
water.
The lob, or dew worm, is found in gar-
dens and pastures, lute in summer even-
ings, by using a lanthom and candle.
They are also dug up in fields, and by the
sides of drains and ditches. To scour and
preserve them for use, take some moss,
dip it into clean water, wring it dry, put
half of it into an earthen pot, tlien put in
the worms, and the rest of the moss at top ;
cover it close, that they may not get out,
and keep it in a cool place in summer, and
in a warmer in winter; the moss should
be changed every fifth or sixth day. lii
a week the worms will be fit for use.
These directions will also answer for other
species of worms.
Bmndlings, red-worms, and gilt-heads,
are found in the same dunghills together,
which consists of hogs' dung, horses' dung,
and rotten earth. But tlie worms which
are found in tanner's bark, after it has
been used and become quite rotten, are
the best of all ; but they are generally
better for angling without any scouring.
Long white worms, found chiefly in tur-
nip fields, are good bait, especially in
muddy water. They are preserved best
in some of their own earth, kept damp,
with some moss over it.
Marsh worms, found in marshy grounds
and rich banks of rivers.
The red worm;;, found in cow dung, and
dock worms, found about the roots of
docks, flags, and sedges, are all good bait.
As are likewise the gnibs found in cow
dung, called cow-dung bobs, which are of
a yellowish white, with red heads, and the
short bobs, or grubs, found in mellow
sandy land, which have pale red heads,
yellowish tails, and bodies of the colour
of the earth wherein they are found, but
which when scoured are of a pale white.
These last are an excellent winter bait ;
the best way to render them tough is, to
put them into boiling milk, for about two
minutes, on the morning which they are
to be used.
Caterpillars, found by beating the
branches of oaks, and other trees, that
grow over highways, paths, and open pla-
ces, and the cabbage grubs found on and
in the hearts of cabbages, are also excel-
lent bait ; these last are to be fed, and
preserved, with the same kind of leaves on
which they are found. Shad-roe is like-
wise agoodbait; but the numerous pastes
ANGLING.
and oib, which many have prescribed for
enticing fish to bite, are, in the opinion of
the most experienced anglers, only idle
chimxras.
"Worms are best put on hooks, by run-
ning the hooks in at the head of one
worm, and out about Iiis middle, drawing
it up over the shank, and putting on a se-
cond worm beneath the first, in the mid-
<lle of whose body the point of the hook
is to be concealed ; tlie tails of both
worms hanging loose will entice the fish.
Ground bait is often used with good
effect, particularly for barbel and for
perch. It sliould be a general rule, that
ttie ground bait should be always inferior
to that which is used on the hook ; greaves
therefore should not be used, as is cus-
tomary with some ; but for this purpose,
malt g^ns, bran, blood, parts of lob-
worms, and clay, all worked up together
and made into small balls, is tlie most
proper composition ; and two or three
of these balls, thrown into the place
where you desire to fish, is sufficient at a
time. This may be repeated now and
then, but much should not be used, for
if this should be done, the fish will glut
themselves, and become less eager for the
bait on the hook.
A good ground bait is made for perch,
by taking tliree or four balls of the stifiest
clay that can be procured, making holes
in them, putting one end of a lob-worm
into each hole, and closing the clay fast on
them. The.se balls should tlien be thrown
into the water, about a yanl from each
other, when the worms, being ahve in tlie
balls, will move and twist s^out, which
tempts the fish to feed upon tliem. But
by angling with worms of a superior kind,
the fish will on sight of them leave those
in the clay, and seize the otliers with tlie
greatest avidity.
The tackle necessary for angling con-
sists of fishing rods, lines, finks of hair, and
of otlier materials usual ; hooks, floats,
spare-caps, split shot, bait of different
sorts, including ground bait, shoemakers'
wax, twine, silk, a cleanng ring, which
being passed over the rod, when the hook
is entangled, and drawn down the line by a
strong twine attached to it for the pur-
pose, to the hook or below it, if the ob-
struction is raused by weed-s will either
free the hook or break the line near it,
and prevent its being strained in any other
place, by pulling the t\vine witli suflficient
force. A landing net is also useful to
land lai^ fish : and a gaff, when fishing
for salmon, to be used for the same pur-
voL. r.
pose ; which instrument consists of a Urge
hook attached to the end of a pliable
stick ; by passing tlie hook into the nose
or gills of the fish, it may be easily lifted
out of the water, for v hich purpose a
landing net is too small. A di3gorj»er in
also necessarj", to put down the Siroat of
a fish, when he has gorged the hook, till
you touch it, when on pulling tlic fine it
will be free. The disgorger is formed
by a piece of flat wood, about six inches
long, and half an inch wide, forked at the
ends. To these articles a fish-basket
should be added, to carry the fish in.
Fishing rods are made of various
lengths, according to the sort of fish they
are intended for ; those for salmon are
about 18 feet long, those for trout 14 or
15 feet, those for pike tlie same as for
salmon; and for otJier fish, either the
trout or the salmon, rods may be used ac
cording to their size and strengUi. All
rods should be made to taper evenly from
the buts ; and when not formed of pieces
of tlie natural growth, which should al-
ways consist of ground shoots, tliey
slioidd be made of cleft timber, as sawed
pieces can never be depended on. Ash,
or hickory are best for the lower joints,
yew for the next, and the extremity of the
top should always consist of whalebone ;
the fewer joints used in the rod the more
equal will be its elasticity in every part ;
some have the joints formed with screw
ferules, and some with sliding connections
retained by plain ferules ; but none are
better for the elasticity of the roil, and
for security, than simple splice^ joints,
secured by well waxed twine , some re-
commend those latter joints to be previ-
ously glued together, beibre the waxed
twine is applied, with gAie prepared with
strong lime water : but it is obvious that
the wet to which rods are exposed must
render glue of little nse : thick white
paint, or some of the varnish hereafter
mentioned, v oidd probably cement the
pieces topechermore durably. Whatever
may be t^c number of permanent joints,
the lo"g' rwis need not be made to sepa-
rate into more than tliree long pieces, and
a short top ; and the short rods into two
pieces, and a short top ; the lower joint
of trout rods should be bored hollow, to
contain a second top ; for every trout rod
should have two tops made for it ; one
very pUable for fly fishing, and the other
stifler for bait ; tlie top not in use will be
conveniently and safely kept in the hol-
low but. The rod should be ftmiished
with rings for the fine to pass through,
from the top to within two feet of the
Gp
ANGLING.
reel ; and when it is completed, it should
be well varnished over with a varnish foiin-
ed by boiling a little scraped Indian rub-
ber, or coutchouc, in hall a pint of drying
linseed oil till it dissolves ; the varnish
shoiJd be skimmed, and be used warm.
The rod, after being varnished, should be
laid aside till quite dry ; the varnish will
then appear on it like a fine thin bark,
will be very diu-able, and will preserve it
from being worm eaten, and from other
injuries. The hollow part of tlie rod
should be rubbed inside with linseed oil,
three or four times each year, which may
be done by a rag dipped in the oil, and
tied to the end of a stick.
Hair lines should be long, round, clear,
and free from knots, frets, or scales. For
fly fishing, a line should be prepared from
nine to twelve yards long, gradually ta-
pering to the extremity. It is formed of
a number of Unks of diair, twisted first,
and then knotted to each other. The
four lowest links consist of three hairs
each, with the weak tops cut off all of a
length; the next foiu* links have four hairs
each i the third four links five hairs ; and
so on till the line is completed. The
links are to be knotted together with the
fisheririan's or water-knot ; the short
ends of tlie hairs are to be cut off pretty
close to the knots, and the knots to be
•whipped over with well-waxed silk. A
loop should be made at each end of this
line : the upper loop to fasten it to the
end of the running hne at the top of the
rod, and the lower loop to fasten the
lower liiiks to, which shoidd never con-
sisrt: of more tlian two or three, of either
gut or hair, for fly or bottom fishing.
The best colours for lines are pale
bluish, green, or watery grey, and fight
bay.
Running hair lines, or tliose all of one
thickness, ai-e made on engines prepared
and sold at the fishing-tacMe shops. They
may Ukewise be made by passing hairs
through three short tubes made of quills
or reeds, secured by pegs at the lower
ends. The hairs are to be knotted toge-
ther at the top, and the quills being then
turned round all together between the
fingers, will form an equal twist above
them ; which being drawn out, according
as the quills are turned round, make the
line, fresh hairs being still put into the
quills at the lower en<w as the upperhaLrs
are worked into the hne.
The most excellent hooks are those
made of the best tempered fine steel wire,
longish in the shanks, and strong and ra-
ther deepish in the bend ; the barbs well
formed, and the point fine and stnkight.
and as true as it canbe set to be level with
the shank, which lastfor fly fishing should
be tapered off to tlie end of it, that the fly
may be finished the neater. Hooks made
in this manner, so as to he all in one plane,
are much better than twisted so as to pro-
ject at one side : they do not make so
large an orifice when the fish is hooked,
nor are they so liable to break the hold as
the others. The two kinds being fairly
tried against each other for several sea^
sons, considerably more fish were missed
in the rising, and in biting at the bottom,
and much more lost after being hooked j
with the crooked hooks, than witli those ^
above recommended. The best hooks of
the kind are made in Limerick.
Floats for angling are made of many
kinds, as of swan quills, goose quills, Mus-
co\-y duck quills, and porcupine quills.
The first is tlie best, when fight baits are
used in rivers or deep waters, and the
others for slow water, or ponds not very
deep. For heavy fishing, with worms or
minnows, a coi'k float is best, made of a
pyramidical form, with a quill placed in it
lengthways for the hne to pass through.
QuUl floats must carry shot enough to sink
them, so as that the top may appear above
water, that the slightest nibble may be
better perceived. The cork floats should
have sufficient shot placed beneath them
on the hne, to make them stand upright
when the shot is off the bottom, by which
it may be known when the shot is on the
ground ; for then the float will fall on one
side, and no longer stand upright
Angling has been divided, by those who
have written on the subject, into many
other kinds besides those mentioned. Of
these, float angling and ground angling
may be easily understood from what has
been mentioned already. Night anghng is
perfonned nearly in the same way as day
anghng; but in it the larger and more
conspicuous bait, such as garden worms,
snails, and minnows, are best. Some lay
long lines in rivers at night, with short
lines, furnished with hooks attached to
them at certain inten'als ; and some use
lines fastened to floats of various sorts ;
but these modes of fishing can scarcely be
called angling, properly speaking. The
largest and finest fish are often caxight by
these methods.
Sea anghng has nothing p«rticidarin it,
but that small parts offish, clams or crabs,
are mostly used in it for bait. The same
fish may be caught at the heads of piers
and the mouths of rivers, and by the same
bjut as at sea, therefore fishing in such
places is classed with sea angling.
Lastly, trimmer angling is a speeies of
ANG
ANG
Hoat angling. The float consists of a round
piece of cork, six inches in diameter, with
a groove cut at itsedge, in whicli the line
is coiled, except so much next the hook
as to allow it to hang in mid-water, and so
much at the other end as will reach to the
bank. When a fish takes the bait, and
runs with it, the line unwinds off the trim-
mer without giving any check ; but it will
be pi-udent to give a slight jerk, to secure
the fish when you come to take up the
line. This method is very successful in
canals, large ponds, or other still water.
Before concluding this article it will be
proper to notice, that the weather has
much influence on fish. AVhen the wind
is in some points few fish will bite ; the
nio.st unfavourable is the eastern quarter.
A warm lowering day, with flying show-
ers, and a slight ripple on the water, is the
mos* favourable. Water slightly disturbed
prevents fish from seeing the tackle, and
in it they take the bait most readily.
Hence, whatever tends to disturb it so as
to hide the Une, witliout totally obscuring
the bait, is of advantage. In waters affect-
ed by the tide, the flood is the best time
for angling ; but the ebb should not be
neglected. Whirlpools, eddies, mill-tails,
sides of bridges, and beneath their arches,
are places where fish more readily bite,
chiefly for the above reason ; and in gene-
ral a certain degree of darkness in the wa-
ter, whether occasioned by tlit shade of
buildings, rocks, or other bodies, or caiw-
ed by the agitation of its surface, or by
muddy streams flowing into it, is fa' cura-
ble to angling.
The proper season for fishing is in ge-
neral from the beginning of spring to the
end of autumn ; but this depends much on
the nature of the fish angled for : some
may be caught at all times ; others, as
those of passage, are only to be met with
at particular seasons ; and others, though
always confined to one piece of water,
are nearly torpivl during the winter, and
are fouiKl only in deep places. — See Tay.
lor's Angling.
ANGUiS, in natural history, the tlo-ia-
worm, a genus of serpents : the generic
character is, scales both on the abdomen
and beneath the tail. There are, accord-
ing to Gmelin, 26 species. 'I'his genus is
easily distinguished, by having the abdo-
men and under part of tlie tail covered
with scales of a similar appearance to
those on the rest of the animal, except
that in some few instances they are ra-
ther larger. The body is of a shorter and
more uniformly cylindric form than in the
g^nus Coluber : tlie eyes arc in general
small, and the tail rather obtuse. No poi-
sonous species of anguls has yet been dis-
covered. Afragilis, or common slow-worm,
is found in almost all parts of Europe, in
similar situations with the common snake,
and is a perfectly innoxious animal, living
on worms and insects. It is about 10 or 12
inches long : the tail measures more than
half the length of the animal, and termi-
nates pretty suddenly in a slightly acumi-
nated tip. i'he slow-worm is a viviparous
animal,andproducesoccasionallyanumer-
ous offspring: like other serijcnts, it varies
in intensity of colours at different periods,
and the young arc commonly of a deeper
cast than the parent animal. The general
motions of the slow -worm are tiu-dy, ex-
cept when endeavouring to make its es-
cape : it can, however, occHs''on.ally exert
a considerable degree of swiftness, and
can readily penetrate the loose soil in or-
der to conceal itself from pursuit. They
are often found in considerable numbers
during whiter, at some depth beneath the
surface, and lying in a p<ate of torpidity,
and agiiin emerging from their conceal-
ments on the approach of spring, when
they cast their skin, and recover their for-
mer liveliness. If struck with violence,
the body of this animal will break into
pieces. A. corallina, or coral slow-worm,
IS a very elegant species, about 18 inches
long, and of a considerable thickness :
the scales are moderately large, and the
head and tjulure remarkably obtuse. It
is a native of South- America, where it is
found in woods, and to prey on the larger
insects, as the scolopennre, &c.: in colour
it sometimes varies, a mixture of black
being blended with the red on the sides.
(See Plate I. Serpentes, fig. 3.) A.vert-
tralis, or glass slow-worm, is a handsome
species, about two feet long : it is a native
of North-America ; body ashy -green, stri-
ate ; lateral band black ; belly short, ap-
parently joined by a hollow suture ; tail
verticil late, three times as long as tlie bo-
dy ; it takes its name fn)m the circum-
stance of breaking to pieces in two or
three places with a small blo^v of a stick,
the muscles biing articulated quite
through the vertcbr*. A. Jamaiccns's, or
Jamaica slow-worm, found in Jamaica
about the roots of decayed trees, near
ants' nests, &c. and though it has general-
ly been deemed poisonous, yet it is iv.dly
innocuous ; its colour is an unifonn pule
brown, with a kind of silveri' gloss on the
scales, whi«h are very smooth.
ANGULAR motion., in mechanics and
astronomy, is a motion of a body which
describes an angle, or which moves cir-
cularly round a point. Thus a pendulum
has un augular motion about its centre of
ANI
nlotioii, and the planets have an angular
motion about the sun. The angular mo-
tions of revolving bodies, as of the pla-
nets about the sun, are reciprocally pro-
portional to their periodic times ; and
they are also as their real or absolute mo-
tions directly, and as their radii of motion
inversely.
Angular motion is also composed of a
right-lined and circular motion, or in
which the moveable body shdes and re-
volves at the same time : such is tlie mo-
tion of a coach-wheel.
ANGURIA, in botany, a genus of the
Monoecia Diandria class and order ; calyx
five-cleft ; corolla five-petalled ; pome in-
ferior, two-celled, many-seeded.
1__^ ANHYDRILE, in mineralogy, one of
7 Hie sulphate ftimily, found at Salz on the
Neckar, in Wirtemberg. Colour smalt
blue, which passes into a milk white.
Massive : not very brittle. Specific gra-
vity 2.94. It differs from cube spar in co-
lour, fracture, sbape of fragments, and in
having a higher specific gravity.
ANIGOZAN THUS, in botany, a genus
of the Hexandria Monogynia class and or-
der : corolla six parted, with unequal in-
curved segments : staminainserted in the
throat of the corolla: capsule three-celled,
many-seeded. There is only a single spe-
cies; a native of New Holland. Thesttm
IS leafy, covered at the top witli reddish
hairs, leaves linear.: flowers umbelled :
corolla clothed with reddish hairs.
ANIMAL, in natural history, an orga-
nised and living body, endowed with
the powers of sensation, and of spontane-
ous loco-motion. Some have defined ani-
mals, from their loco-motion, as being
capable of shifting from place to place,
whereas plants adhere to the same sub-
ject This property they assume, as the
great characteristic by which animals may
be distinguished from the other orders of
beings. On this principle, however, oys-
ters, barnacles, and many zoophytes,
woiUd be almost excluded from the class
of animals, inasmuch as they usually ad-
here or grow to rocks, &c. and yet it is
certain tliat these creatures are real ani-
mals. But loco-motion alone is not suffi-
cient to constitute the generic difference
of animals ; nor, indeed, does it sufficient-
ly distinguish an animal from a plant.
Many instances are produced in which
plants manifest loco-motive power. This
IS the case with those denominated sensi-
tive plants, many of which, upon the
slightest touch, shrink back and fold up
their leaves ; as the snail in the slightest
Couch retires into its shell. There are
ANI
some, on Which if a fly perches, instantty
close and crush the insect to death.
Plants also change their poation and form
in different circumstances and seasons :
they take advantage of good weather, and
guard tiiemselves against bad weather ;
they open their leaves and flowers in the
day, and close them at night ; some close
before sun-set, and some after; some
open to receive rain, and some close to
avoid it ; some follow the sun, and some
turn from it; the leaves of some plants
are In constant motion during the day,
and at night they sink to a kind of rest
or sleep. It has also been observed, that
a plant has a power of directing its roots
for procuring food ; and that it has a fa-
culty of recovering its natural position
after it has been forced from it. A hop-
plant, for instance, in twisting round a
pole, directs its course from south ta
west, as the sun does; if it be tied in the '
opposite direction it dies ; but if it be left
loose in this direction, it will regain its
natural course in a single night A ho-
neysuckle proceeds in a certain direc-
tion, till it be too long to sustjun itself;
it then acquires strength by shooting into
a spiral form ; and if it meet with ano-
ther plant of tije same kind, both these
coalesce for mutual support, one twisting
to die right and the otiier to the left.
There are other instances in which plants
manifest a fi»culty of loco-motion; and,
perhaps, in abnost as eminent a degree
as some animals. Oysters, e. g. are fixed
to one place as much as plants, nor have
they any power of niotion, besides that of
opening sjid shutting their shells; nor do
tliey seem, in this respect, to have any
superiority, with regard to the powers of
motion, to the sensitive plant, and others
of a similar kind. In order, therefore, to
form a complete ahd satisfactory distinc-
tion between animals and vegetables, as
well as minerals, it is Tiecessary to com-
bine with spontaneous looo-motion, which
tliey unquestionably possess in a more
perfect degree than plants, the powers
of sensation. These seem to be unexcep-
tionably distinguishing and characteristic.
However, M. Buffon, after allowinj;' that,
although pix)gressive motion constitute a
perceptible difference between an animal
and a vegetable, this distinction is neiUier
general nor essential, proceeds to state,
thatsensation more essentially distinguish-
es animals from vegetables. But he adds,
that this distinction is neither sufficiently
general nor decided. If sensation, he says,
implied no more than motion consequent
upon a stroke or impulse, the sensitive
ANIMAL
plant enjoys this power ; whereas, if by
sensation wc mean the faculty of perceiv-
ing', and of companng ideas, it is uncer-
tain whether brute animals are endowed
with this faculty. If itshould be allowed
to dogs, elephants, &c. whose actions
seem to proceed from motives similar to
those by which men are actuated, it must
be denied to many species of animals,
particularly to those tiiat appear not to
possess the faculty of pro^essive motion,
if tlie sensation of an oyster, e. Si- differ in
degree only from that of a dog^, why do
we not ascribe the same sensation to ve-
getables, though in a degree stilJ infe-
rior ? In examining the distinction which
arises from the manner of feeding, he ob-
serves, that animals have organs of ap-
prehension, by which they lay hold of
their food: they search for pasture, and
have a choice in tlieir aliment. Hut, it is
alleged, that plants are under the neces-
sity of receiving such nourishment as the
soil affords them, without exerting any
choice in the species of their food, or in
the manner of acquiring it. However, if
we attend to tlie organization and action
of the roots and leaves, we shall soon be
convinced that these are the external or-
gans, by which vegetables are enabled to
extract tlieir food ; that the roots turn
aside from a vein of bad earth, or from
any obstacle which they meet with in
search of a better soil; and that they
split and separate their fibres in different
directions, and even change their form,
in order to procure nourishment to the
plant. From this investigation, he con-
cludes that there is no absolute and es-
sential distinction between the animal and
vegetable kingdoms ; but that nature pro-
ceeds by imperceptible degrees, from the
most perfect to the most imperfect ani-
mal, and from that to tlie vegetable ; and
tliat the fresh water polypus may be re-
garded as tlie last of animsds, and tlie first
of plants. After examining the cUstinc-
tions, this author proceeds to state the
resemblances which take place between
animals and vegetables. The power of
reproduction, he says, is common to the
two kingdoms, and is an analogy both
universal :uid essential. A second resem-
blance may be derived from the expan-
sion of their parts, which is likewise a
common property, for vegetables grow as
well as animals; and though some differ-
ence in the manner of expansion may be
remarkeil, it is neither general nor essen-
tia!. A third resemblance results from the
manner of their propagation. Some ani-
mals, he says, are propagated in the same
manner, and by the same means, as vegctJU
bles. The multiplication of the sacceroft
or vine-fritter, (see Aphis) which is, he
observes, effected without copulation, is
similar to that of plants bj' seed ; and th*
multiplication of the polypns by cuttings
resembles that of plants by slips. Hence
it is inferred that animals and vegetables
are beings of the same order, and that na-
ture passes from the one to the other by
imperceptible degrees ; since the proper-
ties in which they resemble one anotlier
are universal and essential ; while those
by which they are distinguished are limit-
ed and partial. Dr. Watson, Bishop of
Landaff, has examined, with his usual
judgment, the distinguishing marks be-
tween animals and vegetables. He re-
jects, as insufficient, both figure and
spontaneous motion ; and if perception
be substituted in their stead, it will be
found to be a criterion that is, in many
respects, Uable to exceptions. However,
the ingenious and learned prelate pro-
duces many chemical, physical, and me-
taphysical reasons, which serve to ren-
der the supposition not altog^-ther in-
defensible, tnat vegetables are endowed
with the faculty of perception. Dr. Per-
cival, likewise, in a paper read before the
Literary and Philosophical Society of
Manchester, produces several arguments
toevincethe perceptive power of vegeta-
bles. From the reasoning adduced by
both these ingenious writers, of which a
moi-e particular account will be given in
tlie sequel of this work (see Plasts and
Veketablks) ; those who duly advert
to it will, we conceive, incline to the opi-
nion, that plants are not altogether desti-
tute of perception. But on a question
tfiat has perplexed and divided the most
ingenious and inquisitive naturalists, it is
very difficult to decide. If we extend to
tlie vegetable kingdom that kind of vita-
lity with which sensation and enjoyment
are connected, tliere will remain no dis-
cernible boundaty between this and the
animal kingdom ; and that which fias
been considered as the distinctive charac-
teristic of animals, and by which they are
separated from vegetables, will be abolish-
ed. We shall now add, tliat the princi-
ple of self-presen-ation belongs to all ani-
mals ; and it has been argued, that this
principle is the tnic characteristic of ani-
mal life, and Uiat it is unquestionably a
consequence of sensation. There is no
animal, when apprehensive of danger,
that docs not put itself into a posture of
defence. • A muscle, when it is touched,
immediatelv shuts its shell ; and as this
ANIMAL.
action puts it into a state of defence, it is
ascribed to a principle of self-preserva-
tion. Those who adopt this reasoning
allege that vegetables do not manifest
this principle. When the sensitive plant,
for instance, contracts firom a touch, it is
no more in a state of defence than be-
fore, for whatever would have destroyed
it in its expanded state, will also destroy
it in its contracted state. They add, tliat
the motion of the sensitive plant proceeds
only from a certain property called irrita-
bility ; and which, though possessed by
our bodies in an eminent de-;ree, isa cha-
racteris ic neither of animal or vegetable
life, but belongs to us in common with
brute matter. The sensitive plant, after
it has contracted, will suffer itself to be
cut in pieces, without making the least
effort to escape. This is not the case
with the meanest animal An liedge-
hog, when alarmed, draws its body toge-
tlier, and expands its prickles, tlius put-
ting itself in a posture of defence : when
thrown into the water, the same principle
of self-presenation prompts it to expand
its body and swim. A snail, when touch-
ed, withch-aws itself into its shell ; but if
a little quiok-Iime be sprinkled upon it
so that its shell is no longer a place of
safety, it is thrown into agonies, and en-
deavoiu-s to avail itself of its loco-motive
power, in order to escape that danger.
Muscles and oysters, also, though they
have not the power of progressive motion,
constantly use the means which nature
has given them for self-preservation.
We, ourselves, possess both the animal
and vegetable life, and ought to know
whether tliere be any connection between
vegetiUion and sensation, or not. We are
conscious that we exist, that we hear, see,
&c. but of our vegetation we are abso-
lutely unconscious. We feel a pleasure in
gratifying the demands of hunger and
thirst ; but we are totally ignorant of tlie
process by which our aliment is formed
into chyle, the chyle mixed with the blood,
the circulation of that fluid, and tlie se-
paration of all the humours from it. If
we, then, who are more perfect than other
vegetables, are utterly insensible of our
own vegetable life, why should we ima-
gine that the less perfect vegetables are
sensible of it ? We have witiiin ourselves
a demonstration, that vegetable life acts
without knowing what it does ; and if ve-
getables are ignorant of their most saga-
cious actions, why should we suppose that
they have any sensation of their inferior
ones ; such as contracting from a touch,
turning towards the sun, or advancing to
a pole ? As to that power of irritabihty
which is observed in some plants, our so-
hds have it, when deprived both ot aninul
and vegetable life ; for a muscle, cut out
of a hving body, will continue to contract,
if it be irriuted by pricking, after it has
neitlier sensation nor vegetation. En-
cycl. Brit. On the otiierhand, those who
are of opinion tliat plants possess powers
of perception, allege that tiieir iiypothe-
sis reconmiends itself by its consonance
to tliose higher analogies of nature, which
lead us to conclude that the greatest pos-
sible sum of happiness exists in tue uni-
verse. The bottom of tlie ocean is over-
spread with plants of the most luxuriant
magnitude ; and immense regions of tlie
earth are overspread with perenniaJ fo-
rests. Nor are the Alps or the Andes de-
stitute of herbage, though buried in
depths of snow ; and can it be imagined
that such profusion of life siibsists with-
out the least sensation or enjoyment.'
Let us rather, witli humble reverence,
suppose that vegetables pai-ticipate, in
some low degree, of the common allot-
ment of viiaiily ; and that one great Crea-
tor hatii appointed good to all living
things, in number, weight, and measure.
Animal Jloxuer, a name given to a va-
riety of creatures of the Vermes tribe,
that bear some resemblance to a flower.
These, for the most part, belong to the
order Molluscae ; the name is, however,
frequently given to a different order, viz.
the Zoophytes.
AjfiMAL manures, in agriculture, are
all substances that are formed from the
decomposition of animal substances of
any kind ; as the muscles, blood, hair,
wool, bones, fat, &c. These are generally
esteemed as more powerful, in promoting
vegetation, than such as are derived from
vegeUble matters. On account, however,
of their being but seldom procured in
large quantities, tliey are generaliy made
use of in the state of mixture or combi-
nation with other materials. By the ac-
tion of ammonia, which is constiintly
formed during the decomposition of ani-
mal substances, the mould is made more
suitable for plants.
Ammal, parts of, substances which
compose the bodies of animals may be
arranged under the following heads :
Bones and Shells
Horns and Nails
Muscles
Skin
Membranes
6. Tendons and ligaments
ANI
ANI
7. Glands
8. Bmn and nerves
9. Hair and feathers
10. Silk and siniilar bodies.
Besides these substances, which con-
stitute the solid part of the bodies of ani-
mals, there are a number of fluids, the
most important of which is the blood,
which pervades every part of the system
in all the larger animals: the rest are
known by tlie name of secretions, because
they are formed, or secreted, as the ana-
tomists term it, from the blood. The
1>rincipal animal secretions are the fol-
owing :
1. l^lUk
2. Egps
3. Siuiva
4. Pancreatic juice
5. Bile
6. Cerumen
7. Tears
8. Liquor of the pericardJiun
9. Humours of the eye
10. Mucus of the nose, &c.
11. Sinovia
12. Semen
13. Liquor of tlie amnios
14. Poisonous secretions.
Various substances are separated either
from the blood or the food, on purpose to
be afterwards Uirown out of the body as
useless or hurtful. These are called ex-
cretions. The most important of them
:ire,
1. Urine
2. Fzces.
Besides the liquids which are secreted
for the different purposes of healthy ani-
mals, there are others wliich make their
apBurance only during disease, and
wlOvh may therefore be called morbid se-
cretions. The most important of these
are the following :
1. Pus
2. The liquor of dropsy
3. The liquor of blisters.
To these we must add several solid bo-
dies, which are occasionally formed in
different cavities, in consequence of the
diseased action of the parts. They may
be called morbid concretions. The most
remarkable of them are the following:
1. Salivary calculi
2. Concretions in the lungs, liver,
brain, &c.
3. Intestinal calculi
4- Biliaiy calculi
5. Urinary calculi
6. Gouty calculi.
AviMAi. substances, or those which
have hitlierto been detected in the animal
kingdom, and of which the different ))arta
of animals, as far as these have been ana-
lysed, are found to be composed, may be
arranged underthe following heads:
1. Gelatine
2. Albumen
3. Mucus
4. Fibrin
5. Urea
6. Saccharine matter
7. Oils
8. Resins
9. Sulphur
10. Phosphorus
11. Acids
12. Alkalies
13. Eartlis
14. Metals.
See the several articles in their alphabeti-
cal order.
Ahtmai, fitncHoTU of. See Assimtla-
TlOJf, DlOESTIOK, PeRSPIBATIOK, Re8PI-
HATlOJf, &C.
Animals, f«ieraft'on of. See the arti-
cle GKTfEHATIOW.
ANIMALS, in heraldry, are much used,
both as bearings and supporters. It is to
be obsen-ed, that in blazoning, animals
must be interpreted in the best sense,
and so as to redound to the greatest ho-
nour of the bearers. For example, the fox
being renowned for wit, andUkewise giv-
en to filching for his prey ; if tliis be the
charge of an escutcheon, we must con-
ceive the quality represented to be his
wit, and not his theft. All beasts must be
figured in their most noble action ; as a
lion rampant, a leopard or wolf passant, a
horse running or vaulting, a greyhound
coursing, a deer tripping, and a lamb go-
ing with a smooth pace. In like manner,
every animal must be moving and looking
to the right side of the shield, the right
foot being placed foremost. These are
the precepts given by Guillim,and yet we
find that there arc lions passant, couchant,
and dormant, as well as rampant
ANIMAIXULF^ an animal so minute
in its size, as not to be the immediate ob-
ject of our senses.
Animalcules are usually divided into
two distinct sections, visible, and micro-
scopical. The first, though %-isiblc, can-
not be accurately discerned without the
help of glaascs : the second are disca»-«r-
ANIMALCULE.
able only by the microscope. Some have
supposed ihere are others invisible. The
existence of these cannot well be disputed,
though it cannot be asserted, unless we
conclude that the microscope has not yet
arrived at its highest degree of perfection.
Reason and analogy give some support to
the conjectuj-es of naturalists in this re-
spect : animalcules are discerned of various
sizes, from those which are visible to the
naked eye, to such as appear only like
moving points under the microscopic len-
ses of the greatest powers ; and it is not
unreasonable to imagine, therefore, that
there are others, which may still resist the
action of the microscope, as the fixed stars
do that of the telescope, with the greatest
powers hitherto invented.
Animalcules, visible ,- amongst these are
included an amazing variety of creatures,
by no means of analogous natures. Those
numerous creatures which crowd the wa-
ter in the summer months, changing it
sometimes of a deep or pale red colour,
green, yellow, &c. are of this description.
The large kinds are chiefly of the insect,
or vermes tribes, and of which the mono-
culus pidex is particularly remarkable,
being round sometimes in such abundance,
as to change the water apparently to a
deep red. A similar appearance is hke-
wise occasioned by the circaria mutabilis,
when it varies in colour from green to
red ; vorticella fasciculata also changes it
to gfreen ; and rotatoria to yellow. To
this section we must also refer many of
the acarus and hjdrachna genera, and a
multitude of other creatures that will be
noticed hereafter.
Animalcules, microscopical. The micro-
scope dbcovers legions of animalcules in
most liquors, as water, vinegar, beer, dew,
&c. They are also found in rain and
several chalybeate waters, and in infu-
sions of both Animal and vegetable sub-
stances, as the seminal fluids of animals,
pepper, oats, wheat, and other grain, tea,
&c. &c. The contemplation of animal-
cules has made the ideas of infinitely
small bodies extremely familiar to us. A
raite was anciently thouglit the limit of
littleness ; but we are not now surprised
to be told of animals twenty-.seven mil-
lions of times smaller than a mite. Mi-
nute animab are found proportionably
much stronger, more active and vivacious,
than large ones. The spring of a flea in
Its leap, how va.stly does it outsi rip any
thmg greater animals are capable of! A
mite, how vastly faster does it run than a
race-horse ! M. de I'Isle has given the
compuution of the velocity of a litUe
creature, scarcely visible by its smallness,
which he found to run three inches in half
a second : supposing now its feet to be
the fifteenth part of a line, it must make
five hundred steps in the space of three
inches ; that is, it must shift its legs five
hundred times in a second, or in the ordi-
nary pulsation of an artery. The exces-
sive minuteness of microscopical animal-
cules conceals them from the human eye.
One of the wonders of modem philosophy
is, to have invented means for bringing
creatures, to us so imperceptible, under
our cognizance and inspection : an object
a thousand times too little to be able to
affect our sense should seem to have been
very safe. Yet we have extended cur
views over animals, to whom these would
be mountains. In reality, most of our mi-
croscopical animalcules are of so small a
magnitude, that through a lens, whose
focal distance is the tenth part of an inch,
they only appear as so many points ; that
is, their parts cannot be distinguished, so
that they appear from the vertex of that
lens under an angle not exceeding a mi-
nute. If we investigate the magnitude of
such an object, it will be found nearly
equal to _ 3^^^ of an inch long Sup-
posing, therefore, these animalcules of a
cubic figure, that is, of the same length,
breadth, and thickness, their magnitude
would be expressed by the cube of the
fraction .,,3^.,^, that is, by the number
TOO 000
io55;o5o.Sow555' ^^'■^ »«' «° ">*">' P^^^ «*"
a cubic incii is each animalcule equal to.
Leeuwenhoeck calculates, that atliousand
millions of animalcula, which are disco-
vered in common water, are not altoge-
ther so large as a grain of sand. This
author, upon examining the male sperm
of various animals, discovered in many
infinite numbers of animalcula not larger
tlian those above mentioned In the ittilt
of a single codfish there are more animals
than there are, visible to the naked eye,
upon the whole earth ; for a grain of sand
is bigger than four millions of them. The
white matter that sticks to the teeth also
abounds with animalcules of various
figures, to which vinegar is fatal ; and it
is known that vinegar contains animal-
cides in the shape of eels. In short, ac-
cording to this author, there is scarcely
any thing which corrupts without produc-
ing food to myriads of animalcules. \ni-
malcules are said to be tlie cause of
various disorders. The itch is known to
be a disorder arising from the irritation of
a species of acarus, or tick, found in the
pustules of that ailment: when the com-
ANI
ANN
ttmiiicfttion of it hy contact from one to
another is easily conceived, as also the
reason of the cure being effected by cuta-
neous applications. In the Philosophical
Transactions, vol. lix., is a curious account
of the animalcules produced from an in-
fusion of potatoes, and another of hemp-
seed, by the late- Mr. Ellis. " On tlie 25th
of May, 1768, Fahrenheit's themiomcter
70", I boiled a potatoe in the New River
water, till it was reduced to a mealy con-
sistence. I put part of it, with an equal
proportion of the boiling liquor, into a cy-
lindricii glass vessel, that held something
less than naif a wine-pint, and covered it
close immediately with a glivss cover. At
the same time I sliced an unboiled pota-
toe, and, as near as I could judge, put
the same t^uantitv into a glass vessel of
the same kmd. with the same proportion
of New River water not boiled, and co-
vered with a gla.ss cover, and placed both
vessels close to each other." " On the
26th of May, 24 hours afterwards, I exa-
mined a small drop of each by the first
magnifier of Wilson's microscope, whose
focal distance is reckoned at l-50th part
of an inch; and, to my amazement, they
were both full of animalcula, of a linear
shape, very distinguishable, moving to
and firo with great celerity, so that tliere
appeared to be more particles of animal
th»n vegetable life in each drop." " This
experiment I have repeatedly tried, and
alvays found it to succeed in proportion
to the heat of the circumambient air ; so
that even in winter, if the liquors are kept
properly warm, at lea.st in two or three
days the experiment will succeed." "I
procured hemp-seed from different seeds-
men in different parts of the town. Some
of it I put into the New River water, some
into distilled water, and some into very
hard pump-water. The result was, that
in priiportion to the heat of tlie weather,
or ^m^nth in which they were kept, there
was an appearance of millions of minute
animalcula in all the infusions; and, some
time after, oval ones made their appear-
ance. These were much larger tlianthe
first, which still continued : these wrig-
gled to and fi-o in an undulatory motion,
turning themselves round very quick all
the time they moved forwards.
ANIME, a resin ol>tained from the hy-
mensca courbaril, or locust tree, which is
a native of North- America. It resembles
copal very much in its appearance, but is
readily soluble in alcohol, which copal is
not. It is used as a varnish. Alcohol dis-
solves it completelv; and distilled over,
VOL. I. '
it acquires both the smell and tacte of
anime.
ANNALS, in matters of literature, a
species of histon', which relates events in
the chronological orderwhercin they hap-
pened. They differ from perfect history
in this, that annals are a bare relation of
what pa.sscs evety year, as a journal is of
what passes everyday; whereas history
relates not only tlie transactions them-
selves, but also the causes, motives, and
springs of actions. Annals i-equire no-
thing but brevitj', history demands orna-
ment. Cicero infonns us of the origin of
annals : to preser\e the memory of events,
the pontifex maximus, says he, wrote what
fiassed each year, and exposed it on tab-
ets in his own house, where every one
was at liberty to read : this they called
amialea muximi ,- and hence the writers
who imitated this simple method of narra-
ting facts were called annalists.
ANNATES, among ecclcsia.stic.il wri-
ters, a year's income of a spiritual living.
These were, in ancient times, given to the
pope throughout all Christendom, upon
the decease of any bishop, abbot, or pa-
rish-clerk, and were paid by his successor.
In England, the pope claimed them first
of such foreigners as he conferred bene-
fices upon, by way of provision ; but after-
wards they were demanded of all otlier
clerks, on their admission to benefices. At
the reformation tliey were taken from the
pope, and vested in the king; and, finally,
queen Anne restored them to the church,
by ajjpropriating tliem to the augmenta-
tion of poor livings.
ANNEALING, or Nealiwo, the burn-
ing or baking glass, earthen-ware, &c. in
an oven or furnace. See Glass.
ANNOTATION, in matters of litera-
ture, a brief commentary, or remark upon
a book or writing, in order to clear up
some passage, or draw some conclusion
from it : thus the critics of the last age
have made learned annotations upon all
the classics.
ANNOTTO, in commerce, a kind of
red dye, brought from the West-Indies.
This IS otherwise denominated amatto.
It is procured from the pulp of the seed
ca])sules of a shrub called achiotte and
unicu ; the bixa orellana of Linnxus,
which grows seven or eight feet high, and
produces oblong hairy pods, somewhat re-
sembling those of a chesnut. Within each
of these are thirty or forty irregularly
figtired seeds, which arc enveloped in a
pulp of a bright red colour and unpleasant
smell, somewhat rcseml^'ng the paint
Uh
ANN
ANN
called red lead when mixed up with oil ;
and it was used as paint by some of the
Indians, in the same manner as woad was
used by the ancient Britons. The seeds,
togt?ther witli the red tough matter that
siUTOunds them, art- softened in a wooden
trough with water, until, by a kind of fer-
mentation, which spreads a very nauseous
smell, and by diligent stirring and pound-
ing, the kernels ai*e separated from the
pulp. This mass is then strained through
a seive, and boiled ; and upon which a
tliick reddish scum, which is the pigment,
separates. When skimmed off, it is care-
fully inspissated in another kettle ; and
after being repeatedly cool, is moulded
in i-oundish lumps, wi-apt round with
leaves of trees, and packed for sale. It
seems to partake of the nature of vegeta-
ble albuminous matter. The method of
extracting the pvdp, and preparing it for
market, is simply by boiling the seeds in
clear water, till they are perfectly extri-
cated ; after which the seeds are taken
out, and the water left undisturbed for the
pulp to subside. It is then drained oft",
and the sediment distributed into shallow
vessels, and dried generally in the shade.
The annotto is now only prepared bj' the
Spaniards. The English had formerly a
manufacture at St. Angelo, now ruined.
This drug is preferred by the dyers to
indigo, and sold one-fourth dearer. The
double Gloucester cheese is coloured with
this dye, not with marj golds. Some of
the Dutch farmers use it to give a rich
colour to their butter, and great quantities
are said to be applied to the same purpose
in the English dairies. The poor people
use it insteatl of saff'ron ; and it is some-
times mixed as an ingredient in chocolate,
during the grinding of the cocoa, in the
quantity of about two drams to the pound,
in oi-der to give it a reddish coloiu*; but the
opinion of its being an earth has brought
it into disrepute, and this use of it has
been discontinued. To water it ^ves on-
ly a pale brownisli yellow colom*, and is
not soluble in that liquid, nor in spirit of
wine ; but, in order to be fit for dyeing,
it requires an alkaline mensti'uum,to which
it gives a bright orange colour ; and hence
it is useful as an ingredient in varnishes
and lacquers, and in dying wax of a Ver-
million colour. Wool and silk, boiled in
a solution of it by alkaline salts in water,
acquire a deep, but not a durable orange
dye ; for though it is not changed by alum
or acids, it is discharged by soaps, and de-
stroyed by exposure to the air. It is said
to be an antidote to the poisonous juice of
manihot, or cassada. The liquid, sold un-
der the name of " Scott's nankeen dye,*
seems to be nothing but annotto dissolved
in alkaline ley.
ANNOYANCE, in law, any injury done
to a public place, as a high- way, bridge,
or common river ; or to a private way, as
laying any thing that may breed infection,
by encroaching, &c.
ANNUAL plants, generally called an-
nuals, in gardening, signify such plants as
are of one year's dviration, or which con-
tinue for a few months only. Plants that
rise from seed sown in the spring an-ive
at maturity in the summer or autumn fol-
lowing, producing flowers and ripe seed,
aiul which afterwards perish in their tops
and roots, are commonly regarded as an-
nuals. The plants of this tribe are very
numerous, as most of those of the herba-
ceous kinds, consisting of uncultivated
plants, weeds, &c. and also a great number
of cultivated garden and field plants, both
of the esculent and flowery ornamental
kimls, ai-e of this description. The last sort
are often termed simply annuals. These
are divided into the hardy and tender
kinds; the former are sown in places where
they are designed to remain without trans-
planting, but the latter are usually sown
in hot-beds, in order to be transplanted in
the spring, either into pots or borders.
ANNUITIES, any income of a certain
yearly amount, payable at particular peri-
ods, wliich may be either yearly, half-
yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or at
any other intervals. They are ususdly dis-
tinguished into annuities certain, and con-
tingent annuities, or such as are for an un-
certain period, being determinable by
some future event, such as the failure of
a life or lives.
The present value of an annuity is that
sum, which, if improved at compound in-
terest, would be sufficient to pay the an-
nuity ; the present value of an annuity
certain, payable yearly, and of which the
first payment is to be made at the end of
a year, may therefore be calculated in the
following manner.
Suppose a person has 100/. due to him
a twelve month hence, and he wishes to
have the value of the same advanced im-
mediately, the sum which ought to be giv-
en as an equivalentthereto, allowing 5 per
cent, interest, is 95/. 4«. QiJ.for this is the
sum, which, put out to interest, at the rate
of 5 per cent will, at the end of the year,
amount to lOOZ. So also, if a person has
100/. due to him at the end of two years,
and he wishes to have the value of the
same advanced immediately, the sum
which ought to be given as an equivalent
ANNUITIES.
thereto is 90/. 14?. Ojd. for this is the sum,
wliich, put out at the same rate of interest,
will, at tJic end of two years, amount to
100/. In like manner, if a pereon has 100/.
due to him at the end of three yeai-s, and
he wishes to have the same advanced im-
mediately, tlie sum which ought to be
given as an equivalent tliereto is 86/. 7s.
8(i. for this is the siun which, at the same
rate of interest, will at the end of tlu^e
years amount to 100/. And if these three
values are added together, they will make
272/. 6«. 6el. being the sum which ought
to be paid down for an annuity of 100/. for
three years ; as this sum impi-oved at tlie
given rate of interest is just sufficient to
make the three yearly payments.
As the amount or present worth of 1/.
for any given term is usually atlopted as
the foundation of calculations relating to
annuities, let r represent tlie amount of
IL in one year ; that i^ one pound in-
creased by ayear's interest; tlien »■", orr
raised to the power whose exponent is
any given niunber of years, will be the
amount of 1/. in those years; its increase
in the same time is f-n — 1 ; now the
interest for a single year, or the annui-
ty corresponding with the increase, is t —
1 ; therefore as » 1 is to r" — 1, so is u
(any given annuity) to a its amoimt :
hence we have
u X r**— 1 _
Example. — To what sum will an an-
nuity of 50/. amount in 6 years, at 5 per
cent, per annum, compound interest?
50 xT0^l'^'= 340/. 19«. Id
.05
In this manner the amount of an annuity
for any number of years, at any given rate
of interest, may be' found. But when tlic
term of years is considerable, it will be
more convenient to work by logarithms,
by which the labotir of all calculations re-
lating to compound interest is greatly
lAridged. There is, however, little occa-
sion in general to calculate tlie amount or
present wortli of annuities, except forpar-
ticular rates of interest, as the following
tables, and others of a similar nature, for
different rates of interest, which are given
in most books on compound interest, save
much time and labour in common prac-
tice, and are therefore in general use.
TABLE I.
Shewing the amount of an annuity of
1/. in any number of years not exceed-
ing 100, at 5 per cent, per annum com-
pound interest.
Yrs
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
3:i
34
A mo.
Yrs
1,0000
2,0500
3,1525
4,3101
5,5256
6,8019
8,1420
9,5491
11,0266
12,5779
14,2068
15,9171
17,7130
19,5986
21,5786
2o,6575
25,8404
28,1328
30,5390
,53,0659
35,7192
o8,5052
41,4305
44,5020
47.7271
51,1135
54,6691
58,4026
62,3227
66,4388
70,7608
75,2988
80,0638
85,0670
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
53
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
Vmount.
Yn>l Amount.
90,3203
95,8363
101,6281
107,7095
114,0950
120,7998
127,&398
135,2317
142,9933
151,1430
159,7002
168,6852
178,1194
188,0254
198,4267
209,3480
220,8154
232,8562
245,499'j
258,7739
272,7126
287,3482
302,7157
318,8514
335,7940
1353,5837
1372,2629
391,8760
412,4698
434,0933
456,798U
480,6379
505,6698
531,9533
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
559,5510
588,5285
6l.-,,9549
650,9027
684,4478
719,6702
756,6537
795,4864
836,2607
87'^,or38
924,0274
971,2288
1020,7903
1072,8298
11 :7,4713
1184,8448
1^45,0871
1308,3414
«7| 1374,7585
8811444,4964
«'■?! 15 17,7212
^^1 1594,6073
91 1 1675,3377
92! 1760,1045
1849,1098
1942,5653
2040,6935
•2143,r282
2251,9146
2365,5103
2484,7859
2610,0250
93
9-1
95
96
97
98
99
100
EXAMPI.E 1. — To what sum will an an-
nuity of 105/. amount in 19 years, at 5 per
cent, compound interest >
The nimiber in the table opposite to 19
years is 30,5390, which multiplied by 105
gives the answer 3206/. 11*. lOd.
Example 2. — In what time will an an-
imity of 25/. amount to 3575/. at 5 per
cent, compound Interest .'
Divide 3575/. by 25/. the quotient is 145 ;
tlie number nearest to this in the table is
142,9933, and the number of years cor-
responding, or 43 years, is the answer.
The present wortli of an annuity, or the
sum to be given in one present paj.TnL-nt
as an equivalent for an iuinuity for any
given number of years, is found on similar
principles ; for as 1/. is the present v;iluc
of r« (its amount in n years, and as the
present value of any other amount, and
consequently
(f V r" — 1
of r — must bear the same propor-
tion to that amount, ,wc have
ANNUITIES.
Example. — What is the present value
of 50/. per annum for 6 years, at 5 per
cent, compound interest ?
50-^.
I.OdT
= 253/. 15s. 8J.
.05
But such questions are much more readi-
ly answered by the following table,
TABLE II.
Shewing tlie present value of an annuity
of 1/. for any number of years not ex-
ceeding 100, at 5 per cent, per aimimi,
compound interest.
Y. Value. Y
4
5
6
7
8
9]
10
11
12
1
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
,952381
1,859410
2,723248
3,545950
4,329477
5,075692
5,786373
6,463213
7,10?'b22
7, in? 35
8,306414
8,863252
9,393573
9,898641
10,379658
10,837770
11,274066
11,689587
12,085321
12,462210
12,821153
13,1630J.
13,488574
13,797642
14,093945
14,375185
14,643034
14,898127
15,141074
15,372451
15,592810
15,802677
16,002.549
16,192904
Value.
16,374194
16,546852
16,711287
16,867893
17,017041
17,159086
17,294368
17,423208
17,545912
17,662773
17,774070
17,880066
17,981016
18,077158
18,168722
18,255925
18,338977
18,418073
18,493403
18,.565146
18,633472
18,698545
18,760519
18,819542
18,875754
18.929290
18,J80276
19,028834
19,075080
19,119124! 98
19,161070; 99
19.201019100
19.239066!
19,27530lJ
Vahie.
19,309810
19,342677
19.373978
19,403788
19,432179
19,459218
19,484970
19,509495
19,532853
19,555098
19,576284
19,599460
19,615677
19,633978
19,6.51407
19,668007
19,683816
19,698873
19,713212
19,726869
19,739875
19,752262
19,764-059
19,775294
19,785994
19,796185
19,805821
19,815834
19,823937
19,832321
19,840406
19,837910
Example 1. — What is the present va-
ue of an annuity of 63/. to continue for 21
years .'
The value in the table agsunst 21 years
is 12,821153, which multiplied by 63
gives the answer 807/. 14*. 7d.
Example 2 -What present sum is
equivalent to a nett rent of 20/. per an-
num for 69 yeai-s i"
The value in the table agunst 69 years
is 19,309,^10, which multipUed by 20
gives the answer 3f;6/. Ss. lid.
If any of the annuities in the above ta-
ble, instead of being for an absolute term
of years, had been subject to cease, if a
given hfe should fail during tlie term, it
is evident that the value would have been
lessened in proportion to the probability
of tlie hfe failing ; and that if, instead of
being for a certain number of years, the
annuity depended wholly on the uncer-
tain continuance of a given life or lives,
its value must be ascertained by the pro-
bable duration of such life or lives. In
order to compute tlie value of Life An-
nuities, therefore, it is necessary to
have recourse to tables that exhibit the
number of persons, which, out of a cer-
tain number bom, are found to be living
at the end of every subsequent year of
human life, which thus shew what are
termed the probabilities of life.
Various tables of this kind have been
formed by the different writers on this
.subject, as Dr. Halley, Mr. Thomas Simp-
son, M. Kersseboom, M. de Parcieux,
Dr. Price, Dr Haygarth, Mr. Wargentin,
M. Susmilch, and others; and the true
method of computing the value of life
annuities, according to the probabilities of
any table of mortality, is laid down by
Mr. WilUam Morgan as follows :
" Was it certain that a person of a given
age would live to the end of a year, the
value of an annuity of 1/. on such a life
would be the present sum that would in-
crease in a year to the value of a life one
year older, together with the value of the
single payment of 1/. to be made at the
end of a year ; tliat is, it would be 1/. to-
gether with the value of a life aged one
year older than the given hfe, multiplied
by the value of 1/. payable at the end of
a year. Call the value of a life of one
year older than the given life N, and tlie
value of 1/. payable at the end of a year
— ; then will the value of an annuity on
r
the given life, on the supposition of a cer-
tainty, he -A — xN = -X l+N. But
r r r
the fact is, that it is uncertain whether the
given life will exist to the end of the year
or not ; this last value, therefore, must be
diminished in the proportion of this un-
ANNUITIES.
certainty, Uiat is, it must be multiplied
by the probability that the jf ivcn life will
survive one year, or supposing -to ex-
press this probability, it will be — X
The values of annuities on the joint conti-
nuance of two lives are found by reason-
ing in a similar manner ; and sucli vaUcs,
botli for single and joint lives, are given
in the following tables.
TABLK ni.
Shewing the value of an annuity of IL
on a single life, at every age, accordng
to the probabiHties of the duration of
life at Northampton, reckoning intertst
at 5 per cent, per annum.
Age.
Value.
Age.
33
Value.
Age.
Value.
Birth.
8,863
12,740
66 1 7,034
lyear
11,563
34
12,6231 67 16,787
2
13,420
35
12,502; 68 i 6,536
3
14,135
36
12,377
69
6,281
4
14,613
37
12,249
70
6,023
5
14,827
38
12,116
71
5,764
6
15,041
39
11,979
72
5,504
7
15,166
40
11,837
72
5,245
8
15,226
41
11,695
74
4,990
9
15,210
42
11,551
75 4,744
10
15,139
43
11,407
76 4,511
11
15,043
44
11,258
77 4,277
12
H93.
45
11,105
78
4,035
13
14,826
46
10,947
79
3,776
14
14,710
47
10,784
80
3,515
15
14,588
48
10,616
i 81
3,263
16
14,460
49
10,443
i 82
3,020
17
14,334
50
10,269
1 83 : 2,797
18
14,217
51
10,097
84 '2,627
19
14,108
52
9,925
85
2,471
20
14,007
53
9,748
86
2,328
21
13,917
54
9,567
87
2,193
22
13,833
55
9,382
88
2,080
23
13,746
56
9,193
89
1,924
24
13,658
57
8,999
90
1,723
25
13,567
S8
8,801
91
1,447
26
13,473
39
8,599
92
1,153
27
13,377
60
8,392
93
0,816
28
13,278
61
8,181
94
0,524
29
13,177
62
7,966
95
0,238
30
13,072
63
7,742
96 0,000
31
12,965
64
7,514
1
32
12,854
65
7,276
1
1
The values in this and the foliowin^:
tables suppose the payments to be made
yearly, and to begin at the end of a year ;
but if all tlie payments are to be hall"-
yearly payments, and to be made at the
end of every half year from the time of
purchase, the value will be increased
about one-fifth of a year's purchase.
The above tal)le is formed from the pro-
babilities of Ufe, as deduced from the re-
gister of mortality at Northampton for 46
years, from 1735 to 1780 ; and as it gives
the mean values of lives between the
highest and lowest, it is better atlapted
for general use than any other extant. It
has of late years been generally adopted
for calculating the rates of assurance on
lives, and is well suited to this purpose ;
but it is by no means a proper table for
individuals or societies to grant life annui-
ties from ; for having been formed from a
register comprehending persons of all
ages and conditions, it cannot give a cor-
rect representation of the duration and
value of such lives as usually form a body
of annuitants, such persons beine gene-
rally a selection of the best lives from the
common mass, the interest of every per-
son who purchases an anniuty on any life
requiring that he should take care that it
is a good life. The best table for regula-
ting the g^rant of life annuities is that
formed from the table of mortality pub-
lished by Mr. D. Pai-cieux, fitjm the lists
of the French tontines, but even this ta-
ble gives the values of the advanced ag^es
considerably too low.
ANNUITIES.
TABLE IV.
Shewing the value of an annuity of 1^. on a single life, atevery age, according to the pro-
babilities of life, in Mr. De Parcieux's table of the mortality. Interest at 5 per cent.
Age.
Value.
Age.
1 Value.
Age
36
Value.
Age.
54
Value.
;Age.
t 72
Value. 1
0
11,083
' 18 \ 15,631
14,065
10,418
5,540
1
14,620
19
15,550
S7
13,930
55
10,168
1 73
5,232
2
15,135
20
15,474
38
13,786
56
9,930
! 74
4,942
3
15,509
21
15,401
39
13,632
57
9,682
75
4,674
4
15,750
' 22
15,328
40
13,466
58
9,431
76
4,429
5
15,924
23
15,256
41
13,296
59
9,177
77
4,190
6
16,041
24
15,184
42
13,116
60
8,923
78
3,953
7
16,118
25
15,112
43
12,931
61
8,669
79
3,719
8
16,169
26
15,040
44
12,738
62
8,413
80
3,501
9
16,204
27
14,969 I
45
12,53£
23
8,155
81
3,283
10
16,210
28
14,893 1
46
12,335
64
7,893
82
3,072
11
16,194
29
14,810
47
12,11^
65
7,626
83
2,868
12
16,145
30
14,722 1
48
11,89"
66
7,351
84
2,668
13
16,077
31
14,627
49
11,666
67
7,069
85
2,461
14
15,994
32
14,527
50
11,4^5
68
6,778
86
2,237
15
15,901
33
14,421
51
11,1''8
69
6,479
87
1,976
16
15,807
34
14,306
52
10,926
70
6,171
88
1,688
17
15,716
ZS
14,189
53
10,673
71
5,856
89
1,409
\
1
90
1,164
The calculation of the values of joint
lives from any given table of mortality,
for every combination of age, is so labo-
rious a task, that no such table has yet
been published. Mr. Simpson, in his se-
lect exercises, gave a table of tlie values
of two joint lives, agi-eeable to the proba-
bilities of life in London ; but the tables
bounded on the London bills, I'epresenting
the rate of mortality among tne inhabi-
TABLE V.
Shewing the value of an annuity of 1^. on the joint continuance of two lives, according
to the pi-obabilities of life at Northampton. Interest at 5 per cent.
taits, taken in the gross, give tlie values
of lives much too low for the middling and
superior classes of the people in London
itself, and are wholly improper for gene-
ral use. A much more comprehensive
table of the value of joint lives has since
been calculated by Dr. Price from the
Northampton table of mortality, from
which the following table is taken.
Value. ]Ag<js,
Ages.
Value.
5-5
5-10
5-15
5-20
5-25
5-30
5-35
5-40
5-45
5-5^
5-5L
5-60
5-65
5-70
5-75
5-80
10-10
10-15
10-20
10-25
10-30
10-35
10-40
11,984
12,315
11,954
11,561
11,281
10,959
10,572
10,102
9,571
8,941
8,256
7,466
6,546
5,472
4,362
.3,238
12,665
12,302|
11,906
11,627
11,304
10,916
10,4i2
Ages
10-45
0-50
10-55
10-60
10-65
10-70
10-75
10-80
15-15
15-20
15-25
15-30
15-35
1.5-40
15-4-5
15-50
15-55
15-60
15-65
15-70
15-75
15-80
20-20
9,900
9,260
8,560
7,750
6,803
5,700
4,522
3,395
11,960
11,585
11,324
11,021
10,655
10,205
9,690
9,076
8,403
7,622
6,705
5,631
4,495i
3,372!
11,2321
20-25
20-30
20-35
20-40
120-45
'20-50
120-55
120-60
^20-65
: 20-70
120-75
i20-80
; 25-25
25-30
'25-35
i25-40
25-45
'25-50
25-55
25-60
25-65
125-70
'25-75
Value
r0,989
10,707
10,363
9,937
9,448
8,861
8,216
7,463
6,576
5,532
4,424
3,325
10,764
10,499
10,175
9,771
9,304
8,739
8,116
7,383
6,515
5,489
4.396
Ages.lValuc.]
25-80
'30-30
I30-35J
i30-40'
|30-45'
30-50!
|30-55'
30-60
30-65
30-70
30-75
30-80,
35-35
35-40
35-45
35-50
35-55
35-60
35-65
35-70
35-75
35-80
40-40
3,308
10,255
9,954
9,576
9,135
8,596
7,999
7,292
6,447
5,442
4,365
3,290
9,680
9,331
8,921
8,415
7,849
7,174
6,360
5,382
4,327
3,268
9,016
Ages.
40-45
40-50
40-55
40-6U
40-65
40-70
40-75
40-80
45-45
45-50
45-55
45-60
45-65
45-70
45-75
45-80
50-50
50-55
50-60
50-65
50-70
50-75
50-80
Value.
8,643
8,177
7,651
7,015
6,240
5,298
4,272
3,236
8,312
7,891
7,411
6,822
6,09*
5,195
4,206
3,197
7,522
7,098
6,568
5,897
5,054
5,112
3,140
Ages
55-55
55-60
55-65
55-70
55-75
55-80
60-60
60-65
60-70
60-75
60-80
65-65
65-70
65-75
65-80
70-70
70-75
70-80
75-75
75-80
80-80
85-85
90-90
Value
6,735
6,272
5,671
4,893
4,006
3,076
5,888
5,372
4,680
3,866
2,992
4,960
4,378
3,665
2,873
3,930
3,347
2,675
2,917
2,381
2,018
1,256
0.909
ANNUITIES.
To find the value of any annuity during'
the continuance of a life of any ^ven
agt;, or during tiie joint continuance of
two lives, it is only necessary to multiply
tlie value in the table, against the given
ag'e, by tlie annuity; or to find the annui-
ty equivalent to any certain sum, divide
Uie sum by tlie value in the table against
the given age.
Examples. — What is the difference in
value between an annuity of 50/. during
the life of a person aged 35, and an annui-
ty of 60/. during two lives of 30 and 35,
to cease wheneitlierof the two lives shall
6ulP
The value in Table III. against the age
of 35 is 12,502, which multiplied by 50
g-ives 625.1/. the value in table V. against
the agc.sof 30and 35 is 9.954, which mul-
tipUed by 60 gives 597.24/. the value of
the former annuity therefore exceeds the
latter by myl7s. 2d.
What annuity during his life, ought a
person aged 45 to receive in lieu of an
annuity of 20/. certain for the term of 18
years P
The value of an annuity certain for 18
years, is hy Table 11. 11.689587, which
multiplied by 20 gives 233. 7917/. this sum
divided by 11.105, the value of an annuity
during a life of 45, by Table III. gives the
answer of 21/. 1«.
What annuity during his life, ought a
person aged 40 to receive for 500/.
The value of an annuity during a life of
40 years of age, is by Table III. 11.837,
and 500/. divided by this sum gives 42/.
4». 9d. per annum ; but if the value of the
life is Uken, as in Table IV. (or 13.466),
the Sinn to be received will be 371. 2s. 7(1.
For tlie values of annuities wliich arc
not to commence till after a certain peri-
od, or after a given life or lives. See Re-
VEBRIONB.
Annuities are frequently granted by
parishes, trusts, and public societies, for
the purpose ofrai.sing money for the erec-
tion or rejjair of churches, chapels, work-
houses, bridges, or other expensive build-
ings, it being often found practicable to
obtain money in tliis way, when it could
not be procured at the ordinary rate of
interest; it ha,s likewise the recommenda-
tion of gradu-ally extinguishing the debt,
which might otherwise often remain a
permanent burthen, l.ife annuities are
also frequently granted, for money bor-
rowed by persons posses.sing life estates,
and who, therefore, cannot give the lender
a permanent security. As such annuities
depend on the life of the grantor, few
persons arc disposed to purchase them,
unless they can be obtained on such term.,
as, alter allowing for the expense of •*.
suring the grantor's life, leaves an incone
somewhat greater tlian the common nte
of niterest. It also frequently happ.;is
that the annuities are not very punctu&ly
paid, which, with otlier risks attendiig
them, causes annuities of this description
always to sell considerably under tUir
real value; and in some instances the rt-
cessities of the borrowers have led then
to make grants of this kind on the most
exorbitant terms. To throw, howe.er,
some check upon improvident tran*ac-
tjons of tliis kind, which are usually ;ar-
ried on with great privacy, the statute 17
Geo. III. c. 26, usually called the Ann lity
Act, has directed, that upon the sale of
any life annuity of more than the value of
10/. (unless on a sufficient pledge of knds
in fee simple, (|r stock in tlie public funds)
the true consiaei-ation, which shall be in
money only, and the names of the parties,
shall be set forth and described in the se-
curity itself, in words at length; and a
memorial of the date, the names of the
parties, and of all the witnesses, and of
the consideration money, shall, within
twenty days after its execution, be enrol-
led in the Court of Chancery, else tlie se-
curity shall be null and void. All con-
tracts for the purchase of annuities from
persons under 21 years of age are utterl/
void, and incapable of confirmation after
the party becomes of age. Procuring or
sohciting a minor to grant any life annuity,
or to promise or engugc to ratify it when
he becomes of age, is an indictable mis-
demeanor, and punishable by fine and im-
prisonment; as is likewise the taking more
than ten shillings percent, for procuring
money to be advanced for any life annui-
ty. This act does not extend to annuities
granted by any body corporate, or under
any authority or trust created by act of
parliament.
Notwithstanding these regulations, per»
sons having occasion to raise money by tlic
grant of life annuities were obliged to
submit to tlie most disadvantageous terms,
as it seldom happened that individual pur-
chasers would give for such annuities
more than eight years purchase, on Uvea
above 30 yeare of age ; or 7 years pur-
chase on lives above 40; while, on the
other hand, persons desirous of investing
money in an annuity on their own lifc
were generally under the necessity of ac-
cepting private security, or of waiting till
an opportunity offered of obtaining the
security of some local toll or rales. To
remedy these inconveniences, an act was
ANO
ANS
fassed in 1793, authorising the Royal Ex-
change Assurance Company to grant and
pirchase annuities on lives, either imme-
diate or bi reversion : the rates according
t» which transactions of tliis kind are re-
flated necessarily vary, in proportion to
tie current rate of interest at which mo-
ney can be improved : a short specimen
tkerefore of the present (1808) rates, at
vhich the Royal Exchange Assurance
grant life annuities, will be sufficient.
Age.
IS.
30.
25.
35.
40.
46.
per cent, ii
per ann. 1
5/. 18*. OdLJ
lAge.
' 50. .
per cent,
per ann.
. . .71. 16«. 0(1.
6 0 0
! 55..
...8 6 0
6 2 0 1
i 60..
. ..9 4 0
6 6 0'
65..
. . 10 4 0
6 10 0 '
70..
..11 8 0
6 16 0
75..
. . 12 18 0
7 6 0
80.,
. . 14 8 10
Several other societies, as the Globe
Insurance, the Albion, the Rock, and the
Eagle Insurance Companies, have lately
granted life annuities, but it is presumed
they vary their grants according to cir-
cumstances, as they none issue a printed
table of their rates.
ANOMALIES, in music, are those false
scales or intei-rals, which exist necessari-
ly in all keyed instruments, from their in-
capacity of a true and perfect tempei-a-
ment.
ANOMALISTICALf/ear,in astronomy,
the time that the earth takes to pass
through her orbit: it is also called a peri-
odicalyear. The space of time belonging
to this year is greater than the tropical
year, on account of the precession of the
equinoxes.
ANOMALOUS verbs, in grammar, such
as are not conjugated conformably to the
paradigm of their conjugation : they are
found in all languages ; in Latin, the verb
lego is the paracligm of the third conjuga-
tion, and runs tluis, hffo, legis, legit,- by tlie
same nile it should he, fero,feris,ferit, but
we s'jiy,fei-o,fei-s,fert;fer~j then is an ano-
malous verb. In English, the iiTegularity
relates often to tlie pi-eter tense and pas-
sive participle ; for example, give, were it
formed according to nde, would make
gived in the preter tense and passive par-
ticiple ; whereas in the former, it makes
£^ave, and in the \a.tter given.
ANOMALY, in grammar, that quaUty
in words which renders them anomalous.
See the preceding article.
Anomai,!, in astronomy, an irregfula-
rity in tlie motion of the planets, whereby
they deviate from the aphelion or apogee :
w hich inequality is either mean, eccen-
tric, or coequate and true.
ANOMIA, in natural history, a genus
of worms, of the order Testacea. Animal
an emarginate ciUate strap-shaped body,
with bristles affixed to the upper-valve ;
two arms, hnear, longer than the body,
connivent, projecting, alternate on the
valve, and ciliate each side, the fringe
affixed to each valve ; shell bivalve, in-
cqulvalve ; one of the valves flattish, the
other gibbous at tlie base, with a produc-
ed beak, generally curved over tlie hinge ;
one of tlie valves often perforated near the
base ; hinge with a hnear prominent cica-
trix and a lateral tooth placed within, but
in the flat valve on the very margin ; two
bony rays for the base of the animal.
There are nearly fifty species enumerated
by Gmelin, found in different parts of the
world. A ephippium has a shell, round-
ish, pellucid, with wrinkled plaits ; the flat
valve perforated. It inhabits European
and American seas, and is frequently
found sticking to the common oyster.
About two inches long, 2^ broad; the
outside rugged and filmy, the inside
smooth and pearly : varies in colour, but
generally with a silvery hue.
ANONA, in botany, a genus of plants'
belonging to the Polyandria Polygynia
class of Linnaeus. The perianthium is
composed of three cordated, hollowed,
and acuminated leaves ; the corolla con-
sists of six cordated sessile petals, three
alternately interior and smaller; the sta-
mina are scarce visible, but the antherae
are numerous ; the fruit is a large berry,
of an oval figure ; covered with a squa-
mose punctuated bark ; the seeds are
numerous, hard, of an oblong figure, and
are placed circularly.
ANSERES, in natural history, the third
order of birds, according to the Linnaean
system: they are disting^shed by a
smooth bill, covered with a soft skin and
broider at the point; feet formed for
swimming ; toes palmate, connected by a.
membrane ; shanks short, and compress-
ed; body fat and downy; flesh mostly
tough ; their food is fish, frogs, aquatic
plants, woi-ms, &c. They make their
nests generally on the ground; the mo-
ther takes but little care in providing for
tlie young. They are frequently poly-
gamous. They are divided into those
genera having biUs with, and those with-
out, teeth : of the former are the
Anas,
Mergus,
phaeton, and
Plotus.
ANT
ANT
Of the latter are the
Alea,
Aptenodytes,
Colymbus,
Diomedca,
Larus,
Pelecanus,
Procellaria,
Prynchops,
and
Sterna.
This order comprehends all kindsof wa-
ter.fowl whose feet arc palmated. The
webbed feet of these birds are admirably
adapted to aid them in swimming; and
the greater quantity of oil secreted by the
glands near the tail, and rubbed by means
of their bills over all the feathers of their
body, enables them to live on the water,
without ever being wet. They live most-
ly on fish, and some of them have been
occasionally tamed to tlie catching of fish
for the use of their masters. In some of
the lakes of China, where the water-fowl
abound, the natives have the following in-
genious mode of catching them : For se-
veral days before they attempt to take
them, many empty gourd-shells are set
afloat on the wate^i;, to habituate the birds
to their appearance ; and when they are
observed to take no notice of these sheUs,
but to swim among them, a man, with
one of the same kind upon his head, goes
into the lake, and wades or swims among
the birds with nothing but his head above
the water. He now begins his sport, and
taking the birds by their legfs, draws them
under water, breaks their necks, and fas-
tens them to his girdle, one after another,
till he is sufliciently loaded, and then re-
turns to the shore.
ANSWER, in law: On an indictment
for perjury, in an answer in Chancery, it is
a sufficient proof of identity, if the name
subscribed be proved to be the hand-writ-
ing of the defendant; and that the same
was subscribed by the master, on being
sworn before him.
ANT. See Formica.
ANTECEDENCE, in astronomy, an ap-
parent motion of a planet towards the
west, or contrary to the order of the signs,
viz. from Taurus towards Aries, &c.
ANTECEDENT, in grammar, the word
to which a relative refers: thus, God
whom we adore, the word God is the an-
tecedent to the relative whom.
AjfTKCEDENT temij in mathematics, the
first one of any ratio : thus, if the ratio be
«: A, o is the antecedent term.
ANTEDATE, among lawyers, a spuri-
ous or false date, prior to the true date of
a bond, bill, or the like.
ANTELOPE, in natural history, of the
Mammalia class of animals, of the order
Glires. The generic character is, horns
VOL. I.
hollow, seated on a bony core, grovr'ing
upwards, annulated or wnaJiing, per-
manent Front teeth in the lower jaw
eight, and no canine teeth. Antelopes
constitute a very numerous race : they
were formerly, even by Linnxus, ranged
under tli,e genus Capi-a, but now have ob-
tained a rank for themselves : their habits
and manners are thus described. Ther
inhabit, two or three species exceptea,
the hottest parts of the globe ; or, at
least, those parts of the temperate zone
that lie so near the tropics as to form a
doubtful climate. None, therefore, ex-
cept the Saiga and the Chamois, are to be
met with in Europe ; and notwithstanding
the warmth of South America is suited to
their nature, but one or two species has
yet been discovered in the new world.
Their proper climates seem, therefore,
to be those of Asia and Africa, where the
species are very numerous. " As there
appearsageneral agreement in the nature
of the species that form this g^at genus,
it will prevent needless repetition to ob-
serve, that the antelopes are animals ge-
nerally of a most elegant and active make ;
of a restless and timid disposition ; ex-
tremely watchful, of great vivacity, re-
markably swift and agile, and most of
their boundings so light and elastic, as to
strike the spectator with astonishment
"What is very singular is, that they will
stop in the midst of their course, gaze for
a moment at their pursuers, and then re-
sume their flight. As the chase of these
animals is a favourite amusement with the
eastern nations, from that may be collect-
ed proofs of the rapid speed of the ante-
lope tribe. The greyhound, the fleetest
ofdogs, is usually unequal in the course,
and the sportsman is obliged to call in
the aid of the falcon, trained for the pur-
pose, to seize on the animal, and impede
its motions, in order to give the dogs an
opportunity of overtaking it. In India and
Persia a species of leopard is made use of
in the chase : this is an animal that takes
its prey, not by swiftness of foot, but by
the greatness of its springs, by motions
similar to those of tne antelope ; but,
should the leopard fail in its first essay,
the game escapes. The fleetness of the
antelope was proverbial in the country it
inhabited, even in the earliest times : the
speed of Asahel (3 Sam. ii. 18.) is beauti-
fully compared to that of the Tzebi ; and
the Gadites were said to be as swiA as the
antelopes upon the mountains. The sacred
writers took their simihes from such ob-
jects as were before the eyes of the peo-
ple to whom they addressed themselves.
Ii
ANTELOPE.
There is another instance drawn from the
same subject : the disciple raised to life
at Joppa was supposed to have been call-
ed Tabitlia, i. e. Dorcas, or the antelope,
from the beauty of her eyes ; and to this
day one of the highest compliments that
can be paid to female beauty, in the eastern
regions, is jiine el Czazel, * You have the
eyes of an antelope.' Some species of an-
telopes form herds of two or three thou-
sands, while others keep in troops of five
or six. They generally reside in hilly
countries, though some inhabit plains :
they often brouse like the goat, and feed
on the tender shoots of trees, which gives
their flesh an excellent flavour. This is
to be understood of those which are taken
in the chace ; for those which are fatten-
ed in houses are far less delicious. The
flesh of some species are said to taste of
musk, which perhaps depends on the
qualities of the plants they feed upon."
This preface (says Mr. Pennant) was
thought necessary, to point out the dif-
ference in nature between this and the
goat kind, with which most systematic
writers have classed the antelopes : but
the antelope forms an intermediate ge-
nus, a link between the goat and the deer ;
agreeing with the former in the texture
of the horns, which have a core in them,
and are never cast ; and with the latter
in elegance of form and swiftness.
The Common Antelope. — The Ante-
lope, properly so called, abounds in Bar-
bary, and in all the northern parts of Airi-
ca. It is somewhat less than the fallow-
deer: its horns are about sixteen inches
long, surrounded with prominent rings al-
most to the top, where they are twelve
inches distant from point to point. The
horns of the antelope are remarkable for
a beautiful double flexion, which jrives
them the appearance of the lyre of the
ancients. The colour of the hair on the
back is brown, mixed with red ; the belly
and inside of the thighs white ; and the
tail short
The Striped Antelope, — is a beautiful,
tall gazelle, inhabiting the Cape of Good
Hope ; has long, slender shanks : its homs
are smooth, twisted spirally, with a pro-
minent edge or rib following the wreaths;
they are three feet nine inches long, of a
pale-brown colour, close at the base, and
at the points round and sharp. The colour
of this animal is a rusty brown; along
the ridge of the back there is a white
stripe mixed with brown ; from this are
eight or nine white stripes pointing down-
wards ; the forehead and the fore part of
the nose are brown ; a white stripe runs
from the comer of each eye, and meets
just above the nose; upon each cheek-bone _^
there are two small white spots ; the in- "'^
ner edges x>f the ears are covered with M
white hair, and the upper part of the neck ^
is adorned with a brown mane, an inch
long ; beneath the neck, from the throat
to the breast, are some long hairs hang-
ing down ; the breast and belly are grey ;
the tail is two feet long, brown above, ]
white beneath, and black at the end. *:
The Gnu, the Hottentot name for a sin-
gular animal, which, with respect to its
form, is between the horse and the ox.—
It is about the size of a common galloway,
the length of it being somewhat above five
feet, and the height rather more than
four. This animal is of a dark browTi co-
lour : the tail and mane of a hght grey ;
the shag on the chin and breast, and the
stiflT hjurs which stand erect on the fore-
head and upper part of the face, are black;
the curvature of the homs is singular ;
and the animal is represented in the fi^re
in the attitude of butting, to give an idea
of their form and position. The legs of
the gnu are small ; its hair Is very fine ;
and it has a cavity beneath each eye, like
most of the antelope kind.
The Chevrotain and Meminna. — The
Chevrotain, or little Guinea Deer, is the
smallest of all the antelope kind, the least
of all cloven-footed quadrupeds, and, we
may add, the most beautiful. Its legs at
the smallest part are not much thicker
than a tobacco-pipe ; it is not more than
seven inches in height, and about twelve
from the point of the nose to the insertion
of the tail ; its ears are broad, and its
homs, which are stridght, and scarcely two
inches long, are black and shining as jet ;
the colour of the hair is a reddish brown ;
in some a beautiful yellow. Very short and
glossy. These elegant little creatures are
natives of Senegal and the hottest parts of
Africa ; they are likewise found in India,
and in many of tlie islands belonging to
that vast continent. In Ceylon, there is
an animal of this kind, called Meminna,
which is not larger than a hare, but per-
fectly resembling a fallow-deer. It is of a
grey colour; the sides and haunches are
spotted and barred with white ; its ears
are long and open ; and its tail short.
None of these small animals can subsist
but in a warm climate. They are so ex-
tremely dehcate, that it is with the utmost
difficulty they can be brought alive into
Europe, where they soon perish. They
are gentle, famiUar, most beautifully form-
ed, and their a^ity is such, that they will
ANTELOPE.
boand over a wall twelve feet high. In
Guinea, they are called Guevei. The fe-
male has no horns.
The Springer Antelope, — is an elegant
species, weighs about fifty pounds, and is
rather less than a roe-buck ; inhabits the
Cape of Good Hope ; called there the
Spring bock, frora the prodigious leaps it
takes on the sjght of any body. When
alarmed, it has the power of expanding
the white space about the tail into the
form of a circle, which returns to its li-
near form when the animal is tranquil.
They migrate annually from the interior
parts in small herds, and continue in the
neighbourhood of the Cape for two or
three months ; then join companies and
go off in troops, consisting of many thou-
sands, covering the great plains for seve-
ral houra in their passage .- are attended
in their migrations by numbers of lions,
hyaenasand otherwild beasts, which make
great destruction among them : are excel-
lent eating, and, with ouier antelopes, are
the venison of the Cape. Mr. Masson in-
forms us, that they also make periodical
migrations, in seven or eight years, in
herds of many hundred thousands, from
the north, as he supposes from the interi-
or parts of Terra de Natal. They are com-
pelled to it by the excessive drought
which happens in that region, when
sometimes there does not fall a drop of
rain for two or three years. These animals,
in their course, desolate Caffraria, spread-
ing over the whole country, and not leav-
ing a blade of grass. Lions attend them :
where one of these beasts of prey are, the
place is known by the vastvoid visible in
the midst of the timorous herd. On its ap-
proach to the Cape, it is observed that the
avant guard is very fat, the centre less so,
and the rear guard almost starved, being
reduced to live on the roots of tlie plants
devoured by those which went before ;
but on their return they become the avant
guard, and thrive in their turn on the re-
newed vegetation ; while the former, now
changed into the rear guard, are famish-
ed, by being compelled to take up with
the leavings of the others. These animals
are quite fearless, when assembled in such
mighty armies, nor can a man pass
through, unless he compels them to give
way with a whip or stick. When taken
youDg, they are easily domesticated ; the
males are very wanton, and are apt to butt
at strangers with their horns. The expan-
sile white part on the end of the back of
this animal is a highly singular circum-
stance. It is formed by a dupUcature of
the skin in that part, the inside and edges
being milk-white ; when the animal is at
rest, the edges alone appear, resembling
a white stripe, but when alarmed, or in
motion, tlie cavity, or white intermediate
space, appears in form of a lurge oval
patch of that colour.
The Scytliian Antelope, or Sanja,—
which is the only one of the species uiat
is to be found in Europe. 1 he form of
its body resembles the domestic goat, but
its horns are those of an antelope, be-
ing marked by very prominent rings,
with furrows between ; they are a loot
long, tlie ends smooth, of a pale yellow
colour, almost transparent. The male is
covered with rough hair, like the he-goat,
and has a strong scent; the female is
smoother, hornless, and timid. The gene-
ral colour is a dirty white. When they are
attacked by wolves or dogs, the males
stand round the females, forming a circle,
with their heads towards the enemy, in
which posture they defend their charge.
Their common pace is a trot ; when they
go faster, it is by leaps ; and are swifter
than roe-bucks. When they feed, they
arc obliged to go backward, owing to the
length of the upper lip, which they lift
up. Their skin is soft and excellent for
gloves, belts, &c. They are found in
flocks from six to ten thousand, on the
banks of the Tanaisand Boristhenes. The
young are easily tamed, and will readily
return to their master when turned out
on the desert.
The Nilgau, or White-footed Antelope,
— is a large and beautiful species, known
only within the space of a few years past.
Its height is four feet one inch to the top
of the shoulders, and its length, from the
bottom of the neck to the base of the tail,
four feet. The colour of the nilgau is a
fine dark grey, or slate-colour, with a large
spot of white beneath the throat, and two
white bands or marks above each foot :
the ears are large, white within, and edged
with the same colopr, and marked int^er-
nally by two black stripes ; along the top
of the neck runs a slight mane of black
hair, which is continued to some distance
down the back, and on the breast is a
much longer mane or hanging tuft, of a
similar colour; the tail is moderately long,
and terminated by atuft of black hair : Uie
horns are short, pointed, smooth, triangu-
lar at their base, distant from each other,
bent verj' shghtly forwards, and of a
blackish colour. 'I'he female resembles
the male in general appearance, but is
considerably smaller, of a pale brown co-
lour, and is destitute of horns : the mane,
pectoral tuft, and ears, resemble those of
the male, and the feet arc marked above
the hoofs by three transverse bars of black
ANT
ANT
and two of white. The nilgau is a native
of the interior parts of India. According
to Mr. Pennant, it abounded in the days
of Aureng-zebe between Delli and Labor,
on the way to Cashmire, and was called
nylgau, or the blue or grey bull. It was
one of the objects of the chace with that
mighty monarch during his journey: they
•were inclosed by his army of hunters with-
in nets, which, being drawn closer and
closer, at length formed a small precinct,
into which the king and his omruhs and
hunters entered, and killed the nilgaus
with arrows, spears, and muskets ; and
that sometimes in such numbers, tliat Au-
rengzebe used to send quarters as pre-
sents to all his great people. The nylgau
has of late years been often imported into
Europe, and has bred in England. In
confinement it is generally pretty gentle,
but is sometimes seized with fitsof sudden
caprice, when it will attack with great
violence the objects of its displeasure.
When the males fight, they drop on their
knees at some distance from each other,
and gradually advance in that attitude,
and at length make a spring at each other
with their heads bent low. This action,
however, is not peculiar to the nilgau, but
is observed in many other of the antelope
tribe. The nilgau is said to go with
young about nine montlis, and to produce
sometimes two at a birth : the young is of
the coloiu" of a fawn.
Antelope Leucoryx, or White Antelope,
— ^is entirely milk-white, except the mark-
ings on the face and limbs. It is an inha-
bitant of an island in the Gulf of Bassora.
See Plate Mammalia, fig. 1 — 6.
ANTHEM, a church song performed in
cathedral service by choristers, who sing
alternately. It was formerly used to de-
note both psalms and hymns, when sung
in this manner. But at present, anthem is
used in a more confined sense, being ap-
pUedto certain passages taken out of the
scriptures, and adapted to a particular so-
lemnity.
ANTHEMIS, in botany, chamomile, a
genus of the Syngenesia Superflua class
and order. Receptacle chafiy ; seeds
generally crowned with a slight border ;
ca]3rz hemispherical, nearly equal; florets
of the ray more than five, oblong. There
are two divisions of this genus, namely, A.
with a differently coloured or white ray ;
and B. ray the colour of the disk, or yel-
low : there are about forty species.
ANTHER.^, among botanists, denote
the little roundish or oblong bodies, on
the tops of the stamina of plants.
The antherse is the principal part of the
male organ of generation in plants, an-
swering the glans penis in animals. It is
tumid and hollow, containing a fine pow-
der, called farina foecundans.
ANTHERICUM, in botany, a genus of
plants of the Hexandria Monogynia class
and order. Cor. six-petalled, spreading,
permanent; filaments uniform; capsule
superior, seeds angular. There are three
divisions. A. leaves channelled; filaments
mostly beardless : B. leaves fleshy ; fila-
ments bearded : C. stamina dilated in the
middle ; root bulbous. There are be-
tween 50 and 60 species.
ANTHERYLIUM, a genus of the Ico-
sandria Monogynia class and order. Ca-
lyx inferior, four-parted; petals four;
capsule one-celled, three-vsJved, many-
seeded. There is but a single species, a
tree. found at St. Thomas's Island.
ANTHISTERIA, in botany, a genus of
the Polygamia Monoecia class and order.
Hermaphrodite ; florets sessile, male flo-
rets pedicelled ; calyx four-valved, three
or four flowered, coriaceous; corol. glume
two-valved, awnless ; filaments tliree ;
styles two; stigmata clavate ; seed one.
There is but a single species.
ANTHOCEROS, a genus of the Cryp-
togamia Hepaticae. Male ; six parted or
entire ; antherae three to eight, obovate,
in the bottom of the calyx. Female ; ca-
lyx sessile, cylindrical and entire. There
are four species.
ANTHOLOMA, in botany, a genus of
the Polyandria Monogynia class and or-
der. Calyx two to four-leaved ; cor. cup-
shaped; many seeded. There is but a sin-
gle species, a shrub found in Caledonia.
ANTHOLYZA, in botany, a genus of
the Triandria Monogynia class and order.
Corol. tubular, six-cleft, unequal, recurv-
ed; capsule inferior. There are six spe-
cies, all found at the Cape.
ANTHOSPERMUM, in botany, the
amber-tree, a genus of plants belonging to
the Tetrandriaclass and order. It is male
and female, in different plants, and some
are hermaphrodites. The androgynous
flower is of one leaf, with two pistils and
four stamina, with the germen below the
flower. The male flowers are the same
with these, wanting only the pistils and
germen. The female flowers have the
pistils and germen, but want the stamina.
There are three species.
ANTHOXANTHUM, in botany, a ge-
nus of the Dyandria Digynia class and or-
der. Gen. char, calyx, glume two-valved,
one flowered ; corol. glume two-valved,
J)ointed, awnedj seed one. There are
bur species.
ANTHRIINUS, in natural histoiy, a
ANT
ANT
g^enus of insects of the order Coleoptera.
Essen, char, antennx clavate, the club so-
lid ; feelers unequal, filiform ; jaws mem-
branaceous, linear, bifid ; lip entire ; head
hidden under the thorax. There are 13
species, of which the muscoreum is very
destructive to collections of preserved
animals, insects, &c.
ANTHROPOMORPHA, in the Linnat-
an system of zoology, a class of animals,
resembhng in some degree the human
form ; the distinguishing characteristic of
which is, that all the animals comprehend-
ed in it have four fore teeth in each jaw,
and the teats are situated on the breast.
Besides the human species, which stands
at the head of this class, it likewise com-
prehends the monkey and sloth kinds.
ANTHYLLIS, the bladder lotus, in bo-
tany, a genus of the Diadelphia Decan-
dria class of plants, the corolla whereof
is papilionaceous ; the fruit is a small
roundish legume, composed of two valves,
and containing one or two seeds. This
genus is separated into the A. herbace-
ous, and B. shrubby ; there are of the for-
mer 12 species, of the latter nine.
ANTICHORUS, in botany, a genus of
the Octandria Monogynia class and order.
Calyx four-leaved ; petals four ; capsule
superior, subulate, four-celled, four-valv-
ed ; seeds numerous. There is only one
species, found in Arabia.
ANTIDESMA, in botany, a genus of
the Dioecia Pentandria class of plants, the
calyx of which is a pcrianthium, consist-
ing of five oblong, concave leaves ; there
is no corolla ; the fruit is a cylindric ber-
ry, containing one cell, in which is lodg-
ed a single seed. There are three spe-
cies, found in the East Indies and China.
ANTIMONY, in mineralogy, one of the
metals that is brittle and easily fused. No
metal has attracted so much of the atten-
tion of physicians as antimony. One par-
ty has extolled it as an infallible specific
for every disease : while another decried
it as a most virulent poison, which ought
to be expunged from the list of medicines.
Antimony, as it occurs under that name
in the shops, is a natural compound of
the metal with sulphur. To obtain it in a
metallic state, the native sulphuret is to
be mixed with two-thinls its weight of
acidulous tartrite of potash, (in the state
of crude tartar,) antl one-tliird of nitrate
of potash deprived of its water of crystal-
lization. The mixture must be projected,
by spoonfuls, into a red-hot crucible ; and
the detonated mass poured into an iron
mould greased with a little fat. The anti-
mony, on accoimt of its sperifir pravitr.
will be found at the bottom, adhering to
the scorise, from which itmay be separated
by the hammer. Or three parts of the
sulphuret may be fused in a covered cru-
cible, with one of iron filings. The sul-
phur quits the antimony, and combines
with the iron. Antimony in its metallic
state (sometimes called rcfjuhis of anti-
mony) is of a silvery white colour, very
brittle, and of a plated or scaly texture.
It is fused by a moderate heat ; and crys-
tallizes, on cooling, in the form of pyra-
mids. In close vessels it may be vola-
tilized, and collected unchanged. It un-
dergoes little change when exposed to the
atmosphere at its ordinaiy temperature ;
but when fused, with the access of air,
it emits white fumes, consisting of an
oxide of the metal. This oxide had for-
merly the name of flowers of antimony.
Antimony combines with phosphonis and
sulphur. With the latter, an artificial
sulphuret is formed, exactly resembling
the native compound, which last may be
employed, on account of its cheapness,
for exhibiting the properties of this com-
bination of antimony. Antimony is dis-
solved by most of the acids. Sulphuric
acid is decomposed, sulphurous acid be-
ing disengaged, and an oxide formed,
of which a small proportion only is dis-
solved by the remaining acid. Nitric
acid dissolves this metal with great vehe-
mence ; muriatic acid acts on it by long
digestion ; but the most convenient .sol-
vent is the nitro-muriatic acid, which,
with the aid of heat, dissolves it from
the native sulphuret. With oxygenized
muriatic acid, it forms a compound of a
thick consistence, formerly called butter
of antimony. This may be formed by
exposing black sulphuret of antimony to
the fumes of oxygenized muriatic acid,
and subsequent distillation ; or by distill,
ing the powdered reg^ihis with twice its
weight of corrosive muriate of mercury.
The metal becomes highly oxydized, aiid
unites with muriatic acid in its simple
state. On pouring this compound into
water, a white oxide falls down, called
powder of algaroth. Antimony is sus-
ceptible of various states of oxydizement.
The first oxide may be obtained by wash-
ing algaroth powder with a little caustic
potash. It is composed of IS^ oxygen,
and 81^ metal. That formed by the ac-
tion of nitric acid on antimony cont.ains
77 metal, and 23 oxygen. See Ores,
anatvsis of.
ANTIXOMTANS, in church history, »
sect of ChristLins, who reject the moral
law as a nile of conduct to believers.
ANT
ANT
disown personal and progressive sancti-
iication, and hold it to be inconsistent for
a believer to pray for the forgiveness of
sins. Although diese principles will, by
some, be thought to lead to mischievous
consequences and practice, yet there are,
unquestionably, worthy men and virtuous
Christians, who avow Antinomian tenets.
To the young, the giddy, and the thought-
less, such sentiments might, if acted upon,
be the source of much evil ; but these,
like the doctrine of necessity, are rarely
believed, but by persons who have alrea-
dy attained to virtuous habits.
ANTIPATHES, in natural history, a
genus of worms of the order Zoophj'ta.
An animal growing in the form of a plant :
stem expanded at the base, internally
homy, beset with small spines, externally
covered with a gelatinous flesh, beset
with numerous polype-bearing tubercles.
There are 13 species. A. spiralis inha-
bits the Indian, Mediterranean, and North
seas ; of a hard, homy, black substance,
exceeedingly brittle, very long, and va-
riously twisted, about the size of a writ-
ing pen A alopecuroides, with spinous
setaceous closely panicled branches ; in-
habits South Carolina; about two feet
high, and rises from a broad spread base,
dividing into several large branches, flat
on one side, with a groove along the mid-
dle; it then subdivides into smaller
branches, forming close panicles, not un-
like the fox-tail grass: the outside grey,
ish, the inside black, and very brittle.
ANTIPODES, in geography, a. name
given to those inhabitants of the globe that
live diametrically opposite to one another.
They lie under opposite parallels, and
opposite meridians. They have the same
elevation of their different poles. It is
mid-night with the one, when it is noon-
day with the other; the longest day with
one is the shortest with the other; and
the length of the day with the one is
equal to the night of the other. See
Globes, use of.
ANTIQUARY, a person who studies
and searches after monuments and re-
mains of antiquity.
There were formerly, in the chief cities
of Greece and Italy, persons of distinc-
tion, called antiquaries, who made it their
business to explain the ancient inscrip-
tions, and give every other assistance in
their power to strangers, who were lovers
of that kind of learning. Foundations of
this kind have existed in England. Sir
H. Spelman speaks of a society of anti-
quaries in his time, which had been insti-
tuted in 1572, by Archbishop Parker,
Camden, Sir Robert Cotton, Stowe, and
others. Application was made in 1589
to Queen Elizabeth for a charter, and
house, in which they might hold their
meetings, erect a library, &c. But the
death of the sovereign put an end to the
design. In 17 17, this society was revived
again, and has continued without inter-
ruption ; and at present, it is in a very
flourishing state, consiting of learned
men in every rank of life. The society
was incorporated in 1751, and began to
publish an account of its discoveries in
1770, under the title of « Archaeologia :"
fifteen volumes in quarto are already pub-
lished.
ANTIQUITIES, a term implying all
testimonies, or authentic accounts, that
have come down to us of ancient nations.
According to Lord Bacon, antiquities may
be considered as the wrecks of history, or
such particulars as industrious and learn-
ed persons have collected from genealo-
gies, inscriptions, monuments, coins,
names, etymologies, archives, instru-
ments, fragments of history, &c. : in this
sense the study of antiquities leads us to
inquire into the origin and early epochas
of every nation and people, whether an-
cient or modem. Hence the study of an-
tiquities, as a science, has become, in al-
most every civilized country, an interest-
ing pursuit to men of leisure and curiosi-
ty. By many persons it has been sufficient
to investigate the ancient remains of
Greece and Rome ; but others, who have
taken a more enlarged, and, what we
deem, a more proper view of the subject,
include in the science the antiquities of
the Jews, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Cartha-
ginians, and, in short, all those principal
nations mentioned in ancient history. Our
view of the subject must necessarily be
contracted, and the most we can aim at
is, to excite a laudable curiosity in the
young, and to direct them to objects that
may engage their attention, and to the
authors most likely to furnish information
under the several heads of inquiry and
research.
This study has for its chief objects the
ceremonies, customs, and usages, which
obtained in ancient times, either with re-
gard to persons, places, or things. Writ-
ers have accordingly divided antiquities
into civil and ecclesiastisal ; including
under the fonner head whatever relates
to political, militarj', literarj-, and domes-
tic concerns; and under the latter, the
subjects connected with religion, as the
worship, discipline, and faith of ancient
times andj)eople. Christians have usually
ANTIQUITIES.
separated their antiquities into those
which relate to the ancient state of the
Christian church ; and into whatever be-
longs to the ancient laws, ceremonies,
events, &c. that occur in the scriptures.
These, indeed, form a branch of ecclesi-
astical antiquities, and bear a near rela-
tion to the Jewish antiquities, concerning
which we have many respectable authori-
ties. There are persons who would de-
duce most of the heathen antiquities from
the manners and customs described in the
Bible ; while others, as Spencer, take the
opposite course, and deduce the antiqui-
ties of the Bible from those of heathenism.
Perhaps a middle course would be nearer
the truth, as it is absolutely necessary, in
interpreting scripture, to attend to the
heathen antiquities alluded to in them ;
and these not only such as are directly
aimed at or approved, but also such as are
purposely opposed. National antiquities
are those employed in tracing the origin,
ancient actions, usages, monuments, re-
mains, &c. of some nation or people : and
it may be observed, that almost every na-
tion lays claim to a gfreater degree of an-
tiquity than the rest of its neighbours.
The Scythians, the Phrygians, the Chal-
deans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, &c.
pretend each to have the honour o£ being
the first inhabitants of the earth : several
of these nations, lest tliey should be sur-
passed in their pretensions by any of the
rest, have traced up their origin to ages
long before the received account of the
creation. Hence the appellations, "'abori-
?[ines," " indigenae," " terrsgenar," " ante-
unares," &c.
The history and antiauities of nations
and societies have been objects of inquiry:
inasmuch as they enable the mind to se-
parate truth from falsehood, and tradition
from evidence ; to establish what had pro-
babiUty for its basis, or to explode what
rested only on the vanity of the inventors
and propagators : of this we have a strik-
ing instance in the Chaldeans, who pre-
tend to astronomical observations of nearly
500,000 years. They mention the king
who reigned over them at the time of the
deluge,and attribute to him several things
which we ascribe to Noah. The Chaldaic
antiquities of Berosus are. however, lost,
except a fewfragments, which have been
collected by .loseph Scaligcr and Fabri-
cius. To supply the cliasm, A'lnius Viter-
bo, a Dominican monk, towards the close
of the 15tlj century, forged tl\e work of
Berosus, which he publ.shed at Rome in
1498. lie went farther, and produced a
supplement to Berosus;«upposed to have
been written by Mianetho, containing de-
tails of what happened from the time of
jEgyptus, king of Egj'pt, to the origin of
the Roman state. Unfortunately for the
credit of the industrious monk, Manotho
lived before Berosus, by which the fraud
was detected.
The first traces of every history were
rude and imperfect, which renders the
office of the antiquarian of the utmost im-
portance to the faithful and diligent histo-
rian. Better methods of preserving facts
succeeded. The unchsiseled stone, or the
rudest hieroglyphic, accompanied the
son^ of the bards, to perpetuate the
achievements of a whole nation, or a few
individuals; till the use of letters, and the
complicated transactions, claims, and in-
terests of men, taught them to multiply
memorials, and draw them up with more
skill and accuracy.
The history contained in the Old Tes-
tament is unquestionably the most ancient
well-authenticated collection of facts, that
has come down to the present times.
These records go much beyond the flood,
the boundary to the annals of every other
nation thatJays a just claim to credit.
The Jews, who are closely connected with
this part of history, trace back their an-
cestry to the common parents of the hu-
man race. The antiquities of this won-
derful nation have been treated of by nu-
merous writers, whose works are monu-
ments of great learning and indefatigable
industry; and it will be admitted, that
the fate of a people scattered over the
globe, who have been subject to persecu-
tions, more or less severe, for so many
centuries, who have never amalgamated,
if we may so speak, with any other nation
under heaven, but have remained distinct,
for wise and important ends, cannot but
interest the curious inquirer. The histoiy
of their origin, ordinances, and vicissi-
tudes, previously to the Christian jtra, is
to be had in the Old Testament : their
subsequent ruin and dispersion are pre-
dicted by Christ in the New Testament,
and treated of at large by Josephus, who
flourished at Rome under Vespa»an, Ti-
tus, and Domitian, and who published his
great work on the Jewish Antiquities
during the life and reign of the latter. On
the same subject we have a multitude of
more modem writers, from Ugolinus*
Thesaurus, consisting of more than thir-
ty volumes folio, and comprising all the
best works written previously to the mid-
dle of the last ccnturj', to the octavos Dr.
Jennings evidently intended as a mere in-
troduction to the subject. The antiquities
ANTIQUITIES.
'Br
of the Jews are supposed to be connected
with those of Egypt, since Moses, their
great lawgiver, was educated in the
schools of Egyptian learning, and was
deeply conversant in all their sciences.
Many of the metaphors and other allu-
sions, found in the first five books of the
Bible, are supposed to have some refer-
ence to the symbols of the Egyptian
priests. If we were, therefore, able to
come at a faithful account of the antiqui-
ties of Egypt, we might hope to attain an
illustration of many things which are still
obscure and dark, b elonging to the Jewish
economy, both civil and sacred. Of Eg^pt,
alas ! once renowned for its laws, the
commerce of her cities, the grandeur of
her buildings, and the fertility of territo-
ry, littJe is left to gratify the laudable
curiosity of modems. Those who have
spent much time and labour, in appreci-
ating the worth and merits of the ancients,
admit that the earliest nations of the
world were fed with the produce of Egyp-
tian soil, and enriched with the wealth
and wisdom obtained in that portion of
Africa. Upper Egypt furnished the mate-
rials of marble and porphyry, with which
the most supendous works of art were
reared : and to Hermes Trismegistus, or,
as he is sometimes called, Thoth, are
ascribed, among the Egyptians, the inven-
tions of chief use in human life. Their
priests maintained, that from their hiero-
flyphic characters upon the pillars which
e erected, and the sacred books, all the
philosophy and learning of the world has
been derived.
Egypt seems itself to have been indebt-
ed for its original population to the
northern parts of Arabia and Syria, the
Egyptians and Abyssinians having been
always wholly distinct from the native na-
tions of Africa. The Copts, or original
inhabitants, it has been observed by tra-
vellers, have no resemblance whatever of
the negro features or form ; but a strong
likeness may be traced between the make
of the visage in the modern Copts, and
that presented in the ancient mummies,
Eaintings, and statues. Their complexion,
ke that of the Arabs, is of a dusky
brown. It is represented of the same co-
lour in the paintings which may be seen
in the tombs of Thebes. The chief anti-
quities are, the pyramids, and the tombs
near Thebes, recently disclosed, with ma-
ny ruins of temples, and other remsdns of
ancient cities. Dr. White, in the " Egyp-
tiaca," a work which contains much valu-
able information on the subject, says, the
celebrated columa ascribed to Pompey
ornamented a space opposite the temple
of Serapis, in which was a great public
library. Besides the ancient remains al-
ready noticed, we may mention the co-
lossal sphynx ; Cleopatra's needle ; the
marble" Sarcophagus, reputed to be Alex-
ander's tomb ; and the triple inscription
from Rosetta, in the hieroglyphic, the ver-
nacular Egyptian, and the Greek charac-
ters. The writers on Egyptian antiquities
are very numerous. Among the ancients
may be noted, Herodotus, Pausanias, Stra-
bo, Diodorus Siculus, and Plutarch. He-
rodotus, Thales, and Pythagoras, were
initiated into all the mysteries of the
Egyptian priests. The mythology of the
country is fidly explained in Joblonski's
" PanUieon Egyptiacum." On the EgjT)t
of modem times we have the works of
Pocock, Niebuhr, Sonnini, and Denon,
which may be consulted with advantage.
Greaves and Nordon have written on th^
pyramids, and the mummies are described
by the celebrated Kircher. •
The illustration of the antiquities of In-
dia is more difficult, but discoveries are
still making in that vast extent of coun-
try. To that great patriot, philosopher,
and legislator, Sir William Jones, we are
greatly indebted for much valuable infor-
mation on this subject. Mr. Halhed, in-
deed, in 1776, gave the first specimen
which appeared of the early wisdom of
the Indians, and their extensive skill in
jurisprudence. In the year 1785, the
Bhagvat Geeta was edited by Mr. Wilkins.
The theological and metaphysical doc-
trines of this work were represented to be
of the profbundest kind, and it was said
to contain all the grand mysteries of the
Hindoo religion, and laid claim to the an-
tiquity of 4000 years. Other works of
high reputation have succeeded ; among
these are the " Indian Antiquities," by
Maurice, which have, in a great measure,
cleared the ground for the student, and
given him a sort of clue for farther inves-
tigations. By his labours, the ancient ge-
ographical divisions of India, according to
the classical writers of Greece and Rome,
and of Hindostan, according to the Hin-
doos themselves, are reconciled ; the ana-
logies of the Biahmanic with other sys-
tems of theology considered, and the
grand code of civU laws, the original form
of government, and the literature of Hin-
dostan, are compared with the laws, go-
vernment, and literature of Persia, Egypt,
and Greece. From Sir William Jones's
papers, published in the several volumes
of the " Asiatic Researches," much solid
information on Indian antiquities may be
ANTIQUITIES.
^ had in a short compass. By that great
man, whose loss cannot be sufficiently
lamented, a society was formed for in-
quiring into the history, antiquities, arts,
sciences, and Uterature of Asia. Having
founded the institution, he gave it celebri-
ty by his own admirable discourses ; of
these the first was on the orthography of
Asiatic words in Roman letters, a want of
attention to which had occasioned much
confusion in histoi-y and geography. Not
contented with pointing out radical de-
fects, he proposed a S3stem, which was
useful to the learned, and essential to the
progfress of the student. His other dis-
sertations, to which the reader may be
referred, were all, in a greater or less de-
gree, connected witli uie antiquities of
India. By IncUa is meant the whole ex-
tent of country in which the primitive re-
ligion and language of the Hindoos pre-
vail at this day, and in which the Nscguri
letters are still used, with more or less
deviation from their oririnal form. Its
inhabitants have no resemblance, either in
their figure or manners, to any of the na-
tions contiguous to them. Their sources
of wealth are still abundant. In tlieir ma-
nufactures of cotton they suri)a.ss the
other nations of the world ; and though
now degenerate and abased,therc remains
enough to show, that in some early age
they were well versed in arts and arms,
happy in government, wise in legisla-
tion, and eminent in various branches of
knowledge.
In this place we may briefly notice the
Sanscrit language, which, whatever may
be its antiquity, is of a very singrdar struc-
ture ; more perfectthanthe Greek, more
copious than the Latin, and more refined
than either, yet bearing to both a stronger
affinity, both in the roots of verbs, and in
the forms of grammar, tlian could possi-
blj' have been produced by accident Of
their philosophy it has been observed,
that in the more retired scenes, in groves,
and in seminaries of learning, we may
perceive the Brahmansandthe Sarmanas
of Clcmans disputing in the fomis of lo-
gic, or discoursing on the vanity of human
enjojTnents, on the immortality of the
soul, her" emanation from tlie eternal mind,
her debasement, wanderings, and final
union with her source.
The ancient monuments of Hindostan
arfc verj' numerous, and of various descrip-
tions, exclusive of the tombs and other
edifices of the Maliometan conquerors.
Some of the most remarkable are, excava-
ted temples, statues, relievos. Sic. in an
island near Bombay ; but the most mag-
VOL. I
nificentand extensive are near the town of
Ellora, about two hundred miles east of
Bombay. The latterare minutely describ-
ed, and illustrated with plates, in the axth
volume of the Asiatic Researches. The
idols represented seem clearly to belong
to the present mythology- of Hindostan :
but at what period these edifices were
mode lledjwhether three hundred or three
tliousand years ago, cannot be easily as-
certained. Several ancient grants of land,
some coins, and seals, have also been
found, which, however, do not greatly
correspond with the exaggerated itleas
entertained concerning tlie early civiliza-
tion of this renowned country; while the
Egj-ptainpjTamids, temples, and obelisks,
strongly confirm the accounts preserved
by ancient historians. I'hough the my-
thologj' of the Hindoos may pretend to
great antiquity, yet their present form of
religion is supposed to vary considerably
from the ancient. It is infeired, that
while the reUgion ofBoodlia, still retained
by the Birmans and other adjacent na-
tions, was the real ancient system of Hin-
dostan, the religion of the Hindoos is art-
fully interwoven with the common offices
of life ; and the different casts are sup-
posed to originate from Brahma, the im-
mediate agent of creation, under tlie Su-
preme Power.
The remains of architecture and sculp-
ture seem to prove an early connection
between India and Africa. Of the ancient
arts and manufactures Uttle is known,
excepting the labours of the Indian loom
and needle. The Hindoos are said to
have boasted of three inventions, viz the
method of instruction by " apologues,"
" the decimal scale," and " the game of
chess "
Of the antiquities of Greece and Rome
much has been written that merits the
attention of the student in literature:
these are subjects, in which every well
educated youdi is made conversant at an
early period. They are taught in all our
classical schools, as necessary to the elu-
cidation of those works that are read in
the attainment of tlie ancient languages.
Potter on the Greek antiquities, and Ren-
net and Adams on those of Roman, are
familiar to every ear: in their kind they
are truly respectable, though they may be
regarded only as elementary treatises.cal-
cuTated rather to excite a taste for the
study, than to satisfy the inquirer in pur.
suit of knowledge.
The first accounts of Greece are derived
from ages long before tlie common use of
letters in the countrv. so that it is difficult
Kk
ANTIQUITIES.
to distinguish where fable concludes, and
real history begins. From the Phoenician
and Egyptian colonies, the Greeks first
received the culture of humanity. By
the Phoenicians, they were instructed in
trade, navigation, and the use of letters ;
and by the Egyptians in civil wisdom, tlie
pohter sciences, and religious mysteries.
The antiquities of such a country, which
became in after ages so illustrious in the
annals of mankind, cannot fail to have ex-
cited a considerable degree of interest in
every age : tliey have accordingly been
carefully and minutely investigated, by
writers celebrated alike fortlieir erudition
and industry. Of these we can enumerate
but a small portion, in comparison of the
many that have treated on the subject.
Bishop Potter, to whom we have already
referred. Bos, and others, have drawn up
systems or abridgments of the whole, or
at least of whateverrelates to the reUgion,
the gods, the vows, and the temples of
Greece : on the public weal and magis-
tracy, Stephanus and Van Dale are well
worthy of notice : on the laws and punish-
ments of Greece, we have Meursiusand
Petit : on military concerns, Arrian and
.Xlian are well known : on their gymnas-
tic art, and exercises, Joubert and Faber
may be mentioned • on the theatres and
scenic exhibitions, Scaliger and the abbe
Barthelemy ha^e written : besides these,
we have many writers on their entertain-
ments, on their marriages, the education
of their children, and their funeral cere-
monies. The best relics. Which display
the former splendour oftheGrecian states,
have been preserved by Stuart in his
Athens : in ^e Ionian Antiquities, and in
the Voyage Pittoresque de la Greece.
The finest specimens of its sculpture, in
this countr}', are to be found among the
Townly marbles : and of its coinage, in
the cabinet of Dr. Hunter.
It may be worthy of notice, in connec-
tion with the antiquities of Greece, that
the ancient monuments of European Tur-
key now exceed in number and impor-
tance those of any other countrj'. The
remains of ancient Athens, in particular,
formerly the chosen seat of the arts, have
attracted the attention of many travellers,
and have accordingly been frequently de-
scribed with accuracy and taste. The
church dedicated to the Divine Wisdom,
usually denominated in the page of histo-
ly Sancta Sophia, is a venerable monu-
ment of antiquity, and has been preserved
from the sixth century, when it was built
by Justinian,' to the present period. The
architecture is very inferior to that of the
classical period, yet, by tlio&e who have
witnessed it, we are told the effect is
grand and impressive, and the cupola is
admired as a bold and skilful effort of
the art, while the seeming weight is di-
minished by the lightness of the materials,
being bricks formed of a particular clay
that will float in the water. The interior
is adorned with columns of various and
very beautiful descriptions, riz. the Phry-
gian purple, the Spartan green, the red
and white Canan, and many others. To
this may be added, that the French have
recently discovered the remains of an
ancient sea-port belonging to Sparta, near
a promontory which projects from the
south of the Morea, and we are informed
that the antiquities of that part, now styl-
ed Albania, still present an extensive field
of research to the student in this depart-
ment of science.
" Nothing," says Dr. Adams, in t]ie|pre-
face to his Roman Antiquities, " has more
engaged the attentionofliterarj" men,than
to trace from ancient monuments the in-
stitutions and laws, the religion, the man-
ners and customs of the Romans, under
the general name of Roman Antiquities.
This branch of knowledge," continues he,
" is not only curious in itself, but abso-
lutelynecessaryforthe understanding the
classics, and for reading with advantage
the history of that celebrated people. It
is particularly necessary for such as prose-
cute the study of the civil law. Scarcely
on any subject havemorebooksbeen writ-
ten, and many of them by persons of dis-
tinguished abilities." We may, as a guide
to the student, enumerate the writersfrom
whom Dr. Adams chiefly compiled his
own work, as these will be the best au-
thorities for those persons who would en-
ter deeply into the study. To Manutius,
Brissonius, and Middleton, he was indebt-
ed for his facts relating to the business of
the senate : to Pignorius, on slaves : to
Lidonius and Grucchius, Manutius, Huber,
Gravina, Murula, Heineccius, for what re-
lates to the assemblies of the people, the
rights of citizens, the laws and judicial
proceedings : with respect to the duties
and privileges of magistrates, the art of
war, the shows of the circus, and the feats
of gladiators, he had recourse toLipsius:
— ^to Sheffer he applied for information
on naval affairs, and carriages : to Ker-
mannus, on funerals : to Arbuthnot, on
coins : to Donatus, on the city : to Tur-
nebus, Salmasius, Grxvius, Gronovius,
Montfaucon, Gesner, and others, upon
different subjects scattered through his
work. To these maybe added one of the
ANTIQUITIES.
oldest authors on tlie subject, viz. Diony-
sius Ilalicamassus, who traced the origin
of the Romans, with great fidelity, back
to the remotest ages. His accounts are
generally preferred to those of Livy, be-
cause they are more ample, and his facts
are described with more particulars ; and
on the ceremonies, worship, sacrifices,
manners, customs, discipline, policy,
courts, laws, &c. he is perhaps the most
autlieutic writer.
These, and other authors that might be
cited, have chiefly confined their account
to Rome, properly so called ; we might di-
gress, and notice the antiquities of those
states, both in Europe and other parts of
the globe, which were held under the do-
minion of the Roman power ; but this
would lead us into a very wide field : we
shall, however, in the connection, notice
those belonging to Spain, which was 500
years under the Roman power.
Spain was originally peopled by the
Afiicans and German Gauls : it then be-
came the prey of the Carthagenians : to
these succeeded the Romans. It was af-
terwards held successively in subjection
by the Vandals, the Visigoths, and the
Arabs or Moors.
Of the first of these epochs few remains
exist, excepting some tumuli, and other
rude monuments. Nor are there any cer-
tain relics of the Carthagenians in Sp^un
but coins, which have been found in con-
siderable numbers. The Roman antiqui-
ties are numerous, of which, however, we
shall notice but few. The aqueduct at Se-
govia is a noble edifice, consisting of 159
arches, extending about 740 yards, and is
rather more tlian 94 feet in height where
it crosses the valley. Morviedo, the an-
cient Saguntum, and Tarragona, the an-
cient Tarraco, afford many curious re-
mains of antiquity. The tlieatre is capa-
ble of receiving 10,000 people, and is
hewn out of a soUd rock, the labour of
which was less than might at first be ex-
pected, as the Spanish rocks are general-
ly calcareous, or of gypsum. The Visi-
goth kings have left few rehcs except
their coins, wlxich are struck in gold, a
metal at that period unknown to tlic other
European mints. Numerous and splendid
are tlie monuments of the Moors in Spain.
The mosque at Cordova is one of tlie
chief; this surprizes travellers with the
multitude of its columns, which are said
to be 800.' The Christian antiquities here,
.IS in otiier places, are, churcjies, castles,
.ind monasteries.
The antiquities of Portugal consist also
ohiefly of Roman monuments, with some
Moorish rcmaias. In tlie north is an ex-
tensive series of arches, formerly a Roman
aqueduct. At Evora are well-preserved
ruins of a temple of Diana, and an aque-
duct ascribed to Quintus Sertorius, whose
life was written by Plutarch. Among the
antiquities of the middle ages may be no-
ted the monastery of Batallia, in Kstrema-
dura, 60 miles north of Lisbon, which is
allowed on all hands to be one of tlic no-
blest monuments of what is called the
Gothic style of architecture.
English antiquities fall into tlie follow-
ing divisions, viz. those belonc^ng to the
primitive Celtic inhabitants ; those of the
Btlgic colonies ; those of the Romans i
those of the Saxons ; reliques of the
Danes ; and, lastly, Norman monuments.
Few of these remains are thought to tlirow
much light upon the history of the coun-
try ; but, being interesting and curious in
tlieraselves, tliey may, in tliis article, which
is intended as a guide to the study, be
briefly noticed. A radical mistake, ac-
cording to Mr. Pinkerton, in the study of
English antiquities, has arisen from the
confusion of the Celtic and Belgic lan-
guages and monuments. The Druids have
deservedly attracted much curiosity and
research ; but it would be erroneous to
impute to them, as is usual, the whole of
our earUest remains. Caesar speaks of
Druidism as a recent institution; and if
that be the case, it is not improbable that
it originated from the Phcenician factories,
established in wooden fortresses, the usual
practice of commercial nations when tra-
ding with savage or barbarous people.
The tenets correspond with what little
exists of Phoenician mythology, and the
missionaries of that refined people might
have some zeal in their difl'usion. Ancient
authors, who give us all our information
concerning the Druids, minutely describe
their religious rights, but are totally silent
concerning any monuments of stone being
used among them. On tlie contrarj', they
mention gloomy groves and spreading
oaks as the only scenes of the Dnudiccere-
monies ; nevertheless, antiquaries have in-
ferred that Stonehengc is a Druidic monu-
ment, though it be situated in an exten-
sive plain, where not a vestige of wood
appears, and where Uie very soil is re-
puted to be adverse to its vegetation. It
would be a vain eflPort to attempt to dis-
criminate the remains of the earliest in-
habitants from those of the Druidic pe-
riod, and if the opinion of the last-men-
tioned author is to be regarded as binding,
there is no foundation for any sound or
real knowledge on the subject The fol-
lowing have b^en,estecmcd as the monu-
AISTIQUITIES.
ments of the Druids : — 1. Single stones
erect. 2. Rock idols and pierced stones.
3. Rocking-siones, used as ordeals. 4.
Sepulchres of two, three, or more stones.
5. Circular temples, or rather circles of
erect stones. 6 Barrows, or tumuli. 7.
Cromlechs, or heaps of stones. 8. Rock-
basins, imagined to have been used in
Driiidic expiations. 9. Qaves, used as
places of retreat in time of war. But as
most of these relics may also be found in
Germany and Scandinavia, it is difficult to
say whether they are Gothic or Celtic ;
and as the Germans had no Druid.s we
cannot, with any degree of certainty, be-
stow the name of Druidic upon such
monimients. It is highly probable, that
the earliest inhabitants, as is ever the prac-
tice in the infancy of society, made use of
vood, not of stone, in their religious as
well as in their domestic erections. If we
survey the various savage regions of the
globe, we shall seldom, if ever, perceive
the use of stone ; and it is certainly just
to infer, that the savages of the west wei-e
not more skilful than those of the east,
nor those of the old continents and islands
tlian those of the new. But as many of
these monuments are found in Germany,
Scandinavia and Iceland, and as the Ice-
landic writers in particular often indicate
tlieir origin and use, which are unknown
in the Celtic records, there is every rea-
son to attribute them to a more advanced
stage of society, when the Belgic colonies
introduced agriculture, and a little further
progress in the rude arts of barbarism.
The nature of this work will not admit a
formal investigation of such topics, but a
few remarks may be offered on Stone-
henge, a stupendous monument of barba-
ric industry'. Inigo Jones, in attempting
to prove that it is Roman, only evinces
that no talents can avail when science is
wanting, and that antiquities require a se-
rene and peculiar ti-ain ofstudy. Doctor
Stukely, a visionarj' writer, assigns Stone-
henge to the Druids ; while Dr. Charlton,
perceiving that such monuments are found
m Denmark, ascribed it to the Danes. If
the latter had considered, that the Belgx
were a Gothic nation, of similar language
and institutions, he might with more jus-
tice have extended his antiquity. From
the Icelandic writers we learn, that such
circles were called dom/i-tins^, that is Ute-
rally doom-ring, or circle of judgment, be-
ing the solemn places where courts were
held, of all kinds and dignities, from the
national council down to the baronial
court, or tliat of a common proprietor of
land, for adjusting disputes between his
vllUini and slaves. The magnificence of
Stonehenge loudly pronounces that It was
the supreme court of the nation, equiva-
lent to the Champs de Mars et de Mai of
the Franks, where the king and chiefs as-
sembled in the circle, and the men capa-
ble of arms in the open plain ; nor is it
improbable that tlie chiefs ascended the
transverse stones, and declared their re-
solves to the surrounding crowd, who, in
the description of Tacitus, dissented by
loud murmurs, or applauded by clashing
their shields. This idea receives confir-
mation from the circumstance, that the
Belgae, peculiarly so called, as being the
chief and ruling colony of that people,
were seated in the surrounding province,
and Sorbiodunum, now Old Sarum, was
their capital city. Similar circles of stone,
but far inferior in size, are found in many
parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and i
several undoubtedly as late as the Danish J
inroads and usurpations, the practice being - '
continued by that people at least till their
conversion to Christianity, in the tenth and
eleventh centuries. Some of the smallest,
as we learn from the northern antiquaries,
were merely places of family sepulture.
At a later period, the circles of judgment,
which had been polluted with human sa-
crifices and other Pagan rites, were aban-
doned, and the great courts were held on
what were called moot-hills, or hills of
meeting, many of which still exist in the
British dominions and in the Netherlands.
They commonly consist of a central emi-
nence, on which sat the judge and his
assistants ; beneath was an elevated plat-
form fpr the parties, their friends and con-
purgators, who sometimes amounted to
a hundred or more; and this platform
was surrounded with a trench, to secure
it from the access of the mere spectators.
Of the other monuments of this period a
more brief consideration must suffice.
When a monarch or distinguished general
was buried, a barrow or hillock was erect-
ed, to preserve his name and memory to
future ages ; the size depending on the
reputation of the person, which attracted
a smaller or larger number of operators.
Such monuments are very ancient, and
even to this day denote the sepulchres of
some of the heroes of the Trojan war. la
later times, a large single stone erected
was esteemed a sufficientmemorial : such
single stones also sometimes appear as
monuments of remarkable battles, or
merely as boundaries. The caves are
familiar to most nations in an early state
of society. The Belgic reUques are follow-
ed by those of the Romans, which are
mostly objects of mere curiosity, and rare-
ly throw the soxaUest light on the page
ANTIQUITIES.
of history. Amphitheatres are said to be
still visible at Silchester, in Hampshire,
and some other places. The Roman cas-
tle at Richborough, the ancient Rutupix,
in Kent, presents considerable remains of
a massy wall cemented with surprising
firmness. The Roman ruins in this coun-
try are commonly composed of stone or
flint, with strata of flat bricks at consider-
able intervals. The Mosaic pavements,
hypocausts, &c. are generally tne remains
of the villas of opulent Romans, scattered
over the country. The greatest number
of Roman inscriptions, altans. Sec. has
been found in the north, along the great
frontier wall, which extended from the
western sea to the estuary of the Tyne.
This vast wallis Justly esteemed the most
important remain of the Roman power
in £ngland,as that of Antoninus is in Scot-
land. The extent was about 70 miles,
and its construction, forts, &c. have been
illustrated by the labour of several an-
tiquaries. Numerous are the more minute
relics of the Romans in England, as coins,
gems, weapons, ornaments, and the like ;
among which, however, the silver dish
belonging to the Duke of Northumber-
land cleserves especial mention. One of
the grand causes of the civilization intro-
duced by that ruling people into the con-
quered states was the highways, which
form, indeed, the first germ of national
indxistry, and without which neither com-
merce nor society can make any consider-
able progress. Conscious of this truth,
the Romans seem to have lent particular
attention to the consti-uction of roads in
the distant provinces ; and those of Eng-
land, which may still be traced in various
ramifications, present a lasting monument
of the justice of their conceptions, the
extent of their views, and the utility of
tlieir Dower. A grand trunk, as it may
be called, passed from the south to the
nortli, and anotlicr to the west, with
branches, in almost every direction that
general convenience andexpedition could
require. What is called the Watling-
street, led from Richborough, in Kent,
the ancient Rutupise, N. W. tnrough Lon-
don to Chester. The Ermin-street passed
from London to Lincoln, ihcnce to Car-
lisle, and into Scotland, the name being
supposed to be corrupted from Hei-man,
which means warrior, as the chief wars
lay in the north. The Posse Way is sup-
posed to have led from Bath and the
western regions, N. E. till it joined the
Ermin-street. The last celebrated road
was the Ikenild, or Ikneld, supposed to
have extended from near Norwich, S. W.
into Dorsetshire. The Saxon antiquities
in England are chiefly edifices, sacred or
seciUar ; many churches remain, which
were altogether, or for tlie most part,
constructed in the Saxon period, and
some are extant of the tenth, or per-
haps the nintli century. The vaults erect-
ed by Grimbald, at Oxford, in tlie reign
of Alfred, are justly esteemed curious
relics of Saxon architecture. Mr. King
has ably illustrated tlie remains oi' the
Saxon castles. The oldest seem to con-
sist of one soUtary tower, square or
hexagonal : one of tlie rudest specimens
is Coningsburg Castle, in Yorkshire; but
as that re^on was subject to the Danes
till tlie middle of the tenth century, it is
probably Danish. Among tlie smaller re-
mains of Saxon art may be mentioned, the
shrines for preserving relics, which some
suppose to present the diminutive rudi-
ments of what is styled the Gotliic archi-
tecture; and^the illuminated manuscripts,
which often afford curious memorials of
the state ofmanners and knowledge. The
Danish power in England, though of con^
siderable duration in the north, was in
the soutli brief and transitory. The camps
of that nation were circular, like those of
the Belgae and Saxons, while tliose of
Roman armies are known by the square
form : and it is believed that the only
distinct relics of tlie Danes are some cas-
tles to the north of the Humber, and a
few stones with Runic inscriptions. The
monuments styled Norman, ratlierto dis-
tinguish their epoch than from any infor-
mation that Norman architects were
employed, are reputed to commence after
the conquest, and to extend to the four-
teenth century, when what is called the
rich Gotliic beg^n to appear, which in tlie
sixteenth century w»s supplanted by the
mixed, and thJs in its turn yielded to the
Grecian. In general, the Norman style-
far exceeds the Saxon in the size of the
edifices, and the decoration of the parts.
The churches become more extensive
and lofty, and though the windows retain
the circular arch, they are larger and
more diversified ; the circular doors arc
festooned with more freedom suid ele-
gance ; and uncouth animals begin to
yield to wreaths of leaves and flowers.
The solitary keep.ortowcr, of the Saxon
castle is surrounded .witli a double wall,
inclosing courts and dwellings of larg^o
extent, defended by turrets and double
ditches, with a separate watch-tower
called the Barbican. Among others, the
cathedrals of Durham and Winchester
may be mentioned as venerable monu-
ANTIQUITIES.
meiits of Anglo-Nonnan ai-chitecture ;
and the castles are numerous and well
known. What is called the Gothic, or
pointed arch, is generally supposed to
liave first appeared in the thirteenth cen-
tury, and in the next it became universal
in religious edifices. The windows dif-
fused to great breadth and loftiness, and
divided into branching interstices, enrich-
ed with painted glass ; the clustering
pillars, of excessive height, spreading in-
to various fret-work on the roof, consti-
tute, with decorations of smaller note,
what is called the rich Gothic style, visi-
ble in the chapel of King's college at
Cambridge, and many other grand speci-
mens in this kingdom. The spire cor-
responds with the interior, and begins
about the thirteenth century to rise bold-
ly from the ancient tower, and diminish
fi-om the sight in a gradation of pinnacles
and ornaments.
We now proceed to Scotland, the origi-
nal population of which is supposed upon
good authority to consist of Cimbri, from
the Cimbric Chereonese. About two cen -
turies before the Cliristian xra, the Cim-
bri seem to have been driven to the south
of Scotland by the Caledonians, or Picti, a
Gothic colony from Norway. The Cimbri,
a congenerous people with the Welch,
continued to hold the country south of
the two firths of Forth and Clyde ; but
from the former region they were soon
expelled by the Picti, who, in this comer,
became subject for a time to the Anglo-
Saxon kings of Bernicia. On the West,
the Cumraig kingdom of Strath Clyde
continued till the tenth century, when it
became subject to the kings of North
Britain ; who at the same time extended
their authority, by the permission of the
English monarch, over the counties of
Cumberland and Westmoreland, which,
abounding with hiUs and fortresses on the
south and east, were little accessible to the
EngHsh power, and, while the Danes pos-
sessed the country to the north of Plum-
ber, could yield little revenue or support
to the Anglo-Saxon monarchs. From the
Picti originates the population of the Low-
lands of Scotland, the Lowlanders having
been in all ages a distinct people from
those of the western Highlands, though
the Irish clergy endeavoured to render
their lanpiage.which was the most smooth
and cultivated of tlie two, the polite dia-
logue of the court and superior classes.
About the year of Christ 258, the Dalri-
ads of Bedc, the Attacotti of the Roman
writers, passed from Ireland to Argyle-
shire, and became the germ of the Scot-
tish Highlanders, who speak the Irish or
Celtic language, while the Lowlanders
have always used the Scandinavian or Go-
thic. In reference to the antiquities of
the country, Mr. Pinkerton divides the
early history into seven distinct periods,
viz. 1. The original population of Scot-
land by the Cimbri, and by the Picti. 2.
The entrance of Agricola into Scotland,
and the subsequent conflicts with the Ro-
mans, till the latter abandoned Britain.
3. The Settlement of the Dali-iads or At-
tacotti, in Argyleshire, about the year
258, and their repulsion to Ireland about
the middle of the fifth century. 4. The
commencement of what may be called a
regxdar history of Scotland, from the
reign of Drust, A. D. 414. 5. The return
of the Dalraids, A. D. 503, and the sub-
sequent events of Dalriadic story. 6.
The introduction of Christianity among
the Caledonians, in the reign of Brudi II. .
A. D. 565. 7. The union of the Picti and
Attacotti, under Kenneth, A. D. 843, after
which greater civilization began to take
place, and the history becomes more au-
thentic. The monuments of antiquity
belonging to these epochs may be consi-
dered in the following order. Of the first
epoch, no monuments can exist except
those of the tumular kind ; and it is im-
possible to ascertain the period of their
formation. The remsdns of the Roman
period in North Britain chiefly appear in
the celebrated wall built in the reign of
Antoninus Pius, between the firths of
Forth and Clyde, in the ruins of which
many curious inscriptions have been
found. Another striking object of this
epoch was a small edifice, vulgarly called
Arthur's oven, which seems rightiy to
have been regarded by some antiquaries
as a small temple dedicated to the god
Terminus, probably after the erection of
the wall of Antoninus, for we are not to
conceive these walls were the absolute
lines beyond which the Romans possessed
no territory ; while, on the contrary, in
the pacific intervals, the garrisons along
tile wall may have claimed the forage of
the exterior fields; and the stream of
Carron, beyond which this chapel stood,
may have been considered as a necessary
supply of water. The remains of the wall
and forts, and other Roman antiquities, in
Scotland, particularly their camps and
stations, many of which are remarkably
entire, are ably illustrated in a late publi-
cation of General Roy; but the ingenious
author has perhaps too implicitiy followed
a common antiquarian error, in ascribing
all these camps, stations, &c. to Agricola,
ANTIQUITIES.
>;liile Ihej- may be more justly assigned to
Lo'lius Urbicus, A. D. 140, or to the Em-
peror Sevens, A. D. 207, especially in-
deed to the latter; for the Emperor's ap-
pearance, in person, to conduct two cam-
paigns, probably as far as Inverness, must
have occasioned the erection of works
more eminent and durable than usual, the
soldiers being excited by the animating
controul of a military monarch. Con-
stantius Chlorus also, A. D. 306, made a
long progress into Scotland, if we trust
the jjanegyrists. Nay, in the reign of
Domitian, Bolanus, as we learn from Sta-
tins the poet, erected several works in
Britain, probably in the north ; so that it
is idle to impute these remains to any one
autlior ; but to a judicious eye, the claims
of Lollius Urbicus, and of Severus, seem
preferable. The most northerly Roman
camp, yet discovered, is that near the
source of the river Ytlian, Aberdeenshire;
periphery about two English miles. A
smaller station has also been observed at
Old Meldnim, a few miles to the S. E.
Roman roads have been traced a consider-
ble way in the east of Scotland, as far as
the county of Angus, affording some evi-
dence of the existence of the province of
Vespasiana; but the chief remiuns are
within the wall. A hypocaust was also
discovered near Perth, and another near
Musselburg, so tliat there was probably
some Roman station near the Scotish ca-
pital. The smaller remains of Roman an-
tiquity found in Scotland, as coins, uten-
sils, &c. are numerous. With the fourth
epoch may be said to commence the Pik-
ish monuments of antiquity. The tombs
it would be difficult to discriminate (rom
those of the first epoch ; but as the Cale-
donian kings, when converted to Christi-
anity, held their chief residence atlnver-
ncss, the singular hill in its vicinity, pre-
senting the form of a boat reversed, may,
perhaps, be a monument of regal sepul-
ture. The places of judgment among the
Gothic nations, or what are now styled
Druidic temples, are numerous; and there
is a remarkable one in the Isle of Lewis,
where, probably, the monarchs resided in
the most early times ; but tins, perhaps,
rather belongs to the Norwegian setUe-
ment in the ninth centur}'. Some of these
monuments are of small circuit; and such
are sometimes found at no great distance
from each other ; as they were not only
sometimes erected merely as temples to
Odin, Thor, Freygfa, and other Gothic
deities, but every chief, or lord of a ma-
nor, having jurisdiction over many ser-
vants and slaves, such small courts be-
came placesofnecessary awe. The houses
seem to have been entirely ofwood or turf}
but in some spots singi'lar excavations
are found, rudely lined with stone ; these
are called weems, and it is likely that ,
they were always adjacent to the wooden
residence of some chief) and were intend-
ed as depositories of stores, &c. the roofs
being too low for comfortable places of
refuge. The stations and camps of the
natives are distinguislied by their round
form, while those of the Romans belong
to the square. Under the next epoch it
would be difficult to discover any genu-
ine remains of the Dalriads. The houses,
and even the churches were constructed
in wattle work; and the funeral monuments
were cairns or heaps of stones. It is pro-
bable tliat Christianity did not immedi-
ately dissolve ancient prejudices, and that
even the Atticottic kings were buried in
this rude manner ; for the genuine chro-
nicles do not affirm that they were con-
veyed to Hyona or Ilcolmkill ; and the
sepulchres there shewn, of Irish and Nor-
wegian kings, must be equally fabulous.
To the sixth epoch may probably belong a
chapel or two, stiU remaining in Scotland,
for Bede informs us that Nethan III.
A. D. 715, obtained architects from
Ceolfrid, abbot of Jarrow and Weremouth,
to build a church in his dominions,
probably at Abemethy ; but the round
tower there remaining seems of more
recent origin. About the year 830,
Ungust II. founded the church of St. An-
drew ; and the chapel called that of St.
Rcgulus, (who seems unknown in the
Roman calendar) may, perhaps, claim
even tliis antiquity. It is probable, that
these sacred edifices in stone were soort
followed by the erection of those rude
round piles, without any cement; called
Piks-houses ; yet they may more properly
belong to the seventli epoch, when tlie
Danes may share in the honour of the
erection, for such edifices have been tra-
ced in Scandinavia. They seem to have
consisted of a vast hall, open to the sky
in the centre, while the cavities in tlie
wall present incommodious recesses for
beds, &c. These buildings are remarka-
ble, as displaying the first elements of the
Gothic castle ; and the castle of Conings-
burg in Yorkshire forms an easy transi-
tion. The engraved obelisks found in
Forres, and in other parts of Scotland,
have been ascribed to the Danish rava-
g^rs, who had not time for such erections.
They are, probably, monuments of sig-
nal events, raised by the king or chiefs ;
and as some are found in Scandinavia, as
ANTIQUITIES.
recent as the fifteenth century, it is pro-
bable that many of the Scottish obelisks
are far more modem than is generally
ima^ned.
We are next to consider tlie antiquities
of Ireland. The original population of
this country passed from Gaul, and was
afterwards increased by their brethrenthe
Guydil from England. About the time
that the Belgae seized on the south of
England, it appears that kindred Gothic
tribes passed to the south of Ireland.
These are the Firbolg of the Irish tradi-
tions, and appear to have been the same
people whom the Romans denominated
Scoti, after they had emerged to their no-
tice, by not only extending their conquest
to the north and east in Ireland, but had
begun to make njaritime excursions
against the Roman provinces in Britain.
But Ireland had been so much crowded
with Celtic tribeS, expelled from the con-
tinent and Britidn, by the progress of the
German Goths, that the Belgae almost lost
their native speech and distinct character;
and from interman-iages, &c. became lit-
tle distinguishable from the original po-
pulation, except by superior ferocity, for
which the Scoti, or those who affected a
descent from the Gothic colonies, were re-
markable, while the original Gael seem to
have been an innocent and harmlesspeo-
ple. The epochs in Ireland, to which its an-
tiquities are referrable,are the following:
1. The first historical epoch of Ireland is
its original population by the Celtic Gauls,
and the subsequent colonization by the
Belgae. 2. The maritime excursions of
the Scoti agidnst the Roman provinces in
Britain. 3. The conversion of Ireland to
Christianity in the fifth century which was
followedby a singular effect; for wliile the
mass of the people retained all the ferocity
of savage manners, the monastaries pro-
duced many men of such piety and learn-
ing, that Scotia or Ireland became celebra-
edall over Christendom. 4. This lustre was
dimimshed by the ravages ofthe Scandi-
navians, which began with the ninth cen-
tury, and can hardly be said to have ceas-
ed when the English settlement commen-
,ced. The island had been split into nume-
rous principalities, or kingdoms, as they
were styled ; and though a chiefmonarch
was acknowledged, yet his power was sel-
dom efficient, and the constant dissensions
of so many small tribes rendered the is-
land an easy prey. 5. In the year 1170
Henry 11. permitted Richard Strongbow,
earl of Pembroke, to effect a settlement
in Ireland, which laid the foundation of
the English possessions in that country.
There are however coins of Canute, king
of England, struck at Dublin, perhaps in
acknowledgement of his power, by the
Danish setters. After this period Ireland
became, in some measure, a commercial
country, and her history is to be looked
for in that of England, with which it is
interwoven. Upon a review ofthe more
ancient of these historical epochs, and of
the monuments which may be considered
as belonging to each, it must be consider-
ed,thatthe edifices ha vingbeenconstruct-
ed of wood till the eleventh or twelfth
century, it cannot be expected that any
remains of them should exist Stone was
chiefly employed in the construction of
funeral erections of various kinds ; nor
are barrows wanting in Ireland, being hil-
locks of earth thrown up in commemora-
tion of the illustrious dead. Other mo-
numents, commonly styled Druidic, may
also be found in Ireland ; such as single
stones erect, circular temples, or rather
places of judgment, and the like, which
may more properly be ascribed to the
Belgic colony. The conversion of Ire-
land to Christianity was followed by the
erection of a vast number of churches
and monasteries, the latter being comput-
ed to exceed one thoxisand in number ;
but all these edifices were originally small,
and constructed of interwoven withs, or
hewn wood ; for St Bernard, in the
twelfth century, mentions a stone church
as a singular novelty in Ireland. But the
Scandinavian chiefs must before this pe-
riod have introduced the use of stone into
the castles, necessary for their own de-
fence against a nation whom tliey op- j
pressed ; and sometimes even subterra- ,
neous retreats were deemed expedient,
of which Ware and others have engraveti
specimens. To the Scandinavian period
also belong what are called the Danes
Raths, or circular intrenchments ; and
some chapels, such as those of Glenda-
loch, Portaferry, Killaloe, Saul Abbey, St.
Doulach, and Cash el, if we may judge
from the singularity of the ornaments,
which, however, only afford vague conjec-
ture. But ofthe round castles, called Duns
in Scotland, and ofthe obelisks engraven
with figures or ornaments, few or none
exist in Ireland. Under the Scandinavi-
ans the Irish coinj^e first dawns. Of the
eleventh and twelfth centuries many mo-
numents castellated or religious, may
Erobably exist in Ireland. Brian Boro,
ing of Munster, having been declared
sovereign of Ireland in the year 1002, he
distinguished himself by his virtues and
courage ; and Dermid III. A. D. 1041 —
ANTIQUITIES.
1073, was also an excellent and powctful
prince. Under these monarclis, and their
successors, Tenlalvac antl Moriertac, tl»e
power of the Scandinavians was consider-
ably weakened. The native cliiefs had
been taught the necessity of forU-esscs,
and were generally devoutly attached to
religion ; it is therefore to be infeiTed,
that many castles, churciies,and monaste-
ries, now began to be partly constructed
in stone, by architects invited from France
and England; but perhaps the round
towers were erected by native builders.
Among smaller relics of antiquity, the
golden trinkets found in a bog near Cul-
len, in the south, deserve mention : as
gold was found in Gaul, they are perhaps
ornaments of the ancient chiefs, brought
from that region.
It remains now to mention tlie names of
some df those authors who have written
on the antiquities of our own coimtry.
Tacitus was an eye-witness to tlie ceremo-
nies of Druidism in England, as the Ro-
mans were in Wales. To him, to Caesar
already referred to, and to Dio Cassius,
we refer, as the chief authorities in regard
to British histoiy. To these may be add-
ed iElian, t)iodorus Siculus, Strabo, and
Pliny. Cluverius, Pezron, and Pelloutier,
are more modern, but respectable, writers
on the same subject. Of the structures
erected by the Briton-s, Abury and Stone-
hengc may be deemed the principal.
Relics of asmaller kind are continually dis-
covered a few feet beneath the surface of
the earth. On these Stukely and Row-
land are the best authorities : the former
has written a volume on Abury, a temple
of the Druids, in which is a particular ac-
count of the first and patri:irchal religion,
and of the peopling of the British islands:
besides his larger work, entitled " Itine-
rarium Curiosum," being an account of
the antiquities, 8cc. obsen'ed in travels
tlirough lircat Britain, published in 1724.
For the histor}- of tlje Britons under the
Roman Government, Horsky's Brit. Rom.
is a work that may be depended upon.
With respect to the antiquities of the Sax-
ons, the illuminated manuscripts are the
best records of their manners in the differ-
ent centuries, and the most interesting in-
formation respecting them has been col-
lected by Turner and Stnitt. The best
collection of Saxon coins is in the British
Museum, and of manuscripts in the same
place, and in tlie Bodleian Librarj". Mr.
King has treated of their militarj- antiqui-
ties in his History of Castles; and, inde-
pendently of our works on topography,
which are numerous, and many of tncm
of the first respectabiiitv, and which throw
\OL I
considerable light on the antiquities of the
country, wc may refer to Henr\'s History
of England, where the subject is discussed
systematically and in chronological order;
and to the works of Camden, Strutt, and
Gough, to which may be added tlie wltole
series of the Gentleman's Magazine, and
Pinkerton's Geography, to which we have
been indebted for a part of this article.
As the antiquities of the united king-
dom are in some respects connected with
those of the Danes and other northern na-
tions, we may suggest to tlie reader what
arc the principal remains of those people,
as a clue to his future inquiries.
The ancient monuments of Denmark
and Norway are chiefly Runic, though it
is far from certain at what period the use
of Runic characters extended so far north.
Circles of upright stones are common in
all the Danish dominions, the islands, Nor-
way, and Iceland, in which latter country
their origin is perfectly ascertained, as
some were erected even in recent times
of the Icelandic republic, being called
domh-ringf or circles of judgment Some
also appear to have been the cemeteries
of superior families. Monuments also occur
of two upright stones with one across ; and
of the other forms supposed to be Druidic.
The residences of the chiefs appear to
have been generally constructed of wood,
as there are very few ancient castles ex-
isting in Denmark or Norway.
Of Sweden the ancient monuments con-
sist chiefly of judicial circles and otlier
erections of unhewn stone, together with
remains inscribed with Runic characters,
none of which are imagined to have exist-
ed longer than the eleventh century.
In Russia the ancient monuments are
neither numerous, nor affordmuch variety.
There are to be met with the tombs of
their pagan ancestors, containing weapons
and ornaments. From the writings of
Herodotus we learn tha*^ the Scjthians re-
garded tlie cemeteries of their princes witli
singular veneration : the Sarmatians or
Slavons seem to have imbibed the same
ideas. The catacombs of Kiow, it is be-
lieved, were fomicil in the pagan period,
though they are now replete with marks
of (Christianity. They are labyrinths of
considerable extent, dug, as it should
seem, through a mass of hardened clay,
but they do not ap|)earto contain the bo-
dies of the sovereigns. The idols of Pa-
gan Russia are sometimes found cast in
bronze ; and Dr. Guthrie has given a good
account of the Slavonic niythologj-, to
whose " Dissertations sur les Antiquites
dc Russie" we refer the reader. We
may however obscne, that the pagan
1.1
ANTIQUITIES.
Russians worsliipped one f»t)d, supposed to
be the author of thimder; another, thitt
resembled the Pan of the ancients; others,
answering- to the Sun, Flercules, Mars,
Venus, and Cupid. They had aJso god-
desses, coiTesponding witli Ceres, Diana,
and Pomona,and their nymplis of the woods
and waters. Tliey worshipped Znitch or
Vesta in the form of fire, and venerated
waters, the Bog" being" as higlily regarded
by the ancient Russians as the Ganges
among the Indians : the Don and the Da-
nube were also considered as lioly streams;
and there was a sacred lake, environed
with a tliick forest, in the isle of Rugen,
which was adoreil b3'the Slavonic tribes.
Jintiqitities in tfie Valley oftlte J^HssissipJii.
" Considerable curiosity has been ex-
cited by appearances on the Mississippi
and its tributary waters, supposed to prove
a more ancient population, than the state
of the country, or the character of the
tribes inhabiting it, when first ^'isited by
Europeans, would seem to indicate.
" The American bottom is a tract of rich
alluvian land, extendingon the Mississippi,
from the Kaskaskia to the Cahokia river,
about eighty miles in length and five in
breadth ; several handsome streams mean-
der through it; the soil of the richest kind,
and but little subject to the effects of the
Mississippi floods. — If any vestige of an-
cient population were to be found, this
Would be the place to look for it. — Ac-
cordingly, this tiact, as also the bank of
the river on the western side, exhibit
proofs of an immense population. — If the
city of Philadelphia* and its environs
were deserted, there would not be more
numerous traces of human existence. —
The great number of mounds, and the
astonishingquantify of human bones, every
day dug up, or found on the surface of the
ground, with a thmisand otiier appear-
ances, announce that this valley was at
one period filled with habitations and vil-
lages. The whole face of the bluff, or hill,
which abounds to the east, appears to
have been a continued burial gi-ound.
"But the most remarkable appearances
are, two groups of mounds or pyramids,
the one about ten isiles above Cahokia,
the other neariy the same distance below
it, which, in all, exceed one hundred and
fifty, of various sizes. — A more minute de-
scription of those above Cahokia will give
a tolerable idea of thetn all. — They are
mostly of a circular shape, and at a dis-
tance resemble enormous haystacks scat-
tered through a meadow. One of the
largest is about two hundred paces in cir-
cumference at the bottom, the form near-
ly square. The top level, with an area
sufficient to contain several hundred men.
" At the distance of three miles along
the bank OftheCahokial here isthe largest
assemblage — ^the principal one of tvhicli
is a stupendous pile of a mass of earth, that
mu.st have required yeans, and the labour
of thousands, to accomplish. Were it not
for the regularity and design which it
manifests, tlie circumstances of its being
on alluvial groimd, and the other mounds
scattered around, it could scarcely be be-
lieved to be the work of human hands. —
Tlie shape is tliat of a parallelogram,
standing from north to south ; on the south
side there is a broatl apron, or step, about
half way down, and from this, another
projection into the plain, about fifteen
feet wide, which was probably intended
as an ascent to the mound. The circum-
ference at the base is at least eight hun-
dred yards, and the height of the pyramid
about ninety feet.
" Sevei-al of tlxese mounds are almost
conical, and at regular distances from each
other; about which ai'e scattered pieces
of flint, and fragments of earthen vessels.
"A curious discovery, made a few years
ago in the state of Tennessee, proves, be-
yond a doubt, that at some remote period
the valley of the Mississippi had been in-
habited by a much more civilized people
than when first known to us. — Two hu-
man bodies were found in a copperas cave,
in a surprizing state of preservation. —
They were first wrapped up in a kind of
blanket, supposed to have been manufac-
tured of the lint of nettles, afterwards with
dressed skins, and tlien a mat of nearly
sixty yards in length. They were clad in
a beautiful cloth, interwoven with fea-
tliers, such as was manufactured by the
Mexicans. They had been here, perhaps,
for centuries, and certainly were of a dif-
ferent race from the modern Indians.
They might have belonged to the Olmec,
who overran Mexico about the seventh
century ; to the Toultcc, who came centu-
ries afterwards ; or to tlie Aztecs, who
founded the great city of Mexico about
the thirteenth century.
" In tracing the origin of institutions or
inventions amongst men, we are apt to
forget, that nations, however diversified
• " The Saline, below St. Genevieve, cleared oiit some time »po, and deepened, was found to contain
wag^n loads of earthen-ware, .some fragmentj bespeaking vetselt ai large a* a barrel, and proving that
the Salines bad been work4:d before they were known to the whites."
ANT
AOR
by manners and languages* are yet of the
same species, and that the same institu-
tions may originate amonpst twenty differ-
ent people. The wonder would be, tliat
they should not shew a resemblance. We
find tliese mounds in every paft of the
globe ; in the north of Europe, and in
(ireat-Britain, they are ntimerous, and
mucli resemble ours, but less considerable.
The pynunids of Egypt are perliaps the
oldest monnnents of human labour inthat
country, so flivourable to the production
of a numerous population. The Pyramids
of Mexico, which are but little known,
and yet scarcely less considerable, like
those of Egypt, have tlieir origin hid in
the night of oblivion.
" M ho will assign, as tlie age of Ame-
rica, a period of yt-.irs diflcrcnt from that
allowed to, what has been denominated,
the old world ? The multiplicity of proofs
contradict the recency of her origin ;
deeply imbedded stories of carbonated
woo<l,tiie tracesof ancientvolcanoes! We
could appeal to her time-worn cataracts,
and channels of mighty rivers, and to her
venerable mountains. — Grant, tlien, that
America may have existed a few thousand
years ; the same causes prevailing, like
effects will be produced; the same revo-
lutions as have been known in the old
w orld may have taken place here."* — See
lie^vs of iMuiniauu, by H. M. Brecken-
ridge, Esq.
ANTIKKH^NUM, giiabdiae-oji, toad-
fax, in botany, a genus of the i)idynamia
Angiospemia. Calyx five-parted; corol
with a nectariferous prominence at its
base, pointing downwards ; the orifice
closed and furnished with a cloven convex
palate ; capsule tw o-celled. This genus
is separated into five divisions, viz. A.
leaves angular; capsvdes many valved B.
leaves opposite ; capsules many valvetl.
C. leaves alternate ; capsules many valved.
1). corols without spur ; capsules perfora-
ted with three pores. E. leaves pinnati
fifl. There are 12 species of tlie first di-
vision ; nearly 40 of the second division ;
1 1 of the third ; 7 of the fourtli ; and 2 of
tlie last.
ANTl STROPHE, in grammar, afigure,
by which two things mutually dependent
on one anotlicr are reciprocally convert-
ed. As the servant of tlie master, and the
master of the servant.
AsTisTKopHE, among IjTic poets,
that part of a song and dance in use
among the ancients, which was performed
before the altar, in returning frtMD west to
east, in opposition to strophe. See the
articles Sthophe and Obb.
ANTITHESIS, in rhetoric, a contrast
drawn between two things, which thereby
scr\e as shades to set off" tlie opposite
qualities of each otlier.
I'he poets, historians, and oraton, im-
prove tlieir subject, and greatly heighten
tlie pleasure of the rea<ler, by tlie pleasing
0])position of tlieir charactei-s and de-
scriptions.
The beautiful antithesis of Cicero, in
his second Cartilinarian, may ser% e for aji
example ; " On the one side stands mo-
desty, on tlie other impudence ; on the
one fidelity, on the other deceit; here
piety, there sacrilege ; here contincncy,
there lust, &c." And \irgil, in his admi-
i-able description of Dido's despair, tlie
night before herdcatli, represents all tlie
rest of tiie creation enjoying profound
tranquillity, to render tlie disquietude of
that miserable queen Uie more affecting.
ANTOECI, in geography, an appella- ;
tion given to those inhabitants of the earth ^*'
who live under the same meridian, but on
different sides of the equator, and at equal
distances from it.
These have noon, and midnight, and all
hours at the same time, but contrary sea-
sons of the year; that is, when it is
spring with the one, it is autumn with the
otlier : when summer witli the one, w in-
ter with the other. And tlie days of the
one are equal to the nights of tJie other,
and vice versa.
ANTON tIM ASIA, hi rhetoric, a figure,
by which tlie proper name of one thing is
applied to several others ; or, on the con-
trary, the name of several tilings to one.
Thus we call a cruel person, a Nero : and
we say tlie philosopher, to denote Aris-
totle.
ANTS, ac«</o/ See For.mic aciik
ANVIL, an iron instrument, on which
smiths hammer or forge tl>eir work, and
usually mounted on a firm wooden block.
A forgedanvil is reckonedbettertlianone
of ciisl work.
.\NUS, in anatomy, tlie extremity of
the intestinum rectum, or orifice of the
fuiuUiment. See ANATosir.
AOKIST, among grammarians, a tense
Eeculiur to the Greek language, compre-
ending all the tenses ; or rather express-
ing an action in an indeterminate manner,
without any regard to past, present, or
future.
* " Muijr or the riinacitW* found in tlM wntern country in- tlcpouttd in the imueum oribp PUilMophieal
Societj- of rhilailflptiia.
APE
APH
AORTA, in anatomy, called also arte-
ria mag^a, a large arterj', arising \vith a
single tnink from the left ventricle of the
heart above its valves, called semilu-
nares, and serves to convey the mass of
blood to all parts of the body.
After ascending a little upwards, its
tnink is bent, in manner of an arch, and
from this part it sends, in human subjects,
usually three ascending branches. This
is called the aorta ascendens.
The descendens is that part of the
trunk, which,after the arch-like inflection,
descends through the thorax and the ab-
domen down to the os sacrum, and is
usually larger in women than in men.
The aorta hath four tunics, a nervous, a
glandulous, a muscular, and a membra-
nous one. See A^vatomt.
APACTIS, in botany, a genus of the
Dodecandria Monogvnia class and order.
No calyx ; petals four, crenate, unequal ;
germ superior; fruit. There is but a sin-
gle species, tiz. the Japonica, atree found,
as its name imports, in Japan.
APALUS, in natural history, a genus of
insects of the order Coleoptera. Gen.
char, antennae filiform ; feelers equal, fili-
form ; jaw horny, one-toothed; lip mem-
branaceous, truncate, entire. There are
two species : quadrimaculatus ; rufous ;
head, and two spots on the shells, black ;
inhabits North America : bimaculatus, of
northern Europe.
APARGEA, in botany, a genus of the
Syngenesia iEqualis class and order. Re-
ceptacle naked ; calyx imbricate ; down
feather}', sessile. There are 17 species.
-^ APATITE, in mineralogy, one of the
species of the phosphates, occurs in tin
veins, and is found in Cornwall and Ger-
many. Colours white, green, blue, and
red, of various shades. The primitive
form of its crj'stals is a reg\ilar six-sided
prism. Specific gravity between 2.8 and
3.2. When laid on ignited coals it emits
a green light, and is almost entirely solu-
ble in nitric acid. By rubbing it shews
signs of electricity. It was foimerly con-
sidered as a species of schorl ; afterwards,
on account of its colour and crystalliza-
tion, it was arranged with ber}'ll ; others
described it as fluor, but Werner soon
found that it was a new species. Its fal-
lacious resemblance to other minerals in-
duced Werner to g^ve it this name, which
is derived from UTxJeiM, " to deceive,"
APE. See Si.mia.
APETALOSE, or Apetalous, among
botanists, an appellation given to such
plants as have no flower leaves.
APEX, in antiquity, the crest of a bel-
met, but more especially a kind of cap
worn by the flamens.
APHiERESIS, in grammar, a figure by
which a letter or syllable is cut oil" from
the be^nning of a word.
ApHiBREsis, that parr of surgery which
teaches to take away superfluities. J
APHELIUM, or Apheliox, in astro- ^
nomy, is that point in any planet's orbit,
in which it is farthest distant from the
sun ; being, in the new astronomy, that
end of the greater axis of the elliptical
orbit of the planet, most remote from the
focus wherein the sun is. The times of
the aphelia of the primary planets may be
known by their apparent diameters ap-
pearing least ; as also by their moving
.slowest in a given time. They may like-
wise be found by calculation, the method
of doing which is delivered in most astro-
nomical writers. i
Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Gregory have , j
proved that the aphelia of the primary ]
planets are at rest. See Princip. prop. 14.
lib. 3. And in the scholium to the above
proposition they say, that the planet.s
nearest to the sun, viz. Mercuiy, Venus,
the Earth, and Mai's, from the actions of
Jupiter and Saturn upon them, move a
small matter in consequentia with regard j
to tlie fixed stars, and that in the sesqui- '
plicate ratio of their respective distances
from tlie sun.
APHIS, in entomology, a genus of the
Hemiptera order, which has engaged tlie
attention of naturalists for variovLs rea-
sons : their generation exhibits a singulai*
and surprising phenomenon, and their in-
stinctive economy differs, in some res-
pects, from that of most other animals.
Linnaeus defines the generic character of
the aphis thus; beak inflected, sheath of
five articulations, with a single bristle a
antennae setaceous, and longer than the
thorax ; either four erect wings or none ;
feet formed for walking ; posterior part
of tlie abdomen usually furnished with two
little horns. Geoffroy says, the aphides
have two beaks, one of which is seated in
the breast, the other in the head ; this
last extends to and is laid upon the base
of the pectoral one, and sen'es, as that
writer imagines, to convey to the head a
part of that nourishment which the insect
takes, or sucks in, by means of the pecto-
ral beak. Gmelin enumerates about 70
species, all of which, and doubtless many
others, are found in different parts of Eu-
rope and America. They infest an end-
less variety of plants ; and it is believed
each species is particularly attached to
one kind of vegetable only ; hence each
APHIS.
sort has been hitherto uniformly named
after the indi\-idiial species or genus of
plants on which it feeas ; or if that could
not be ascertalne<l, that on which it had
been found ; for some species are rather
uncommon andlittleknown,though others
are infinitely too numerous. The aphi-
des are sufficiently known by the indiscri-
minate term of plant-lice ; they abound
with a sweet and grateful moisture, and
are therefore eagerly sought after by ants,
and are devoiired by the larva of coccinel-
Ise, and many other creatures, or they
would become, very probably, more de-
stnictive to the whole vegetable creation
than any other race of insects known. If
Bonnet was not the first naturalist (as is
generally acknowledged) who discovered
the mysterious course of generation in the
aphides, or, as he calls tlicm, pucerons,
his experiments, together with those of
his countryman Trembly, tended at least
to confirm, in a most satisfactory manner,
the almost incredible circumstances re-
specting it, that an aphis or puceron,
brought up in the most perfect solitude
from the moment of its birth, in a few
tlays will be found in the midst of a nu-
merous family ; and that if the experi-
ment be again repeated on one of the
individuals of this family, a second gene-
ration will multiply like its parent; and
the like experiment may be manytimes re-
peated witli the same effect, until at la.st
the progeny becomes barren, unless again
impregnated by the male; after which se-
ven! generations may be again pi-oduced
without further aid of the male, as before.
The historj" of aphides has also been
yery copiously treated upon by Dr. Rich-
ardson, in a paper printed in the 41st vol.
of the Philosophical Transactions ; and
by the late ingenious Mr. Curtis, in the
sixth volume of the Trans.irtions of the
Linnaean Society. The tenor of Dr. Rich-
ardson's remarks is briefly this : the great
variety of species which occur in the in-
sects now under consideration may make
«n inquiry into their particular natures
seem not a little perplexing, but by redu-
cing them under tlieir pi^oper genus, the
difficulty is considerably diminished. We
may reasonably suppose all the insects,
comprehemlcd under any distinct genus,
to partake of one general natiuv ; and by
diligently examining any particular spe-
cies, may thence gain some insight into
the naturc of all the rest. With tliis view.
Dr. Richardson chose out of the various
sorts of aphides the largest of tliose found
on the rose-tree; not only as its size makes
it more conspicuous, but there are few of
so long duration. This sort appears ear»
ly in the spring, and continues late in au-
tumn, while several are limited to a much
shorter term, in conformity to tlie diffe-
rent trees and plants whence they draw
their nourishment. If, at the beginning
of Febniary, the weather happens to be
so warm as to make the buds of the rose-
tree swell and appear green, small aphides
are frequently to be found on them.thouglx
not lara^r than the youngones in summer
when first produced. It will be found,
that those aphides which appear only in
springproceedfrom small black oval eggs,
which were deposited on the last year's
shoot; though when it happens that the
insects make too early an appearance, the
gfreater part suffer from the sharp wea-
ther that usually succeeds, by which
means the rose-trees are some years in a
manner freed from them. The same kind
of animal is then at one time of the year
viviparous, and at another oviparous.
These aphides, which withstand the se-
verity of the weather, seldom come to
their full growth before the month of
April, at which time they tisually beg^n
to bi-eed, after twice ca.sting off their ex-
uvia, or outward covering. It appears
that they are all females, which produce
each of them a numerous progeny, and that
without having intercourse with any male
insect : they are viviparous, and, what is
equally singidar, they all come into the
world backwards. When thej- first come
from the parent, they are inveloped in a
thin membrane, having in this situation
the appearance of an oval egg ; tlicse egg-
like appearances adhere by one extremity
to the mother, while the young ones con-
tained in them extend to the otlier, and by
that means gradually drag the mptured
membrane over the head and body to the
hind feet. During this operation, and for
some time after, the fore part of the head
adheres, by means of something tlut is
glutinous, to the vent of the parent. Be-
ing thus suspended in the air, it soon frees
itself from the membrane in which it was
confined ; and after its limbs are a little
strengthened, is set down on some tender
slioots, and is left to provide for itself
In the spring months, there appear on
the rose-trees but two generations of
aphides, including those which proceed
immediately from the last year's eggs ;
the warmth of the summer adds so much
to their fertility, tlut no less than five
generations succeed one anotJier in the in-
terval. One is produced in May, which
casts off its covering ; while the months
of June and July each supply two more.
APHIS.
which cast off their coverings three or
four times, according' to tlie different
varmth of the season. This frequent
changfe of their outward coat is the more
extraordinary, because it is repeated more
often when the insects come the soonest
to their growtli, which sometimes hap-
pens in ten days, when they have had
plenty of warmth and nourishment. £arly
in the month of June, some of the third
genei-ation, which w ere profhiced about
the middle of May,after casting off tJie last
covering, discover four erect wings,much
longer than their botlics; and the same
is observable in all the succeeding genera-
tions which are produced during the sum-
mer months, but still without any diversi-
ty of sex : for some time before the
aphides come to their full growth, it is
easy to distinguish which will have wings,
by a remarkable fulness of the breast,
which in the othere is hardly to be dis-
tingiiislied from the body. When the
last covering is rejected, the wings which
were before folded up in a ver>' narrow
compass, are gradually extended in a sur-
prising manner, till their dimensions are
at last very considerable. The increase
of these insects in the summer-time is so
very great, that by wounding and exhaust-
ing the tender shoots, they wo«ild fre-
quently suppress all vegetation, had they
not many enemies to restrain tliem. Not-
withstanding these insects have a numer-
ous tribe of enemies, they are not without
their friends, it" those may be considered
as such, who are officious in their atten-
dance for the good things tliey expect to
reap thereby. The ant and bee are of
this kind, collecting the honey in which
the aphides abound, but with this differ-
ence, that the ants are constant visitors,
the bee only when flowers are scarce ; the
ants will suck in the honey, while the
aphides are in the act of discharging it;
the bees only collect it fi"om the leaves on
■which it has fallen. The aphides are often
carried home by the ant, carefully attend-
ed, and regularly supplied with food. See
Formica. In the autumn three more ge-
nerations of aph'des are pro<luced, two of
which generally make their appearance
in the month of August, and the third be-
fort the middle of September. The two
first differ in no respect from those which
are found in summer, but the third differs
greatly from all the rest. Though all the
aphides which have hitherto appeared
were female, in this generation several
male insects are found, but not bj' any
means so numerous as the females. The
females have, at first, the same appearance
as those of the former generations, but in
a few days their colonr changes from a
green to a yellow, which is gradually con-
verted into an orange before tiiey come
to their full gi-owth ; they differ, also, in
another respect, from tliose which occur
in summer, for all tliese yellow females are
without wings. The male insects are, j
however,still more remarkable, their out- 1
ward appearance readily distinguishing
them from this and all other generations.
When first produced they are not of a
green colour like the rest, but of a red-
dish brown, and have afterwards a dark
hne along the back : they come to their
full growth in about three weeks, and
then cast off their last coveringrthe whole
insect being, after this, of a bright yellow
colour, tlie wings only excepted; but !»f-
ter this change they become of a deeper
yellow, and in a very fev/ hours of a dark
brown, if we except the body, which is
something lighter coloured and has a red-
dish cast. The males no sooner conie to '.
maturity than they copulate with the fe- J
males, who, in a day or two after their in-
tercourse with the males, lay their eggs,
generally near the buds. Where there
are a number crowded together, they, of
course, interfere with each other, in which
case they will frequently deposit their j
eggs on other parts of the branches. — -J
It is highly probable that the aphides de- '
rive considerable advantages by living in
society ; the reiterated punctures of a
grcAtnumberoftliem may attract a larger
quantity of nutricious juices to that part
of the tree or plant where they have taken
up their abode. The observations of Mr.
Curtis on the aphides are chiefly intended
to shew that they are the principal cause
of blights in plants, and the sole cause
of tlie honey-dew. He therefore calls
tliem the apliis, or blighter ; and after ob-
serving, that, in point of numbers, the in-
dividuals of the several species composing
it surpass those of any other genus in the
coimtrj', speaks tlius, in general terms, of
tlie whole tribe. These insects hve en-
tirely on vegetables. The loftiest tree-is
no less liable to theirattacksthan the most
humble plant. They prefer the young
shoots on account of their tenderness, and
on tliis principle often insinuate them-
selves into the very heart of the plant,
and do irreparable mischief before they
ai-e discovered. But, for the roost part,
they beset the foliage, and are mostly
found on the underside of the leaf, w hich
they prefer, not only on account of its be-
ing the most tender, but as it affords them
protection from the weather, and various
injuries to which they would otherwise
be exposed. Sometimes the root is the
APHIS.
object of their choice, which, from the na-
ture of these insects, one would not, a
priori, expect ; yet 1 have seen the roots
of lettuces thickly beset with them, and
the whole crop rendered sickly and of lit-
tle value ; but such instances are rare.
They seldom attach themselves to the
bark of trees, like the aphis salicis, which,
being'oneofour largest species, and hence
possess! ng superior strenglhjis enabled to
penetrate a substance harder than the
leaves themselves. In the quality of the
excrement voided by these insects, there
is something wonderfully extraortlinarj'.
Were a person accidentally to take up a
book, in which it was gravely asserted,
that in some countries there were certain
animals which voi<led» liquid sugar, he
would lay it down, reganling it as a fabu-
lous tale, calculated to impose on tlie cre-
dulity of the ignorant ; and yet such is
literally the truth. Mr. Curtis collected
some on a piece of writing-paper, from a
brood of the aphis salicis, and foimd it to
be sweet as sugar ; and obsenes, that,
were it not for the wasps, ants, flies, and
other insects, that devour it as quickly as
it is produced, it might, no doubt, be col-
lected in considerable quantities, and by
the processes used witli other saccharine
juices, might be converted into the choic-
est sugHr or sugar-candy. The sweetness
of this excrementitious substance, the
glossy appearance it gave the leaves it fell
upon, and the swarm of insects this matter
attracts, led liim to imagine that the ho-
ney-dew of plants was no other than this
secretion, which further obser\ation has
since fully conftrmed ; and no^ a^ its mime
implies, a sweet substance faliingfrom the
atmosphere. On this opinion it is further
rcmiu-ked, that it neither fails from the
atmosphere, nor is.sues from tlie plant it-
self, as is easily deuKnistrated. If it fell
from theutmos|jhere,il would coverevery
thing it fell upon indiscriminately, where-
as we never Hnd it but on certain living
plants and trees. We find it also on plants
in stoves and green-houses, covered with
ghiss. If it exuded from the plant, it would
appear on all the leaves generally and u-
mloitnly ; whereas its appearance is ex-
tremely irregular, not alike on any two
leaves of the same tree or plant, some
having none of it, and others being cover-
ed with it but partially. It is probable
that there nevercxisLs any honej-dew but
where there are aphides; though such
often pass unnoticed, being hidden on the
undei"Sidc of the leaf: and wherever ho-
nev-de w is observable upon a leaf, aphides
will be found on the underside of the leaf
or leaves immediately above it, and under
no other circumstance whatever. If by ac«
cident anything should intervene between
the aphides and the leaf next beneath
them, there well be no honev-dew on that
leaf: and thus he conceives it is incontro-
vertibly proved, that iphides are the true
and only source of honey-dew. Of the
British species of aphides, one of the larg-
est and most remarkable is the aphis sali-
cis, which isfoundonthediflerent kinds of
willows. When bruised,these insects stain
the fingers with red. Towards the end of
September multitudes of the full-grown
insectsof this species, both with and with-
out wings, desert the wiUows on which
they feed, and ramble over every neigh-
bouring object in such numbers, that we
can handle nothing in tlieir vicinity witli-
out crushing some of them, while those irt
a younger or less advanced state still re-
main in large masses upon the trees. Aphis
rosx is very frequent, during the summer
months, on the young shoots and buds of
roses : it is of a bright green colour : the
males are furnished with large transpa-
rent wingfs. A. vitis is most destructive
to vines; as A. ulmi is to the elm-tree.
Plate I. Entomology, fig. 3.
It is found, that where the saccharine
substance has dropped from aphides for
a lengUi of time, as from the aphis salicis
in particular, it gives to the suriace of the
bark, foliage, &.c. that sooty kind of ap-
pearance, which arises from the explosion
of gunpowder : it looks like, and is some-
times taken for, a kiDcl of black mildew
In most se;isons the natural enemies of the
aphides are sufficient to keep them in
check, an«l to prevent them from doing
essential injury to plants in the open air :
but tliere are times, once perhaps in four,
five, or six years, in wiucli they are mul-
tiplied to such an excess, that tl»e usual
means of diminution fail in preventing
them from doing irreparable injury to
certain crops.
To prevent the calamities which would
infallibly result from an accumulated
multiplication of the more prolific animaK
it has been onlained by the Author of
nature, that such should be diminished
by sening as foo<l for others. On this
principle, most animals of this kind have
one or more natural enemies. The help-
less aphis, which is the scourge of the
vegetable kingdom, has to contend with
manv : of these, the principal arc, the.
coccinella, the ichneumon aphidum, ami
the musca aphidevora. The greatest de-
stroyer of the aphides is the coccinella,
or common lady-bird. During the winter
this insect secures itself under the bark of
APH
API
trees and elsewhere. When the spring
expands the foliage of plants, tlie female
deposits its egg's on them in great num.
bers, from whence, in a short time, pro-
ceeds the larva, a small gnib, of a dark
lead-colour spotted with orange. These
may be observed in the summer season
running pretty briskly over all kinds of
plants, and, if narrowly watched, they
willbe foimd to devour the aphides wher-
ever tliey find them. The same may be
observed of the lady-bird, in its perfect
state. Another most formidable enemy
to the aphis is a very minute, black, and
slender ichneumon fly, which eats its way-
out of the aphis, leaving the dry inflated
skin of tlie insect adhering to the leaf Uke
a small pearl .- such may always be found
where aphides are in plenty. Different
species of aphides are infested with dif-
ferent ichneumons. There is scarcely a
division of nature, in which the musca or
fly is not found : of these, one division,
the aphidivora, feeds entirely on aphides.
Of the dift'erent species of aphidivorous
flies, which are numerous, having mostly
bodies variegated with transverse stripes,
their females may be seen hovering over
plants infested with aphides, among which
they deposit their eggs on the surface of
the leaf The larva, or maggot, produced
fi^m such eggs, feeds, as soon as hatched,
on the younger kuids of aphis, and as it
increases in size, attacks and devours
those which are larger. The larva of the
hemerobius feeds also on the aphides, and
deposits its eggs on the leaves of such
plants as are beset with them. The earwig
is hkewise an enemy to them, especially
such as reside in the curled leaves of
fruit-trees, and the purses formed by cer-
tain aphides on the poplars and other
trees. To these may be added the small-
er soft -billed birds that feed on insects.
.\PHORISM, a maxim or principle of
a science ; or a sentence which compre-
hends a great deal in a few words. The
term is seldom used but in medicine and
law. We say, the aphorisms of Hippo-
crates, the aphorisms of the civil law, po-
litical aphorisms, &c.
AFHKODITA, in natural history, a ge-
njis of worms, of the order Molusca. Bo-
dy creeping, oblong, covered with scales,
and furnished witli numerous bristly fas-
ciculate feet on each side ; mouth termi-
nal, cylindrical, retractile ; feelers two,
setaceous, annulate ; and four eyes. There
are nine species. A. acuieata has an oval
body, brown, beneath flesh colour, with
long silky changeable hair on each side
the body : it inhabits the European seas,
is found in the belly of the cod-fish, and
feeds on testaceous animals ; is from four
to seven inches long.
APHYLLANTHES, the blue Montpetter
pink, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria
Monogynia class of plants, the calyx of
which is composed of a number of imbri'
cated, lanceolated spathae; the corolla
consi.sts of six petals, of an obversely oval
figure, terminating at the base in very
narrow ungues, and patent at the limb,
forming a kind of tube below it : the fruit
is a turbinated capsule of a triangular
figure, and contains three cells ; the seeds
are oval. There is but a single species.
APHYTEIA, in botany, a genus of the
Monadelphia Triandria. Calyx large,
funnel-form, three-cleft ; three petals in-
serted into and shorter than the calyx ;
germ inferior; berry one-celled, many-
seeded; seeds imbedded.
APIAN, (Peteh), in biography, an
eminent astronomer and mathematician,
called in German Bienevritx, was born at
Loisnich, in Misnia, and became professor
of mathematics at Ingolstadt, in 1534.
He wrote several treatises on astronomy
and the mathematics, and enriched these
sciences with many instruments and ob-
servations. His first work was a "Trea-
tise on Cosmography, or Geographical
Instructor;" this was published in 1530,
and in three years at\er he constructed at
Nuremberg a curious instrument, which
shewed the hour of the day, by means of
the sun's rays, in all parts of the earth.
In the year 1540, he published his princi-
pal work, entitled " Astronomicon Csesa-
raeum," containing many interesting ob-
servations, with the descriptions and divi-
sions of insti'uments, calculations of eclip-
ses, and the construction of them in piano.
In a second partof tlie work is a descrip-
tion of the construction and use of an
astronomical quadrant, to which is annex-
ed observations on five different comets :
in these he shews that the tails of comets
are always projected in a direction oppo-
site to the sun. Our limits do not allow
us to enumerate all the treatises of Apian :
they were as respectable as numerous,
and the author was treated with the kind-
est attention by the emperor Charles V.,
who published several of his works at
his own expense, conferred upon him the
honour of nobility, and presented him with
3000 crowns. Apian died at Ingolstadt
in 15j2, leaving behind him a high repu-
tation for learning, and a son Philip, who
was also an eminent astronomer, and
taught the sciences botli at Tubingen and
Ingolstadt. Phihp died in 1589, and
APIS.
left a treatise on " Solar-dials." He gave
an account oF the new star that appeared
in Cassiopeia in 1572, which is preserved.
APIAKV, a garden or other conveni-
ent place where bees are kept. A sou-
thern aspect is reckoned the most proper,
and the bee-hives should be exposed as
little as possible to the wind, and should
enjoy as much of the influence of the sun
as possible, as wind retards the bees in
their work, while the beams of the sun
invite them to it. In the vicinity of the
apiary there should be plenty of flowers,
wild thyme, and the like. The hives
shoidd be free from the droppings of
trees, the annoyance of dunghills, long
grass and weeds ; as from these insects
are bred, which are not only destructive
to bees, but greatly retard them in the
preparation of honey. See Apis.
APIS, in natural history, a genus of
insects of the order of Hymenoptera.
Gen. char, mouth furnislied with jaws,
and an inflected proboscis, with two bi-
valve sheaths : feelers 4, unequal, filiform :
antennae siiort, filiform, those of thelem-.de
subclavule ; wings flat or without plaits ;
sting in the female and neutral insects
concealed.
This genus is distributed by Linnxus
into two assortment.s, viz. those in which
the body of the animal is but slightly co-
vered with fine hair or down, and iljose in
which it is remarkably villose or hairy :
the insects of the latter division are com-
monly distinguished by the title of hum-
ble-bees. In the first division, the princi-
pal or most important species is the apis
mellifica, or common honey-bee, so long
and justly celebrated for its wonderful
polity, the neatness and precision with
which it constructs its cells, and the dili-
gence with which it provides, during the
warmth of summer, a supply of food, for
the support of the hive during the rigours
of the succeeding winter. The general
history of this interesting insect has been
amply detailed by various authors, as
Swammerdam, Reaumur, Sic. &c. Among
the most elaborate accounts of later times
may be mentioned that of Mr. John Hun-
ter, which made its appearance iii the
Philosophical Transactions for the year
1792, of which the following is an abstract.
There are three periods at which the his-
tory of the bee may commence : first, in
Uie spring, when the queen begins to lay
her eggs ; in the summer, at the com-
mencement of a new colony ; or in tlie
autumn, when they go into winter quar-
ters. We shall begm the particular his-
tory of the bee with the new colonv, when
\0L. I.
notlung is formed. When a hive sends
off a colony, it is commonly in the month
of June; but that will vary acconling to
the season, for in a mild si>ring bees some-
times swarm in the middle of .May, and
very often at the latter end of it. Before
they come off, they commonly hang about
the mouth of the hole or door of the hive,
for some days, as if they had not sufficient
room within for such hot weather, which
we believe is very much the case ; for if
cold or wet weather come on, they stow
themselves very well, and wait for fine
weather. But swarming appears to be
rather an operation arising from necessity,
for they would seem not naturally to
swarm, because if tliey have an empty
space to fill they do not swarm ; there-
fore by increasing the size of the hive the
swarming is prevented. This period is
much longer in some than in others.
F'or some evenings before they come ofT
is often heard a singular noise, a kind of
ring, or sound of a small trumpet; by
comparing it witii the notes of a piano
forte, it seemed to be the same sound with
the lower \ of the treble. The swarm
commonly consists of three classes; a fe-
male, or females, males, and those com-
monly calle<l mules, which are supposed
to be of no sex, and are tiie labourers ;
the whole, about two quarts in bulk,
making about six or seven tiiousand. It
is a question that cannot easily be deter-
mined, whetlier this old stock sends off
entirely young of the same season, and
whetlier the whole of their young ones, or
only part. As tlie males are entirely bred
in the same season, part go off; but part
must stay, and most probably it is so witli
the others. They commonly come ofT in
the heat of the day, often immediately
after a shower. When one goes off, they
all immediately follow, and fly about
seemingly in great confusion, altliough
there is one principle actuating the whole.
They soon appear to be directed to some
fixed place ; such as the branch of a tree
or bush, the cavities of old trees, holes of
houses leading into some hollow place ;
and whenever the stand is made, they im-
mediately repair to it till tliey are all col-
lected. But it would seem, in some
cases, that tliey had not fixed upon any
resting place before they come off, or, if
they harl, that they were either disturbed,
if it was near, or that it was at a great
distance ; for, after hovering some time,
as if undetermined, they flyaway, mount
up into the air, and go off witli s'^reat ve-
locity. M'hen they have fixetl upon their
future habitation, tlicv immediately begin
\I 111
APIS.
to make their combs, for they have the
inateriuls within themselves. " I have
reason," says Mr. Hunter, "to believe
that they fill their crops with honey when
they come away, probably from the stock
in the hive. I killed several of those that
came away, and found their crops full,
while those that remained in the hive had
their crops not near so full : some of them
came away with farina on their legs, which
I conceive to be rather accidental I may
just observe here, that a hive comn»only
sends off two, sometimes three, swarms in
a summer, but that the second is common-
ly less than tlie first, and the third less
than the second ; and this last has seldom
time to provide for the winter.
"The materials of their dwelling or
comb, wiiich is ihe wax, is the next con-
sideration, with the mode of forming, pre-
paring, or disposing of it. In giving a
totally new account of the wax, I sliall
first shew it can hardly be what it has
bet (1 supposed to be First, I shall ob-
serve thai ihe materials, as they are found
coiiiposing the comb, are not to be found
in UK- same state (as a composition) in any
vegetablc,wherethey have been .supposed
to be got. Tlie suiistance brought in on
the legs, wiiicii is the farina of tlie flow-
ers of plants, is, in common, I believe,
imagined to be the materials of which
the wax is made, for it is called by most
the wax : but it is the farina, for it is al-
ways of the same colour as the farina of
the flower where they are gathering ; and
indeed, we see them g-athering it, and we
also see them covered almost all over with
it like a dust ; neveriheless, it has been
supposed to be the wax, or that the wax
was extracted from it. Reaumur is of
this opinion. I made several experiments,
to see if there was such a quantity of oil
in it as would account for the quantity of
wax to be formed, and to learn if it was
composed of oil. I held it near the can-
dle, it burnt, but it did not smell like
wax, and had the same smell, when burn-
ing, as farina when it was burnt. I ob-
served that this substance was of different
colours on different bees, but always of
the same colour on both legs of the same
bee ; whereas a new made comb was
all of one colour. I observed that it
was gathered with more aridity for old
hives, where the comb is complete, than
for those hives where it only begun, which
we could hardly conceive, if it was the ma-
terials of wax : also we may observe, that,
at the very beginning of a hive, the bees
seldom bring in any substance on their
legs for two or three days, and after that
the farina gatherers begin to increase;
for now some cells are f()rmed to hold it
as a store, and some eggs are laid, which,
when hatched, will require this substance
as food, and which will be ready when
the weather is wet.
" The wax is formed by the bees them-
selves ; it may be called an external se-
cretion of oil, and I have found that it is
formed between each scale of the under
side of the belly. When I first observed
this substance, in my examination of the
working bee, I was at a loss to say what
it was : I asked myself if it was new
scales forming, and whether they cast the
old, as the lobster, &c. does ? but it was
to be found only between the scales on
the lower side of the belly. On examining
the bees through glass hives, while they
were climbing up the glass, I could see
that most of hem had this substance, for
it looked as if the lower or posterior edge
of the scale was double, or that there
were double scales : but I perceived it
was loose, not attached. Finding that the
substance brought in on their legs was
farina, intended, as appeared from every
circumstance, to be the food of the mag.
got, and not to make wax, and not iiav-
ing yet perceived any thing that could
give me the least idea of wax, I conceived
the.se scales miglit be it, at least 1 thought
it necessary to mvestigate them. I there-
fore took several on the point of a needle,
and held them to a candle, where they
melted, and immediately formed them-
selves into round globules ; upon which
I no longer doubted but this was the wax,
which opinion was confirmed to me by not
finding those scales but in the building
season.
" The cells, or rather the congeries of
cells, which compose the comb, may be
said to form perpendicular plates, or
partitions, which extend from top to
bottom of the cavity in which they build
them, and from side to side. They always
begin at the top or roof of the vault in
which they build, and work downwards :
but if the upper part of this vault to
which their combs are fixed is removed,
and a dome is put over, they begin at the
upper edge of the old comb, and work
up into the qew cavity at the top. They
generally may be guided, as to the direc-
tion of their new plates of comb, by
forming ridges at lop, to which they be-
gin to attach their comb. In a long hive,
if these ridges are longitudinal, their
plates of comb will be longitudinal : if
placed transverse, so will be the plates,-
and if oblique, the plates of comb will be
APIS.
«blique. Each plate consists of a double
set of cells, wliose botumis form the par-
tition between each set. Tlie plates
themselves are not very regularly ar-
ranged, not forming a regular plane wliere
the) might have done so ; but are often
adapted to the situation or shape of the
cavity in which they are built. The bees
do not endeavoiir to shape their cavity to
their work, as the wasps do, nor are the
cells of equal depths, also fitting them to
their situation ; but as the breeding cells
must all be of a given depth, they reserve
a sufficient number for breeding in, and
they put the honey into the others, as also
into the shallow ones. The attachment
of the comb round the cavity is not con-
tinued, but interrupted so as to form pas-
sages ; there are also passages in the mid-
dle of the plates, especially if there be a
cross stick to support the comb ; these
allow of bees to go across from plate to
plate. The substance which they use for
attaching their combs to surrounding
parts is not tlie same as the common wax ;
it is softer and tougher, a good deal like
the substance with which they cover in
their crysahs, or the humble-bee sur-
rounds her eggs. It is probably a mix-
ture of wax witli farina. The cells are
1>laced nearly horizontally, but not exact-
y so; the mouth raisetl a little, which
probably may be to retain the honey the
better ; however, this rule is not strictly
observed, for often they are horizontal,
and towards the lower edge of a plane of
comb they are often declining. I'he first
combs that a hive forms are the smallest,
and much neater than the Ifcst or lower-
most. Their sides or partitions, between
cell and cell, are much thinner, and the
hexagon is much more perfect. The wax
is purer, being probably little else but
wax, and it is more brittle. The lower
combs are considerably larger, and con-
tain much more wax, or perhaps.more pro-
perly, more materials ; and the cells are at
such distances as to allow them to be of a
round figure : the wax is softer, and there
is something mixed with it. 1 have observ-
ed that the cells are not all of equal size,
some being a degree larger than the
others; and that the small are the first
formed, and of course at the upper part,
where the bees begin, and the larger are
nearer the lower part of the comb, or
last made : however, in hives of particu-
lar construction, where the bees may be-
gin to work at one end, and can work both
down and towards the other end, we of-
ten find the larger cells both on the lower
part of the combs, and also at tlie oppo-
site end. These are formed for the males
to be bred in ; and in ilu- liorncls and
wasps combs tliere are larger cells, for
the queens to be bred in : these are also
formed in the lower tier, and the last
fofmed.
'* The first comb made in a hive is all of
one colour, viz. almost white ; but is not
so white towards the end of the season,
having then more of a yellow cast.
"There is a cell which is called the
royal cell, of.en three or four of them,
sometimes more ; I have seen eleven, and
even thirteen, in the same hive ; commonly
they are placed on the edge of one or
more of the combs, but often on the side
of a comb ; however, not in the centre
along with the other cells, like a large
one placed among the others, but often
against the mouths of the cells, and pro-
jecting out beyond the common surface
of the comb ; but most of them are form-
ed from the edge of the comb, which ter-
minates in one of these cells. The royal
cell is much wider than the othei-s, but
seldom so deep : its rpouth is round, and
appears to be the largest half of an oval
in depth, and is declining downwards,
instead of being horizontal or lateral.
The materials of which it is composed
are softer than common wax, rather like
the last mentioned, or those of which the
lower edge of the plate of comb is made,
or with which tt.^ bees cover the cry salis :
they have very hiiji* wax in their compo-
sition, not one thmi, the rest I conceive to
be farina.
" The comb seeir^s at first to be formed
for propagation, and the reception of ho-
ney to be only a secondary use ; for if the
bees lose their queen, they make no
combs ; and the wasp, hornet, &c. make
combs, although they collect no honey ;
and the humble-bee collects the honey,
and deposits it in cells she never made.
" I shall not consider the bee as an ex-
cellent mathematician, capable of making
exact forms, and having reasoned upon
the best shape of the ci 11 for capacity, so
that the greatest number might be put
into the smallest space (fur the hornet and
the wasp are much more correct, although
not seemingly under the sanie necessity,
as they collect nothing to occupy their
cells) ; because, although the bee is pretty
perfect in these respects, yet it is very
incorrect in others, in the formation of
the comb ; nor shall I consider these ani-
mals as forming combs of certain shape
and size, from mere mechanical necessity,
as from working round themselves ; for
such a mould would not form cells of dif-
APIS.
ferent sizes, much less could wasps be
guided by the same principle, as their
cells are of very different sizes, and tlie
first by much too small for the queen
wasp to have worked round herself: but
1 shall consider the whole as an instinctive
principle, in which the animal lias no pow-
er of variation or choice, but such as
arises from what may be called external
necessity. The cell has in common six
sides, but tl\is is most correct in those
first formed ; and the bottom is cojumonly
composed of those sides or planes, two of
the sides making' one ; and they generally
fall in between tlie bottoms oftliree cells
of the opposite side ; but this is not regu-
lar, it is only to be found where there
b no external interruption.
'» As soon as a few combs are formed,
the female bee begins laying of eggs. As
far as I have been ah\e to observe, the
queen is the only bee that propagates, al-
though it is asserted that the labourers
do. Her first eggs in the season are those
wliich produce labourers ; then the males,
and probably the queen ; this is the pro-
gress in the wasp, hornet, humble-bee,
&c. However, it is asserted by Riem, that
when a hive is deprived of a queen, la-
bourers lay eggs ; also, that at this time
some honey and farina are brought in, as
store for a wet day. Tlie eggs are laid at
the bottom of the cell, and we find them
there before the cells are half completed,
so that propagation begins early, and goes
on along with the formation of the other
cells. The egg is attached at one end to
the bottom of the cell, sometimes stand-
ing perpendicularly, often obliquely ; it
has a glutinous, or slimy covering, which
makes it stick to any thing it touches. It
would appear that there was a period or
periods for laying eggs; for 1 have ob-
served in a new swarm, tiiat the great bu-
siness of laying eggs did not last above a
fortnight; although the hive was not half
filled with comb, it began to slacken. In
those new formed combs, as also in many
not half finished, we find the substance
called bee-bread, and some of it is cover-
"^ ed over with wax, which will be consider-
ed further. By the time they have work-
ed above half way down the hive with the
comb, they are beginning to form for the
larger cells, and by this time the first
broods were hatched, which were small,
or labourers ; and now they begin to
breed males, and probai)ly a queen, for a
new swarm : because the males are now
bred to impregnate the young queen for
the present summer, as also for the next
year. This prog^ress in breeding is the
same with that of the wasp, hornet, and
humble-bee. Allhough this account is
commonly allowed, yet writei-s on this
subject have supposed another mode of
producing a queen, when the hive is in
possession ot maggots, and deprived of
their queien.
"What may be called the complete
process of the egg, namely, from the
time of laying to the birth of the bee,
(that is, the time of hatching) the life of
the maggot, and the life of the crysalis,
is, I believe, shorter than in most insects. j
It is not easy to fix the tnne when the a
eggs hatch : I have been led to imagine ^
it was in five days. When they hatch, we
find the young maggot lying coiled up in
the bottom of the cell, in some degree
surrounded with a transparent fluid. In
many of the cells, where the eggs have
just hatched, we find the skin standing in
its place, either not yet removed, or not
pressed down by the maggot. There is
now an additional employment for the la-
bourers, namely, the feeding and nursing
the young maggots. We may suppose
the queen has nothing to do with this, as
there are at all times labourers enough in
the hive for such purposes, especially, too,
as she never does bring the materials, as
every other of the tribe is obliged to do
at first; therefore she seems to be a
queen by hereditary, or rather by natural,
right, while the humble-bee, wasp, hor-
net, &c. seem rather to work themselves
into royalty, or mistresses of the commu-
nity. The bees are readily detected feed-
ing the young maggot ; and, indeed, a
young maggot might easily be brought up
by any pei-son who would be attentive to
it. They open their two lateral pincers
to receive the food and swallow it. As
they grow, they cast their coats or cuti-
cles ; but how often they throw their
coats, while in the maggot state, I do not
know. The maggots grow larger and
larger till they nearly fill the cell; and by
this time they require no more food, and
are ready to be inclosed fi)r the crysalis
state ; when ready for the crysalis state,
the bees cover over the mouth of the cell
with a substance of a light brown colour,
much in the same manner that they cover
the honey, excepting that, in the present
instance, the covering is convex exter-
nally, and appears not to be entirely wax,
but a mixture of wax and farina. The
maggot is now perfectly inclosed, and it
begins to line the cell and covering of the
mouth above-mentioned with a silk it spins
out, similar to the silk-worm, and which
makes a kind of pod for the chrj'salis.
APIS.
Having completed this lining, they cast
off, or rall»er shove off, from tlie head
backwards, the last maggot coat, which
is deposited at tl:e bottom of the cell, and
then they become chrysaUses.
" In this state they are forming tliem-
selves for a new Ufe : tlicy are either en-
tirely new built, or wonderfully changed,
for there is not the smallest vestige of the
old form remaining ; yet it must be tlie
same materials,for now nothing is taken in.
How far this change is only tiie old parts
new modelled, or gradually altering their
form, is not easily determined. 'I'o bring
about the change, many parts must be re-
moved, out of which the new ones are
probably formed. As bees are not dif-
ferent in this state from the common fly-
ing insects in general, I shall not pursue
U»e subject of their changes further, al-
though it makes a very material part in
the natural history of insects.
" When the crysalis is formed into the
complete bee, it then destroys the cover-
ing of its cell and comes forth. They are
of a greyish colour, but soon turn brown.
" When the swarm of which I have
hitlierto been giving the historj- has come
off early, and is a large one, more espe-
cially if it was put into too small a hive,
it often breeds too many for the hive to
keep through the winter ; and in such
case a new swarm .is tlirown off, which,
liowever, is commonly not a large one,
and generally has too little time to com-
plete its comb, and store it with honey
sufficient to preserve them through the
winter. This is similar to the second or
third swarm of the old hives.
«' 1 have already observed, that the new
colony immediately sets about the increase
of their numbers, and every thing rela-
ting to it. They had their apartments to
build, both for the purpose of breeding,
and as a store-house for provisions for the
winter. When the season for laying eggs
is over, then is tlie season for collecting
honey ; therefore, when the last chirsalis
for tlie season comes lorth, its cell is im-
mediately filled with honey ; and as soon
AS the cell is full, it is covered over with
pure wax, as it is to be considered as store
for the winter. This covering answers two
very essential purposes : one is to keep it
from spilling, or daubing the bees ; the
other to prevent its evaporation, by
which means it is kept fluid in such a
warmth. They are also employed in lay-
ing up a store of bee-bread for the young
maggots in the spring, for they begin to
bring forth much earlier than probably
any other insect, because they retain a
summer heat, and store up food for the
young.
" In the month of August we may sup-
pose the queen, or queens, are impregna-
ted by the males ; and as the males do not
provide for themselves, they become bur-
densome to the workers, and are therefore
teased to death much sooner than they
otherwise would die ; and when the bees
set about this business of providing their
winter store, every operation is over, ex-
cept the collecting of honey and bee-
bread. At this time it would seem as if
the males were conscious of their danger,
for they do not rest in the mouth of tlie
hive, in either going out or coming in, but
hurry either in or out : however, they are
commonly attacked by one, two, or tliree
at a time : they seem to make no resist-
ance, only getting away as fiist as possible.
The labourers do not sting them, only
pinch them, and pull them about as if
to wear them out ; but I suspect it may
he called as much a natural as a violent
death.
" Wlien the young are wholly come
forth, and either the cells entirely filled,
or no more honey to be collected, then is
the time or season for remaining in their
hives for the winter.
" Although I have now completed a
hive, and no operations are going on in
the winter months, yet the histon' of this
hive is imperfect till it sends forth a new
■warm.
" As the common bee is very suscepti-
ble of cold, we find, as soon as the cold
weather sets in, they become very quiet
or still, and remain so throughout the
winter, living on the pro<luce of the sum-
mer and autumn ; and, indeed, a cold day
ill the summer is suflicient to keep them
at home, mi>reso than a shower in a warm
day : and if the hive is thin and much ex-
posed, they will hardly move in it, but g^t
as close together as the comb will let
them, into a cluster. In this manner they
appear to live through the winter : how-
ever, in a fine day they become very lively
and active, going abroad, and appearing
to enjoy it, at which time they get rid of
their excrement : for I fancy tliey sel-
dom throw out their excrement when in
the hive.
" Their life at this season of the year is
more uniform, and may be termed simple
existence, till tlie warm weatlier arrives
again. As they now subsist on their sum-
mer's industry, they would seem to feed
in proportion to the coldness of the sea-
son; for, from experiment, I found the hive
grow lighter in a cold week than it did in
APIS.
a wanner, which led to further experi-
ments.
" Although an indolent state is very
much the condition of bees through the
winter, jet progress is making m the
queen towaii Is a summer's increase. The
eggs in the oviducts are beginning to
swell, and, I believe, in the month of
March, she is ready to lay them, for the
young bees are to swarm in June ; which
constitutes the queen bee to be the earliest
breeder of any uisect we know. In con-
sequence of tliis the labourers become
sooner employed than any other of this
tribe of insects. This, both queen and
labourers are enabled to accomplish, from
living in society through the winter ; and
it becomes necessary in them, as they have
their colony to form early in tlie summer,
which is to provide for itself for the win-
ter following. All this requires the pro-
cess to be carried forward earlier than by
any other insect, for these are only to have
young, which are to take care of them-
selves through the summer, not being un-
der the necessity of providing for the win-
ter.
" The queen bee, as she is termed, has
excited more curiosity than all the others,
although much more belong to the la-
bourers. From the number of these, and
from tlieir exposing themselves, they have
their history much better made out : but
as there is only one queen, and she scarce-
ly ever seen, it being only the effects of
her labour we can come at, an opportuni-
ty has been given to the ingenuity of con-
jecture, and more has been said than can
well be proved. The queen, the mother
of all, in whatever way produced, is a true
female, and different from both the la-
bourers and the male. She is not so large
in the trimk as the male, and appears to
be rather larger in every part than the la-
bourers. The scales on the under surface
of the belly of the labourers are not uni-
formly of the same colour over the whole
scale, that part being lighter which is
overlapped by the terminatingscale above,
and the uncovered part being darker.
This light part does not terminate in a
straight line, but in two curves, making a
peak ; all which gives the belly a hghter
colour in the labouring bees, more espe-
cially when it is pulled out or elongated.
We distinguish a queen from a wording
bee simply by size, and in some degree by
colour, but this la.st is not so easily ascer-
tained, because the difference in the co-
lour is not so remarkable in the back, and
the only view we can commonly get of her
is on this part ; but when a hive is killed,
the best way is to collect all the bees, and
spread them on white f>aper, or pat them
into water, in a broad, flat-bottomt d, shal-
low, white dish, in which they swim, and
by looking ai them singly, she may be dis-
covered As the queen breeds the first
year she is produced, and the oviducts
never entirely subside, an old queen is
probably thicker than a new-bred one, un-
less indeed tlie oviducts and the eggs form J
in the chrysalis state, as in the silk m orm, 1
which I should suppose they did. The
queen is perhaps at the smallest size just
as she has done breeding ; for as she is to
lay eggs by the month oY March, she must
begin early to fill again ; but I believe her
oviducts are never emptied, having at all
times eggs in them, altliough but small.
She has fat in her belly, similar to the
other bees.
"It is most probable that the queen
which goes off with the swarm is a young
one, for the males go off" with the swarm
to impregnate her, as she must be impreg-
nated the same year, because she breeds
the same year.
" The queen has a sting similar to the
working-bee.
" I believe ahive, or swarm, has but one
queen, at least 1 have never found more
than one in a swarm, or in an old hive in
tlie winter ; and probably this is what con-
stitutes a hive ; for when there are two
queens, it is likely that a division may be-
gin to take place. Supernumerary queens
are mentioned by Riem, who asserts he
has seen them killed by the labourers as
well as the males.
" The male bee is considerably larger
than the labourers : he is even larger than
the queen, although not so long when she
is in her full state with eggs : he is con-
siderably thicker than either, but not
longer in the same proportion : he does
not terminate at the anus in so sharp a
point ; and the opening between the two
last scales of the back and belly is larger,
and more under the belly, than in the fe-
male. His proboscis is much shorter than
that of the labouring bee, which makes
me suspect he does not collect his own
honey, but takes that wliich is brought
home by the others; especially as we ne-
ver find the males abroad on flowers, &c.
only flying about the hives in hot weather,
as if taking an airing ; and when we find
that the male of the humble-bee, which
collects its own food, has as long a pro-
boscis, or tongue, as the female, I think it
is from all these facts reasonable to sup-
pose the male of the common bee feeds
at home. He has no sting.
" The class of labouring bees, for we
cannot call it either sex or species, is the
APIS.
largest in number of the whole communi-
ty : there are thousands of them to one
queen, and probably some hundreds to
eacli male. It is to be supposed they are
the only bees which construct the whole
hive, and that the queen has no other bu-
siness but to lay the eggs : they are tlie
only bees that bring in materials ; the only
ones we observe busy abroad ; and indeed
the idea of any other is ridiculous, when
weconsiderthe disproportion in numbers,
as well as the employment of the others,
wiiile the working bee has nothing to
take off its attention to the business of the
family. They are smaller than either the
queen or the males : not all of equal size,
although the difference is not very great.
" The queen and the working bees are
so much alike, that the latter would seem
to be females on a different scale : how-
ever, this difference is not so observable
in the beginningof winter as in the spring,
when the queen is full of eggs. They are
all females in construction ; indeed, one
miglit suppose that they were only young
queens, and that they be ame queens af-
ter a certain age ; but this is not the case.
They all have stings, which is another
thing that makes tliem similar to the
queen. From their being furnished with
an instrument of defence and offence, they
are endowed with such powers of mind as
to use it, their minds being extremely ir-
ritable ; so much so, that they make an
attack when not meddled with, simply
upon suspicion, and when they do attack
they always sting ; and yet, from the cir-
cumstance of their not being able to dis-
engage the sting, one should suppose they
would be more cautious in striking with
it. When they attack one another, they
seldom use it, only their pincers : yet I
saw two bees engagetl, and one stung the
other in the mouth, or thereabouts, and
the sting was drawn from the body to
which it belonged, and the one who w:is
stung ran very quickly about with it ; but
I could not catch that bee, to observe how
the sting was situated.
" As they are the collectors of honey,
much more than what is for their own use
either immediately or in future, their
tongue is proportionably fitted for that
purpose : it is considerably larger than
that of either the queen or the male,
which fits them to Uike up the honey from
the hollow parts of flowers of consider-
able depth. Tiie mechanism is very cu-
rious, and will be explaineil further on.
"Bees certainly have the five senses :
sight none can doubt : feeling they also
have ; and there is every reason for sup-
posing they have likewise taste, smell, and
hearing. Taste we cannot doubt ; but of
smell we may not have s'lch proofs ; vet,
from observation, 1 think they give strong
signs of smell. When bees are hungry,
as a young swarm in wet weather, and are
in a glass hive, so that they can be ex-
amined, if we put some honey into the
bottom, it will immediately breed a com-
motion ; they all seem to be upon the
scent: even if they are weak, and hardly
able to crawl, they will throw out their
proboscis as far as possible to get to it,
although the light is very faint. This last
appears to arise more from smell than see-
ing. If some bees arc let loose in a bee-hive,
and do not know from which house they
came, they will take their stand upon the
outside of some hive, or hives, especially
when the evening is coming on : whether
this arises from the smell of the hives, or
sound, I can hardly judge.
" Bees may be said to have a voice.
They are certainly capable of forming se-
veral sounds They give a sound, when
flying, which they can vary according to
circumstances. One accustomed to bees
can immediately tell when a bee makes an
attack, by tlie sound. This is probably
made by the wings. They may be seen
standing at the door of their hive, with
the belly rather mised, and moving their
wings, making a noise. But they produce
a noise independent of their wings ; for if
a bee is smeared all over with honey, so
as to make the wings stick together, it will
be found to make a noise which is shrill
and peevish. [ have observed that they,
or some of them, make a noise the even-
'u\gs before they swarm, which is a kind of
ring, or sound of a small trumpet : by com-
paring it with the notes of the pianoforte.
It seemed to be Uie same witli the fewer
A of the treble.
" I have observed, that it is only the
queen and the lal)ourers that have stings ;
and this provision of a sling is perhaps as
curious a circumstance as any attending
the bee, and probably is one of the cha-
racters of the bee tribe.
" The apparatusitself is of a very curious
construction, fitted for inflicting a wound,
and at the same time conveying a poison
into that wound. The apparatus consists of
two piercers, conducted in a groove or di-
rector, which appears to be itself the sting.
All these parts are moved by muscles,
which we may suppose are very strong in
in them, much stronger than in other ani-
mals ; and these muscles give motion in
almostall directions, but more particularly
outwartls. It is wonderful how deep they
will pierce solid bodies with the sting. I
have examined the length they hare pierc-
APIS.
ed the palm of the hand, which is covered
with a thick cuticle : it has often been
about tlie one-twelfth of an inch. To per-
form this by mere force, two things are
necessary, power of muscles, and strength
of the sting, neither of which they seem
to possess in sufficient degree. I own I
do not understand this operation. I am
apt to conceive tliere is something in it
distinct from simple force applied to one
end of a body : for if this was simply the
cose, the sting of the bee could not be
made to pierce by any power applied to
its base, as the least pressure bends it in
any direction : it is possible the serrated
edges may assist, by cutting their way in
like a saw.
" The apparatus for the poison consists
of two small ducts, which are the glands
that secrete the poison : these two lie in
the abdomen, among the air-cells, &c. ;
they both unite into one, which soon en-
ters into or forms an oblong bag, like a
bladder of urine ; at the opposite end of
which passes out a duct, which runs to-
wards the angle where the two stings
meet, and entenngbetweenthetwostings,
is continued between them in a groove,
which forms acanal by tlie union of the two
stings to this point. Tiiere is anotiier duct
on the right of that described above, which
is not so circumscribed, and contains a
thicker matter, which, as far as I have
been able to judge, enters along with tlie
other; but it is tl>e first that conttiins the
poison, which is a thin, clear fluid. From
the stings having serrated edges, it is
seldom the bees can disengage tiiem ; and
they immediately upon stinging endeavour
^to make their escape, but are generally
prevented, as it were caught in their own
trap ; and tlie force they use commonly
drags out the whole of the apparatus for
stinging, and also part of the bowels; so
that the bee most frequently falls a sacri-
fice immediately upon having effected its
purpose. Upon a superficial view, one
conceives that the first intention of the
bee having a sting is evident ; one sees it
has property to defend, and that therefore
it is fitted for defence ; but why it should
naturally fall a .sacrifice in its own defence
does not so readily appear ; besides, all
bees have stings, although ail bees have
not property to defend, and therefore are
not under the same necessity of being so
provided. Probably its having a sting to
use was sufficient for nature to defend the
bee, without using it liberally ; and the loss
of a bee or two, when they did sting, was
of no consequence, for it is seldom that
more die."
Some naturalists suppose that the queen
is formed from the larvje of the workingbee;
by aparticular mode of treatment,or peculi-
arity or quantity of food, the bulk is augmen-
ted, and the generative organs developed.
We now proceed to notice some of the
species. The apis centuncularis, or car-
penter-bee, Is remarkable for its faculty of
forming long, tubular, andslightly flexuose
cavities in wood, even of the most solid
kind, as oak, &c. Sometimes it performs
this- operation in living trees, and some-
times in dry wood, posts, &c. When the
tube is properly finished, the animal pro-
ceeds to line each of the above-mentioned
spaces with i*ose-leaves rolled over each
other, the bottom of each being formed
by several circular pieces of these leaves,
placed immediately over eacli other to u
sufficient thickness. The animal then de-
posits an egg at the bottom, and iiaving
left in tlie cell a sufficient quantity of a
kind of honey for the nourishment cf the
young larva, when hatclied, proceeds to
close the top with circular bits of rose-leaf ;
and, thus proceeding, finishes the whole
series. This is usually done towards tlie
close of summer; and the young, having
passed the period of tlieir larva state,
change into that of chrysalis, and remain
the whole winter, not making their ap-
pearance till pretty late in the ensuing
season. This bee is about the size of the
common, or honey-bee, but siiorter and
broader bodied in proportion, and is of a
dusky colour above, the lower parts be-
ing covered with a bright ferruginous
down or hair. In seasons vv hen this species
happens to be plentiful, it does considera-
ble injury to the trees which it attacks,
large trunks of apparently healthy oaks
having been found very materially injured
by the numerous trains of cells distributed
through tliem indifferent parts; thirty,for-
ty, or fifty tubes sometimes lying within a
very small distance of each other. In defect
of rose-leaves, the cavities are sometimes
lined with the leaves of elm, &c. A species,
very nearly allied to the preceding, pur-
sues a similar plan of forming a continued
series of cylindrical nests with rose or
other leaves, rolling them in such a man-
ner as to resemble so many thimbles, the
top of each being closed as before. In-
stead, however, of being placed in the
timber of trees, they are laid in horizontal
trains, at a certain distance beneath the
surface of the ground. Of the villose, or
hairy bees, popularly called humble-bees,
one of the largest and most common in
England is the apis lapidaria of Linnaeus,
so named from the circumstance of its
nest being generally situated in strong or
gravelly places. This species is entirely
API
APL
of a (locp black colour, except the end of
the abdomen, which is red or oranpfc -co-
loured, more or less deep in flifferent in-
tlividnals. The female is of large size,
measuring near an incli in lengtli ; the
male is considerai)ly smaller ; and the neu-
ter, or labouring bee, still smaller than the
male. The humble-bees in general live in
small societies of 40 or 60 togethei-, in an
oval or roundish nest, excavated to a small
depth beneath the surface of the ground,
and formed of branches of moss, compact-
ed together, and lined with a kind of
coai-se wax. In this nest, which measures
from four to six inches in diameter, are
constnictedseveral oval cells, which, how-
ever, are not the work of the complete in-
sects, but are the cases spun by the lan'ac,
and in which they remain during their
state of chrysalis : the eggs are deposited
among heaps of a kind of coarse honey or
bee-bread, placed here and there atuncer-
tain intervals; on this substance the larvae
feed during their growing state : lastly, in
every nest are placed a lew nearly cylin-
dric cells or goblets of coarse wax, and
filled with pure honey, on which the com-
plete insects feed. See Plate I. Entomo-
logy, fig. 4 — 6. For the management of
bees, sec Bet..
AIMUM, in botany, a genus of plants,
including parsley, smallage, and celery.
Class, Pentandria Digj'nia; natural order
of Umbcllatse. Essen, character, cal. gene-
ral umbel of fewer rays than those of the
pailial; cor. general uniform; floscules
almost all fertile ; petals roundish, inflex,
equal; stam. filaments simple ; anthers,
roundish; pist. germ inferior; seeds two,
ovatC; striated on one side, plane on the
other. A. petrosilinum, or common pars-
ley ; both the varieties are in use ; but it
is remarked tliat the plane-leaved sort is
most commonly cultivated, though many
prefer the curled kind, because its leaves
are most easily distingui.shcd from the
icthusa, or fool's parshy, a sort of hem-
look, and a poi.sonous garden weed, which,
while young, has great resemblance to the
common plune-leaved parsley. Hesides,
the curled parsley, from its having larger
and thicker leaves, and being curiously
finibriated and curled, so as to shew full
and double, makes a better appearance in
its growth, and ismore esteemed bycooks
for tiic purpose of garnishing dishes, &c.
It may, however, be necessary to cemark,
that this sort, as being only a variety, is
liable to degenerate to tiie common plane
sort, unless particular care be taken to
save tlie seed always 'from the perfect,
full curled plants. Hoth the varieties are
propagated by seed sown annuallv in
VOL. I.
spring, where the plants are to remain;
but the plants are biennials, rising from
seed sown in March, April, May, and
June. A. latifolium, or broad-leafed pars-
ley. The propagation of tliis species is
also by seed sown annually in Fc'bruan/,
March, April, or May, where the plants
arc to remain. For this purpose, a spot
of light rich earth, in an open exposure,
is to be prefcn-ed ; the seed being sown
broad-cast, and raked in, the plants gene-
rally appearing in about a month after
being sown, and in May or June they re-
quire to be thinned and cleared from
weeds, which may be performed either by
hand or hoe ; but the latter is most eligi-
ble, as it will stir and loosen the surface
of the earth, which may be beneficial to
the plants, cutting them out to about six
inches distance from eac!i other. In the
latter end of July, the i-oots will mostly
have attained a size proper for use, and
may be drawn occasionally ; but they sel-
dom acqtiire their full growth till about
Michaelmas. This is sometimes called
Hamburgh parsley, probablv from its be-
ing much cultivated about that place. It
is chiefly cultivated and esteemed for its
large roots, which ai'C white, and carrot-
shaped, being long, taper, and of down-
right growth, often attaining the size and
appearance of small or middling parsnips;
they boil exceedingly tender and palata-
ble, are very wholesome, and may be used
in soup or broth, or to eat like carrots and
parsnips, or as sauce to flesh meat. A.
dulce, or the common celery. The me-
thod of propagation in all the varieties of
this sort, is by sowing the seed in the
spring, and when the plants have attained
six or eight inches in height, transplanting
them into trenches, in order to be earthed
up on each side its tliey advance in growth,
and have their stalks blanched or whiten-
ed, to render them crisp and tender.
APLANATIC, in optics, a term applied
by Dr. IJlair, professor of astronomy in
Edinburgh, to tliat kind of infraction dis-
covered l)y himself, which corrects the
a])eiTation of the rays of light, and the
coloiu* depending upon it, in contradis-
tinction to the wortl achromatic, which
h:is been appn)priated to that refraction,
in which there is only a partial correction
of colour. See Oi-nis. Dr. IJlair dis-
covered a mixture of solutions of ammo-
niacal and niei-curial salts, and also son\p
othersub-stances, which produced disperv
sions proportion:d to that of gkiss, with
respect to the dltlercnt colours ; and he
constructed a conii>ound lens, consisting
of a semi-conve.\ one of crown glass, v.iUi
N n
APO
APO
its flat side towards the object, and a
meniscus of the same materials, with its
convex side in the same direction, and its
flatter concave next the eye, and tlie in-
tenal between these lenses he filled with
a solution of antimony in a certain pro-
portion of muriatic acid. The lens thus
adapted did not manifest the slightest
vestige of any extraneous colour. He
obtained a patent for the invention in
1791.
APLUDA, in botany, a genus of the
Polygumia Monoecia class of plants, the
common calyx of which is an univalve,
bifloral, ovated, concave, loose mucrona-
ted glume ; the proper glume is bivalve,
and placed obliquely; the corolla is a bi-
valve glume of the length of the cup;
there is no pericarj^ium ; the seed, which
is single, is involved in the glume of the
corolla. Male corol. two valved ; female
floret sessile ; stamina three. Female
corol. two valved; one style; one seed,
covered. There are four species.
APOCOPE, among grammarians, a fi-
gure which cuts ofl a letter or syllable
from the end of a word, as intern for in-
genii.
APOCRYPHAL, something dubious,
is more particularly applied to certain
books not admitted into the canon of scrip-
ture. Those ai'c certain books of the Old
Testament extant only in Greek, admitted
by the church of Rome as canonical, but
rejected by the reformed churches as no
part of holy writ; such are the books of
Judith, Wisdom, .Tobit, Baruch, Macca-
bees, the third and fourth books of Es-
dras. In this sense apociyphal stands
distinguished from canonical, though the
Romish church disowns the distinction.
Authors are divided as to the origin of
the appellation apocryphal, and the rea-
son why it was given to these books.
The apocrj^phal books were not received
into the canon, either of the Jews, or an-
cient Christians, but were first made ca-
nonical by a decree of the council of
Trent The apocryphal books, accord-
ing to the si:cth article of the church of
England, are to be read for example of
life and instruction of manners ; but it
doth not apply them to establish any doc-
trine.
APOCYNUM, in botany, a genus of
the Pentandria Djginia class and order.
Corol. companulate ; nectarcous filaments
five, alternating with the stamina. There
ape 14 species.
APODES, the name of one of the or-
ders of fishes in the Linnaean distribution
of animals. Their character is, tliat they
have no belly fins ; there are 12 genera,
viz.
Ammodytes, Ophydium,
Anarhichas, Sternoptyx,
Gymnothorax, Stomateus,
Gymnotus, Stylephoms,
Leptocephalus, Trichiurus,
Muraena, Xiphias,
which see under the several heads in the
alphabet.
APOGEE, in astronomy, that point of
the orbit of a planet, or the sun, which is
farthest from the earth.
Ancient astronomy, which placed the
earth in the centre of the system, was
much taken up in ascertaining the apogee
and perigee ; which the modems have
changed for aphelium and pcrihehum.
See the article ApiiELirM, &c.
APOLLONIUS, of Perga, a city in
Pamphilia, was a celebrated geometrician,
who flourished in the reign of Ptolemy
Euergetes, about 240 years before Christ;
being about 60 years after Euclid, and 30
years later than Archimedes. He studied
a long time in Alexandriaunder the disci-
ples of Euclid ; and afterwards he com-
posed several curious and ingenious geo-
metrical works, of which only his books
of Conic Sections are now extant, and
even these not perfect. For it appears
from the author's dedicatory epistle to
Eudemus, a geometrician in Pergamus,
that this work consisted of eight books ;
only seven of which however has come
down to us.
From the Collections of Papus, and
the Commentaries of Eutocius, it appears
that Apollonius was the author of various
pieces in geometry, on account of which
he acquired the title of the gi-eat geome-
trician. His Conies was the principal of
them. Some have thought that Apollo-
nius appropriated the writings and disco-
veries of Archimedes; Heraclius, who
wrote the life of Archimedes, affirms it ;
though Eutocius endeavours to refute
him. Although it should be allowed a
groundless supposition, that Archimedes
wasthe first who wrote upon conies, not-
withstanding his treatise on conies was
greatly esteemed, yet it is highly proba-
ble that Apollonius would avail himself of
the writings of that author, as well as
others who had gone before him ; and,
\ipon the whole, he is allowed the honour
of explaining a difficult subject better
than had been done before, having made
several improvements, both in Archime-
des's problems, and in Euclid. His work
upon conies was doubtless the most per-
fect of the kind among the ancients, and
APO
APO
in some respects among the modems also.
Before ApoUonius, it had been customa-
Ty, as we are informed by Eutocius, for
the writers on conies to require three dif-
ferent sorts of cones to cut tlie three diffe-
rent sections from; wiz. tlie parabola from
a rig-ht-angled cone, tlie ellipse from an
■cute, and the hyperbola from an obtuse
cone ; because they always supposed the
sections made by a plane cutting the
cones to be perpendicular to the side of
them: but ApoUonius cut his sections all
from any one cone, by only vaiying the
incUnation or position of the cutting plane ;
an improvement that has been followed
by all other authors since his time. But
that Archimedes was acqufunted with the
some manner of cutting any cone is suffi-
ciently proved, against Eutocius, Pappus,
and otliers, by Guido Ubaldus, in the be-
ginning of his Commentary on tlie second
book (5" Archimcdes's Equiponderantes,
published at Pisa in 1588. See Conic
Sectio.ns.
The first four books of Apollonius's co-
nies only have come down to us in their
original Greek language ; but the next
three, the 5th, 6th, and 7tli, in an Arabic
version ; and the 8th not at all. Tliese
have been commented upon, translated,
and published by various authors. Pap-
f)us, in his Matliematical Collections, has
eft some account of his various works,
witli notes and lemmas upon them, and
particularly on tlie Conies. And Eutocius
wrote a regular elaborate commentary on
the propositions of several of the books of
the Conies.
A neat edition of the first four books in
Latin was published by Dr. Barrow, in
4to. at London, in 1675. A magnificent
edition of all the books was pubhshed in
folio, by Dr. Halley, at Oxford, in 1710 ;
together with the Lemmas of Pappus,
and the Commentaries of Eutocius. The
first four in Greek and Latin, but the lat-
ter four in Latin only, the 8th book being
restored by himself
APOLOGUE, in matters of literature,
an ingenious method of conveying iastnic-
tion by means of a feigned relation, called
a moral fable.
The only difference between a parable
and an apalogue is, that the former, being
drawn from what passes among mankind,
requires probabihty in the narration :
wliercas the apalogue, being taken from
the supposed actions of brutes, or even of
things inanimate, is not tied down to the
strict niles of probability. .Esop's fiibles
are a model ot tliis kind of writing.
APOKOGETON, in botany, a genus cf
the Dodecandria TetragjTiia. Ament,
composed of scrUs ; no calyx, no corol. ;
capsules four ; three seeded. There are
four species.
APOPHTHEGM, a short, sententious,
and instructive remark, pronounced by a
person of di.«tiiiguished character. Such
are the apophthegms of Plutarch, and
those of tlie ancients collected by Lycoe*
ihenes.
APOPHYSIS, in anatomy, an excres-
cence from the body of a bone, of which
it is a true continuous part, as a branch is
of a tree.
APOTHECARY, one who practises the
art of pharmacy, or tliat part of physic
which consists in the preparation and
composition of medicines.
A youth intended for this profession-
should be ti pretty good scholar, and have
such a knowledge in tlie Latin tongue, as
to be able to read the best writers upon
the subject of botany, pharmacy, anato-
my, and medicine. In London, the apo-
thecaries are one of the city companies,
and by an act, which was made peqjetual
in the ninthyear of Georgel.are exempt-
ed from serving upon juries, or in ward
and parish offices. They arc obliged to
make up their medicines according to the
formulas described in the College Dis-
pensatory, and are Uable to have their
shops visited by the censors of the college,
who are empowered to destroy such me-
dicines as they think not g^od. In Penn-
sylvania, and we believe the United States
generally, no obligation of tliis kind is
imposed. A ny person, however ignorant
of the qualities and properties of medi-
cines, or unskilful in the preparation of
them, may nevertheless establish himself
as an apothecary ; the consequence is, the
occurrence of many accidents ; the inju-
dicious application of drugs ; and, as he is
amenable to no authority, the consequent
adulteration of his compounds.
The apoUiecaries have a Hall in Black-
friars, London, where there are two fine
laboratories, from which all the sui^ons'
chests art supplied with medicines for the
royal navy. In China, they have a singu-
lar mode of dispensing their medicines.
In the public squares of their cities there
is a very high stone pillar, on which are
engraven the names of all sorts of medi-
cines, with the price of each ; and when
the poor stand in need of any relief from
physic, tliey go to the treasury, where
they receive the price each medicine is
rated at.
APOTHEOSIS, in antiquity, a ceremo-
nv, bv which the ancient Romans compU.
APP
APP
merited their emperors and great men,
at\er tlieir death, with a place among the
gotls. It is described as follows : after
tlie body of tlie deceased had been burnt
with tlie usual solemnities, an image of
wax, exactly resembling him, was placed
on an ivory couch, where it lay for seven
days, attended by the senate and ladies of
the highest quality in mourning; and
then the young senators and knights bore
the bed of state through the Via sacra to
the old Fonim, and from thence to the
Campus Martins, where it was deposited
upon an edifice built in form of a pyra-
mid. The bed being thus placed, amidst
a quantity of spices and other combusti-
bles, and the knights having made a pro-
cession in solemn measure round the pile,
the new emperor, with a torch in his hand,
set fire to it, while an eagle, let fly from
the top of the building, and mounting in
the air with a firebrand, was supposed to
convey the soul of the deceased to hea-
ven, and thenceforward he was ranked
among the gods.
APOTOME, in geometry, the differ-
ence between two incommensurable lines :
thus, E C, (Plate Miscel. fig. 6.) is the
apotome of A C and A B.
If we suppose A C = n, and A B = 5.
then wiU their apotome be a — y/ b ; or,
in numbers, 2 — y/ 2>. Hence also the
difference between the side A C = 2
(fig. 7.) of an equilateral triangle A B C,
and tlie perpendicidar B D = ^Z ^ ^s an
apotome, viz. =2 — v^ 3. And uni-
versally, if A C (fig. 8.) be a semi-parabo-
la, whose axis is A R, and its latus rec-
tum == 1, and if A D be a tangent to the
vertex at A, and this be divided into the
parts A a = 2, A A = 3, A c = 5, A r/=
6, &c. and perpendiculars a 1, 6 2, c 3, </ 4,
&c. be drawn, these will be, from the na-
ture of the curve, ^Z 2, v' 3, ^ 5, v^ 6,
&c. respectively : and so ^ A a (= 1) —
a 1, will be 1 — ^/ 2 : A a —6 2 will be
2 — \/ 3, &c. by which means you will
have an infinite series of different apo-
tomes.
Apo-nJMK, in music, the difference be-
tween a greater and lesser semi-tone, ex-
pressed by the ratio 128 : 125.
APPARATUS, a term used to denote a
complete set of instiniments, orotlier uten-
.sils, belonging to any artist or machine :
thus we say, a surgeons' apparatus, a che-
mist's apparatus, the apparatus of the
air-pump, microscope, &c. ,
APPAHEN'I", among mathematicians
and a-stronomera, denotes things as they
appear to us, in contradistinction from
real or true : thus we say, the appai*ent
diameter, distance, magnitude, place, fig*
ure, &c. of bodies.
APPARITOR, among the Romans, a
general term to comprehend all attend-
ants of judges and magistates appointed
to receive and execute their orders. Ap-
paritor, with us, is a messenger, that
serves the process of a spiritual court, or
a beadle in an university, who carries the
mace.
APPAUMEE, in heraldry-, denotes one i.
hand extended with the full palm appear- '
ing, and tlie thumb and fingers at full
length.
APPEAL, in law, the removal of a
cause from an inferior to a superior court
or judge, when a person thinks lumself
aggrieved by the sentence of the inferior
judg«. Appeals lie from all the ordinary
courts of justice to the House of Lords.
In ecclesiastical causes, if an appeal is
brought before a bishop, it may be remov-
ed to the archbishop ; if before an arch-
deacon, to the Court of Arches, and
thence to the archbishop ; and from the
archbishop's courttothe kingin chancery
Appeal, in common law, is taken for
the accusation of a murderer by a person
who had interest in the party killed ; or
of a felon by an accomplice. It is prosecu-
ted either by writ or by bill : by writ, when
a writ is purchased out of the Chancery
by one person against anotlier, command-
ing him to appeal some third pei-son of
felony, and to find pledges for doing it ef-
fectually ; by bill, when the person him-
self gives in liis accusation in writing, of-
fering to undergo the burden of appeal-
ing the person therein named.
In military affairs, an appeal might for-
merly be made by the prosecutor, or pri-
soner, from the sentence or jurisdiction of
a regimental to a general court-martial.
At present no soldier has a right to ap-
peal, except in cases where his immedi-
ate subsistence is concerned.
APPEARANCE, in law, signifies a de-
fendant's filing a common or special bail
on any process issued out of a court of
judicature. In actions by original, ap-
pearances are entered witli the philazer of
the county ; and by bill, with the protho-
notary. Defendants may appear in per-
son, where the party stands in contempt,
for the court will not pennit him to ap-
pear by attorne)' : also m capital and cri-
minal cases : where an act of parliament
requires that the party should appear in
person, and likewise in appeal, or on at-
tachment : by attorney, in all actions, real,
personal, and mixed, and for any crime
whatever under tlie degree of capital, by
APP
favour of the court: by guardian and
next friend, when under age.
APPELLATIVE, in grammar, a noun,
or name, which is apphcable to a whole
species or kind, as man, horse ; in contra-
distinction to a proper name.
APPELLOR, or Appellant, in law,
he who has committed some felony or
other crime, which he confesses and ap-
peals, that is, accuses his accomplices.
APPENDANT, in law, any thing that
is inheritable, belonging to some more
worthy inheritance, as an advowson, com-
mon, or court, may be appendant to a
manor, land to an office, 8tc. but land
cannot be appendant to land, for both are
corporeal inheritances, and one thing cor-
poreal cannot be appendant to another.
APPLE, a well-known fruit, consisting
of a rind, pill, or skin; the pulp, or paren-
chyma; the branchery, or seed-vessels;
and the core. See Prnus.
APPLICATION, the act of applying
one tiling to another,- by causing them to
approach, or bringing them nearer toge-
ther. Thtis a longer line or space is
measured by the appUcation of a less, as
a foot or yard by an inch, &c. ; and mo-
tion is determined by successive applica-
tion of any thing to different parts of
space. AppUcation is sometimes also
used both in arithmetic and geometry,
for the operation of division, or for that
which corresponds to it in geometry.
Thus 20 applied to, or divided by 4, i. e.
-— -, gives 5. And a rectangle a b applied
to a line, c, gives the fourth proportionsd
a b
— , or anotlier line, as dl, which, with the
c
given line c, will contmn a rectangle c d
= ab.
Application, in geometry, denotes the
act of placing one figure upon another,
in order to determine their equality or
inequality. In this way Euchd, and other
geometricians, have demonstrated some
of the primary and fundamental proposi-
tions in elementary geometry. Thus it is
proved, that two triangles, having two
sides of the one equal respectively to two
sides of the other, and the two included
angles equal, are equal in all respects ;
and two ti-iangles, having one side and the
adjacent angles of tlie one respectively
equal to one side, and the adjacent angles
of the other, are also in the same mode
of upj)lication shewn to be equal. Thus
also it is demonstrated that a diameter di-
vides the circle into two equal parts; and
tJ»at the diagonal divides a square or pa-
rallelogram into two equal parts. The
APP
term is also used to signify the adapta-
tion of one quantity to another, in oi-der
to their being compared, the areas of
which are the same, but their figures dif-
ferent Thus Euclid shews how, on a right
line given, to ajjply a parallelognim that
sliall be equal to a right-lined figure given.
Applicatio!« of one sdence to another,
signifies the use that is made of the prin-
ciples of the one for augmenting and per-
fecting the other. As there is a connec-
tion between all the arts and sciences, one
of them may be made 9ubser\'ient to the
illustration and improvement of the other;
and to this purjjose algebra has been ap-
plied to geometry, and geometry to alge-
bra, and both to mechanics, astronomy,
geogfraphy, navigation, &c. See Aloe-
BRA, application of.
Applicatiox ofalg'ebra and geometry to
mechanics is founded on the same princi-
ples as the application of algebra to geo-
metry. It consists principally in repre-
senting, by equations, the curves describ-
ed by bodies in motion, by determining'
the equation between the spaces which
the bodies describe when actuated by any
forces, and the times employed in describ-
ing them. As a familiar instance, we may
refer to the article Accp-leratioit, where
the perpendiculars of triangles represent
the times, the bases, the velocities, and
the areas the spaces described by bodies
in motion, a method first invented by Ga-
lileo. As lines and figures may be treat-
ed of algebraically, it is evident in what
way the principles of geometry and al-
gebra may be applied to mechanics, and
indeed to every branch of mixt mathe*
matics.
Applicatiow of mechanics to geometry
consists in the use that is made of the
centre of gravity of figures, for determin-
ing the contents of solid bodies described
by those figures.
Application of geometry and astronomy
to geography consists in determining the
figure and magnitude of the earth ; \n de-
termining the positions of places by ob-
servations of latitudes and longitudes ;
and in determining, by geometrical opera*
tions, the positions of such places as are
not far distant from one another.
Application of geometry and algebra to
natural philosophy was invented chiefly by
Sir Isaac Newton, and upon this applica-
tion are founded all the mixed sciences
of matliematical and natural philosophy.
Here a single obesr^■ation or experiment
will frequently produce a whole science,
or branch of science. Thus when it is
proved by experiment that the rays of
APP
APP
light in reflecting, make the angle of in-
cidence equal to tlie angle of reflection,
we deduce the whole science of catop-
trics ; for, this fact being established, ca-
toptrics becomes a science purely geome-
trical, since it is reduced to the compari-
son of angles and lines given in position.
i: APPOINTEE, in heraldry, the same as
aguisee: thus we say, a cross appointee,
to signify tliat which has two angles at
the end cut oft', so as to terminate in
points.
APPORTIONMENT, in law, the divi-
sion of a rent into parts, in the same man-
ner as the land out of wliich it issues is
divided : for example, if a person leases
three acres of land for a certain rent, and
afterwards grants away one acre thereof
to another, the rent shall be apportioned
between them.
APPOSITION, in grammar, the placing
two or more substantives together, in the
same case, without any copulative con-
junction between them ; as, ardebat Alex-
im delicias domiiti.
APPRAISING, the valuing or setting a
price on goods. This is usually done by
a sworn appraiser, who, if he values the
goods too high, is obliged to take them
at the price appraised.
APPREHENSION, in logic, the first or
most simple act of the mind, whereby it
perceives, or is conscious of some idea :
it is more usuallj' called perception.
APPRENTICE, a young person bound
by indenture to some tradesman, in order
to be instructed in the mystery or trade.
By the laws of England, a master may be
indicted for not providing for, or for turn-
ing away, his apprentice : and upon com-
plaint fix)m a master, that he neglects his
duty, an apprentice may be committed to
Bridewell, or be bound over to the ses-
sions. Apprentices maybe bound to hus-
bandmen, or even to gentlemen of fortune
and clergymen, who, as well as trades-
men, are compellable to take the children
of the poor, under a penalty of 10/. And
the church-wardens and overseers, with
the consent of two justices, may bind
them till the age of 21 years. Justices
may compel certain persons under age to
be bound apprentices, and on refufal may
commit tliem. Apprentices may be dis-
charged on reasonable cause, either at
their own request, or that of their mastei-s.
If any, whose premium has been less than
ten pounds, run away from their masters,
they are compellable to serve out the time
of absence, or give satisfaction for it, any
period within seven years after the expi-
ration of the original contract. Indentures
are to be stamped, and are chargeable
with several duties by act of parliament
APPRENTICESHIP, denotes the ser-
vitude of an apprentice, or the duration of
his indenture. The competition in seve-
ral employments is restrained to a smaiier
number tlian would otherwise be di-sposed
to enter into them, partly by the limitation
of the number of apprentices, which at-
tends the exclusive privilege of incorpo-
rated trades ; and partly by the long term
of apprenticeship, which increases the ex-
pense of education. Seven years seem for-
merly to have been, all over Europe, the
usual term established for the duration of
apprenticeships in the greater number of
incorporated trades. Sucli incorpoi-ations
were anciently called universities, which is
the proper Latin name for any incorpora-
tion whatever. The university of smiths,
the university of tailors, &.c. are expres-
sions commonly occurring in the old char-
tersof ancient towns. When those particu-
lar incorporations, which are now peculiar-
ly called universities, were first establish-
ed, the term of years during which it was
necessary to study, in order to obtain the
degree of Master of Arts, appears evi-
dently to have been copied from the term
of apprenticeship in common trades, of
which the incorporations were much more
ancient. As to have wrought seven years
under a master, properly qualified, was
necessary to entitle any person to become
a master, and to have himself apprentices,
in a common trade, so to have studied
seven years under a master properly qua-
lified, was necessary to entitle him to be-
come a master, teacher, or doctor, (words
anciently synonymous,) to study under
him. By the 5tli of Elizabeth, commonly
called the statute of apprenticeship, it was
enacted, that no person should, for the fu-
ture, exei-cise any trade, craft, or mystery,
at that time exercised in England, unless
he had previously served to it an appren-
ticeship of seven years at least ; and tlius,
what before had been the bye-law of ma-
ny particular corporations, became in
England the general and public law of
all trades carried on in market-towns.
To country villages the term of seven
years apprenticeship doth not extend;
but the hmitation of this statute to trades
exercised before it was passed has given
occasion to several distinctions, which,
considered as rules of police, appear as
foolish as can well be imagined. A co.ich-
maker, for instance, has no right to make,
or employ joumejTnenfor making, coach-
wheels : but he must buy them of a mas-
ter wheel-right, this latter trade having
APPRENTICESHIP.
been exercised in England before the 5th
of Elizabeth. But a wneel-wright, though
he has never scned an apprenticeship to
a coachmaker, may, by himself or jour-
neyman, make coaches, because this trade,
being of a later origin, is not within the
statute. Thus also the manufactures of
Manchester, Birmingham, and Wolver-
hampton, are, many of them, upon this
account, not within the statute, not having
been exercised in England before the 5th
of Elizabeth.
The regulations of apprenticeship in
Ireland are upon a different footing, and
somewhat less illiberal than in England.
Prohibitions, similar to those of the statute
of the 5tli of Elizabeth, obtain in all cor-
porate towns, by authority of bye-laws of
the several corporations : but these pro-
hibitions extend only to n.atives of Ireland ;
for, by a regulation made by the lord lieu-
tenant and pri\-y -council, having in tliis in-
stance, by 17 and 18 Car. IF. the force of a
law, all foreigners and aliens, as well per-
sons of other religious persuasions as
Protestants, who are merchants, traders,
artificers, &c. shall, upon coming to reside
in a city, walled town, or corporation, and
paying twenty shillings, by way of fine,
to the chief magistrate and common-
council, or other persons authorised to
admit freemen, be admitted to the free-
dom of that city, &c. and to the freedom
of gfuilds of their respective trades, with
the full enjoyment of all privileges of buy-
ing, seUing, working, &c. ; and any ma-
pstrate refusing to admit foreigners, so
applying, shall be tlisfranchised.
In Scotland, there is no general law
which regulates universally the duration
of apprenticeships. The term is diffierent
in different corporations; where it is long,
a. part of it may generally be redeemed
by paying a small fine. In most towns,
too, a very small fine is sufficient to pur-
chase the frtrcdom of any corporation.
The weavers of linen and hempen cloth,
the principtd manufactures of the country,
as well as all other artificers sub.servient
to them, wheel-makers, reel-makers, &c.
may exercise their trades in anv town cor-
porate, without paying any fine. In all
towns corporate, all persons are free to
sell butchers' meat xipon any lawful day
of the week. Three years arc, in Scot-
land, a common term of apprenticeship,
in some very nice trades ; and, in general,
there is no country in Europe, in which
corporation laws are so little oppressive.
In France tlie duration of apprenticeships
is different in different towns, and in dif-
ferent trades. In Paris, 5 years are the
term required in a great number ; and
before any person can be qualified to ex-
ercise the trade as a master, he mustt in
many of them, ser\e 5 years more as a
joumej-man. During this latter time, he
is called the companion of his master, and
the term itself is called his companionship.
The institution of long apprenticeship.s,
says Dr. Smith,cangive no security that in-
sufficient workmanship shall not frequent-
ly be exposed to sale ; nor has it any ten-
dency to form young people to industry.
Apprenticeships were altogether un-
known to the ancients : the Roman law is
perfectly silent with regard to them.
There is no Greek or Latin word, which
expresses the idea we now annex to the
word apprentice.
I.^ngapprenticeslups are altogether un-
necessary. The arts, which are much su-
perior to common trades, such as those of
making clocks and watches, contain no
such mystery as to require a long course
of instruction. In the common mechanic
tra«les, the lessons of a few days might
certainly be sufficient. The dexterity of
hand, indeed, even in common trades, can-
not be acquired without much practice
and experience. But a young man would
practise with much more diligence and at-
tention, if, from the beginning, he wrought
as a journeyman, being paid in proportion
to the little work which he could execute,
and pa}-ing, in his turn, for the materials
which he might sometimes spoil through
awkwardness and inexperience. His eflu-
cation woiUd generally in this way be more
effectual, and always less tedious and ex-
pensive. The master, indeed, would be
a loser; he would lose all the wages of tlie
apprentice, which he now .saves for seven
years together. In the end, perhaps, the
apprentice himself would be a loser; in a
trade so easily learnt he would have more
competitors ; and his wages, when he
came to be a complete workman, would
be much less than at present. The s.inic
increase of competition would reduce the
profits of the masters, as well as the wages
of the workmen : the trades, the crafts,
the mysteries, wouM all be losers; but
the public would be a gainor, the work
of all artificers coming m this way much
cheaper to market.
We cannot conclude this article better,
than by inserting an admirable paper on
the subject of apprentice laws, drawn up,
and printed for private circulntion, by a
gentleman of high legal authority, .ind
member of parliament, entitled " A few
Opinions of some great and goml Men, awl
sound Lawyers, on the Apprentice Laws
of Queen Elizabeth, applicable to thcvEra
ofl806-r."
APPRENTICESHIP.
Lord Mansfield, in his arguments on the
ease, Rennard and Chase, brewers. 1
Bur. Rep. p. 2, says, " It hath bfeen well
obser\'ed that this act {viz. 5 Eliz. chap.
4.) is,
1. A penal law.
2. It is a restraint on natural right.
3. It is contrary to the general right
given by the common law of this kingdom.
4. The policy upon which this act was
made is from experience become doubt-
ful. Bad and xmskilful workmen are rare-
ly prosecuted. This act was made early
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when the
great number of manufacturers, who took
refuge in England after the duke of Alva's
prosecution, had brought trade and com-
merce with them, and enlarged our no-
tions. The restraint introduced by this
Jaw was thought unfavourable ; and the
judges, by a liberal interpretation, have
extended the qualification for exercising
Ihe trad<; much beyond the letter of it,
and confinedthe penalty and prohibition to
cases precisely witliin the express letter."
Burn's Justice, vol. i. Art. Apprentices.
od Modem Reports, p. 317. Judge Dol-
ben, in delivering his opinion, said, that
" No encouragement was ever given to
prosecutions upon the statute 5 Eli2. and
that it would be for the common good, if
it were repealed ; for no greater punisli-
ment can be to tlie seller, than to expose
to sale goods ill-wrought, for by such
means he will never sell more."
2 Salk. 613. The Queen v. Maddox.—
It was held by the court, " that upon in-
dictments upon the statute of 5 Eliz. the
following of a trade for seven years to be
sufficient without any holding ; this being
a hard law." And so held in Lord Ray-
mond, 738.
Burn's Justice. — " So detrimental was
this statute thought, that by 15 Car. n. all
persons spinning, or making cloth of hemp
or fla.\, or nets for fishing, or storin, or
cordage, might exercise those trades with-
oiit scr\ing apprenticeships. And so little
did the legislature, at subsequent periods,
think that any benefit was to be derived
from the statute of 5 Eliz. or that manu-
factures were made better, or improved
by this restraint ; and the minds of men
being more liberal, tliat trade should, as
m\ich as possible, be flung open; it is
enacted by 6 and 7 William III. that any
apprentice discovering two persons guilty
of coining, so as they are convicted, shall
be deemed a freeman, and may exercise
his trade as if he had served out his time."
And, in order still stronger to shew how
little the legislature esteemed the seven
years binding ameliorated manufactures.
it is enacted, by 3 George IIT. cap. 8, that
" All officers, marines, and soldiers, who
have been employed in his majesty's
service, and not deserted, may exercise
such trades as they are apt for, in any
town or place."
So dangerous and fatal has been the evil
of combinations and conspiracies among
journej'men, that in particular instances,
as in trades where maTiy hands are re-
quired and very little skill, as dyeing, and
such like, the legislature have made ex-
press laws to give relief to masters. See
17 Geo. III. cap. 33. ; which enables dyers,
in Middlesex, Essex, Stirrey, and Kent, to
employ journeymen who have not served
apprenticeships. And to s»ich a pitch has
this mischief in the West Riding of York-
shire increased, by the conspiracies facili-
tated by the act of 5 Eliz. that it goes to
the total annihilation of our staple manu-
factures, and every other trade which
hopes for success, not only by the home,
but from foreign consumption. See the
report from the committee of the House
of Commons, on the woollen trade and
manufacture of these kingdoms, made in
the last session of parliament, 4th July,
1806.
After stating the above, let us quote the
words of the immortal Lord Chief Justice
Coke on this point. — "That, at the com-
mon law, no man could be prohibited
from workin.s;' in any lawful trade : for the
law abhors idleness, the mother of all evil
— Otium omnhim vitionim muter — and espe-
cially in young men, who ought in their
j-outh (which is their seed time) to learn
lawful sciences and trades, which are pro-
fitable to tlie commonwealth, whereof
they might reap the benefit in their old
age : for ' idle in youth, poor in age'."
And therefore the common law abhors
all monopolies, which prohibit any from
working in any lawful trade. And that
appears in 2 Hen. V. 5 b. A dyer was
bound not to use the dyer's craft for two
years : and there Judge Hall held, "that
the bond was against the common law :
and by G — d, if the plaintiff" was here, he
should go to prison till he paid a fine to
the king." And vide 7 Edw. III. 65 b.
" And, if he who takes upon himself to
work is unskilfid, his ignorance is a suffi-
cient punishment to him, for impantia est
maxima mecaidcomm peena ,• et qidUhet qxix
rit in qnalibet arte pentos : which is, 'that
want of skill is the greatest punishment of
mechanics ; for everj' body will employ
those that are the best skilled in their bu-
siness.' And if any one takes upon him-
self to work, and spoils it, an action on the
case lies ag:unst him. "
APP
APP
Havini^ observed tlius much, and stated
the opinions of two such creat men as
Lord Coke and Lord Mansneld, we can
only add one dixit of Lord Coke's, that
" acts of parliament, wliich are made
against the freedom of trade, merchandiz-
ing, Jiandicrafts, and mysteries, never live
long." 4th Inst. 31.
It is to be obser>-ed tliat this very great
check upon trade, by not being able to
employ any hands that are able to perform
the work required, and especially in tliose
trades which are so easily learnt in a very
short space of time, greatly enhances the
prices of all articles, and that at atime when
population is daily increasing, and the de-
mand proportionably increasing. And this
statute is not only a restraining statute,
but also an enabling statute, as it empow-
ers the workmen to enter into combina-
tions against their masters, and to dictate
their own terms, encouraging vice, idle-
ness, and drunkenness ; demands being
made on tlie masters for an increase of
wages ; those demands supported by dan-
gerous combinations and conspiracies, and
eJrtorted by threats. And such increase,
when obtained, not applied for the whole-
some purpose of supporting themselves
and their families, but to that very de-
structive purpose, ruinous to their fami-
lies, and highly detrimental to the public
at large, the enabling of the parties to
spend more days of the week in idleness,
drunkenness, vice, and immorality. In
many manufactures, so much money is
extorted by the joumejinen, by means of
these combinations, from their employers,
that the journeymen will work but three
days in tlie week ; so that 600 are neces-
sarily required to do the work that 300
might do.
Until these laws, restricting the binding
of apprentices, are repealed, all lawsmadc
fortlie prevention of combinations among
workmen, can be of no avail, and will re-
main a dead letter in the law books : as in
this free country, (however that freedom
may be limited as to the checking of mas-
ters binding apprentices^, no law on this
point can be so worded, tnat the art, wick-
edness, and ingenuity of men, will not
contrive to defeat A bad and absurd law
is made, viz. tlie " Apprentice Act," which,
by the extension of trade, is found detri-
mental to trade ; and then, to do away the
mischiefs of that law, another absurd law
is made, viz. the law to prevent combina-
tion,— so tliat miscliief is heaped upon
mischief, and absurdity upon absurditj\
Trade should be as free as the air we
breathe. This is an axiom, the truth of
vhich every day convinces us.
VOL. I.
APPROACHES, in fortification, the
works thrown up by the besiegers, in or-
der to get nearer a fortress, without being
exposed to the enemy's cannon : such, in
a more particular manner, are tlie trenches,
which should be connected by parallels,
or lines of communication.
This is tlie most difficidt part of a siege,
and where most lives are lost. The ground
is disputed inch by inch, and it is of the
utmostimportance to make tlie approaches
with great caution, and to secure them as
much as possible.
The besieged frequently make counter-
approaches, to interrupt and defeat the
enemy's approaches.
APPROPRIATION, the annexing a be-
nefice to the proper and perpetual use of
a religious house, bishopric, college, &c.
Where the king is patron, he may make
appropriations himself; but in otlier cases,
after obtaining his licence in chancery",
the consent of the ordinarj', patron, and
incumbent, is requisite. Appropriations
cannot be assigned over, but tliose to
whom they are granted may make leases
of the profits. iTiere are in England 2845
impropriations.
APPROVER, in law, a person, who, be-
ing indicted of treason or felony, for which
he is not in prison, confesses the indict-
ment : and being sworn to reveal all the
treasons and felonies he knows, enters
before the coroner his appeal against all
Iiis partners in the crime. All persons may
be approvers, except peers of tlie realm,
persons attainted or treason or felony, or
out-lawed, infants, women, persons mm
compos, or in holy orders.
APPROXIMATION, in arithmetic and
algebra, the coming nearer and nearer to
a root, or other quantity sought, without
expecting to be ever ableto find it exactly.
There are several methods for doing this,
to be found in matlicmatical books, being
nothing but infinitely converging series,
some approaching quicker, others slower
towards the truth.
By such an approximation the value of a
quantity may be found, though not to the
utmost deg^e of exactness, yet sufficiently
so for practice. Thus ^2 = 1.41421356,
&c. = tlie approximating series 1 -f-
A + ik + TW7 + -nyltny + • «'*^-.*»'
supposing X = Ji , equal to tlic serits
4 1 4 2
-f .r— >-f4a:— 3+2jr— 44., &c.
Again, supposing n» -(- 6 to be a non-qua-
drate number, and a>-{-b to be a non-
cubic one } then will v/ a' + * = <» +
Oo
APT
APT
=ia+^ 6 nearly.
oa
There is a general method of investi-
gating the value of such series, for wliich
see Sehik<;.
APPULSE,in astronomy, the approach
of a planet towards a conjunction with the
sun, OB anv of the fixed stars. The ap-
pulsesof the planets to the fixed stars have
always been of great use to astronomers,
in order to fix the places of the former.
The ancients, wanting an easj" method of
comparing the planets with the ecliptic,
which is not visible, had scarce any Qther
way of fixing their situations, but bj' ob-
sening their tract among the fixed stars,
and remarking their appulses to some of
those visible points. Dr. Halley has pub-
lished a method of determining the places
of the planets, by observing their near
appulses to the fixed stars.
APPURTENANCES, in common law,
signify things corporeal and incorporeal,
that appertain to another thing as princi-
pal ; as hamlets to a manor, and common
of pasture and fishery. Things must agree
in nature and quahty to be appurtenent,
as a turbary, or a seat in a ctiurch, to a
house.
APRICOT, in botany, a species of pru-
nus, with rosaceous flowers, and a deU-
cious fleshy fruit, of aroundish figure. See
APRON, in gunnerj', the piece of
lead wliich covei-s the touch-hole of a
cannon.
The dimensions of aprons are as follows :
viz. for 42, 32, and 24 pounders, 15 inches
by 13 ; for 18, 12, and 9 pounders, 12 in-
ches by 10 ; and for cannon of less calibre,
10 inches by 8. They are tied by two
strings of white marline.
APSIS, ia asti'onomy, a term used indif-
ferently for either of the two points of a
planet's orbit, where it is at the greatest
or least distance from the sun or earth.
Hence the line connecting these points is
called the line of the apsides.
APTENODYTES, in ornithology, pen-
gidn, a genn.s of the order Anseres. The
bill is 'srrajght, rather compressed, and
sharp along the edges ; tl^ upper mandi-
ble is obliquely sidcated, lengthwise ; feet
palmated, shackled ; wings fin-shaped,
and without quill-feathers ; feet fettered,
four-toed. This genus resembles the alca
in colour, food, stupidity, eggs, nest, posi-
tions of legs behind the equilibrium, and
consequent erect posture. , They are to-
tally unfit for flight, but swim dexterously;
nostrils linear, hid in the gi*oove of the
bill, palate as well as the tongue beset
with a few rows of conic, retroflected,
stiff" papillae ; wings covered with a strong
broad membrane ; tail short, wedged, the
feathers very rigid. There are nine species
accoi-dlngto Latham, but Gmehn enume-
rates eleven.
This genus of birds seems to hold the
same place in the southern parts of the
world as the awks do in the northern,
and are by no means to be confounded
the one with the other, however authors
may diflTer in opinion in respect to this
matter. The penguin is seen onl)- in the
temperate and frigid zones, on that side of
the equator which it frequents ; and the
same is observed of the awk in the oppo-
site latitudes ; and neither of the genera
has yet been obser^'ed within the tropics.
The awk lias tioie wings and quills, though
small; the penguin mere fins only, instead
of wings. This last has four toes on each
foot ; but the former only three. The
penguin, while swimming, sinks quite
above the breast ; the head and neck only
appearing out of the water, rowing itself
along with its finny wings, as with oars ;
while the awk, in common with most other
birds, swims on the surface. Several other
circumstances peculiar to each might be
mentioned ; but we trust the above will
prove fully sufficient to characterize this
genus. The bodies of the penguin tribe
are commonly so well and closely covered
with feathers, that no wet can penetrate ;
and as they are in general excessively
fat, these circumstances united secure
them from the cold. They have often been
found above seven hundred leagues from
land ; and frequently on the mountains
of ice, on which they seem to ascend
without difficulty, as the soles of their
feet are very rough, and suited to the pur-
pose.
Aptenodytesantarctica, is full 25 inches
long, and weighs eleven or twelve pounds :
it inhabits the south sea from 48° to the
antarctic circle, and is frequently found on
the ice mountains and islands on which it
ascends. It is a numerous tribe ; and they
were found in great plenty in the Isle of
Desolation.
The black-footed penguin is found in
the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good
Hope, but particularly in Robbean or Pen-
guin Isles, near Saldaiiic Bay. Like all the
genus, this is an excellent swimmer and
diver ; but hops and flutters in a strange
and aukward manner on the land, and, if
hurried, stumbles perpetually; and fre-
quently runs for some distance like a qua-
CM^K
^
APTENODYTES.
dniped, making use of the wings instead
of legs, till it can recover its upright
posture; crjing out at the sanii'timc like
a goose, but in a much hoarser voice. It
is said to clamber some way up the rocks
in order to make a nest, in doing which
it has been observed to be assisted with
tlie bill. The eggs are 1 wo, and esteemed
at the Cape very delicious.
Aptenodytes chrysocome. This beauti-
ful species mea^iures twenty -three inches
in length. The bill is three inches long ;
the colour of it red, with a dark furrow
running along on each side to tlie tip ;
the upper mandible is curved at the end,
tlie under obtuse ; irides of a dull red ;
the head, neck, back, and sides are black;
over each eye a stripe of pale yellow fea-
thers, which lengthens into a crest be-
IiJnd, of near four inches in length : tlie
feathers on each side of the head, above
this stripe, are longer than the rest, and
stand upward, while tliose of the crest are
decumbent, but can be erected on each
side at will ; the wings, or rather fins, are
black on the outside, edged with white ;
on the inside white ; the breast, and all
tlie under parts, white ; the legs are
orange : claws duskj'. The female has a
streak of pale yellow over the eye, but it
is not prolonged into a crest behind as hi
the male, inhabits Falkland's Islands,
and was likewise met w ith in Kirguelin's
Land or Isle of Desolation, as well as at
Van Diemen's Land, and New Holland,
particularly in Adventure Bay. Are call-
ed Hopping Penguinsand Jum|)ing Jacks,
from their action of leaping quite out of
the water, on meeting with the least ob-
stacle, for three or four feet at least ; and
indeed, withoutany seeming cause, do the
same frequently, appearing'chiefly to ad-
vance by that means. This species seems
to have a greater air of hveliness in its
countenance than others, yet is in fact a
veiy stupid bird, so much so, as to suffer
itself to be knocked on the head witlj a
stick, when on land. "When angered, it
erects its crest in a beautiful manner.
These birds make their nests amongthose
of the pelican tribe, living in tolerable
harmony with them ; and lay seldom more
than one egg, which is white, and lai-^er
than that of a duck. They are mostly
seen by themselves, seldom mixing witn
other penguins, and often met with in
great numbers on the outer shores, where
they have been bred. .Vre frequently so
regardless as to suifer themselves to be
taken by the hand. The females of this
species lay their eggs in burrows, which
they easily form ot tiiemselves with their
bills, throAving out the dirt with their feet.
In these holes the eggs are deposited on
tlie bare earth. The general time of sitting
is in October ; but some of the species,
especially in the colder parts, do not sit
till December, or even January. How
long tliey sit is not known.
Aptenodytes magellanica, inhabits the
Straits of Magellan, Staaten Land, Terra
del Fuego, and the Falkland isies ; is a
very numerous species, and is often seen
by tliousands, retiring by night to the
highest parts of the islands. Its voice is
not mucn unlike the braying of an ass.
It is not a timid bird, for it will scarcely
get out of the way of any one ; but will
rather attack and bite aperson by the legs.
They were killed by hundreds by the
crews of Captain Cooke's expedition, and
were found not unpalatable food. They
often mix with the sea-wolves, among the
rushes, burrowing in holes like a fox.
When they swim, only the neck and
shoulders appear out ot the water, and
they advance with such agility, that no fish
seems able to follow tliem ; if they meet
with any obstacle, they leap four or five
feet out of the water ; and dipping into it
again continue tlieir rout. It is suppos*
ed by Latham that Penrose alludes to this
species, of which, he says the chief curi-
o.sity is the laying their eggfs ; this they
do in collective bodies, resorting in in-
credible numbers to certain spots, which
their long residence has freed from grass,
and to which were given the name of
towns. The eggs are rather larger than
those of a goose, and are laid in pairs.
They lay some time in No\-ember, driving
away the albatrosses, which have hatched
tlieir young in turn before them.
Aptenodytes patachonica. This is the
largest of the genusyet known, beingfour
feet three inches in length ; and stands
erect at least three feet ; the weight forty,
pounds. This species was first met with
in Falkland Islands, and has also been seen
in Kerguelen's Land, New Georgia, and
New Guinea. M. Bougainville caught one
which soon became so tame as to follow
and know the person who had care of it;
it fed on flesh, fish, and bread, but after a
time grew lean, pined away, and died.
The chief food, when at larg«, is thought
to be fish; the remains of which, as well
as crabs, shell-fish, and moUuscx, were
found in the stomach. This species is the
fattest of tlie tribe ; most so in January,
when they moult. Supposed to lay and
sit in October. Are met with in the most
deserted places. Their flesh is black,
though not venr unpalatable. This has
been considered as a solitary species, but
has now and then been met with in cov-
APT
APU
sulerable flocks. They are found in the
same places as the papuan penguins, and
not unfrequently mixed with them ; but in
general show a disposition of associating
with their own species. See Plate III.
Aves. fig. 6.
APTERA, in the Linnjean system of
zoology, the seventh and last order of In-
sects, the distinguishing characteristic of
which is, that the insects comprehended
in it have no wings. Of this order there
are three divisions. In A. the insects are
distinguished by having six legs ; head
dist'nct from the thorax : there are five
genera ; viz. the
Lepisma,
Pediculus,
Podui-a,
Pulex,
Termes.
In the division B, the insects have from
8 to 14 legs ; head and thorax united : of
these there are eight genera ; viz. the
Acarus, Monoculus,
Aranea, Oniscus,
Cancer, Phalangium,
Hydrachna, Scorpio.
In the division C, the legs are nume-
rous ; head distinct from the thorax ; of
which there are two species; viz the
Julus, and
Scolopendra.
This order comprehends all kinds of
spiders, the hce of different animals, scor-
pions and crabs. Upon these we may
make a few general observations. The
nets spread out by spiders, to catch their
prey, are composed of similar materials to
the silk of the sUk-worm, and are also
spun from the animal's body. The cob-
webs of the gossamer are frequently seen
floating in the mr in a sunny day, snd are
sometimes so abundant as to fall in show-
ers. Each of these has been compared to
a balloon transporting the little aeronaut
that formed it, by means of its specific
lightness. This speciesof spider attach-
ing its first formed thread to the leaf or
branch of a tree, by dropping to a certain
distance lengthens it, then climbs up the
thread, and dropping again, draws out
another, and so on, till a sufficient quan-
tity of this silk is formed to buoy the spi-
der up in the air. He then separates tiie
whole from tlie leaf, and running down to
his seat at the bottom, trusts himself and
his balloon to tlie mercy of the wind. Ma-
ny species of spiders effect the same thing
by attaching themselves to an eminence
by their claws, and after ejecting a suffi-
cient quantity of web, which is wafted on-
wards by the wind, they suddenly relax
their hold and appear to spring into the
air. By this method these animals are
transported fi-om ti-ee to tree, and from
wood to wood in search of food. The
cobwebs that are spread over the surface
of the grass, and tliat ofler so beautiful an
object to the eye early in the summer's
morning, through the brilliancy of the
dew-drops formed and suspended on their
silken threads, and the reflexion of the
sun's rays from each, are the work of
another species of spiders.
The different kinds of lice are exceed-
ingly numerou-S, almost every kind of ani-
mal having its particular sort of vermin.
They are all carnivorous, or perhaps ra-
ther sanguivorous insects, living on the
blood of other animals. Their eggs are
all nits. The Scorpio g'enus abound in
hot climates, and are troublesome in ne-
glected places, and where cleanliness i.s
not attended to. The crab tribes cast their
shells every year, and are then in a soft,
helpless state, unable to make resistance,
and therefore at that time become the<
prey of many kinds offish, when not pro-
vided with a guardian. It is a remarkable
fact, that the edible crab of the United
States, when in this state of imbecility,
places itself, for security, under the pro-
tection of one of its own species whose
shell is hard and firm. This confidence is
never misplaced ; his protector defends
him against every assault at the risk of
his own Ufe or limbs ; and even when
taken in the net, and thrown on shore, is
still firmly held by his faithful companion.
Their shells, but more especially uiose of
the class testacea, afford a principal con-
stituent in the fonnation of chalk-beds,
and beds of marl, which are formed at the
bottom of the sea. Specimens of entire
shells are frequently met with in chalk-
pits which are now many miles inland ;
and there is little doubt, ^at in a commi-
nuted state they form a principal ingredi-
ent in most calcareous earth. Under each
genus will be found an account of a few
of tl.e more remarkable species. See
AcARus, Akasea, Cancer, Scorpio, &c.
APUS, in astronomy, a constellation of
the southern hemisphere, placed near the
pole, between the Triangulum Australe
and the Chameleon, supposed to repre-
sent tlie bird of paradise. There are four
stare of the sixth, three of the fifth, and
four of the fourth magnitude, in the con-
stellation Apus. Dr. Halley, in 1677, ob-
AQU
AQU
served the longitude and latitude of tlie
stars in Apus, w hich Hevelius in his pro-
dromus reduced witli some alteration to
the year 1700. P. Noel has also given the
])laces of these stars, with tlieir right
ascensions and declinations for the year
1687, but his obsenations differ widely
from those of Dr. Halley. Hevelius has
represented the figure of Apus, and its
stars, in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum,
according to Halley's account ; Noel has
done the like, according to his own ac-
count. Wolfius, with what justice we will
not pretend to say, gives the preference
to this last.
AQUA fortis. Another name for Ni-
THic Acid, which see. This name is
applied to denote the common nitric acid
used by workmen, which often cont^ns a
slight portion of muriatic acid. See Che-
MI8TBT.
AaiA reffia, another name for the nitro
muriatic acid. See Mcbiatic Acid.
AQUEDUCT, a conthtU of -watery in
architecture and hydraulics, is a construc-
tion of stone or timber, built on an uneven
ground, to preserve the level of water,
and convey it, by a canal, from one place
to another. Some of these aquacducts are
visible, and others subterraneous. Those
of the former sort are constructed at a
great height, across vallies and marshes,
and supported by piers and ranges of
arclies. The latter are formed by pierc-
ing the mountains, and constructing them
below the surface of the eartli. They are
built of stone, brick, &c. and covered
above with vaulted roofs or flat stones,
serving to shelter the water from the sun
and rain. Of these aquzducts, some are
<louble, and others triple ; that is, sup-
ported on two or three ranges of arches.
Of the latter kind are tlie Pout-du-gard,
in Languedoc, supposed to have been built
by the Romans to carry water to the city
of Nismcs ; that of Constantinople, and
that which, according to Procopius, was
constructed by Cosroes, King of Persia,
near Petra, in Mingrclia, and which had
three conduits in the same direction, each
elevated above the other. Some of these
aquxducts were paved, and others con-
veyed the water through a natural chan-
nel of clay : and it was frequently con-
ducted by pipes of lead into reser\'oirs of
the same metal, or into troughs of hewn
stone. Aquzducts of every kind were
reckoned among the wonders of ancient
Rome ; their great number, and the im-
mense expense of bringing water 30, 40,
or 60, and even 100 nules, either upon
contmued arches, or by means of other
works, when it was nccessarj' to penetrate
mountains and rocks, may well astonish
us. If we consider the incredible quan*
tity of water brought to Hfjme for the uses
of the public, for fountains, baths, fish-
ponds, private houses, gardens and coun-
try-seats; if we represent to ourselves the
arches constructed at a great expense,
and carried on through a long distance,
mountains levelled, rocks cut tlirough,
and vallies filled up, it must be acknow-
ledged that there is nothing in the whole
world more wonderful. For 440 years,
the Romans contented themselves with,
the waters of the Tiber, and of the wells
and fountains in the city audits neighbour-
hood. But when tlie number of houses
and inhabitants wasconsiderably augment,
ed, tliey were obliged to bring water from
remote places by means of aquzducts.
Even Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula, and
Caraccalla, though in other respects not
of the best character, took care of the
city in this usefiU article. There are still
to be seen in the country about Rome
wonderful remains of the ancient aquz-
ducts, some elevated above the ground by
arches continued and raised one above
tlie otlier, and others subterraneous, pass-
ing through rocks ; such is that seen at
Vicovaro, beyond Tivoli, in which a ca-
nal pierces a rock to tlie extent of more
than a mile, and about five feet deep and
four broad. At certain distances vents
were provided, so tliat the water which
was accidentally obstructed in its passage,
might be discharged till its ordinary pas-
sage was cleared ; and in the canal of the
aquzduct itself there were cavities, into
which the water was precipitated, and
where it remained till its mud was depo-
sited; and ponds, in which it might purify
itself. In the construction of these aquz-
ducts, there was a considerable variety :
that called the Aqua Martia had an arch of
sixteen feet in diameter; it was construct-
ed of three kinds of stone, and was formed
with two canals, one above the other. The
most elevated was supplied by the wa-
ters of the Tiverone, and Anionovus; the
lowest by the Claudian water. The entire
edifice was 70 Roman feet high. The .ircli
of the aquzduct, which brought to Rome
the Claudian water, was constructed of
beautiful hewn stone. This is represent-
ed by Pliny as the most beautiful of all
that had been built for tlic use of Rome.
It conveyed the water through a vaulted
canal, through tlie distance of 40 miles,
and was so high, that it supplied all the
hills of the city. According to him, and
tJic computation of Bud zus, the charge of
this work amounted to 1^85,500 crowns.
AQU
AQU
This a^uaeduct was begun by Caligula,
and finished by Claudius, who brought
its watere from two springs, calted Caeru-
leus and Curtius. Vespasian, Titus, Mar-
cus Aurehus,and Antoninus Pius,repaired
and extended it : it is now called Aqua
Felice. The three chief aquxducts now
in being are those of the Aqua Vii'ginea,
Aqua Felice, and Aqua Paulina. The first
was repaired by Pope Paul IV. The se-
cond was constructed by Pope Sixtus V.
and is called from tlie name which he as-
sumed before he was exalted to the Papal
throne. It proceeds from Palaestrina at
the distance of twenty-two miles, and
discharges itself at the Fontana di Ter-
mini, which was also built at his expense,
and consists of three arches, supported
by four Corinthian pillars, and the water
gushes out through three large apertures.
Over the middle arch stands a beautiful
statue of Moses striking the rock with
his rod ; over another arch is a basso-re-
lievo of Aaron leading the people to the
miraculous springs in the wilderness , and
the tliird exhibits Gideon trying his sol-
diers by their drinking water. Round it
are four lions, two of marble, and the
other two of oriental granite, sjud to be
brought tliitherfi'om a temple of Serapis.
AU the four lions eject water,' and on the
front is an inscription, importing that this
aquacduct was begun in the first and com-
pleted in the third year of the pontificate
of Sixtus V. 1588. The third was repair-
ed by Pope Paul V. in the year 1612.
This divides itself into two principal chan-
nels, one of which supplies Mount Jani-
culus, and the other the Vatican find its
neighbourhood. It is conveyed through
the distance of thirty miles, from the dis-
trict of Bracciano, and three of its five
streams are not inferior to small rivei-s,
and sufficientto tiu-n a mill. The famous
aquxdncts of Constantinople, about six
miles from the village of Belgrade, were
built by Valentinian the First, Clearchus
being prsefect, and afterwards repaired by
Solyman the Magnificent, who exempted
twelve adjacent Greek villages from the
customaiy tribute of the empire, in con-
sideration of their keeping these aquae-
ducts in repair. Of these the most re-
markable are three large and lofty fabrics,
built over so many vallies betwixt the ad-
joining hills, of which the longest has
many but less arches, and may possibly
be the entire work of Solyman. The other
two have the appearance of a more an-
cient and regular architecture, consisting
of two rows of arches one over the other;
and those of the second were enclosed
by pillars cut through the middle, so as to
render tlie fabric both passable like a
bridge, and useful for the conveyance of
water. The more considerable of these
two consists of only four large arches,
each twenty yards long, and somewhat
above twenty high, supported by octan-
gular pillars of about 56 yards in circum-
ference towards the bottom. For an in-
quiiy into the nature and construction of
the aquaeducts of the Romans, see Go-
vernor Pownal's Notices and Descriptions
of Antiquities of the Provincia Romana
of Gaul, 4to. 1788. The aquaeduct built
by Lewis XIV. near Maintinon, for carry-
ing the River Bm*e to Versailles, is per-
haps the gi'eatest now in tlie world. It
is 7000 fathoms long, and its elevation
2560 fathoms ; containing 242 arcades.
AQUARIUS, in astronomy, a constel-
lation which makes the eleventh sign in
the zodiac, marked thus, 5jy. It consists
of 45 stars in Ptolemy's catalogue, of 41
in Tycho's, and in the Britannic catalogue .
of 108. ItwascaUed Aquarius, or the Wa-
ter-bearer, as some say, because, during
the sun's motion through this sign, it is
generally rainy weather.
AQUARTIA, in botany, a genus of the
Tetrandria Monogynia class and order.
Calyx campanulate; corol. wheel-shaped,
with linear segments; beiTy many -seeded.
There are two species.
AQUATIC, in natural history, an ap-
pellation given to such things as live or
grow in tlie water : thus we say, aquatic
animals, aquatic plants, &c.
AQUEOUS humour, or the wateiy hu-
mour of the eye; it is the first and outer-
most, and that which is less dense than
cither the vitreous or crystalline. It is
transparent and colourless like water, and
fills up the space that lies between the
cornea and the crystalline humour. See
Optics.
AQUILA, the eagle, in ornithology.
See Falco.
AnTJitA, in astronomy, a constellation
of the northern hemisphere, consisting of
15 stars in Ptolemy's catalogue, 19 in
Tycho Brahe's, 42 in that of Hevelius, and
71 in Flamstead's; tlie principal star being
Lxicida Aquiia, and is between tlie first
and second magnitude.
AQUILARIA, in botany, a large tree,
affecting a lofty situation. Class Decan-
dria Monogynia; cal. perianth one-leafed,
pennanent ; tube bell-shaped; limb five-
cleft ; clefts ovate, acute, flat, spreading ;
cor. none : nectary one-leafed, pitcher-
shaped, of the length of the tube of the
calyx, half five-cleft; clefts bifid, obtuse ;
AQU
ARA
sUm. filaments ten, alternating wiUi the
clefts of the nectary ; antliers oolong', ver-
satile; pist. germ ovate, superior ; style,
none ; stigma, simple ; per. capsule on a
very short pedicle, obovate, woody, two-
celled, two valved, with the partition con-
trary, and bipartite ; seeds solitary, ob-
long. There is but one species. Aquilaria
ovata ; leaves alternate, ovate mucronate.
This is a large tree covered with greyish
bark. Its leaves are entire, smooth, vein-
ed, about eight inches long, and stand
on short hairj- foot-stalks. The flowers
terminate the branches, on many-flower-
cd peduncles. A native of the mountains
of Malacca and Cochin-China. The wood
of this tree has been long used as a per-
fume ; and was formerly an article of the
materia medica under the name of agal-
lochum, lignum aloes, or aloes wood.
This wood in its natural state is white
and inodorous. That which possesses the
peculiar aroma, for which it is valued,
is supposed to be the consequence of a
diseased process in the tree, causing tlie
eleaginous particles to stagnate and con-
crete into a resin in the inner parts of the
trunk and branches, by which tlie natural
appearance of the wood is altered, so as
to become of a darker colour and of a fra-
grant smell. At leng^ the tree dies, and,
when splitten, the resinous part is taken
out. The perfumes whicli this wood af-
fords are highly esteemed by the oriental
nations ; and from the bark of the tree is
made tlie common paper which the Co-
chin-Chinese use for writing ; in the same
manner the Japanese make use of the
bark of a species of mulberry (moms pa-
pyrifera). This perfume is said to be
useful in vertigo and palsy : given in tlie'
form of powder, it is recommended to
restrain vomitings and alvine fluxes. To
us, however, it seemsto contain little else
than that camphoi-aceous matter common
to many other vegetable substances.
From its bitter taste it has the name of
aloes, altliough no otherwise allied to it
AQUILEGIA, columbine, in botany, a
genus of tlie Polyandria PentagjTiia class
of plants, having no calyx ; the corollli
consists of Ave plane, patent, equal petals^
of a lanceolate, ovate figure ; the nectaria
are five in number; they are equal, and
stand alternately with tlie petals ; the
fruit consists of five straight, parallel, cy-
lindric, accuminatcd capsules, each of
which consists of a single valve. The
seetls are numerous, oval, carinated, and
adhere to the suture. There are five
species.
ARA, in astronomy, a soutliem con«
stellation, consisting of ciglit stars.
AKABIS, in botany, leuU-o-oHa, a genu.t
of the Tctradinamia Sihquosa class of
plants, the calyx of which is a deciduous
perianthium, consisting of four ovato-ob-
long, acute, gibbous, concave leaves ; the
corolla consistsof four oval, patent, cruci-
form petals ; the fruit is a very long com*
pressed pod, containing several roundish
compressed seeds. There are twenty-one
species.
ARACHIS, in botany,^(rj<nrf-7iw/, a ge-
nus of tlie Diadelphia Decandria clxss of
plants, tlie flower of which is papilionace-
ous, and consists of three petals ; and its
fruit is an oblong unilocular pod, contract*
ed in the middle, and containing two ob-
long, obtuse, and gibbous seeds. There
is but one species, found in the Indies, a
tree, stem herbaceous.hairy, procumbent.
The branches ti-ail on the groimd, and the \
germ, after flowering, thrusts itself under
g^und, where the food is formed and
ripened.
ARACHNOIDES, in zoology, a name
given to tliose echini msu-ini.or sea-hedge-
hogs, which are of a circular form, but
variously indented at the edges. See
t CHINUS.
ARALIA, berry -bearing' angeKca, in bo-
tany, a genus of the Pentandria Pentagy-
nia class of plants, the flowers of which
are collected into an umbel, of a globose
figure, with a very small involucrum ; the
perianthium is very small, divided into
five pai-ts, and placed on tlie gfermen ; the
corolla consists of five, ovato-acute, ses-
sile, reflex petals, the fruit is a roundish,
coronated, striated berr}'; ha\-ing five
cells : the seeds are single, hard, and ob-
lo/ig. There are four divisions, viz. A.
leaves entire ; B. leaves lobed ; C. leaves
in finger-like divisions ; D. leaves decom-
pound, and more tlian decompound. In
the first tliere are three species; in the
second one ; in tlie third two ; and in the
fourth four.
AR.\NEA, in natural history, the »[ndei;
a genus of insects of the onler Aptera.
Gen. char, legs eight ; eyes eight, some-
times six; mouth furnished with two
hooks, or holders ; feelers two, jointed,
tlie tips of which in the male distinguish
the sex; abdomen terminated by papillx,
or teats, through which the insect draws
the tliread.
One of the largest of the European spi-
ders is the Aranea diadema of Linnxus,
which is extremely common in EngUnd,
and is chiefly seen during the autumnal
ARANEA.
eeason in gardens, fitc. The body of this
species, when fiill grown, is not much in-
ferior in size to a small hazel nut : the
abdomen is beautifully marked by a lon-
gitudinal series of round, or drop-shaped
milk-white spots, crossed by others of
similar appearance so as to represent, in
some degree, the pattern of a small dia-
dem. This spider, in the months of Sep-
tember and October, forms, in some con-
venient spot or sJielter, a large, ixAmd,
close, or thick web of yellow silk, in which
it deposits its eggs, guarding the round
web with a secondary one of a looser tex-
ture. The young are hatched in the en-
suing May, the parent insects dying to-
wards the close of autumn. The Aranea
diadema, being one of the largest of the
common spiders,serves to exempUfy some
of tlie principal characters of the genusin
a clearer manner than most others. At
the tip of the abdomen are placed five
papillae or teats, through which the insect
draws its thread ; and as each of these
papillae is furnished with a vast number
of foramina or outlets, disposed over its
whole surface, it follows, that what we
commonly term a spider's thread, is in
reality formed of a collection of a g^eat
many distinct ones, the animal possessing
the power of drawing out more or fewer
at pleasure ; and if it should draw from
all the foramina at once, the thread might
consist of many hundred distinct filaments.
The eyes, which are situated on the upper
])art or front of the thorax, are eight in
number, placed at a small distance from
each other, and having the appearance of
the stemmata in the generality of insects.
The fangs, or piercers, with which the
animal wounds its prey, are strong, curv-
ed, sharp-pointed, and each furnished on
the inside, near the tip, with a small ob-
long hole or slit, through which is eva-
cuated a poisonous fluid into the wound
madeby the point itself, these organs ope-
ralung in miniature on the same princi-
ple with the fangs in poisonous serpents.
The feet are of a highly curious structure ;
the two claws with which each is ter-
minated being furnished on its under side
with several parallelprocesses,resembling
the teeth of a comb, and enabling the ani-
mal to dispose and manage with the ut-
most facility the disposition of the threads
in its web, &c.
Aranea tarantula, or Tarantula spider,
of which so many idle recitals have been
detailed in the works of the learned, and
which, even to this day, continues in some
countries to exercise the faith and igno-
rance of the vulgar, is a native of the
warmer pai*ts of Italy, and other warm
European re^ons, and is generally found
in dry and sunny plains. It is the largest
of all the European spiders, but the ex-
traordinary symptoms supposed to ensue
from the bite of this insect, as well as
their supposed cure by the power of mu-
sic alone, are entirely fabulous, and arc-
now sufficiently exploded among all ra-
tional philosophers. The gigantic Aranea
avicularia, or Bird-catching spider, is not
uncommon in many parts of the East In-
dies and South America, where it resides
among trees, frequently seizing on small
birds, which it destroys by wounding with
its fangs, and afterwards sucking their
blood. During the early part of the last
century, a project was entertained by a
French gentleman, Monsieur Bon, of
Montpelier, of instituting a manufacture
of spiders' silk, and the royal Academy,
to which the scheme was proposed, ap-
pointed the ingenious Reaumur to repeat
the experiments of Monsieur Bon, in or-
der to ascertain how far the proposed
plan might be carried ; but, after making
the proper trials, Mr. Reaumur found it
to be impracticable, on account of the
natural disposition of these animals, which
is such as will by no means admit of their
living peaceably together In large num-
bers. Mr. Reaumur also computed that
663,522 spiders would scarcely furnish a
single pound of silk. Monsieur Bon, how-
ever, the first projector, carried his expe-
riments so far as to obtain two or three
pair of stockings and gloves of this silk ;
which were of an elegant grey colour, and
were presented as samples, to the Royal
Academy. It must be obser\-ed, that in
this manufacture it is the silk of the egg-
bags alone that can be used, being far
stronger than that of the webs. Monsieur
Bon collected twelve or tliirteen ounces
of these, and having caused them to be
well cleared of dust, by properly beating
with sticks, he washed them perfectly
clean in warm water. After tliis they
were laid to steep, in a large vessel, with
soap, saltpetre, and gum arable. The
whole was left to boil over a gentle fire
for three hours, and were aftenvards
again washed to get out the soap ; then
laid to dry for some days, after which
they were cai*ded, but with much smaller
cards than ordinary. The silk is easily
spun into a fine and strong thread : the
difficulty being only to collect the silk-
bags In sufficient quantity. There re-
mains one more particularity in the histo-
ry of spiders, inz. the power of flight. It
is principally in the autumnal season that
ARB
ARC
these diminutive adventurers ascend the
air, and coiitrilmtc to (ill it with that Infi-
nity of Hoatinjj cohwcbs which arc so pc-
iHiliarly coiisi)icuous at that period of the
year. When inclined to make these aerial
«ixciirsions,thc spider ascends some slight
tiniiicnce, as the top of a wall, or tJic
bmnch of a tree ; and turning itself with
its head towards the wind, ejaculates
several threads, and rising from its sta-
tion, commits itself to the gale, and i»
tlius carried far beyond the height of the
loftiest towers, and enjoys the pleasure
•f a clearer atmosphere. During their
flight it is probable that spiders employ
tliemselves in catching such minute wing-
ed insects us may happen to occur in their
progress ; and when satisfied with their
journey and their prey, they suffer them-
selves to fall, by contracting tlieir limbs,
and gradually disengaging thenxselves
from the thread which supports them.
See Plate I. Entomology, fig. 7 and 8.
AHAUCARIA, in botany, a genus of
the Dioecia Monadclphia class and order.
Male, calyx scales of an ament, terminated
i)\ a leaflet ; no corol. ; anthene 10 to
J 2, without filaments. Female, calyx, an
anient with many germs ; no corol. ; stig-
ma two-valved, unequal ; seeds numer-
ous, in a roundish cone.
AllBITER, in civil law, a judge nomi-
nated by the magistrate, or chosen volun-
tarily by two parties, in order to decide
their differences according to law.
The civilians make this difference be-
tween arbiter and arbitrator ; though
both ground their power on the compro-
mise of the parties, yet their liberty is dif-
ferent, for an arbiter is to judge accord-
ing to the usages of the law, but the arbi-
trator is permitted to use his own discre-
tion, ana accommodate the difference in
tlie manner tliat appears to him most just
and equitable.
ARBITRATION, a power givenby two
•r more contending parties to some per-
son or persons to determine tlie dispute
between them ; if the two do not agree, it
is usual to add, lliat another person be
railed as umpire, to whose sole jud^nent
it is then referred. The submission to
Jirbitration is tlie autliority given by the
parties in controversy to the arbitrators,
to determine and end their grievances ;
;uid this being a contnict or agreement,
must not be strictly taken, but largely,
according to the intent of the p&rties
submitted. Thei-eai-e five things incident
to an arbitration : 1. Matter of controver-
sy. 2. Submission. 3. Parties to the sub-
mission. 4. :Va'bitrators. 5. tiivlnp: up tJic
VOL. 1
arbitration. Matters relating to a free-
hold, debts due on bond, ami criioinid of-
fences, are not to be arbitrated.
ARBITRATOR, a j)rivate extraordina-
ry judge, chosen by the mutual consent
of parties, to determine controvej-sies be-
tween them. Arbitrators are to awaivl
what is equal between both partii '
the performance must be lawful :.
sible. An action of debt may be b. ...„..•.
for money adjudged to be paid by arbiira-
tors.
ARROR Diana. See Chemi.stiiy.
Amiior vil,s. See Thuja.
Arbor, in mechanics, the principal
part of a macliine which scnesto sustain
the rest ; also tlic axis or spindle on
which a machine turns, as the arbor of a
crane, windmill, &c.
ARBLTU.>, tlie gtrawbcnif-tree, in bo-
tany, a genus of the Decandria Monogjnia
class of plants, the calyx of which is a
very small, obtuse, permanent perianthi-
lun, divided into five se"-"- •••' ''>e corol-
la consists of a single i iividcd
also into five segments; ; round-
ish berry, containing five ceils, and small
osseous seeds. There are ten species.
ARC conceiUiic, is that which has the
same centre with another arc.
Arc i/iuriiiil, that part of a circle de-
scribed by a heavenly bo<ly between its
rising and setting; as the nocturnal arc is
that described between its setting and
rising: botlx these together are always
equal.
A Hi: s equal, those which conbun the
same number of degrees, and whose ra-
dii arc equal.
ARCA, in natund history, a genus of
worms of the order Testacea ; animal a
tethys ; shell bivalve, equivalve ; hinge
with numerous sharp tectli, alternately
inserted between each other. There arc,
a ' M Gmelin, 4 1 'ut they
li into foil v/r. A.
j»,...^.., .^.-y entire, hi..... .ved; B. ■
margin entire, beaks inHccted; C. margin
crenate, beaks recurved ; I), margin cre-
nate, beaks inflected: of tlie latter we shall
notice A. nucleus; shell obliquely ovate,
s: '''..'': ■ ■ ' '^-e ; in-
1, L' limes
i\, ; t.ov-
orcd V. h
it is wii ; . 'Y
trianguLu-, uiUi very fine {• tr
strisc, crosseil by a few arcli^ 'C
ones ; depression behind the Ot .iK, rieari-
shapcd.
Of the division C. is the A. antiquata,
wliich occurs fi-cquently on the coast of
. PP
ARC
•; ;.>fi |f/fir
ARC
the United States, and is in many places
called Bloody C/ciin ; when opened the in-
cluded liquid has a dirty red appearance;
shell ol)li(iuely heart-shaped, with numer-
ous unarmed grooves; it is white, but cov-
ered with a brownish hairy skin : the an-
terior slope with a compressed prominent
angle.
AliCFI, or Anc, in geometry, any part
of the ciiTumference ofacircle, or curved
line, lying from one point to anotlier, by
which the quantity of the whole circle or
line, or some otlier thing sought after,
may be gathered.
All angles are measured by arcs. For
this purpose an arc is described having its
centi-e in the point or vertex of the angle:
and as every circle is supposed to be di-
vided into 360°, an arc is estimated ac-
cording to the number of degrees which
it contains. Thus an ai'c is said to be of
30, 50, or 100 degrees, &,c.
Akch, in architecture, a concave build-
ing, witli a movdd bent in tlie fonn of a
curve, erected to support some structure.
Arches are either circular, elliptical, or
straight, as they are improperly called by
workmen. Circular arches are also of
three kinds : 1. Semicircular, which have
their centre in tlie middle of a line drawn
betwixt the feet of the arcli. 2. Scheme
or Skene, which are less th.an a semicircle,
containing some 90 and some 70 degrees.
3. Arches of the third and fourtli point,
consisting oftwo arches of a circle meet-
ing in an angle at the top, being drawn
from tlie division of a chord into three or
more parts at pleasure.
Elliptical arches consist of a semi-ellip-
sis, and have commonly a key-stone and
imposts: tliey are usually described by
workmen on three centres.
Straight arches are tliose used over
doors and windows, having plain straight
edges, both upper and under, which ai"e
parallel, but both the ends and joints point
towai-ds a centre.
The term arch is peculiarly usedfor the
space between two piers of a bridge, in-
tended for the passage of water, vessels,
&c.
Arch of eqiiilihraHon, is that which is
in equilibrium in all its parts, having no
tendency to break in any one part more
than in another ; and which is, therefore,
safer antt stronger than any other figure.
No other arch tliaii this can admit of a
horizontal line at top : it is of a form both
graceful and convenient, as it may be
made higher or lower at pleasure, with
the same span. All other arches require
extrados that are curved, more or less,
eitlicr up. wards or downwards ; of these.
tlie elliptical arch approaches the nearesffc
to that of equilibration for strength and
convenience, and it is the best form for
most bridges, as it can be made of any
height to the same span, its haunches be-,
ing at the same time sufficiently elevated
above tlie water, even when it is very flat
at top. Elliptical arches also appear bold-
er and lighter, are more uniformly strong,
and are cheaper than most others, as tliey
require less materials and labour. Of the
other curves, the cycloidal arch is next in
quality to the elliptical one, and lastly tlie
circle.
ARCHANGEL, in botany. See La-
MIUM.
ARCHES, or CouH of Arches, the
supreme court belonging to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbur}', to which appeals
lie from all the inferior courts within his
province.
ARCHETYPE, the first model of a
work which is copied after, to make ano-
ther like it. Among minters it is used for
the standard weight by which the others
are adjusted. The archetypal world,
among Platonists, means the woi-ld as it
existed in the idea of God, before tlie vi-
sible creation.
ARCHIL. SeeLiCHEK.
ARCHIMEDES, in biography, one of
the most celebrated matliematicians
among the ancients, who flourished about
250 years before Christ, being about 50
years later than Euclid. He was bom at
Syracuse in Sicily, and was related to
Hiero, who was then king of that city.
The matliematical genius of Archimedes
set him with such distinguished excel-
lence in the view of the world, as render-
ed him both the honour of his own age,
and tlie admiration of posterity. He was
indeed the prince of the ancient mathe-
maticians, being to them what Newton is
to the moderns, to whom in his genius
and character he bears a very near re-
semblance. He was frequently lost in a
kind of reverie, so as to appear hardly
sensible ; he would study for days and
nights together, neglecting his food ; and
Plutarch tells us that he used to be car-
ried to the baths by force. Many parti-
culars of his life, and works, mathemati-
cal and mechanical, are recorded by se-
veral of tlie ancients, as Polybius, Livy,
Plutarch, Pappus, &c. He was equally
skilled in all the sciences, astronomy,
geometry, mechanics, hydrostatics, op-
tics, &c. in all of which he excelled, and
made many and great inventions.
Archimedes, it is said, made a sphere
of glass, of a most surprising contrivance
ARCHIMEDES.
and workmanship, exhibiting the motions
of the heavenly bodies in a very pleasing
manner.
Many wonderful stories are told of his
discoveries, and of his very powerful and
curious macliines, &.c, Iliero once ad-
miring tlicm, Areliinicdes replied, these
eftects are nothing, " but give mc," said
he, " some other place to fix a machine
on, and I will move the earth." He fell
upon a curious device for discovering the
deceit which had been pr.ictised by a
workman, employed by the said hang
Iliero to make a golden crown. Iliero^
having a mind to make an oft'ering to the
gods of a golden crown, agreed for one
of great value, and weighed out the gold
to the artificer. After some time he
brought the crown home, of the full
weight; but it was afterwanls discovered
or suspected tliat a part of the gold had
been stolen, and the like weight of silver
substituted in its stead. Hiero, bcin^
angry at this imposition, desired Archi-
medes to take it into consideration, how
such a fraud might be certainly discover-
ed. While engaged in the solution of this
difficulty, he happened to go into the
bath ; where observing that a quantity of
water overflowed, equal to the bulk of
his body, it presently occurred to him,
that Hiero's question might be answered
by a like method ; upon which he leap-
ed out, and ran homeward, crjing out
ivpr,K»l ivgri%x\ 1 have found it out ! I
have found it out ! He then made two
masses, each of the same weight as the
crown, one of gold and the other of silven
this being done, he filled a vessel to 'the
brim with water,and put the silver mflssin-
to it, upon which a quantity of water over-
flowea c(jual to tlie bulk of tJic m:i.ss ;
tlien taking the nw-s.s of silver out he fill-
ed up the vessel again, measuring the
water exactly which he put in ; tliis
shewed him what measure of water an-
swered to a certain ouantity of silver.
Then he tried tlic fi-oUi in like manner,
and found that it caused a less quantity
of water to overflow, the gold being less
in bulk than t.'ie silver, tliough of the same
weight. He then filled the vessel a third
time, and putting in the crown itself, he
found th.it it caused more water to over-
flow than the golden mass of the same
weight, but less than the silver one ; so
that, finding its bulk between the two
masses of gold and silver, and that in
certain known pi-oportions, he was able
to compute the real quantities of gold
and silver in the crown, and so matufcstly
discovered the fraud.
Archimedes also contrived many n>;i-
chinesfor useful andl)eneficial purjioscs;
among these, engines for launching large
ships; screw pumps, for exhausting the
water out of ship.s, marshes or overflow-
ed lands, as Egy pt, &,c. which they would
do from any depth.
Rut he became most famous by his cu-
rious contrivances, by which the city of
SvTaciLse was so long defended, when be-
sieged by the Koman consul Marcellus ;
showering upon the enemy sometimes
long darts and stones of vast weight and
in great quantities; at other times lifting
their ships up into the air, that had come
nearthe walls, and dashing them to pieces
by letting them fall down again : nor
could they find their safety in removing
out of the reach of his cranes and levers,
for there he contrived to .set fire to tliem
with the rays of the sun reflected from
burning glasses.
However, notwithstanding all his art,
Syracuse was at length taken by storm,
and Archimedes was so very intent upon
some geometrical problcm,that he neither
heard the noise, nor reg.irded any thing
else, till a soldier that found him tracing
lines asked his name, and upon his re-
que.st to begone, and not disonler his
figures, slew him. ** What gave Marcel-
lus the greatest concern, says Plutarch,
was the unhappy fate of Archimedes, who
was ai that time in his museum ; and his
miml, as well as his eyes, so fixed and in-
tent upon some geometrical figures, that
he neither heard the noise and hurry of
the Romans, nor perceived the city to be
taken. In thedepth of study and contem-
plation,a soldier came suddenly upon him,
and commanded him to follow him to
Marcellus ; which he refusing to do, till
he had finished his problem, the soldier
in a rage drew his sword, and ran him
through." lAvy says he was slain by a
soldier, not knowing who he w:i.«, while
he was drawing schemes in the dust; that
Marcellus was grieved at his death, and
took care of his funeral; and made his
name a protection and honour to those
who could claim a relntionship to him.
His death it seems htppencd about the
142d or 14.1d Olympiad, or 210 years be-
fore the birth of Christ.
When Cicen) was (piKStor for Sicily,
he discovered the tomb of Archimedes,
all overgrown with bushes and brambles;
which he caused to be clean-d, and the
place set in onler. There M-ere a sphere
and cvlindercut upon it, with an inscrip-
tion, but the latter p:at of the verses were
quite worn out.
Many of the works of this great man
ARCHIMEDES.
ore still extaiit, tlioughthe greatest parts
of them are lost. The "pieces remaining
are as follow: 1. Twobooksonthe Sphere
and Cylinder. — 2. The Dimension of the
Circle, or Proportion between the Diame-
ter and the Circumference. — 3. Of Spiral
lines. — 4. Of Conoids and Spheroids. — 5.
Of Equiponderants, or Centresof Gravity.
— 6. The Quadrature of the Paraljola. —
7. Of Bodies floating on Fluids. — 8. Lem-
matn. — 9. Of the Number of the Sand.
Among tlie works of Archimedes which
are lost may be reckoned the descriptions
of the following inventions, which n)ay be
gathered from himself and other ancient
authors. 1. His account of the Method
which he employed to discover the Mix-
ture of Gold and Silver in the crown men-
tioned by V'itruvius. — 2. His Df.scviption
of tlie Cochleon, or engine to draw water
out of places where it is stagnated, still in
use under the name of Archinicdes's
Screw. Athenjeus, speaking of the pro-
digious ship buih by tlie order of lliero,
says, that Archimedes invented the cocli-
leon, by means of which the hold, notwith-
standing its depth, cottld be drained by
one man. And Diodorus Siculus says, that
he contrived this machine tg drain Eg) pt,
and that, by a wonderful mechanism, it
would exhaust the water from \uiy depth.
3. The Heli.y, by means of whicK, Athe-
nxus infonns us,he launchedlliero's great
ship.— 'I.; The Trispaston, which, accord-
ing to Tzetzes and Orlbasius, could diMw
the most stupendous weights. — 5. Tii*
Machines, which, according to Polybius,
Livy, and Plutarch, he used in the defence
of Syracuse against Mai'cellus, consisting
of Tormenta, Balistx, Catapults, Sagitta-
rii. Scorpions, Cranes, &c. — 6. His Bum-
ing Glasses, witli which he set fire to the
Roman gallies. — 7. His Pneumatic and
Hydrostatic Engines, concerning which
subjects he wrote some books, according
to Tzetzes, Pappus, and Turtullian. — 8.
His Sphere, wliich exhibited tlie celestial
motions. And probably many others.
A consideitible volume might be writ-
ten upon the curious methods and inven-
tion of Archimedes, that appear in his
mathematical writings now extant only.
He was the first who squared a curvilineal
space; unless Hipocrates be excepted on
accovmt of his liines. In his time the conic
sections were admitted into geometry, and
he applied himself closely to the measu-
ring of them, as well as other figures.
Accordingly he determined the relations
of spheres, spheroids, and conoids, to cy-
linders and cones; and the relations of
parabolas to rectilineal planes,whosequad-
Tatures liad long before been determined
by Euclid. He has left us also his attemjpts
upon the circle : he proved that a circle
is equal to a right-angled triangle whose
base is equaltothe circumference, and its
altitude equal to the radius; and conse-
quently, that its area is equal to the rec-
tangle of half the diameter and half tlie
circumference ; thus reducing the quad-
rature of tlfe circle to the determination
of the ratio betweenthe diameter and cir-
cumference; which determination how-
ever has never yet been done. Being disap-
pointed of the exact quadrature of the
circle, for want of the rectification of its cir-
cumference, which all his methods would
not eficct, he proceeded to assign :m
u.scfid approximation to it: this he effect-
cdby tlie numeral calculation of the peri-
metei*s of the inscribed and circumscribed
polygons: from which calcidation it ap-
pears that the perimeter of the circum-
scribed regular polygon of 192 sides is to
tiif diameterin a less ratio than tliat of 3-f
or 3iO to 1; and that the perimeter of the
7 0 , . . , .
inscribed polygon of 96 sidtsis to the di-
ameter in a greater ratio than that of
315. to 1 ; and consequently that the ra-
tio of the circumference to the diameter
liesbetween these tworatios. Now the first
ratio,of 31. to 1, reduced to whole num-
bers, gives that of 22 to 7, for 3^ = 1 —
22 : 7; which therefore is nearly the
ratio of the circumference to the diame-
ter. From this ratio between the circum-
ference and the diameter, Archimedes
computedthe approximate area of the cir-
cle, and he found tliat it is to the square
oT the diameter as 11 is to 14. He de-
ternvined also tlie relation between the
circle and eclipse with that of their simi-
lar parts. And it it probable that he like-
wise attempted tlie hyperbola; but it is
not to be expected that he met with any
success, since approximations to its area
are all that can be given by the \arious
methods that have since been invented.
Besides these figurts^he detennined tlie
measures of the spiral, described by a
point moving uniformly alnng a right line,
the line at the same time re\'olving with
a uniform angular motion; dttermining
the proportion of its area to that of the
circumscribed circle, as also the propor-
tion of their sectors.
Throughout the whole works of this
great man, we every where perceive the
deepest design, and the finest invention.
He seems to have been, with Euclid, ex-
ceedingly careful of admitting into his de-
monstrations nothing but principles per-
fectly geometrical and tmexceptionable :
ARCHITECTUIIE.
•nd aJthooph his most general method of
fJenioiisti-^ting the relations of curved fi-
rclaUoiis, he does not increase the num-
ber, and diminish the magnitude, of the
sides of tlie polygon ad injiidtum ; but
from this plain fundamental principle, al-
lowed in Euclid's Elements, {viz. tliat
any quantity may be so often multiplied,
or added to itself, as that the result shall
exceed any proposed finite quantity of
the same kind,^ he proves, that to deny
his figures to have the proposed relations
would involve an absurtlity. And when
he demonstrated many geometrical pro-
perties, particularly in the parabola, by
means of ccilain piH)gressions of mimbers,
whose terms are similar to the inscribed
figures ; this was Ktill done without con-
sidering such scries as continued ad infi-
nitum, and then collecting or summing up
iJieierms of such infinite sei-ies.
There ha\e bcin \ ui.ius editions of
,1,. ■ ■ ^'Writings of *.-' '•'•"^""^" '•"'
,1 lupletc of '
, , ,,v vw.v. .1, ill foho, li' , '"
^..„„..^w.i ,,.t»s, tJXTUui, I7t>2. This
edition was prepared ready for the press
by the learned Joseph Tore'!' '"
and in that st:ite pnsentcd ;
sity of Oxford. The Latin i ,;.... ,,
a new one. Torelli also wrote a pn face,
a commentar}' on some of the picrts, und
notes on the whole. An account of the
life and writings of Torelli is prefixed, by
Clemens Sibiliati. And at tlie end a
large appendix is added, in two parts ;
the first being a Commentarj- on Archi-
medes's paper upon Bodies tliat float on
Fluids, by the Kev. Adam Robertson, of
Christ Church College ; and the latter
is a large collection of various readings
in the manttscript works of Archimedes,
found in the library of tlie late King of
France, and of another at Florence, as
collated with the Dasil edition above
mentioned.
ARCHITECTURE.
General olttervcUions on the/astory andprac'
tice of Civil Architecture.
Alltlie variety of edifices appropriated
to the purposes of civil life is denominat-
ed Civil Architecture.
It is a very difficult matter for us at this
day to trace the earliest stage of tliis art,
80 indispensible to onr comfort and pro-
tection in a natural or civilized state, un-
til we find its permanence of construc-
tion fixed on the basis of science and pro-
portion.
The subterraneous cavern was without
doubt tlie first habitation of man. Who
cannot but contemplate witli astonish-
ment the vaincty of massy shapes, sup-
porting arched roofs, decorated witli in-
numerable surfaces of crjstalli/cd forms,
excelling in splendour of design and ar-
rangement the most magnificent produc-
tions of human art
All our impressions of wisdom, strength
and beauty, are derived from the exami-
nation of the works of the God of nature:
All our enci-gy in ai*t is employed to de-
duce fi-om these works the proximity of
man to his Creator, atid all our perfection
u humble acknowledgment of our im-
perfection.
In sculpture and painting, the closest
imitation of a model in nature at once
constitutes thf' excellence o^the artist.
In architecture, invention is employed
in the search of form and proportion, tljat
is not so immcdiatel}' obvious, owing to
the whimsicality in njattcrs of taste,
which is perhaps very justly regidated by
antique proportion.
Historj' furnishes us with very vague
and unsatisfactory accounts of the rise or
progress of this science ; although a vari-
ety of speculation has been indulged, to
locate and fix its origin and acra of con-
struction in India and Egj'pt, we are at
this late day left to doubt, whether the
eastern quarter of the world has any de-
cided claim to originality over that of
I'Sypt
The splendid excavations that consti-
tute the temples or sacred edifices of the
Hindoos, particularly the cave at Ele-
phanta, which is sculptured out of the
solid i-ock, exhibits a very early know-
ledge of the art with this barbarous peo-
ple. The cave is 120 feet square, and
contains four rows of massy pillars, re-
semblingafluted ballustrode, resting on ■
long right angidar plinth; the whole pillar
is surmounted by abroad projecting ca.
pital, in form of a flat vaso, richly and
highly decorated. C'i
busts in alto relievo ;
sides of the cavern, soiii^ >-
some with six arms, bearinj;
phies,andsymholsnfihdrm} I ^^ !:_
ARCHITECTURE.
^tar 18 situated in the centre of one of
the sides, tlie entrance to which is Riiard.
ed by two huge figures, bearing very lit-
tle resemblanoo t<. I.V.... — :.j.. -^.i-'
of an octagonal shape are sometimes
mounted on the backs of elephants, hor-
ses and tygers, supporting a coniice de-
corated with human figures sitting ci"oss-
legged. A gallery extends from pillar
to pillar, profusely sculptured v ith men
in acts of devotion to serpents, tygers,
and other animals. The base of the co-
lumns being an elephant (tlieir favourite
beast) sometimes displays a man astride
of the trunk, v/hich gives the general
mass the effect of being put in motion by
these mighty animals.
The whole may be considered original,
and peculiar to the habits of an unciviUz-
ed people, intuitively representing natn-
j"al objects of their rehgious devotion, in
crude, disproportioned sculpture
From the magnificent niins cf Perse-
polis in Pcrs'a, which, according to Le
Brun, originally consisted of 205 columns,
70 feet in height, we are alone enabled
to give any account of the ancient style of
architecture in that country ; for the cha-
racter and remains of this interesting pa-
lace, the world is indebted to the able re-
search of this gentleman, who has left no
stone unturned that cotild elucidate, or
bring to hght, a knowledge of the science
at that early day.
The arrangement, construction, and
proportions of Persepolis difier very ma-
terially from the Indian or Egyptian style
of budding, yet we find Egj ptian door-
ways at its entrance, and Indian sculptur-
ed excavation in the tomb of Darius.
The Persians held Egyptian mjlhology
in detestation, and it appears were not
devoted to the erection of sacred edifices,
as no remnant of a religions symbol, or
hieroglyphic, is to be found in their ruins;
but, on the contrary, they appear to have
been wholly absorbed in the erection of
gorgeous palaces and tombs.
Their sculptui-es are very numerous,
and consist of triumphal processions, of-
ferings of horses to the sun, and oxen to
the moon ; figures bearing the parasol,
and armed with tlie lance, in conflict with
the lion. The number of men and ani-
mals found on their tombs are nearly
thirteen hundred. Their columns have
no diminish, being uniform from top to
bottom, and thirteen diameters in height,
having a capital one-fourth their height,
carved in imitation of feathers tied or
banded with silk; being the materials with
^rhich eastern monarchs formed their
most splendid decorations. From the slen-
der make of these columns, and no frag-
ments of a cornice or roof being fouJir
that Persepolis was a summer residence,
and that they supported a temporary cov-
ering, slightlj- constructed of wood, and
lined with silken drapery.
These ruins bear incontrovertible evi-
dence of antiquity, with features distinct-
ly marked to characterise a separate
school of architecture. The devastation
whidi followed the conquest of Eg}pt by
Cambyses, whose jealousy of the perfec-
tion of the Egjptians in art and science
caused liim to prostrate their palaces and
temples, carrying off the artists as well as
the spoils to grace tliis palace, account^
verj' satisfactorily for the mixture of
Egyptian with Persepolitan ruiijs.
i'he whole of Upper Eg^pt furnishes
prodigies in science and art Their py-
ramids, palaces, temples, and excavated
sepulchres. Their system of liierogly-
phical sculpture is calculated to impress
us with a very elevated idea of that once
learned and powerful people ; m ho, not-
withstanding the inroads of frequent con-
querors, jealous of tlieir acquirements,
and laying waste their works of art, rose.
Phoenix like, from her ashes, invigorated
by persecution.
The pyramids of Cheops, Cephren, and
Mycerines, are alone sufficient to call
forth the attentionof mankind, as stupen-
dous monuments of industry and impe-
rishability. Although history can g^ve us
no satisfactory" date of tlieir construction,
many learned men have discussed their
antiquity, and concluded that Cheops,
which is the largest, (being 448 feet in
height and 728 feet square at the base)
was ejected 490 years before the first
Olympiad, or about 3000 years ago.
The researches of Denon, and the
French commission of arts, are the best
authorities that can be quoted on the sub-
ject of Egyptian architecture .- they have
examined with zeal and accuracy each
well collected fi-agment, under the pro-
tection of an armed force : we wiU there-
from proceed in giving a general outhne
of its particular cliaracter in Upper Egj'pt.
On approaching the edifices of Karnac
and Luxor, tlie fii-st grand masses of build-
ings are the moles, of an oblong plan,
with battering or tapering sides, from 50
to 60 feet in height, decorated on their
facade profusely with hieroglyphics, in
the front of which stand the obelisks, on
each side of the principal entrance, also
crowded with symbols of mythology.
ARCUITECTURE.
astronomy, history and ap-i culture. The of the mechanic powers totaDj' olwlet*
tapf rinp moles are cro^-ncd by a cavetto at tlie pr*^«-'"V > \u^ ;„Hprt«,rf,hle re-
_^ flat.!^.^entof a circle^ richly fl"tcd_ Jt>_onl};^fVonj,thc^de.yn^^^^^^^^^^
we are enabled to form anv distinct iJen
torus tliat covers tlie corners of the pile.
The entrance or tlo«)r-way is between the
mules, and is siimiouirtcd by a similar
cavetto over xi\e architrave, upon wliich
Is frequently carved the globe, wings, and
serjjent. This entrance opens into a
grand court, surrounded on all sides by a
portico, consisting of two ranges of co-
jumns, 48 in number ; at the extremity of
this court, and opposite the entrance, the
sanctuary is placed, and contains apart-
ments for the priests — ^two small porticos
or covered ways conduct to those of the
kings, and are distinguished by doors of
black granite. Otlier avenues lead to
buildings of considerable magnitude, or-
namented with rows or alleys of lions,
sphinxes and rams, from 15 to 16 feet in
length, couchant upon pedestals ten feet
asunder.
Some of their sculpture is merelvj a
deep cut outline, and is no doubt the first
dawning of the art. Basso relievo, semi
rehef, and alto relief, is every where to be
seen, producing bold and decisive cfiects.
Although a perfect uniformity exists in
all the edifices of Upper Eg>pt as to plan
and general arrangement, it appears they
were very capricious in the proportions
and sculpture of columns. The capitals of
the columns of the temple of Appolinipo-
lis.one of the largest and most magnificent
buildings in Egypt, has two rows of leaves,
bearing considerable resemblance to the
Corintliian of the Greeks. At the tombs
of Silsilis, the columns are in imitation of
bundles of reeds bound together at the top
by a coi-d, and gradually swelling into a
capital, ornamented with leaves and blos-
soms of the lotus, or lily of the Nile. At
Tentyi-a, one entire colunm of hierogly-
phics supports a capital, containing four
headsof the goddess Isjs. At the Memno-
niiim, human figures are used as columns,
called by the Greeks cariatides, at which
place the ruins of a statue 64 feet in
height is to be seen, and supposed to have
been tlu-own down by Cambyses.
Their edifices and statuary is princi-
pally composed of granite and sand stone
quarried upon the Nile, witli aqueducts
leading from them into the river, through
which means, and its aimual rise, the huge
masses of stone used in obelisks and co-
lunnis were flo.ited to their respective
situations ; but how these immense slabs
and blocks were raised upon terraces and
columns, of great height, is an exertion
of the progress of science with this learn-
ed people ; who are said to have invented
geometn', and applied its principles to
the motion of the heavenly bodies. At
Tentyra, the great circle of the sphere is
described upon the ceiling of the temple,
containing the twelve signs of the zod[iac,
with many otl\er ai^'.ronomical figures in
the surrounding spaces.
Their knowledge of geometr), and the
applicationof its principles to mechanics,
w :is astonishing, ti-oni the size and weight
of their materials, and principles of con-
stniction, by which they have ensured du-
rability ; and transmitted to postority 5
palaces and 34 temples, as monuments of
their science and industry 3000 years ago.
Upon an examination of the principles
and practice of the architecture of the
three coantries, India, Persia, and Egj'pt,
it will appeiu*, upon investigation, that the
edifices of Hindustan consist principally
of excavation, where the column and hu-
man figure are rudely can-ed, without re-
ference to proportion or the nature of the
subject, and although we cannot fail to be
disgusted witli the effect of the perform-
ance, we are compelled to admire their
imlustry. The resemblance of many
leading feature* of Hindoo architecture
to that of Egypt and Persia, particularly
those of Elephanta and Vellore, has in-
duced Sir Wdliam Jones and Dr. Robert-
son to conclude that the eastern cjuarter
of tlie world has a preferable claim to
originality ; and that all rudiments of
knowledge in the science was furnished
by India to both the other countries:
this is a mere matter of opinion, and can
only amount to evidence of an early inter-
course or communication of architectural
knowledge, as there is unquestionably
.sufficient distinction in the character and
]>roportions of the whole or parts to
form separate schools. That of India
may be characterized by circular outlines
resembling the pagmla of the Chinese.
The ancient Persian, consisting princi-
pally of edifices above ground wit h slender
columns of small diameter, lightly and
delicately decorated with feathers and
silk, ornamental pannels in basso relievo,
resembling die sumptuous corintliian of
the Romans.
That of Eg\'pt, grand and massy fe»'
tures, diminishing from tlie base upward,
forming pyramidal figui-c.s, remarkable
AttfcHITECTURE.
fcr sameness of character and proportion
Temples generaHy peripteral, that is. sur-
■mmded on all sides by coKnn
distance fi-o'" titTrv-cM,^*^-.,.^ —
XiOtus, Hawk, and Ibis, beir
■emblems, and purely their own. Upon
the whole, ■\ve may conclude that the
Egyptians borrowed no ideas, nor copied
the style or practice of any other nation.
A perfect uniformity in their sculpture
and facade is seen every where, from the
most ancient down to the destructive in-
road of Cambyses.
Before we proceed to pwntoutthe cha-
racter and sublimity of Greek ai-chitec-
ture, it will be necessary to give a few
g-eneral ideas as to the principles of the
science, and upon what Order is founded.
All the variety of objects that present
themselves to our view in the material
world, are considered beautiful or deform-
ed, in relation to their shape and size,
corresponding with the fitness of the parts
to the end designed. Proportion and
symmetiy always convey pleasureable
ideas ; and their adaptation to the ex-
pression of design should always coincide
with the uses of the object in view. Skill
and dexterity may be expressed, without
accommodation or correspondence to the
nature of the character, and must be ad-
mired as a part, without any reference to
the whole : thus a building may be
crowded with highly decorated mould-
ings and pannel-work, v. here tlie natui'e
of the subject is not consulted, and bjr
manj^ unacquainted with the science be
pronounced beaittifid, receiving the appel-
lation from a close examination of a par-
ticiUar part, when the fitness or proper
correspondence of the minutix ouglit to
be judged of with reference to the nature
of the subject.
Therefore the sensations of pleasure
that are felt, from the observance of an
object well proportioned, must owe their
existence to the proper distribution of all
the parts combined in unison," to the ex-
pression of a decided character. Objects
that are destitute of natural beauty are
made so when regarded in the light of
their uses.
The orders of ai-chitecture, in which
all the variety of genius and art has
evolved itself, and which is regulated by
settled.proportion, with such cei-tainty as
to defy and mock all attempts at innova-
tion, receive their sanction from the above
remarks on the obsei'vance of design ac-
commodating itself to uses; whereby
beauty and harmony is established.
There axe five orders i^. architecture*
viz, the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic; cioi-jnUiian,
and Composite. Tlvjse arc, properly
'id
iiidsi , uud coii.sjsts of tiiree grand divi-
sion.'i, viv;. the bn<;e, column, and entabla-
ture. * These s principles;
and the pro] se and shaft
are such, act.^iv.i,,.^ ..* v,. ; character of
the ottler, as appear, and are ab.solutely
adequate to the support of tlie entabla-
ture wluch rests upon them. The great
object derived fi-om the difference or va-
riety of the orders is, the fitness of their
respective parts to the support of the
crowning weight, which must appear evi-
dent to all who have paid the least atten-
tion to the subject.
It is rather astonishing from what cause
M'e feel pleasant sensations upon viewing
the Greek stmctures, whether it is the
, nature of the architecture itself that im-
parts pleasui-able ideas, orthe associations
connected with them, that calls forth our
admiration, knowing them to be reared
upon classic g^ouiid, and the relics of a
brave and enlightened people ; but cer.-
tain it is, tlicir science, skill, and taste in
the arts, fiir surpassed all other nations
before and since their time.
This singular and industrious people,
untraranaelled with tyranny, situated in a
rugged \ country, of fine, climate, and
aboiuiding with forests, gave full scope
to their inia.:jination in the construction of
wooden edifices ; in the prosecution of
which, the rude forest tree, covered with
a block or tile, suggested the idea of the
Doric order ; the beams laid horizontally
on the top, and projecting over the trunk
of the tree, and rafters risingto a point in
tlie centre, composed the leading features
of a primitive Greek edifice.
It has been supposed that the Greeks
were originally colonies of Egypt and
Persia, at the time when those empires
existed in g^eat splendour, and construct-
ed edifices of great magnificence ; being
also the countries fi"om whence their
sages drew their earliest information, ren-
dered it more than probable that they
borrowed their first ideas of building from
those places ; they unquestionably were
acquainted with the state of architecture
in those countries; but that they adopted
or applied tliis information is very doubt-
ful, from the circumstance of their mate-
rials, in the first instance, being altoge-
ther wood, and consequently requiring
differen*^ principles and practice in its ex-
ecution and arrangenient Stone edifices
ARCHITECTURE.
were afterwards constructed in conformi-
ty with the wooden model, and under-
went, at different periods of time, such
additional an-angement as their genius
and taste suggested.
The Greeks, untaught by their more
rich neighbours, abounding in granite,
porphyry, and marble, with a variety of
other local advantages, established a per-
fect school of architecture, by the inven-
tion of three complete orders, each having
a peculiar and separate character, calcu-
lated for all kinds of sti-uctures, ascending
from the most simple and robust, to tliose
of a more dehcate susceptibility of orna-
ihent; completing a perfect system in the
art, that defies all human attempts to sur-
pass or amend.
The most magnificent temple at Athens,
and one which exliibits tlie perfection of
Greek taste, is that dedicated to Minerva
Parthenon. It is situated on the summit
of the rock of the citadel, within the
AcropoUs, which appears as though na-
ture had formed it as a pedestal, express-
ly for the purpose of supporting tlie beau-
tiful edifices upon its crown. It was
executed under the direction of Phidias,
by Callicratcs and Ictinus ; and from the
description of Mr. Stuart, who spent se-
ven years in the faithful delineation of the
works of art in tliat once splendid city,
is a perfect specimen of tlie Doric order.
Its extreme length is 225 feet, and breadth
100 feet, surrounded by 46 columns, sup-
porting an entablature of 12 feet in height,
upon wliich is sculptured, in the finest
alto relievo, tlie wars between the LApi-
thac and the Centaurs. The frize which
surrounds the cell contains the Panathe-
naic procession of Charioteers, horeemen,
and the coronation of a youtliful victor in
the chariot races. On tlie eastern pedi-
ment is represented a convention of the
gods, consisting of five and twenty fi-
gures : Jupiter presides, and is in the act
of receiving liis daughter Minerva.
The blocks of stone with which the co-
lumns are formed, being six feet in dia-
meter, are so nicely and accurately
wrought, that the most strict scruUny is
required to discover the joints, being no
thicker than the finest hair. In order to
attain tlxis perfection, the marble is re-
duced to tlie proper size by the chisel,
aiiter which two pieces are rubbed one
upon the other, witli sand and water
placed between them as a cutting medi-
um, untd the top and bottom beds come
so closely in contact, as to exclude the
atmosphere, and bed themselves together.
After which process, the v were rcgidated
VOL. I.
by a square pivot of olive wood with as-
tonishing accuracy ; so much so, as to
give the whole pillar the eflect of having
passed tlirough a lathe.
Chauteaubriand, seated on a fragment
at the summit of the Acropolis, describes
the mins of the Pai-tlienon witli all the
enthusiasm of a poet and artist : " From
the summit of the Acropolis, I beheld
tlie sun rise between the two peaks of
mount Hymettus. The' crows, which
build their nests around tlie citadel, but
never soar to its summit, hovered below
us ; tlieir black and polished w ings were
tinged with roseate hues by the first ra-
diant beams of Aurora. Columns of light
blue smoke ascended in the shade along
tlie sides of the Hymettus. Athens, the
Acropolis, and the ruins of tlie Partlienon,
were coloured with the most beautiful
tints of peach blossom. The sculptures
of Phidias, struck horizontally by a ray
of gt)ld, started into life, and seemed to
move upon the marble, from tlie mobihty
of the shadows of reUef "
Athens abounds with numerous and
prodigious relices of the works of art.
Adjacent to tlie Pai-thenon stands the
temple of Neptune and Minerva Polias,
tlie temples of Theseus, Propylea, and
Jupiter Olympus, which was composed of
128 columns, sixty feet in heiglit ; the disr
tance round this temple is said to be hali"
a mile. The walls of the city extended
over a space of nine leagues, and broad
enough to admit of two chariots to run
abreast, being equal to the huge fortified
walls of the Romans.
Many of tliese masterpieces of antiqui-
ty, which excite tlie veneration of the
modern world, 120 yeai-s ago were per-
fect, and had suffered but little diiajiida-
tion from the attacks of time, until some
penetrative and investigating tinivellers
paid them a visit, more from curiosity
than information, and, not unlike children
with a new toy, bi"oke oflT the pivtty parts,
in oi'der to discover how it was made,
and, like Ulysses witJi his presents front
the Phoenicians, retuni home with large
chests full of stones, to enrich museums,
and tickle connoisseurs.
The most daring outrage of this kind
was committed by Lord Elgin, who em-
ployed the Turks to break off", and throw
down part of the frize and pediment of
the Parthenon. His sole object in bear-
ing off' the works of Phidias was, merely
to show the British nation the wonderful
degree of perfection the Greeks had ar-
rived to in the art of sculpture ; and, as a
further extenuation of his conduct, to
ARCHITECTURE.
presen-e th«m unimpaired by the hand of
Ignorant barbarism, so peculiar to Mus-
selmcn and Frenchmen : for which his
zeal and judgment, in literally robbing a
church, has received the warmest ac-
knowledgments of the British artists, who
still suHer him to keep an Italian merce-
nary in Greece, destroying and pilfering
what is termed the " Elgin Marbles."
Such inconsiderate love of the arts, con-
trasted witli the laudable exertions of the
Scientific Stuart, is truly disgusting. This
ingenious traveller was indefatigable in
drawing, measuring, and accurately de-
scribing these interesting works of anti-
quity, and devoted seven years in the ac-
comphsliment of a work that does honour
to the British arts, by transmitting to
posterity the genius and taste of the
Greeks, under the influence of Pericles
and Adrian; in the perusal of whose
pages we may exclaim, "There was a
tune, when Greece, when Athens, existed :
now neither is there an Athens in Greece,
nor is Greece itself any longer to be
found." And when we search for architec-
ture, we may find it buried in its own ruins.
The Romans were humble copiers of
Greek Arclutecture in every thing but
its simplicity; they laboured in compli-
cated forms, and dressed out the chaste
orders into unmeaning frivolities. Columns
"were coupled, and piled on columns,
enormous basements were erectedon the
tops of Poilicoes, crushing all beneath
with the superincumbent weight, plane
surfaces were intersected with fluted
pilasters, and the intermediate space filled
up, and enriched with tablets of fes-
toons, and perforated with stories of small
windows.
The Romans acquired all their know-
ledge of the arts by the prowess of their
arms ; and, not possessing any native taste,
acquired by the unremitting attempts of
rival artists, they could not be supposed
to select the most chaste features, but
eagerly seized upon the Corinthian, be-
ing the most sumptuous of the Greek
orders, and applied it in their public
buildings, almost to the total exclusion of
all others, inventing an order still more
rich and profuse, called the Composite,
which is compounded of the Corintliian
leaves, surmounted by the Ionic Echinus
and Volutes.
The edifices erected during the repub-
lican state of the country are known by
their simplicity and usefulness, while
those of the emperors are remarkable for
ornament The emperor Adrian jour-
neyed over all bis provinces, building and
restoring cities and public edifices. At
Athens he built the immense Temple of
Jupiter Olympus, repaired the gates of
the city, which by inscription he claimed
as his own. He built the aqueducts that
supplied the city of Corinth with water,
and the great wall across the Island of
Great Britain, from New-Castle to Carlisle.
The emperor Augustus said he found
Rome composed of brick, but he had>,
changed it into marble. Among the
numerous edifices constnicted during his
reign were, the Temple and Forum of
Mars the avenger ; Jupiter Tonans in the
capital pantheon, dedicated to all the
gods; and a temple to Minerva composed
entirely of brass; and he brought the
Aqua Virginis to Rome through an aque-
duct 14 mUes in length.
Dioclesian reared the stately Corinthian
in the ancient city of Tedmor in the
wilderness, built by Solomon, and called
by the Romans Palmyra.
Throughout the Roman dominions the
Corinthian was the prevailing order. The
Ionic appears to have been the favourite
order in Asia Minor ; the Corinthian in
the colonies of Rome ; and the sober
Doric every where the most ancient and
lasting of them all.
At Palmyra and Balbec their rectangu-
lar temples ai-e very extraordinary in point
of extent; and the superb style of deco-
ration to which their arts were carried —
the immense size of the materials in the
temple at Balbec ; is perhaps greater
than any employed in Egypt. In the
quarry without the walls of" the city lies
a stone 70 feet in length, and 14 feet
square, in the shape of a parallelopipedon,
containing 14,128 cubic feet, and weigh-
ing upwards of 1130 tons.
Although the Romans can claim but
little merit of originality in what relates
to civil architecture, the modern world is
very much indebted to them for a very
important feature in the science of build-
ing: that is, the invention of the arch,
which was entirely unknown to the
Greeks previous to the Roman con-
quest. The utiUty and grandeur of this
important invention is fully demonstrated
in the extensive vaults, domes, bridges,
and aqueducts, with which tlieir most su-
perb edifices were constructed and adorn-
ed, the judicious arrangement of which
never fails to produce the most pleasing
eflects, particularly when constructed on
an extended span.
The profuse introduction of arches in
the facades of edifices generally destroys
the effect of other features, composed of
ARCHITECTURE.
straight lines. The Romans became so
* enamoured with them, :is to spring' tliem
from the base capital of a column, which
is intciulod solely for perpendicular sup-
port ,and not to counteract lateral pressure.
From one absurdity to another more gross,
their original purity became almost ex-
tinct. The orders, which had already
become overloaded with ornament, were
scarcely able to support the unmeaning
trapping,s with which they were disguis-
ed, and theiringenuity, being almost with-
out bounds, discovered and added traits
to their character not much unlike the
Gothic. This anarchy in the state of
architecture was happily relieved by an
interregnum of the Gothic style, which
branched forth its delicate limbs and
bea»itiful tracery. A short time previous
to tlie incursions of the Goths and Huns,
a decidedly new character appeared in
the art. The basilicx of all the great
cities of the empire were converted into
christian churches, keeping up the same
form of rectangiJar parallelograms, di-
viding the cell mto aisles by two rows of
columns, with arches springing from their
capitals to support the roof; wings were
added to the flanks of these buildings,
forming on the ground plan the Latin
cross, which has continued to be the mo-
del of most christian churches to tliisday.
It is very certain that the declension of
Roman architecture began to make its
appearance in the reign of Constanstine,
slxortly after his conversion to Christianity ;
but it does not appear that he favoured or
promoted this style in the foundation of
his city of Constantinople.
During this period, until the sixteentli
centur}', Gothic architecture continued to
supplant all other styles, and during a few
centuries was practised throughout Eu-
rope. Charlemagne introduced it into
France, when manjr magnificent chiuthes
were erected, which continue to be the
ablest specimens of the style to this day.
The Roman style again revived, when the
term Gothic was applied, in derision, by
the Italian school of Palladio.
The variety offeatures it underwent, in
its application to chui'ch arcliitectui-c, has
given rise to many speculations of men
of science and learning, as to its rise and
•progress. One of tlie theories, and not
( an improbable one, is, that, during the
!* crusade, worship was conilucted in the
groves, and in order to procure shelter
and shade.they bent tlie limbs of oiJiJO.wte
limbs togetljer at the top, and bound
ihem at the intersection, thereby produc-
ing the pointed arch, a continuation of
which method from tree to tree would
furnish a complete Gothic arcade. Thr
Saxon and Norman Gothic was the first
practised, and seems to have been con-
structed with considerable reference to
the Roman style of its time. The pillars
massy, and consisting of several shafts,
cylindrical, and octagonal, supporting a
heavy decorated cornice, ornamented
with diamond net-work. The capitals
composed of leaves and flowers.
One of tlie finest features of this style,
and which in many instances form the
most striking ornaments of a city, is tlie
tall tapering spire ; they were fii-st built
of wood by the Normans, and since with
as much dexterity, by their descendants
in stone, as in SalisbuiT Tower and spire,
being 400 feet in height
The most remarkable property be-
longing to the Gothic is magnitude ; as it
never succeeds in producing its charac-
teristic beauties wnen projected on a
small scale, and should always be con-
structed of stone or woo<l.
Buildings of a public nature ought to
express, in the design, the uses and pur-
poses to which they are erected and ap-
f)ropriated, so that strangers, when tliey
lehold a church, bank, court-house,
prison, &c. may understand them to be
so, from some external characters, with-
out the aid of a painted sign or inscribed
tablet.
Allegorical representations, applied to
architecture, is a source through which
we always derive pleasure and informa-
tion, by calling forth the taste, judgment,
and literary acquirements, to the inter-
pretation of objects in the fine and dig-
nified arts. In a young countrj' like ours,
where its inhabitants are scattered over
an immense tract of territor>', a great por-
tion of which is unsettled and uncultivat-
ed; and where its only resources are
drawn from agriculture and commerce,
distributing and equalizing' wealth , it
cannot be reasonably expected that archi-
tectural works of great magnificence and
duration should be constructed, to bear
any kind of comparison with those exe-
cuted under the contpoul of a despotic,
power, where materials, labour, and
funds, arc directed by sovereignty and an
independent priesthood.
The associations of men of wealth for
the constniction of edifices of a public
nature, and in the establishment of insti-
tutions for the promotion of t^ '" !4
and sciences, are highly horn
t.aste and libenility of the A:: ..i-
racter : and it is entirely owing to such
objects and exertions, that we can trace
ARCHITECTURE.
the advancement of them in this country
to the summit of their present perfec-
tion.
The native enterprizeandperseverance
of the country at large, in the advance-
ment of science and art, lias fully evinced
itself in the many flourishing and popu-
lous cities spread over an immense con-
tinent, that two centuries ago was the
abode of man in a state of nature.
The splendid and extensive edifices at
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and
New-York, exhibit great taste in the
science of architectm-e. The capitol at
Washington is perhaps the gfreatest effort
of our republic, in point of extent and
workmanship, and reflects great credit
on the talents of Mr. Latrobe,'[the archi-
tect. The next in point of mag^iitude is
the city hall in New-York, and a number
of beautiful churches built of stone.
The Pennsylvaniabank in Philadelphia,
also from the designs of Mr. Latrobe, is
the most beautiful building on the conti-
nent, and is a perfect model of a Grecian
hexastyle temple ; it has never failed to
be universally admired, for its symmetry
and proportion. " The value attached to
■works of this nature may be judged of,
from the city of Ephesus refusing to suf-
fer the temple of Diana to be inscribed
with the name of Alexander the Great,
although that prince offered to purchase
that honour by defraying the whole ex-
pense attending its erection ; from the
Athenians rejecting a like offer from Pe-
ricles, with regard to the splendid and
extensive edifices with which he had or-
namented Athens ; and from the city of
Gnidia refusing to part with one statue,
the Venus of Praxiteles, although king
Nicomedes proposed to free them from
tribute, if they complied with the re-
quest." [Wm. Strickland, Architect.']
In the vast structures of Asia and Africa,
greatness of design, ponderosity of parts,
and stones of immense magnitude, seem
to have been more regarded than ele-
gance or utility : in all those great works
there is no trace of an arch, but what is
excavated out of the solid rock, or may
be made of a single stone. The Greeks
profess to have derived the knowledge of
architecture from the Egyptians, but the
art of building has been so much im-
proved by transplanting, thatscarcely any
trace of the original remains : their edi-
fices were at first constructed of wood
and clay, but they soon began to imitate
the wooden posts and beams of the origi-
nal hut in stone and marble : from this
iokitation arose the first order in architec-
ture, which also gave birth to two others.
This ingenious people, favoured by na-
ture with marble and other building ma-
terials, and, like the Egyptians, being
anxious to make their works durable,
employed very weighty stones in the
construction, which, although laid with-
out cement, as was the practice of all an-
cient nations, yet they were jointed with
the utmost accuracy, which is the reason
of the perfect state of their edifices at
this day. There is httle doubt but that
the Greeks were the inventors of the
arch, though they never considered it as
an ornament: it is only to be found in the
theatres and gymnasia, the apertures ^f
walls and intercolumns being linteled.
Greece, though a mild climate, is some-
times liable to rain : the architects of this
country, therefore, found it necessary to
raise the roofs of their edifices to a ridge
in the middle, the section being that of a
rectilineal isosceles triangle : tlie base
being the span or distance between the
opposite walls. This form of roof, called
a pediment roof, was frequently covered
with marble tiles.
The Grecians surpassed all contempo-
rary nations in the arts of design ; the re-
mains of their ancient structures are mo-
dels of imitation, and confessed standards
of excellence. They were the inventors
of three orders of architecture, of which
we have already hinted, and wliich we
shall detail in a subsequent part of this
article. The remains of their sculptures
far exceed that of any other people, and
are, even at this day, most perfect models.
Modem artists have no means so certain,
in attaining a just knowledge oftheirpro-
fession, as m the study of those exquisite
master-pieces.
The progress of Grecian architecture
appears to have occupied a period of
about three centuries, from tlie age of
Solon to the death of Alexander ; and in
this period it advanced rapidly, particu-
larly from the defeat of Xerxes to the
death of Pericles, at which time it attain-
ed its utmost degree of excellence, and
continued to flourish till the time it be-
came a Roman province.
Prior to the Macedonian conquest, all
the temples of Greece, and its colonies in
Sicily and Italy, appear to have been of
the Doric order : and of one general form,
though slightly varied in particidar parts,
asoccasionalcircumstancesmightrequire:
their plan was an oblong, having one co-
lumn more on the flank than double the
number of those in front.
The ancient Etmrians have left many
excellent moniunents of taste, and to them
ARCHITECTURE.
is generally ascribed the method of build-
ing with small stone and mortar, made of
calcareous stone ; and this seems proba-
ble, as the most ancient vestiges of ce-
mentitious buildings are to be found in
the country which the present Tuscans
inhabit.
They were employed by the Romans
in many public works ; the walls of the
city of Rome were made of hewn stone,
the capitol and the cloaca maxima are of
their construction ; the last of these is
esteemed a very extraordinary piece of
architecture, as Ls sufficiently proved by
its remains. To these people is attribu-
ted the invention of one of the orders of
architecture, called after them tlie Tus-
can.
We are told by Vitruvius, that the in-
tercolumns of their temples were wide,
and that they were Unteled with wooden
architraves.
The Romans appear to have had their
first knowledge of archirecture from the
Etrurians : but it was not till after the
conquest of Greece, that they acquired a
just relish for its beauties. It seems to
have attained to its highest degree of ex-
cellence in the reign of Augustus, and
continued to flourish till the seat of em-
pire was removed to Bizantium. The
works of the Romans were much more
numerous than those of any other people.
The remains of their palaces, theatres,
amphitheatres, baths, mausoleums, and
other works, excite at this day the admi-
ration and astonishment of everj- judicious
beholder. Their first temples were round
and \'aulted, and hence they are account-
ed the inventors of the dome. The plans
of their buildings were more varied than
those of the Greeks, who, excepting but
in a few instances of small, but beautiful,
specimens, such as the Tower of the
Wind.s, and the monument of Lycicrates,
erected their principal edifices upon rec-
tangidar plans. The Romans constructed
circular temples crowned with domes,
amphitlieatres upon elliptic plans, and
their theatres, and many other buildings,
upon mixt-lined plans. By this variety
they formed a style that was both elegant
and magnificent. But let it be remem-
bered,that, notwithstandingthc grandeur,
the magnitude, and number of their
works, their style was never so pure as
in the flourishing ages of Greece. Among
the Romans, entablattires were frequent-
ly omitted : columns were made to sup-
port arches and groined vaults ; arcades
were substituted for colonades, and vaults
for ceilings. In several of their most
magnificent public buildings, we find sto-
ries of arcades upon each other, or in the
same front with the solid parts of the ma-
sonrj', decorated with the orders, which,
instead of fanning an essential part in the
con.struction, are degratled to idle and
ostentatious ornaments. This is very con-
spicuous in the theatre of MarccUus, and
in the Coliseum.
It is probable that the arch wa.s invent-
ed in Greece, but was almost constantly
employed by the Romans, who not only
considered it neces.sary in the construc-
tion, but as an ornament, which they la-
vishly employed in the apertures of walls,
and in the ceilings over passages and
apartments of their buildings. Particu-
larly in the decline of the empire, from
the reign of Constantine, and upon the
establishment of Christianity, external
magnificence was every where sacrificed
to internal decoration. The purity of
taste in the arts of design declined rapid-
ly, and finally perished with the extinc
tion of the empire. The most beautiful
edifices, erected in the preceding reigns,
were divested of their ornaments, to de-
corate the churches. In this age of spo-
liation, architects, deficient in the know-
ledge of their professions, adopted the
most ready modes of construction : to ac-
compHsh this, many beautifid structures
were deprived of their columns, and
placed at wide intenals in the new build-
ings ; and over the capitals were thrown
arches for the support of the superstruc-
ture : most of the ornamental parts were
taken from other buildings, which were
spoiled for the purpose. The edifices of
Italy now assumed the same general fea-
tures as those which characterised the
middle ages. This disposition is the plan
of the Roman basilicas, but is more near-
ly allied, in the elevation, to the opposite
sides of the Egyptian oeci, which has also
the same plan as the basilica, and which
was of simdar construction to the churches
in after times, excepting in the want of
arches : both had a nave, with an aisle
upon each flank, separated from the nave
by a ran^e of columns, which supported
a wall, pierced with windows for lighting
the nave : against this wall, and over the
columns, were placed other attached co-
lumns. This, when roofed over with a
groined sealing, such as that of the Tem-
ple of Peace, will form the interior of a
building .similar to that of tl)e Saxon
churches.
The Corinthian order was the favourite
order among tlie Romnns, and, as far as
existing examples enal)lc us to judgv, the
only order well understood, and happily
executed.
ARCHITECTURE.
Whatwc now call tlie Composite order
is of Roman extraction : it was employed
in many of their buildings, but chiefly in
the triumphal arches: from what we find
in Vitruvius, it was never accounted a dis-
tinct order, but as a species of tlie Co-
rinthian only. The only existing exam-
ple that Rome affords, of the Doric order, is
that executed in tlietlieatre of Marseilles,
and, though in tlie age of Augustus, is
but a vitiated composition : the columns
are meagre and plain, divested of that
sublime grandeur and elegance which are
so conspicuous in the solidity and flutings
of tlie Grecian Doric. The dentils in tlie
cornice are too effeminate a substitute for
the masculine mutules, which are so cha-
racteristic of the origin of this order.
The Ionic in the same building is ill
executed. The channels of the volutes,
of the capitals, of the Ionic columns on the
Coliseum, and tlie dentil band of the cor-
nice, are not cut. The Ionic order of the
Temple of Fortune, though it has been
held out as a model, is ill propoitioned,
and the spirals of the volutes are im-
gracefully formed. The Ionic of the
Temple of Concord is out of character,
the volutes are insignificantly small, and
mutules supply tlie place of dentils in the
cornice. The Romans placed one oi"der
upon another, on the exterior, in the se-
veral stories of some of their buildings;
but the Greeks only employed them
around the cells of tlieir temples, fonning
a peristyle.
The Romans carried the method of ce-
inentitious buildingSxto the utmost degree
of perfection. Their most considerable
edifices had the facings of their walls, and
the arches and angles of brick, or small
ribble stones squared; the cores built
with pebble and rubble stones, grouted or
run with liquid mortar ; and at regular
intervals were strengthened with courses
of bond stones. This construction of
walls was frequently stuccoed, or incrust-
ed with marble. It is much more expe-
ditious and economical tlian that built of
wrought stone, which occasions a greater
waste of materials and loss of time. The
durability and solidity of the Roman ce-
mentitious buildings is such, that mortar
has acquired a hardness superior to the
stones which are connected by it. This,
when compared with the fragility and
crumbling nature of the mortar used by
modem builders, had led some to suppose
that the ancients possessed pi^ocesses in
the making of cements, which have, from
the lapse of time, been lost to the present
day. Hut the information and experi-
ments of ingenious men have exploded
Uiis opinion ; and there is no doubt, tJiat,
if proper attention be paid to tlie choice
of limestone and sand, to tlie burning of
the Ume, and above all, that care be taken
in the mixing and tempering these mate-
rials, workmen will be enabled to rival
those of Rome. This has been tried in
some instances, though the lapse of ages
maybe necessary to make the comparison
complete ; however, it will appear, from
the following account of Vitruvius, that
the metliod of making lime by the Ro-
mans was not veiy different from what it
is at the present day. *' Lime should be
burnt from white stone, or flint, of which
the thick and hard sort are more proper
for building walls, as those which are po-
rous are for plastering. When the lime
is burnt, the ingredients are thus to be
mixed : with three parts of pit sand, one
part of lime is to be mingled ; but if river
or sea sand is used, two parts of sand and
one of lime must be united; for in these
proportions the mortar will have a proper
consistence; if bricks, or tiles, pounded,
and sifted, be joined with river or pit
sand, to the quantity of a third part, it
wiU make the mortar stronger and fitter
for use."
The works of wrought stone of the Ro-
mans, as well as those of the Greeks, were
constructed without cement ; but cramps
and ligatures of ii-on and bronze were
used in great abundance. The use of
metal was not confined to cramps and
bolts, for they even constructed roofs of
bronze, which was also used in magnifi-
cent profusionin the decorations of build-
ings. It excites regi'et, to reflect that
the means employed by the ancients to
increase the beauty, and ensure the du-
ration of their edifices, have only, in ma-
ny instances, served to accelerate their
destruction.
These valuable materials have caused
much dilapidation, and more buildings
have been ruined by rapine, than by the
injuries of time. In the works of the
Greeks and the Romans, of hewn stone,
they appear to have wrought only the
beds of the stones, before they were
placed in tlie building, leaving the faces
to be worked after the completion of the
edifice. By this means, the arisses and
the mouldings were preserved from in-
jury, and tlie faces made exactly in the
saniie plane, or surface, which is not gene-
rally the case in the facings of our mo-
dem works. Our workmen pass them
over in the most slovenly manner, with
the greatest indifference, by rounding
the stones which happen to project at the
joints, which gives them a false and irre-
ARCHITECTURE.
Jfiilap appearance in sunshine. Ky this
means, also, the ancients diminished and
fluted their columns, which could not be
done with the same accuracy any other
way.
After the fall of the Roman empire, the
Goths, having- now the dominion of those
E laces formerly the seat of the arts, and
aving soon become converts to Christi-
anity, but having no established rules of
their own in the principles of architec-
ture, either built their churches in the
form of the Roman basilica, or converted
the basilica into churches. Architecture
continued during- their government with
little alteration, in the g-eneral forms, from
that which had been practised at the de-
cline of the Roman empire ; but igno-
rance in proportion, and a depraved taste
in the ornamental department, at last de-
prived their edifices of that symmetry
and beauty, which were so conspicuous
in the works of tlie ancients. However,
the knowledge of architectural elements
was still prcsened among them, and of
tlie various forms of vaulting used by the
Greeks and Romans, they adopted that
of groins or cross-arching.
From what has been said, it will be
easy to shew, that the Goths had no share
in the invention of that style of building
which still bears their name The archi-
tecture of Italy, at the time they ceased
to be a nation, was nothing but dehased
Roman, which was the archetype for the
first Saxon churches erected in this coun-
try. The term Gothic seems to have ori-
ginated, in Italy, with the restorers of the
Grecian style, and was applied, by the
followers of Palladio and Inigo Jones, to
jJl the structures erected in the interval
between the beginning of the twelfth and
end of the fifteenth centuries, probably
witli a view to stigmatize tliose beautiful
edifices, and to recover the ancient man-
ner. This term is therefore of modern ap-
plication : it was not used in Italy till the
pointed style had gained tlie summit of
perfection, nor yet in Kngland, when this
species of architecture ceased to be in
use, and the Grecian restored. This man-
ner of building, like most other arts, re-
quired a succession of ages to bring it to
maturity, and the principal cause which
seems to have cflected this wa.s, that de-
sire of novelty so inherent in the mind of
man to produce something new, and a to-
tal disregard to the proportions of ancient
edifices. Having now traced the Grecian
style from the place of its invention to its
decline in Italy, we shall follow the steps
by which tliis corrupted ill-proportioned
Italian style at last assumed a charactci
so different from the original, as to be-
come in a few centuries a distinct <" ■ '■
of architecture, which not only <
beautiful proportions, and eleg:»i
rations, but alsf) majestic gTiindeiu- aitd
sublimity in its fabrication. To do this
it will not be necessary to seek abroad
for those successive changes, as tlie dif-
ferent gradations can be distinctly traced
at home. The first Saxon churches here
were either constnicted, with however
rude imitation, after models of Roman
temples, which we may presume then re-
mained in Britain, or by foreigners brought
from Rome and France. The manner of
building at this time was called Roman,
the term Gothic not being applied till the
end of several centuries.
It has been observed, that a quadran-
gular walled enclosure, divided in the
breadth into three parts, by two colona-
ded arcades, supporting, on the imposts
of the arches, two other opposite higher
walls, through which the light descended
into the middle part, and upon which the
roof rested, was known to the Romans
before the Goths appeared in Italy. Now
this construction is the general outline
of the Saxon, Norman, and the pointed
styles of building churches, and is also
that foim of structure most advantageous
for lighting tlie interior, upon the same
Elan ; for, though the roof might have
een equally well supported by columns,
instead of the interior walls, and extend-
ing those of the exterior to the whole
height, the intensity of fight produced
from the same number of windows on the
sides, thus far removed from the middle
of the edifice, woidd have been greatly
diminished. It may also be farther ob-
served, that no other form of building
was so favourable for vaidting : for a
vaulted roof could neither have been
thrown to the whole breadth, nor in the
tliree compartments, without walls of
enormous thickness, which would not on-
ly have added to the breadth, but would
have been attended with prodigious addi-
tional expenses.
The Saxon style is easily recognized by
its massive columns and semicircular
arches, which usually spring from capi-
tals without the intervention of the enta-
blature. In the first Saxon buildings tlic
mouldings were extremely simple, the
gi>eater part consisting of fillets and plat-
bands, at right angles to each other, and
to the general fai^ade. The archivoUs
and imposts were similar to those found
in RoiDan edifices. The general plan and
ARCHITECTURE.
disposition of the latter Saxon churches
were as follow ; the chief entrance was at
the west end into the nave, at the upper
end of which was a cross, with the arms
of it extending north and south ; the east
end, containing the choir, terminated in a
semicircular form. A tower was erected
over the centre of the cross, and to con-
tain the bells another was frequently add-
ed, and sometimes two.
The large churches contained a nave
and two side aisles, one on each side of
the nave, and were divided into three
tiers or stories, the lower consisting of a
range of arcades on each side ; the middle,
a range of galleries between the roof and
the vaulting of the aisles; and the upper-
most, a range of windows. The pillars
were either square, polygonal, or circular.
Such was the thickness of the walls and
pillars, that buttresses were not necessa-
ry, neither were they in use. The aper-
tures are splayed from the muUions on
both sides. Tlie dressings are generally
placed on the sides of the splayed jambs
and heads of the arches, and but seldom
against the face of the walls, and when
this is the case, the projectures are not
very prominent. The dressings of the
jambs frequently consist of one, or seve-
ral, engaged columns upon each side.
The imposts, particularly those of the
windows, have frequently the appearance
of being a part of the wall itself. The
doors in general are formed in deep re-
cession, and a series of equidistant en-
gaged columns placed upon eacli jamb,
and were such, that two hoi-izontal
straight lines would pass through the ax-
is of each series, and would, if produced,
terminate in a point. Each column is at-
tached to a recess formed by two planes,
constituting an interior right angle. The
angle at the meetingof every two of these
recesses formed an exterior right angle,
which was sometimes obtunded, and fre-
quently hollowed The archivolts rest-
ing on the capitals of the columns are
fonned on the soffit shelving, like the
jambs below. The ornaments of columns
and mouldings are of very simple forms.
The rudely sculptured figures which of-
ten occur in door-cases, when the lieadof
the door itself is square, indicate a Ro-
man original, and are mostly referable to
an sera immediately preceding the con-
quest.
After the Norman conquest, the gene-
ral forms of the parts remained the same,
though the extent and dimensions of the
churches were gi-eatly enlarged ; the
vaultings became much more lofty, the
pillars of greater diameter, the ornaments
more frequent and elaborately finished ;
towers of very large dimensions and great
height were placed either in the centre,
or at the west end of the cathedral and
conventual churches. These were often
ornamented with arcades in tiers of small
intersecting arches on the outside. About
the end of the reign of Henry I. circular
arches, thick walls without prominent
buttresses, and massive pillars with a kind
of regular base and capital, generally pre-
vailed ; the capitals of the pillars were
often left plain, though there were a few
instances of sculptured capitals, foliage,
and animals. The shafts of the pillar.s
were usually plain cylinders, or had se-
micolumns .attached to them. The first
transition of the arch appears to have
taken place towards the close of the reign
of Stephen, its figure, which had hitherto
been circidar, becoming slightly pointed,
and the heavy single pillar made into a
pilastered cluster, which was at first ill
formed, but gradually assumed a more
elegant figure and graceful proportion,
the archivolts still retaining many of the
Saxon ornaments. It may here be ob-
served, that, antecedent to this period,
neither tabernacles nor niches with cano-
pies, statues in whole relief, pinnacles,
pediments, or spires, nor any tracery in
the vaultings, were used ; but at this time,
or soon after, these began to obtain. To-
wards the close of the 13th century, the
pillars, then supporting sharply pointed
arches, were much more slender; the
ceilings were seemingly sustained by
groined ribs, resting on the capitals of the
pillars, and the windows were lighted by
several openings, in place of one.
After the reign of Stephen, the circular
and pointed arches were frequently em-
ployed in the same building ; but tlie
pointed style, gaining more and more up-
on the circular, prevailed ultimately at
the close of the reign of Henry HI. and
prevented aU farther confusion of mixture.
The fu-chitecture of this age now exhibit-
ed uniformity of parts, justness of propor-
tions, and elegance of decoration ; the ar-
cades and pillars became numerous, the
single sliafts were divided into a multipli-
city of equal, slender, distinct shafts, con-
structed of purbeck marble, and collected
under one capital, luxuriantly decorated
with leaves of the palm-tree. The east
and west windows began to be widely ex-
panded ; these required a number of mul-
lions, which, as well as the ribs and tran-
somes of the vaulting, began to ramify,
from the springing of the arches, into a
ARCHITECTURE.
Mriety of tracerj', which was uniformly
ornamented with rosettes or polyfoil,cus-
J>idated figures, forming trefoils, quatrc-
bils, &c. Cunopies were inti-oduced over
the arches, and in rich work were deco-
rated with crockets and creeping- foliage,
and terminated in a flower. The but-
tresses were made in several diminished
stages towards the top, and mostly ter-
minated with purflcd pinnacles.
In the reign of Edward II. detached
columns were laid aside, and pillars, near-
ly of the same proportion as formerly,
with vertical or columnar mouldings
wrought out of the solid, were adopted.
The east and west windows were so en-
larged .'IS to take up nearly the whole
bre:ulth of the nave, and carriecf up al-
most as high as the vaulting, and were
be.tutifully ornamented with hvely colours
on stained glass.
In the early part of the reign of Eidward
III. arcades with low arches and sharp
points i)revailed ; over the arcades was ge-
nerally placed a row of open galleries,
originally introduced in Saxon churches.
About the end of the reign of Itichard
II-, A. D. 1399, the pillars became more
tall and slender, forming still more lofty
and open arcades ; the columns which
formed the cluster were of different dia-
meters, the capitals more complicated,
tlie vaults at the intersection of tlie ribs
were studded with knots of foliage, the
canopies of the arches were universally
purfled, and terminated witli a rich knot
of flowers : the pilastered buttresses
banking the sides were crowned with ela-
borate finials, the Hying buttresses were
formed on segments of circles, in order
to give them lightness, and strength at
the same time.
From the close of the 14th century no
remarkable change appears to have taken
place ; the grander members continued
their original dimensions and form, and
the ornament'd parts became distinguisli-
ed by greater richness :uid exuberance.
Another change took place in the reign
ofKdward IV. Its leading features are
principally to be seen in the vaultings, the
horizontal sections of which hud been
generally projecting right angles, but
were now arches of circles; the surface
of the vaults Ixiing sucjj as might be ge-
nerated by a concave curve revolving
round a vertical line, as an axis which was
immediately over the pillars. This spe-
cies of groining, unknown in preceding
ages, was favourable for a beautiful dis-
lay of tracery. Equi-distant concave
ribs in vertical planes were intersected bv
^ VOL. I.
horizontal convex circular ribs, and the
included panncLs were beautifully orna-
mented with cuK{)s, forming an infinite
variety of the most elegant tmccr)-, which,
from its appeai-ance, lias been denominat-
ed fan work.
From the commencement of the reign
of King Henry Vlll. a mixed or debased
«tyle beg^ui to take place, from our intei>-
course with tlie Italians. The ingenioiw
Mr. Britton, in his valuable architectural
antiquities of Great Britain, has classed
tlie various styles in the following order,
which we shall adopt, and shall be happy
to find the same appropriate terms adopt-
ed also in future pubhcations, wherever
ideas of the objects represeuted by Uiem
are tJie subjects of inquiry. We arc sen-
sible tills is tlie only means of facilitating
a knowledge of this study, by removing
equivocal words, and thereby making ar-
chitectural language intelligible.
Fimt S't/le. Anglo Saxon ; this M'ill em-
brace all buildings tliat were erected be-
tween tlie times of tlie conversion of the
Saxons and the Norman conquest, from
A. D. 599 to A. D. 1066.
Second Style. Anglo Norman, by which
will be meant, that style which prevailed
from 1066 to 1189, including tlie reigns of
\Mlliams I. and II., Uenrj' I., Stephen and
Henrv II.
Third Style. English, from 1 189 to 1272,
embracing the reigns of Richard I., John,
and Henry III.
Fourth Style. Decorated English, from
1272 to 1461, including the reigns of Ed-
waixls I., 11., 111., Eichard U., Henns IV.,
v., and VI.
Fifth Style. Highly decorated florid
English, from 1461 to 1509, including the
reigns of Edwards 1\ . and V., Kidiard
111., and Henry VII.
From this era we lose all sight of con-
gruity : and the public buildings erected
(luring tlie reigns of Henry \UI., Eliza-
beth, and James I., may be ciiaroctcrised
bv the terms of debased English, or An-
glo-Italian. Mr Britton observes, " tliat
during the intcrmc<liate time, when one
style was growing into repute and the
other sinking in favour, there will be found
a mixtuix' of both in one buihling, which
is not referable to either, and which hM
constituted the greatest problem in anti-
quarian science."
Before we leave this subject, it will be
nccessar)' to give some account of the
materials employed in the fabrication, and
of the principles in the construction of
those imnienhe piles, which at once unit-
ed grandeur, magnificence, and awful sub-
K r
ARCHITECTURE.
limity in their structure. In the erection
of these edifices, heavy cornices, entabla-
tures, andlintels, were omitted, and tliere
M'as seldom occasion to use any stones
lai'ger than a man might carry on his
back, up a ladder, from one scafibld to
another, though spoke wheels and pullies
were occasionally used. From the adop-
tion of such light materials, and the emu-
lation of the architects, edifices were
raised to an incredible height. Hence the
lofty towers, and the still more elevated
spires that occasion such awful grandeur,
and sublime sensations in the mind of the
astonished beholder. The ceilings of the
chtirches were formed by groined vault-
ing, a portion of the pressure of which
"was directed in the length to the ends,
and the remaining pressure to the spring-
ing points on the sides.
In the Roman buildings the walls were
most commonly without projections, and
of vast thickness, which was necessary in
a vaulted building, erected upon a recti-
lineal plan, in order to counteract the ef-
forts of the resisting arches. Hence, if
the building had been groined, the weight
of the arches would have been thrown
upon the springing points. From this it is
evident that a vast quantity of materials
must have been employed without effect ;
but this is not the case with the pointed
style of architecture, for the walls were
thickened by buttresses opposed only to
the pressing points ; and, to aid the re-
sistance with still more powerful effect,
the buttresses were surmounted with
high pinnacles, and, from their sloping
position, their general form was almost
one continued prop, in a straight line to
the bottom : this straight line was a tan-
gent to the arch. Those that understand
the nature of the centi*e of gravity will
easily perceive, tliat a plain wall will be
overturned with much more ease than one
with buttresses, of the same length and
height, tlie same quantity of materials
being employed in both. The extremity
of the aisles was sustained by strong pi-
lastered buttresses on the outside, and
the other extremity rested on the imposts
or capitals of the pillars. These pillars,
with their sviperincumbent walls, not be-
ing assisted as on the outside with but-
tresses, were liable to be bent with the
pressure of the arches, unless the sides
of the nave had been of sufficient thick-
ness, which, in many of our churche.s, ex-
perience has proved to be the contrary,
by the bending of the walls inwardly,
which is a serious defect, and threatens
ruin to many of those venerable piles of
building. We cannot therefore expect
these edifices to rival, in duration, the
immortal constructions of Egypt, Greece,
and Rome. As to the groining of the
nave, the arches were equally resisted on
both sides by the flying buttresses, which
pressed forcibly at the imposts of the
arches. It would appear, that the me-
thod practised in the erection of these
edifices was, to insert the springing stones
as the work went on, b»it to leave tlie
vaulting to be turned after the walls had
been carried up to their full height, and
the whole roofed in. The roofs of Gothic
buildings were very high pitched, a foi-m
more from choice than necessity, rather
adopted in compliance with the pointed
and pyramidal style of architectiu-e, than
rendered necessary by the climate, being
generally covered with lead. These roofs
are therefore faulty, in burdeningthe walls
with an unnecessary load of timber and
lead; and they are also deficient in the
construction, by the omission of tye-
b earns, to counteract their tendency to
spread and thrust out the walls.
After having thus discussed the several
styles of building, which have been gene-
rally and unmeaningly c]a.ssed under the
appellation of Gothic, we mu.st now make
a retrogression to Italy, where the Gre-
cian style had been revived for a consider
able time, and was flourishing in great
purity. Let us therefore reti-ace the steps
by which it again rose to its ancient splen-
dour and magnificence.
Fillipo Brunelleschi, born 1377, may be
looked upon as the restorer of ancient ar-
chitecture, and the founder of the modern
style.
After having prepared his mind by the
study of the writings of the ancient au-
thors, and the ruins of Roman edifices,
which he careftlly measured, he discover-
ed the orders, and recognized the simple
forms and constructions of the ancients,
and having thus formed a system upon un-
shaken principles, he was enabled to con-
stnict works with beauty, solidity and du-
rability. He ei-ected the dome of St.
Maria da Fiore at Florence, an undertak-
ing beyond the abilities of any other
builder tlxen living; Arnolfo, the originiJ
architect of this vast cathedral, having
been two years dead. This dome, rising
from an octangidar plan, is of great ele-
vation, and is only inferior in size to that
of St. Peter's. It is constructed by two
vaults, with a cavity between them, and
was erected without centering. It is the
only elevated dome supported by a wall
without buttresses. From this, and many
ARCHITECTURE.
other building* erected by Brunelleschi,
tlie learned began to study the works of
Vitruvius, and a general taste for the
principles of the art bejfan to warm the
breasts of the Italians.
Leo Battista Alberta, born A. D. 1398,
was the first modem author who publish-
ed a learned treatise on architecture, from
which lie lias acquired great reputation,
and is justly styled the modem Vitruvius.
Following the steps of Bninelleschi, he
reformed by his precepts and designs ma-
ny of tlie abuses and barbarous practices
wliich then prevailed among his country-
men.
Bramante had a considerable share in
the restoration of ancient ait, and built
many magnificent edifices. Pope Juhus
n. having projected the rebuilding of St.
Peter's upon a scale of unequalled mag-
nificence, entrusted the execution of the
design, 1513, to Bramante, who conceived
the idea of erecting the lofty cupola
upon that immense structure. This vast
undertaking was carried on successively
by Itaphael, San Gallo, and Michael An-
gelo,to whom tlie final design and com-
pletion of the work is principally due.
Arcliitecture continued to flourish in
the 16th ccnturj', under the great archi-
tects Vignola , Serlio, Palladio, and Sea.
mozzi. To the unremitted assiduity of
these distinguished arti.sts in the stU"^' of
the Roman edifices, and to their iiivalua-
ble publications, the world has been much
indebted for the elucidation of the prin-
ciples of ancient art.
The list of the celebrate'^ Italian artists
closes witli Bernini, who^ourished in the
17th century-
The Grecian style jf building was re-
vived in France in tlie beginning of the
16th century, anrf afterwards flourished
under sevei-al architects of distinguished
merit. Their principal works ai'e, the
palace of Wrsailles, St Cyr, the church
of Invahds, the Facade of the Louvre, a
most beautiful modern stmcture, the
Porte St. Dennis, and the church of Gene-
vieve, the present Pantheon.
Grecian architecture was restored in
England under the celebrated InigoJones,
born 1752. His distinguished works at
Greenwich, Whitehall, and Covent Gar-
den, will ever secure him a name among
the architects of the higliest reputation.
Sir Christopher Wi-en, an eminent ma-
thematician and philosopher, as well as
an architect of the first rank, has execu-
ted many of the finest buildings in Lon-
don, and other parts of England, in the
modem style. St Paul's cathedral, infe-
rior to none but St. Peter's, in point of
magnitude, but perhaps superior both in
skilful construction and hguration, wiU
perpetuatfc his name to the latest posteri-
ty. The exterior dome of St. Paul's is
constructed of wood, and sustained by a
cone of 18 inch brick-work, which also
supports the lantern above.
The interior dome is also constructed
of 18 inch brick work, whichhad a course
the whole thickness for every five feet,
and the intermediate parts had two bricks
in length in the thickness. This dome
was turned upon a centre, which support-
ed itself without any standanLs from be-
low. From the inchned position of its
supporting walls it had little or no trans-
verse pressure, yet, for the greater .secu-
rity, it was hooped with iron at the bot-
tom. This is accurately represented in
Gywn's Section.
Thougii modem architecture is, for the
far greater pai-t, indebted to tlie construc-
tions and dc«(»rations of Grecian and Ko-
man cdific«/S, yet we still retain consider-
able tracfs of the Gothic style m many of
our bui/dings.
Tbe spire is of Gothic invention ; it i$
imicated in our churches and some other
Iniildings, by erecUngone,ortwo, or a se-
ries of Grecian temples over each other,
every superior one beine less in its hori-
zontal dimensions than that immediately
below.
Fnistrums of pyramids and cones are
also the ornaments of our steeples ; but
whellier the component parts be one,
two, or aseries oftcmples, continually di-
minished, or temples supporting trunca-
ted pyramids, the general contour of the
aggregate is still pyramitlal.
The plans of Grecian buildings were
simple geometrical forms; butUiese of
our stmctures are symmetrical and com-
plex figures, more in imitation of those
of the Romans.
The materials u.sed in our modern buil-
dings are stone, brick and timber. In
rustic buildings, the stones are eitlur laid
dr)' or wiUi mortar. In finished edifices,
tlie stones of the facings are squared and
laid in mortar, and Uie backs und cores
are most gfenerally made up with brick
or rubble. Malls constructed entirely
of squared stones are rare : for, allowing
the materials may be easily procured in
great abundance, a vast expense will be
incurred by enormous additional work-
manship. This construction of walling is
therefore seldom or never used but in
aquatic buildings, where the g^atest
strength is frequently neccssarj'.
The French have not only shown much
ingenuity in the binding and ccmenthnr
AUCHITECTURE.
of walls, but also in the cutting of stones
vfith geometrical exactness, so as to fit
vaulted surfaces, of variously formed fi-
gures.
Iron is used for cramping stones, some-
limes in binding the face and back of a
wall together, when there is little heart.
In domes it is frequently used in circular
chains, in order to remove lateral pres-
sure, and make the weight of the super-
structure act perpendicularly upon the
supports. It is also used in fastening
wood together, and wood to stone work.
Timber is used also as ligatures to
walls ; in this situation it is called bond
timber, which also serves for securing
the internal finishings. Timber is fre-
quently used in foundations, in floors, in
roofing, in internal finishing, &c. Tim-
ber, besides being used in bond, flooring,
and roofing, in conjunction with stone or
brickwork, is sometimes used as the only
material, excepting the chiaaiues, nails,
and other iron fastenings.
Mouldings. In architectural decora-
lions, the materials are formed in\o a va-
riety of shapes ; which have in any iwo
places sections of equal and slmilai fi.
gures, at right angles to their surface, m
these two places ; thin forms of this pro-
perty are called mouldings.
"When the section is semicirculai", or
semielliptical, it is called a torus or astra-
gal : when large, it is called a torus ; and
when small, an astragul.
When the section is a concave curve,
and when the concavity recedes beyond
eillier of the extremities of the cun-e,
the mouldingis called a scotaa or trochilus.
When the section is concave, one ex-
tremity being above the other and the
upper extremity projecting out beyond
the lower, and when the lower extremity
recedes from a vertical line equal to the
greatest recess of the concavity, or more,
the moulding is called a cavetto.
When the section is a convex curve
with one extremity below the other j and
the upper extremity projecting farther
than the lower, without any part of the
convexity being lower than the lower ex-
tremity of the section, the moulding is
called an ovolo or echinus.
When the section is a curve of contra-
ry flexure, like a flat S, tlie movUding is
called an ogee ; and when the concave
part of the ogee projects, and the convex
part recedes, the ogee in this position is
called a sima recta: but when the parts
lie the contrary way, it is called a sima
inversa.
When the section is straight, and is
either perpendicular to the homon, or
nearly so, then the flat member is called
a fillet, plat-band, or facia, according to
its breadth and comparison with other
contiguous mouldings.
When it is very narrow, and either
crowns an upper moulding, or divides
one member from another, it is called a
fillet, or hstello ; when it is broader, it is
called a plat-band or phnth ; and when
very broad, it is called a facia or face.
Compound Mmtldiiigs. When one, two,
or a collection of mouldings, with or with-
out fillets, crown a broad flat member,
this collection is called a cymatium.
Other names are particularly applied to
the orders, and are explained under that
head.
ORDEBS OF ABCUITECTrBS.
An order is a decorated imitation of
those primitive huts, which consisted of
rows of posts, made of the trunks of trees,
disposed in the g^und around a quadran-
gular plat ; and supporting a covering,
which consisted of four lintelling beams,
placed on the top of the posts, with oilier
transverse beams, svipported again by two
of the opposite lintels: and lastly, of
three rows of transverse timbers support-
mg each other, and the lowermost sup-
ported by the ends of the transverse
bearas on each side, in parallel inclined
planes, rising from the ends of the trans-
verse be^ms, till each plane of timbers on
the one sifie met its corresponding plane
on the other -, the lowenno.sl timbers on
each side bein^ disposed in pairs, in the
same vertical plains with the transverse
beams, forming tne sides of a triangle,
and projecting beyohd the Untels, and the
uppermost inclined planes of timbers,
serving to fix the covering of tyle or
stone. From this simple construction
arose the first order of architecture
called
Doric Ordei: The columns were imi-
tated from the wooden posts tapering up-
wards, as trees do by nature, and placed
upon a stone base, to prevent them from
sinking : vertical channels, or flutes, were
cut in the shafts, to hold the spears, or
staves, which the early Greeks carried
along with them. The capital was form-
ed by circular stones, laid on the tops of
the columns, and square ones again upon
these, to protect the shafts from rain, and
to receive the hntelling beam, which be-"
came the arcliitrave : the ends of tlie
joists over the architrave were not in ver-
tical channels, forming the triglyphs, for
preventing the rain from adhering to
them. Tlie cornice was formed by the.
ARCHITECTURE.
projecting timbers of the roof; the ends
of tlie bottom tier of these timbers form-
ing the mutules: the lower sidi-sof which,
as well as the under side of tlie band of
the trigly phs, were cut into thin cylinders,
orconic frustrums, rcpresentingthc drops
of rain falling from the edges. These
parts, which at first resulted from the
primitive habitation, were afterwards con-
verted into more elegant decorations of
simple and natural forms. The general
figure of the Attic Doric consists of but
few parts, even as practised in the most
refined ages of Greece : the fluted shaft,
terminating with one, two, or three annu-
lar chamiels ; the capital, consisting of
the fillets, and a bold echinus, having the
same common axis with the shaft ; and the
crowning abacus form the entire column,
which therefore consists of a base and
shaft. The spacious architrave, resting
on the columns, consisting of a crowning
band, with the giittere and tenia pending
therefrom, under the triglyphs ,- tlie frize,
consisting of a capital, or cymatium, and
equidistant triglyph, leaving square re-
cesses between them, called metopes;
and the cornice, consisting of mutules
over tlie triglyphs and over the metopes ;
llie corona formed of a band and cyma-
tium above ; and the sima, or crowning
moulding, formed of a large ovolo and
fillet, compose the whole entablature ;
which therefore consists of a cornice,
frize, and architrave. This is the general
character of the Grecian Doric. It is al-
most constantly placed upon three steps,
proportioned to tlie height of the order,
and not to tlie human step ; the shafls of
the columns diminish, with a beautiful
curve line from tlie bottom to the cincture
below the annulets ; the flutes are with-
out fillets, of a circular or elUptic section,
and terminate immediately below the an-
nulets : the annulets of the capital most
commonly follow the contour of the ovo-
lo ; above them, the band, crowning the
top of the architrave, is one continued
string without breaks ; tlie guttx under
the regula, and under the mutules, are
generally of a cylindrical form, at least
tapering upwards in a very small degree.
The triglyphs are placed upon the ex-
tremities of the fnze, and not over the
axis of the extreme columns; and consist
of two whole channels, and two half ones
upon the edges ; the sides of each glyph,
or channel, are two vertical planes, meet-
ing each other in a right angle at the
back, and consequently the face of the
triglyph at 135 degrees on each side of
the glyph ; the tops of the channels :u-c
sometimes curved in the front, like a very
eccentric semi-ellipsis, placed with it»
greater axis horizontal, as in the temple
of Theseus ; and very frequently witn a
horizontal line, joined to each vertical
line at the side, with a quadrant of a cir-
cle, and the tops of the two half channels
on each edge of the trigl}-ph arc semi-
circular, not only in front, but in the pro-
files also, leaving the angle pendant at the
top, as in the temples of Mincr\a at
Athens, and at Sunium, and the" '■
of Jupiter Panellenius ; and son
the head of the glyph is horizont.,
the Doric portico at Athens, and in the
temple of Jupiter Nemzus, between Ar-
gos and Corinth.
In all these examples, the surface form-
ing tlie head of a glyph is perpendicular
to tlie front, or such tliat a right line, per-
pendicular to the face, and touching the
top line of the head in any point, will
coincide with the surface of the interior
of the glyph. The capital of tlie triglyphs
has a small projection on the face, which
is not returned on the edges, and de-
scends lower than tliat over tlie metopes;
though both are on the same level at the
top.
The mutules are thin parallelopipeds,
their lower surface making an acute angle
with the upright of tlie frize, in the same
manner as the under ends of the rafters
of the primitive hut would; the pendant
guttx, hung to them, are in three rows,
from front to rear, having six on the front,
and also in each of the two back rows.
The sofllit of the corona is parallel to that
of the mutules, and consequently makes
an acute angle witli the upright of the
frize also. The lower part of the corona
is most frequently wrought into a fillet .
its cymatium is diflerently formed in jlif-
ferent examples, but most freauently
with a small ovolo and fillet, both of whicJi
are channelled upwards, in order to pro-
duce a greater variety of light and sliade.
The sima, or crowning moulding, most
frequently consists of a large ovolo, and a
fillet over it.
The general proportions of the Doric
order are the following. The columns
arc six diameters in height: the superior
diameter is four-fiftlis, and the altitudinai
dimension of tlic capital two fifths of the
inferior diameter, includin; lets,
echinus, and abacus. I'hi the
capital is divided into tu .rts,
giving the upper one to il. ind
the lower one to tlie cchii;.. lUU-
Icts : divide tlic lower one into five parts,
giving one to the annulets, and four to
Uie ovolo : divide the height of the en-
tablaliu^ into four parts, giving one to
ARCHITECTLllE.
the cornice, which compi-eliends the dis-
Uuice between tlie fillet of the echinus or
crowning moulding and the under side of
the guttae ; divide the remaining three in-
to two equal parts, giving one to the
height of the frize, as seen in front, and
oik; to the architrave.
The Doric oi'der was the only order
known in Greece, or its colonies, anterior
to the Macedonian conquest. The Ionic
succeeded, and appears to have been the
favourite order, not only in Ionia, but all
over Asia Minor. The Corinthian (says
Mr. Wood) came next in vogue, and most
of the buildings of this order seem poste-
rior to the time of the conquest of those
countries by the Romans. The first Doric
building was the temple of Juno, erected
by Dorus, king of Achaia, and Pelopon-
nesus in the ancient city of Argos, from
whom this order derives its name. It was
also used in other cities of this prince's
dominions, but its proportions were not
established, till an Athenian colony erect-
ed a temple to Apollo Panionos, in Ionia,
so called from Ion, their leader, after tlie
form of the temples they had seen in
Achaia. In this building the relative di-
mensions of the columns were adjusted,
from the ratio which the foot of a man
bears to his height, making their diame-
ter one sixth part of their altitude.
Ionic Order. The ambitious desire of
novelty soon led the way to the invention
of another species; and, in erecting the
temple of Diana, they sought a new or-
der from similar traces, imitating the
proportion and dress of women. The
diameter of tiie columns was made an
eighth part of their height; the base was
inade with folds representing the shoe ;
the capitals with volutes, in foiin of the
curled hair worn upon the right and left;
and the cymatium, for the locks pending
on the forehead from the crown. This
new order they called Ionic, after the
name of the country in which it ,was in-
vented : so far we are informed by Vitru-
vius. It is probable, that, in erecting this
temple, the triglyjjhs and mutules, the
bold characteristic marks of the original
hut, would be omitted, and the more ^le-
licate dentils, representing the ends of
the lath to which the tyles were fixed,
employed, representing a beautiful row
of teeth ; for in all the ancient Ionian
fragments of this order we find the cor-
nices constantly denticulated, and there-
fore the dentils are no less characteristic
marks than the capitals: they are gene-
rally omitted, however, in the remains of
those to be found at Athens. The otlier
parts and proportions of the Ionian order
are more arbitrary than in the Dorian.
The pails of the Ionic oi-der on the tem-
ple by the llyssus are few, and of a bold
character; the height of the volutes is
three-fifths, and the whole height of the
capital two-thirds, of the diameter of the
column.
The architrave consists of one broad
facia, and its crowning cymatium : the
parts of'thc cornice as seen in front are,
the corona, including its cjmatium, and
sima. The capital, or cymatium of the
frize, is wrought under the cornice, and
consists of a sima re versa, and bead below
it. The height of the architrave is about
two-fifths of the entablature ; and by divid-
ing the upper three-fifths again into five
parts, the plain part of the frize will
occupy three parts, and tlie cornice two
parts.
In the Ionic order of the temple of
Erechtheus, and of the temple of Minerva
Polias, the architrave consists of three fa-
cise, and cymatium ; the cymatium of the
frize is mostly wrought under the corona.
If the height of the entablature from the
bottom of the lower fiicia to the top of
the cymatium of the corona be divided
into nineteen parts, the architi-ave and
the part of the frize that is seen will each
be eight parts, and the corona, including
the larymer and cj'matium, the other
three parts. The volutes of the capitzds
of these orders, both for singularity and
beauty, exceed every other remain of an-
tiquity.
The Asiatic Ionian order differs great-
ly from the Attic one. In most of the re-
mains of this order, as represented in the
Ionian antiquities, the frizes are all M-ant-
ing, except in one examjjle ; and conse-
quently the whole height of tlie entabla-
ture of those without the frizes cannot be
ascertained, though the architraves and
cornices belonging to each other have
been accurately measured. The one
which has the entire entablature belongs
to the great theatre at Laodicea : the
frize is pulvinated, and is something less
in height tlian one-fifth of that of the en-
tablature. The architraves of the temple
of Bacchus at Teos, and the temple of
Minerva Polias at Prienne, are each divid-
ed into three facije below the cymatium.
In all the Asiatic Ionics the crowning
moulding is constantly a sima recta of a
less projection than it has height : the
dentils are never omitted, and their
height is nearly a mean proportion be-
tween the height of the sima rectii and
that of the larimer, corona, or drip, being
always greater than tlie height of the co-
rona, and less than that of the sima recta.
ARCHITECTURE.
The cjTnatium of the denticulated band is
wrought almost entirely out of the soffit
of the corona, or recessed npwaixls, and
consequently its elevation is alniost con-
cealed. The height of the cornice, from
the top of the sima to tlie lower edjjc of
the dentils, is equal, or very nearly so, to
that of the architrave. The altitude of
the frize, without its cymatium, or upper
moulding^, may be supposed to be about
a fourth part of tlie whole entablature;
for if higher than this, the entablature
would be too great a portion of the co-
lumns for any analogy we are acquainted
with. In point of beautifid proportions
and elegant decorations, the entablatures
of these two last examples exceed every
other remain ; and though their pro-
portions are very difl'erenl from those
remaining at Atliens, yet they are still
pleasing.
In all the Grecian Ionics there seems
to be a constant ratio between the upper
part of the cornice, from the lower edge
of the corona upwards, and the height of
the entablature : thi.s is nearly as two to
nine. If these members were regulated
in any other manner, their breadths would
be so variable, as sometimes to be so di-
minutive that their forms could not be
perceived, and at other times so enlarged
as to overload the whole, when \-iewed
from a proper station. Indeed the great
recess of the mouldings under the coro-
na makes this a vcr} distinct division,
and on this account we never think the
cornice too clumsy, though the whole
denticulated band and cymatium of the
frize arc introduced below the cornice,
which seems to be the re:ison of so great
an apparent difference between the Asia-
tic and Attic Ionics. This order, as found
in the Ionian territorj', is complete; but
those at Athens are deficient, from their
want of the dentil band, though beautiful
in many other respects.
Modems have added a diameter to the
height of the Ionic column, making it
nine insteatl of eight. The shaft is gene-
rally striated into twenty -four flutes, and
as many fillets. The height of the enta-
blature in general may be two diameters;
but where grandeur as well as elegance
is required, it should not be le.ss tlian a
fourth. The base employed in the Athe-
nian Ionics consists of two tori, andasco-
tia or trochilus between them, and two
fillets, each separating tlie scotia from the
torus above and below : the fillet above
the torus generally projects as far as the
extremity of the ui)pcr torus, and the lo\r-
<^r fillet beyond the upper torus ; the sco-
tia IB very flat, and its secti<7r ■"' "':;•<■-
cune joining the fillet on i
tori andscotiaare nearly of < (
in the Ionic temple on the 11)mu:>, h bead
and fillet arc employed above tlu' upper
torus, joining the fillet to the scape of the
column: the upper tonis of the basis of
the same temple, and that of the b;i»i8 of
the temple of Erechteus, are both fluted,
preser\'ing the lower part, that joins the
upper surface of tlie fillet above the sco-
tia, entire. The upper scotia of the tcn»-
Ele of Minerva Polias is enriched with a
eautiful guilloche. The lower toms of
the base of ihe antx of the temple of
Erechteus is receded, and that of the base
of the antx of the temple of Minena Po-
lias is channelled with flutes, separated
from each other by two small cj lindric
mouldings of a quadrantal section, having
theirconvexities joining each other. This
form of a base is by Vitruvius vcr)' pro-
perly called tlie Attic base, being invent-
ed and employed by the Athenians in all
their Ionics. It was also adopted by the
Romans, and seems to have been their
most favourite base ; for it is not only
employed in all the examples of this or-
der at Rome, but most frequently in the
Corinthian and Composite orders also.
However, the proportions of the Attic
base, as employed by the Ronians, are dif-
ferent from that employed by the Greeks,
the upper torus of tlie former being al-
ways of a less height than the lower one,
both tori plain, and the scotia containing
a much deeper cavitj-. The proportion
of the bases of the Ionic and Coriiithi:m
orders on the Coliseum, tlic Ionic on tlie
theatre of Marcellus, and that on the
temple of Fortuna Vinlis at Rome, have
nearly that assigned by Vitrunus. The
Ionic bases, as employed in the temple of
Minerva Polias at Priene, and in that of
Apollo Dedymxus near Miletus, consist
of a large torus, three pair of astragals,
and two scotiz, inverted in re«'>'' ' <>♦"
each other. Tlie upper pair ol"
is disposed below the torus, and '
tix separate each pair of astragals lioui
each other. In the temple of Minerva
Polias an astragal is emploj ed above tlic
torus, separating it from the shaft; the
torus itself is formed eUiptitally, and the
under part of it is fluted : it lias also a
flute cut in the upper part, near to the
bea<l. In the temple of Apollo Dedymx-
us, the upper torus is of a semicircular
section and plain, and each bead of ever)-
Eair is .separated by a narrow fillet. The
ase of the Asiatic Ionics difl'ers little
from that which >itnivins appropriatesto
ARCHITOCTURfi.
this order. In the fonner the scotije are
inverted, which gives a greater variety in
the profile than when both stand in the
same position, as in the Vitruvian base.
The lonians, besides the base which they
appropriated to this oi-der, sometimes
used the Attic base also, as in the temple
of Bacchus at Teos. This base seems
not only to have been the most favourite
one among the ancients, but is likewise so
among the modems. It is not so heavy
in the upper part as that denominated
Ionic : its contour is pleasing, and its ge-
neral appearance elegant. In tlic capitals
of the Athenian Ionics, and in that of Mi-
nerva Polias at Priene, the lower edge of
the canal between the volutes is formed
into a graceful curve, bending downward
in the middle, and revolving round the
spirals which form the volute upon each
side. In the temple of Erectheus and
Minena Polias at Athens each volute has
two channels, formed by two spiral bor-
ders, and a spiral division betMeen them.
The border which forms the exterior of
the volute, and that which forms the un-
der side of the lower canal, leaves be-
tween them a deep recess, or spiral
groove, which continually diminishes in
its breadth till it is entirely lost on the
side of the eye. In the example of the
temple of Erectheus, the column is ter-
minated with a fillet and astragal a little
below the lower edges of the volutes, and
that of Minerva Polias in the same man-
ner with a single fillet ; and the colorino
or neck of each is charged with beautiful
honeysuckles, formed alike in alternate
succession, but diflPering from each other
in any two adjacent ones. The upper an-
nular moulding of the column is of a
semicircular section, andembeUished with
a guilloche. The echinus, astragal, and
fillet, are common to both Grecian and
Roman Ionic capitals, and the echinus is
uniformly cut into eggs, surrounded with
borders of angular sections, and into
tongues between every two borders. The
astragal is formed into a row of beads,
■with two small ones between everj- two
large ones. These mouldings are cut in
a similar manner in all the Koman build-
ings, except tlie Coliseum, and what re-
lates to tlie taste of the foliage. In the
temple of Bacchus at Teos, the great
theatre at Laodicea, and in all the Roman
Ionics, tlie channel connccling the two vo-
lutes is not formed with a border on the
lower edge, but is terminated with a ho-
rizontal Ime, which falls a tangent to the
second revolution of each voute at the
commencement of tliis revolution. The
reader will find the description of the vo-
lute among the descriptions of the plates.
When columns are introduced in the
flanks of a building' as well as in the
front, one of the capitals of each angular
column is made to face both the conti-
guous sides of the building, with two vo-
lutes upon each side, projecting the two
adjacent volutes, by bending them in a
concave curve towards the angle, as in
the temple of Bacchus at Teos, of Miner-
va Polias at Priene, of Erectheus, and
that on the Ilyssus at Athens, as also that
of the Manly Fortune at Rome. The ca-
pitals of all the columns are sometimes
made to face the four sides of the abacus
alike on each side, as in the temple of
Concord at Rome, from which example
the Scammozzian capital was formed.
The ancients employed thisorderin tem-
ples dedicated to Juno, Bacchus, Diana,
and other deities, whose character held
a medium between the severe and the
effeminate ; and the modems employ it
in churches consecrated to female saints
in a matronal state ; also in courts of jus-
tice, seminaries, libraries, and other
structures which have a relation to the
arts.
Corrntfdan Order. The invention of this
order was attributed to one Callimachus,
an Athenian sculptor, who, passing by
the tomb of a young lady, observed an
acanthus growmg up by the sides of a
basket, which was covered with a tile and
placed upon the tomb, and that the tops
of the leaves were bent dowTiwards by
the resistance of the tile, took the hint,
and executed some columns with foliated
capitals, near Corinth, which were made
still of a more slender proportion than
the Ionic, imitating the figiire and delica-
cy of virgins. Vitruvius mentions that
the shafts of Corinthian columns have the
same symmetry as the Ionic, and that the
difference of the symmetry between the
entire columns arises only from the dif-
ference of the heights of their capitals,
the Ionic being one third, and tlie Corin-
thian the whole diameter of tlie shaft,
which, therefore, makes the height of the
Corinthian two thirds of a diameter more
than that of tlie Ionic ; hence, as he has
allowed the Ionic to be eight diameters,
the Corinthian will be eight and two
thirtls.
Tlie sides of the abacus of the Corin-
thian capital are concave, and moulded
on the fronts.
The lower part of the capital consists
of two rows of leaves, and each row of
eight plants ; one of the upper leaves
ARCHITECTURE.
fronting each side of the abacus, and the
stalk of each leaf springing between each
two lower leaves. The lieight of th<; aba-
cus is one seventh, the upper and lower
tiers of leaves each two sevenths, and
tlie branches and volutes, wliich spring
from tl»e stalks between every two leaves
in the upper row, the remaining two se-
venths of the diameter. The breadth of
the capital at the bottom is one, and each
diagonal of the abacus two, diameters of
the column. Vitruvius makes no men-
tion of obtundingtbc corners of the aba-
cus, as is genei-Hlly priiclised by the an-
cients as well as the moderns ; we are,
tlierefore, led to suppose, tliat each pair
of the four faces of tlie abacus were con-
tinued till they met in an acute angle, at
each corner, as in the temple of \ esta at
Rome, and the Stoa or portico at Athens;
tlie division of tlie capital is the same as
b frequently used by tlic moderns, but
the entire height tliereof is generally
made one sixth more than the diiimeter of
the column, and tljat of the entire column
ten diameters. The best ancient speci-
mejvsofthe Corinthian order arc to be
collected from the Stoa, tlic arch of Adri
an, and that most exquisite and singular
spccimeii, the monument of Lysici-atesat
Athens ; also in tlie Pantheon of Agrippa,
and in tlie three columns of the Cumpo
Vaccino at Rome ; these two, and parti-
cularly the last, are allowed to be tlie
most complete existing examples thatare
to be foundin all the remains of antiquity.
The taste of the foliage of the Attic Co-
rinthian diffci-s considerably from that of
tlie lloman : the small divisions of the
leaves are more pointed, approaching
nearer to the acanthus than tliose at Rome,
which are for the most part olive ; how-
ever, in otlier respects, tiie capitals tlie m-
selves are very similar, except in the
monument of Lysicrates.
The Corintliian capital exliibits the ut-
mostdegree ofelegance, beauty, richness,
and delicacy, tiiat has ever been attained
in architectural composition, tliortgh ma-
uy attempts have been made to exceed it.
The columns of tliis order do not appear
to have had any apprapriate entablature
in the time of Vitruvius ; for, in H. 1\ .
chap. i. he informs us, that both Doric
and Ionic entablatures were supported by
Corinthian columns, and that it was the
columns alone which constituted this or-
der, and not the entablatures; however,
in the remains of Grecian and Roman an-
tiquity we Hnd, almost constantly, Corin-
tliian columns supporting an entablature
with a pecuUar species ol cornice ; a com-
VOL. I.
position which seems to be borrowed froot
those of the Done and Ionic orders. In
tliis entablature the figure of the mntulc*
supporting the corona ! lie
form of a console, and '. 1 i
and llie denticulated lon.c i.unu, «ii;i its
cyiuatium, and also that of tlie frize, are
introduced below the consoles, which in
tliis application arc called modillioti».
This disposition is inverting the order of
the original hut, and also the description
given by Vitruvius. Tbe only example,
where dentils are placed above modillions,
is in the second cornice of the tower of
tlie Winds at \:l > iw As to Uie archi-
trave and 1) i\ler, they may be
the same as 1 in the Ionic ; in-
deed, the Ionic entablature itself would,
on m;uiy occasions, be a very appropriate
one for the Coiii " ^^ lien the co-
lumns ai-e fluted. of the flutes
and fillets is gen<.i.w.^ _ ., .v.> in tlic Ionic
order.
If the entablature be enriched, the shaft
should be fluted, unless composed of va-
riegated marble ; for a diversity of co-
lours confuses even asm 1,
if decorated, the orna '-
confusion to a mucli ^n .mr ul^ilc.
M'hcn the columns are within reacli, so
as to be liable to be damaged, the lower
part of the flutes, to aboiit one third of
their height, is sometimes filled with ca-
bles, as that of the interior order of the
Pantheon, witli a new to strengthen the
edges.
In rich work of some modem buildings,
the cables are composed of reeds, husks,
spiral twisted ribbands, flowers, and vari-
ous otlier ornaments; but these niceties
should only be employed in the decoa-
tions of the interior, and even then yerr
sparingly, as their cf>-> ' ' ' c much
better employed in •. ^'y and
grandeur to other "" "~ ^i*
the cornice whici e
of Corintliian CO 1 '-
bers, it will be neccssnU'V on ihi* account
to increase tlie wlK>le lieight of the en-
tablature more tl, ' . is
to make tlie men. <:
s:une time to pr> !i
l)etween the cvv ■'■
trave ; making tip <■
ture two-ninths of iJiMiolibi' t
if tlie Ionic cornice is to he • r
the dentils and '
two diameters. ^<■.
thecolumn will 1).
the absunllty ot n-
bcrs to the cov »*
these slight column ^ Mc of
ARCHITECTURE.
bearing an entablature of the same part
of their height as columns of fewer dia-
meters are : this absurdity will more rea-
dily appear, when the parts of both or-
ders are made of the same altitudes.
The Connthian order is appropriate for
all buUdings, in which magnificence, ele-
gance, and gaiety, are requiste ; it was
employed by the ancients in temples de-
dicated to Venus, Flora, Proserpine, and
also to the nymphs of the fountains, be-
ing the most splendid of all the orders,
and bearing the most affinity to foliages,
flowers, and volutes, which suited the de-
licacy and elegance of these deities.
Its splendor also recommends it in the
decorations of palaces, squai-es, galleries,
theatres, banqueting rooms, and other
places consecrated to festive mirth, or
convivial recreation ; it is likewise em-
ployed in churches dedicated to saint
Mar\, and other virgin saints.
Tvacati onler. There are no ancient
remains of any entire order of this kind ;
the columns of Trajan and Antonine, and
one at Constantinople, being defective
from the want of their entablatures. We
have the description of Vitnivius to the
following purpose : the column is seven
diameters in height, and is diminished at
the top a fourth part of a diameter ; their
bases have a circular plinth, and are in
height half a diameter, which is di^^ded
into two parts, giving one to the altitude
of the plinth, and one to the tonis. The
capital has also half a diameter in height,
and one in the breadth of its abacus. The
height of the capital is divided into three
parts, one of which is given to the plinth
or abacus, one to the echinus, and the
third to the hypotrachelian with the apo-
phygis : the architrave is made with its
vertical faces over the edge of the co-
himn, at the neck of the capital, in two
thicknesses, in its horizontal dimension,
with a space of two digits or 1^ incli be-
tween, for the admission of air, to prevent
the beams from rotting, and joined toge-
ther with mortise and tenon. Over the
beams and over the walls the mutules
are projected a fourth part of the height
of the columns, and antepagments are
fixed to their fronts. A correct specimen
of Tuscan architecture may be seen in
St. Paul's, Covent Gartlen, the work of
the most distinguished Inigo Jones. This
order is proper for all rustic structures.
Roman order. The character of this as
an order is indicated by its capital ; the
upper part of which being an entire Ionic
capital of that species, which fronts the
four sides of the column alike, and the
lower part consisting of two rows of
leaves, as in the Corinthian capital. Vi-
truv'.us speaks ot various capitals derived
from that of the Corinthian ; but does not
distinguish columns with such capitals
supporting an entablature by the name of
an order; indeed, he expressly says that
they do not belong to any species of co-
lumns. Serlio was the first who added a
fifth order, by compounding columns si-
milar to that of the Arch of Titus, with
the entablature of the uppermost order of
the CoUseum. More recent authors have,
for the greater part, either adopted the
entablature of the frontispiece of Nero,
which was supported by Corinthian co-
lumns, or have brought in ad%'entitious
parts of other orders, by introducing the
denticulated band of the Ionic, with its
cymatium between the modillions and the
cjmatium of the frize. It is something
remarkable, that the columns of Roman
buildings, with compounded capitals, sup-
port, for the greater part, Corinthian en-
tablatures : the columns of the arches of
Septimius Sevenis and of the Goldsmiths
support Ionic entablatures ; and tliose of
the temple of Bacchus even support an
entablature with what we now call a
Tuscan cornice. In short, Rome afiords
no example of a composite order, with a
similar cornice to any one found in the
works of any distinguished modem au-
thor, except Vignola, who crowns his en-
tablature with a bold Ionic cornice. The
capital of this order is more bold and
massive in its parts than that of the Co-
rinthian; the proportion of the other mem-
bers should be con-esponding thereto,
and therefore more appropriate cornice
tlian that of the frontispiece of Nero can
hai-dly be applied: the modillions are
very characteristic, but the denticulated
band, shewn in a modern work, should be
omitted : and for this reason also the shaft
of the columns should be a medium be-
tween those of the Ionic and Corinthian,
though the very reverse has been assign-
ed to it.
Tlie medallions employed in this order
differ from tlie Corinthian ; they are more-
massy, being composed of two faces, and
a cymatium like an architrave. Tlie Ro-
mans decoi-ated their composite capitals
with acanthus leaves, and the same prac-
tice is followed bj- the rao<lerns. The pro-
portions will be fully understood in those
of the Ionic and Corinthian orders. It is
probable that the Romans employed the
Composite order in their triumplial arch-
es, and other buildings,, to commemorate
their victories, and to shew their domi-
ARCHITECTURE.
ititose whom they conquered;
and for this purpose also it may be cm-
ployed in modern structures, to celebrate
the achievemcius of conquerors and vir-
tues of legislators.
PEIKCIPLES OF Bl'ILDIHO,
Are those parts of g^eometry, mechanics,
mensuration, and chemistry, wliich shew
how to desig-n and construct the parts of
a building', so as to be the most (lurable,
tlie destination, situation, and other fixed
data of tlie intended structure, being
known. 'll»ese parts of tlie sciences are
the foundation of the art of construction.
Construction may in general be divided
into two parts, the science of masonry,
and that of cai-pentry ; though there are
other branches, asslatery, plumbery &.c.
sometimes also employed as constituent
parts ; but these may be considered as ra-
ther adventitious.
The science of masonry shews how to
construct walls and vaults. A wall should
be built so as to resist agiven force, either
acting unifoi-raly over the whole, or par-
tially upon the surface : .such as to resist
the pressure of vaults or roofs luirestrain-
ed from tJie want of tie beams, acting
along one continued hutment, as in plain
vatdting ; or to resist different forces, act-
ing at intermitted points, lis in groin vault-
ing ; or to resist the force of the wind,
acting uniformly over the whole surface.
An arch should be so constructed as to
balance itself equtdly on all paits of tlie
intrudos, whether it be of uniform thick-
ness, or to support a given load.
The science of carpentry c<miprehends
the sizmg, cutting, aisposition, and join-
ing of timbers. By chemistry we are en-
abled to judge of the quality of materials,
such as stone, mortar, wood, iron, slate,
lead, &c.
Taste. Taste consists in introducing
such forms in the construction and em-
bellishments, as appear agreeable to the
eye of the beholder 'I'he arrangement
of the plan, figvire of rooms, and contour
of the whole building, and ciiaracter, as
to its destined purpose, depend much on
taste.
Invention. Invention is the art of com-
bining or arranging the various apart-
ments in the most convenient ortler.
Basements. A ba.sement is the lower
story of a building on which an order is
pluced; its height will tlierefore be varia-
ble, accortUng as it is the cellar story or
the grotind story ; or, when it is the
groti nd story, acconling as t'.iere are prin-
cipal rooms ill both stones, or only in one
of them. It is proper, houevei-, to make
the ba.scment no of
tlie next story ; I ig
tile base more pi-iii(ij);il m
tioii than the body to be --
tlie cellar story is the '■ . .um u
tlie height does not ■ or six
feet at tlie most, it nii . ., or wilii
rustics, or foi-med into a continued pedes-
tal; but if the basement is on the ground
story, tlie usual manner of decorating it is
with rustics supported on a base, and sur-
mounted with a crowning string-course :
the base may eiiher be a plinth alone, or
with moulchngs over it: in like manner
the string-course may either be a plaU
band, or witli mouldings under it ; or it
may form a com ce. The rustics are either
made of a rectangular or triangular sec-
tion, by imagining one of the sitles of
these sections to be a line extending
across the front of the joint. The joints
of ihe rustics may be from an eightn to a
tenth part of tlieir height The depth of
the joint of the triangular rustic may be
half of its breadth, tliat is, making the two
planes by which it is formed a i "
gle, and the deptli of the rectan^;
tioned rustics from one-fourth lo o
of their breadth. The ancient >
marked botli directions of the y
the rustics; whereas the motlems not on-
ly employ the ancient manner, but they
sometimes make them witli horizontal
joints alone. Those with horizontal joints
represent rather a boanled surface 'Juui
that of a stone wall, which must have two
directions of joints. The height ot tlie
string-course should not exceed the
height of a rustic with its joint : the
plintli, or zocholo, oi
than the height of
When tile basement i-> |niioi;i t. n «iui
arcatles, the imposts of tlie arches may be
a platband, which may be equal to the
he. gilt of a rustic, exclusive of the joint
\\ hen the string-course is a roni cc, the
base may be moulded, and '
of the cornice may be \\\ ■
height; so as to' ' i niniu lu man
that which tin.^ uliling. The
height of the cor .hunt une-
eighteentli n.irt of till ^e-
ment, and tliat of the as
much, divitled into six pans, ol which the
lower five -.sixths form tn<- plinth, and the
upper sixth the i
J'edestuls. \ \> > part of some
buildings with ■••• ' "••'■
a rectangular p
die, and this du
cornice, for sup|)ortutg a ur
pilastrade, or sometime^ iv. , , .mg
ARCHITECTURE.
the upper part of a building- as a base-
ment. In the buildings of the Greeks
pedestals never obtained : the columns of
their temples generally stoorl on the up-
permost of three steps ; indeed, there is
no existing example with any other num-
ber than three, except the temple of
Theseus at Athens, which had only two,
and was supposed to have been erected
to an inferior deity : whatever innovations
took place were after Greece lost its in-
dependence. The Itomans, in many of
their temples and other edifices, raised
the floors so very high, that they were
under the necessity of discontinuing the
front stairs, which otherwise would have
been found inconvenient, in occupying
too much ground around the edifice ; and
of adopting a pedestal, or podium, as a
basement ; which was raised as high as
the stair, and projected to the front of
the steps which profiled on the sides of
the pedestal.
It is remarkable, thatVitruvius, in treat-
ing of the Doric, Corinthifin, and Tuscan
orders, never mentions a pedestal : and in
treating of the Ionic, he only speaks of it
as a necessary part of the construction,
and not as part of the order: several
modern writers are also of this opinion.
It must be confessed, wherever pedes-
tals are introduced, the grandeur of the
order is diminished, as all the parts are
proportion ably less; however, there are
some situations, in which they are indis-
p^sably necessary, as in the interior of
churches, where, if they were omitted,
the beauty of the columns would be en-
tirely lost, as so great a portion of them
would be concealed by the pews. The
proportions of pedestals in the ancient Uo-
man buildings are very variable ; modem
authors, however, have thought proper
to bring them to a standaixl ratio, which
Vignola makes one-third of the height of
the column ; but as this proportion ap-
peared to make them too high, Sir Wil-
liam Chambers reduced it to three-tenths ;
these ratios, however, might vary as par-
ticular circumstances might require The
parts of pedestals may be thus propor-
tioned : divide the height into nine equal
parts, give one to the cornice, two to the
base, and six to the die. The plan of the
die is the same as that of the plinth of the
column : the projection of the cornice
may be equal to its height : the base may
be divided into three parts, giving two to
the plinth, and one to the mouldings,
which in most cases may project equal to
their height. These proportions are com-
mon to all pedestals. It is sometimes
customary to adorn the dies of pedestals
with sunk pannels, surrounded with
mouldings : the pannels are frequently
charged with has reliefs or inscriptions.
Projecting tablets should never be ad-
milted, as they are not only clumsy, but
confuse the contour. The dies of the pe-
destals of the arches of Septimius Severus
and Constantine have straight-headed
niches, with statues. Pedestals should
never be insulated, though the columns
which stand upon them were insulated.
In the theatres and amphitheatres of the
ancienti}, pedestals were used in all the
superior ordei-s, while the inferior order
stood upon steps. They were employed
for the purpose of forming a parapet for
the spectators to lean over, and for rais-
ing the base of the sujjerior order so high,
:is to be seen upon a near approach to the
building. In these situations the pedes-
tals were made no higher than to prevent
accidents. When pedestals are continued
with breaks under the columns, or pilas-
ters in ancient buildings, the breaks
were called stylobatae; and the recess
between every two stylobatx, the podium,
which had the same parts disposed at the
same levels as the stylobatae.
Arcades. An arcade is an aperture in
a wall with an arched head ; which term is
also sometimes applied in the plural
number to a range of apertures with
arched heads. When an aperture is so
large that it cannot be lintelled, it then
becomes necessary to arch it over. Ar-
cades are not so magnificent as colonades,
but they are sti-onger, more solid, and
less expensive. In arcades the utmost
care should be taken of the piers, that
they be suflficiently sti-ong to resist the
pressure of the arches, particularly those
at the extremes. The Romans employed
them in their triumphal arches, and many
other buildings. Arcades may be used
with propriety in the gates of cities, of
palaces, of gardens, and of parks ; they
are much employed in the piazzas or
squares of Italian cities ; and, in general,
are of great use, in affording both shade
and shelter in hot and rainy climates; but,
on the contrary, they are a great nuisance
to the inhabitants, ?.:> they darken their
apartments, and serve to harbour idle
and noisy vagabonds. Lofty arcades may
be employed with great propriety in the
courts of palaces, and noblemen's houses.
There ai-e various ways of decorating the
piers of arcades, as with rustics, columns,
pilasters, caiyatides, persians, or tefms
surmounted with appropriate entabla-
tures ; and sometimes the piers are even
so broad, as to admit of niches. The arch
is either surrounded with rustic work, or
ARCHITECTURE.
with an archivolt ; sometimes interrupted
at the summit with a key-stone, in the
form of a console, or mai-sh, or some
other appropriiiN vt-d ornament.
The arcliivolt ri-^ itsfrom a plat-
band, or impost, (mi. vm (mi ihi- top of'tlie
piirs ; and at otiier times from an enta-
blature, supported by cohmms on each
side of tl>e arch. In some instances the
arches of arcades are supported entirely
by single or coupled colimms, without
the entablature ; as in the temple of
Faunus at Rome. This foim is far from
being' agreeable to the eye ; it wants sta-
bility, as the columns woidd be incapat>lc
of resisting' the lateral pres.surc of the
arches, were they not placed within an-
other walled enclosure, cr in a circular
colonade. In large arches the kcy-slones
should ne\'cr be omitted, and should be
carried to the soffit of the architrave,
where they will be useful in supporting
the middle of the entablature, which
otherwise would have too great a bear-
ing.
When columns arc detached, as in the
triumphal arches of Septimius Severus
and Coiistantine, atRome, it becomes ne-
cessary to break the entablature, making
its projection over the intercohimns the
same as if pilasters had been used insteatl
of columns ; or so much as is just suffi-
cient to relieve itfrom the nakedness of the
wall. This is necessary in all interco-
hmms of great width, but should be prac-
tised as little as possible, as it destroys
the genuine use of the entablature. When
columns are without pedestal s,they should
stand upon a plinth, in order to keep the
bases dry and clean, and prevent them
from being broken.
Arcades should never be much more,
nor much less, than double their breadth.
The breadth of the pier should seldom
exceed two-thii-ds, nor be less than one-
third, of tliat of the arcade ; and the an-
gular pier should have an addition of a
third, or a half, as the nature of the de-
sign may require. The impost should
not be more than one-seventh, nor less
than a ninth, of the breadth of the arch ;
and the archivolt not more than one-
eighth, nor less than one-tentli, of tliat
breadth. The breadth of the bottom of
the key -stone should be equal to that of
tlie archivolt ; and its lengtli not less than
one and a half of its bottom breadth, nor
more than double. In groined porticos,
the thickness of the piers depends on the
width of the portico, and the superincum-
bent building ; but with resjiect to tlie
beauty of the building, it should not be
less than one quarter, nor \
third, of tile bresuith of the arcade. When
the arcades form blank recesses, the
backs of which arc pierced with doors or
windows, or rcctssed with niches, the
recesses should be at 1 • '
keep the most pron
dressings entirely wi'.!...: .....
In the upper stories of the the:.
amphitheatres of the Romans, tilt
stood upon the pmlia, or inner-pctU bial*,
of the columns ; perhaps as much for the
purpose of proportioiung the apertures,
as to form a proper parapet for leaning
over.
Colofindfg. A colonade is a range of
attached or insulated columns, supixji-tintf
an entablature. The internal !
the columns, measured by the
diameter of the column, is called tlu' lU-
tercolumniation ; and the whole area be-
tween everj' two columns is called an in-
tcrcolumn. When the intercoluntniation
is one diameter and a half, it is called
pycnostile, or cohimns thick set ; when
two diameters, systyle ; when two and a
quarter, custyle ; when three, diastyle ;
and when four, arxostyle, or o)lumns thin
set. A colonade is also named according
to the number of columns which support
the entablature, or fastigium : when there
are four colunms, it is called tetrastyle ;
when six, hexastyle ; when eight, octo-
style ; and when ten, decastyle. The
intercolumniations of the Doric order are
regulated by the number of t: '
placing one over every intermt'
lumn : when there is one trigh j ...
the iDterval, it is called monotrigljTih ;
when there are two, it is called ditri-
gh-ph ; and so on, according to the pro-
gressive order of the Greek numeral*
Theintercolumniation of til > V>
ric is almost constantly the ■
from tills practir. •'
\iations to be ni'
in the Doric For'
Fropylaca; but tJiese intervals only b«.
long to the middle intercolumniations,
which are both ' unc
necessary', on in op-
posite to the priiicij) 1 As the
character of the tJrt ' is more
massy and dignified tli. . iln' Ro-
man, the monotriglyphic m
buLin the Kom;>n it is not s
for the passage through the inu :
would be too narrow, particular! \
buildings, the ditrigl>ph
more generally adopted. '
is oidy applied to rustic .-.
Tuscan intcrcolumaiations, where the
ARCHITECTURE.
columns are lintelled with wooden archi-
traves.
When the soHd part of the masonry of
arang'e of arcades are decorated with the
ordi rs, the intercolumns become neces-
sarily wide ; and the intercohimniation is
regidated by the breadth of tlie arcades,
and that of the piers.
It does not appear that coupled, group-
ed, or clustered columns, ever obtained
in the works of the ancients ; though, on
many occasions, they would have been
much more useful : we indeed find, in the
temple of Bacchus at Rome, columns
standing as it were in pairs ; but as each
pair is only placed in the thickness of the
wall, and not in the front, they may ra-
ther be said to be two rows of columns,
one almost immediately behind the otliei-.
In the baths of Dioclesian, and in the
temple of Peace at Rome, we find groin-
ed ceilings, sustained by single Corinthian
columns ; a support both meagre and in-
adequate. Vignola uses the same inter-
cohimniation in all his orders: this prac-
tice, though condemned by some, is
founded upon a good principle ; it pre-
serves a constant ratio between the co-
lunlns and the intervals.
Of all the kinds of intercohimniation,
the custyle was in the most general re-
quest among the ancients; and though in
modern architecture both the custyle and
diastyle are employed, yet the former of
these is still preferred in mo.st cases : as
to the pycnostyle interval, it is fretpiently
rejected for want of room, and the arxo-
style, for want of ^ving sufficient support
to the entablature.
The moderns seldom employ more than
one row of columns, either in external or
internal colonades; for the back range
destroys the perspective regularity of the
front range : the visual rays, coming from
both ranges, produce nothing but confu-
sion in the eye of the spectator. This
confusion, in a certain degree, also attends
pilasters placed behind a row of insulated
columns ; but in this the relief is strong-
er, owing to the rotundity of the column,
and the flat surfaces of the pilasters.
When buildings are executed on a small
scale, as is frequently the case of temples,
and of other inventions used for the orna-
ments of gardens, it will be found neces-
sary to make the intercolumniations, or
at least the central one, broader than
usual, in proportion to the diameter of
the columns ; for, when the columns ai'c
placed nearer each other than three feet,
the space becomes too narrow to admit
persons of a corpulent habit
Pilasters and Antx. Pilasters are rec-
tangidar prismatic projections, advancing
from the naked part of a wall, with bases
and capitals like columns, and with an
entablature supported by the columns ;
hence they differ from columns in their
horizontal sections being rectangles,
whereas those of columns are circles, or
the segments of circles, equal to, or great-
er, tlian semicircles.
It is probable that pilasters are of a
Roman invent on, since there are but few
instances in Grecian buildings where they
are repeated at equal or regular intervals,
and these only in the latter ages of Greece,
as in the monument of Philopapus, (un-
less in that of Thrasyllus) ; but of their
application in Roman works there are
numberless instances : Vitruvius calls
them parastatae. The Greeks used a kind
of square pillars only upon the ends of
their walls, which they called antse, which
antae projected sometimes to a consider-
able distance from the wall of the princi-
pal front, and formed the pronaos or
vestibulum. The breadth of tlie ant?e on
the flanks of the temples was always con-
siderably less than on the front: these
antae had sometimes columns between
them, and when this was the case, the
return within the pronaos was of equal
breadth to the front. The capitals of the
antse never correspond with those of co-
lumns, tliough there are always some
characteristic marks, by which the order
may be distinguished.
Pilasters, or parastatse, when ranged
witli columns under the same entablature,
or placed behind a row of columns, have
their bases and capitals like those of the
columns, with the corresponding parts at
the same heights, and when placed upon
the angles of buildings, the breadth of the
returns is the same as that of the front.
The trunks of pilasters have frequently
the same diminution as the shafts of the
columns, such as in the arches of Septi-
mius Severus and Constantine, and in the
frontispiece of Nero, and the temple of
Mars the Avenger, at Rome ; in this case,
the top of the tnmks of the pilasters is
equal to the breadth of the soffit of the
ai'chitrave, and the upright face of the
arclxitrave resting on the capital, in the
same perpendicular as the top of the pi-
laster. When the pilasters are undimi-
nished, and of the same breadth as the
columns at the bottom, the face of the
architrn- e resting on the capital retreats
within the top of the trunk, as in the Pan-
theon r.f'Agrippa.
Pilasters are either plain or fluted. In
ARC IIITEC TIRE.
ancient edifices this was not always regfu-
lated by tlie columns, but perhaps de-
pended on the taste of the architects, or
destination of the edifice. The columns
are i)lane on the portico of the Pantheon,
while the pilasters are fluted; and the
contrai7, on the portico of Septimius Se-
vehis. When pilasters are fluted, the
angles or quoins arc frequently beaded,
such as those of the pantlieon, in order
to strengthen the angles, and the flutes
are generally of a semicircular section.
The tices of pilasters are sometimes sunk
within a margin, and the pannels charged
with foliage, arabesque or grotestjue or-
naments, or instruments of music and
war, or sometimes these compounde<l, ac-
cording to the destined purpose of the
place iu which they are employed.
The pannels of the jjilusters, in the
Arch of the Goldsmiths at Rome, are
charged with winding foliage and trophies
of war. Pilasters, when placed on the
front or outside of a building, should pro-
ject one quarter of their breadth at the
bottom ; but when placed behind a range
of columns, or in the interior of a build-
ing, sliould not project moi-e than the
eighth part of the same breadth.
in a large recess, when two or any even
number of insulated columns support an
entablature, which terminates at each end
upon a wall or pier, a pilaster is most
commonly placed against each wall or
pier, to support the extremities of the
su-chitnive. When the entablature over
the columns is recessed witiiin the sur-
face of the wall or pier at each end, the
pilaster projects towanls the column, its
thickness is shewn on the front, and its
breadth faces the voitl or adjacent co-
lumn : in this case the architrave may
either profile against the sides of the aper-
ture or recess, or it may return at each
interior angle, and then again at the ex-
terior angles, and proceed along each
wall or pier.
If the intermediate columns and ex-
treme pilasters are so ranged as to pro-
ject a small distance beyond the face of
the wall at each end, the pilastei-s shew
the same breadth towards the front as to-
wards tlie void, and the entablature may
be continued unbroken, as in the chapels
of the Pantheon ; and if it breaks, it must
be at the extreme or most distant angles.
Pilasters are of great strength to a wall,
as well as ornamental to tiic building ;
they are less expensive than columns, and
in situations where they are either placetl
behind a range of columns, or support the
extremes of an entablature across an
opening, they are md.
the walls to wh.ch tl»ey ate alUclicd.
Clustered pilastersjor thone whielt have
both exterior and interior :ii ilie
planes of those angles par* i-r-
pendicular to the front, nw> .;> i .\. . nicd
witli goo<l eflect, when the order is plain,
as in tlie I'uscan : but in the three Gre-
cian and Composite orders, titis junction
should be avoided as much as possible,
because tlie triglyphsand capitals of these
orders always meet impex-fectly in the in-
terior angles. The same may also be
said of Ionic and Corinthian capitul.s of
half pilasters, meeting each other in tlie
interior angles of rooms. In the Ionic
order it becomes necessary to make a dif-
ference between tlie capitals of pilasters
and diose of columns; for in tlie capitals
of the cclumns the projection of the ovo-
lo is greater than tliat of the volutes ; but
as the horizontal section of tlie ovolo is
circular, Uie ovolo itself is bent behind
the hem or border of tiie volutes : now,
supposing a vertical section tlirough the
axis of the column to be perpendicular to
the face, and another tliruugli the middle
of the breadth of tlie pilaster, and that
the corresponding mouldings are equal
and similar in both section ; then, be-
cause tlie horizontal section, througli
the ovolo, is ixctangiilar, as in llie trunk,
the ovolo would, if continued, pass over
tlie volutes, or must terminate abruptly,
and shew the profile of the moulding,
which is a palpable defect. This there-
fore rendei-s it necessary to give the ovolo
so much convexity on tlie front, as to
make its extremes retire, and pass be-
hind the back of the border of the vo-
lutes ; or to make the ovolo of small pro-
jection; or to twist the volutes from a
plain surface, which the ancient Ionic ^as,
and make every part of tlie spirals pixt-
ject more and more towuil^ iln- 1 ye ; or,
lastly, to pix>jcct the \' us, with
the volutes, beyond tin u of the
ovolo. The same thing i.s ut.so to be ob-
servetl with regard to the (Corinthian and
Composite capital! ' tlie upper pt^l
of the vase proj< ' he middled
tlie abacus, and .u the pilaster
capitals, pass over the face of the spirsls
or volutes.
J'ersiuns and Caryatidi^t Instead of
columns, or pilasters, it is sometimes cus-
tomary to support the ent:il>lature by hu-
man figures : the males of which ai-e call-
ed Persians, T:il-- • ■ »•' ■"'■■l-'^
and the female-.
The history of ili. ^
follows : ••'Caria, a city of PclopoiUHfuu*.
ARCHITECTURE.
having joined with the Persians agtiinst
the Grecian states, and the Greeks having
put an end to the war, by a glorious vic-
tory, with one consent declared war
against tJie Caryatides. They took tlie
city, destroyed it, slew the men, and led
the matrons into captivit}', not permitting
them to wear the liabits and ornaments
of their sex; and they were not only led
in triumph, but were loaded with scorn,
and kept in continual servitude ; thus suf-
fering for the crimes of tlieir city. The
architects therefore of those days intro-
duced their effigies sustaining weights, in
the public buildings, tiiat the remem-
brance of the crime of the Caryatides
might be transmitted to posterity". The
Lacedaemonians, likewise, under the com-
mand of Pausanias, the son of Cleombro-
tus, having at the battle of Platea, with a
small number, vanquished a numerous ar-
my of Persians, to solemnize tlve triumph,
erected with the spoils and plunder the
Persian Portico, as a trophy, to transmit to
posterity the valour and honour of the
citizens ; introducing therein tlie statues
of the captives, adorned with habits in
the barbarian manner, supporting the
roof"
There can be little doubt but that hu-
man figures, and those of inferior animals,
had a very early introduction in architec-
ttu-e, and are of more remote antiquity
than that assigned by Vitruvius ; for we
are informed by Diodorus Siculus, that in
the sepulchre of Osymanduas there was
a stone hall four hundred feet square, the
roof of which was supported by animals
instead of pillars : the number of these
supports is not mentioned. The roofs of
several Indian buildings, supposed of the
most remote antiquity, are sustained in
the same manner. In Denon's travels in
Egypt, amongother frag'ments, are repre-
sented five insulated pilasters or pillars,
bearing an entablature : the fronts of the
pillars are decorated with priests or di-
vinities. The molten sea, recorded in
Holy Writ, was supported by twelve
bulls. In the Odyssey of Homer, transla-
ted by Pope (book vii. ver. 11 8,) we find
the effigies of animals, both rational and
irrational, employed as decorations, which
appears by the following extract.
Two rows of stately dogs, on either
hand.
In sculptur'd gold and laboux-'d silver
stand.
These Vulcan form'd with art divine,
to wait.
Immortal guardians, at Alcinou!^* gate.
Alive each animated frame appears,
And still to Uve beyond the power of
yeai-s.
Fair thrones within from space to space
were rais'd,
Where vai-ious carpets with en^broid-
ery blaz'd.
The work of matrons : these the prin-
cess prest,
Day following day, a long continued
feast,
Eefulgent pedestals the walls surround.
Which Aoj/s of gold with flaming torches
crown'd.
However, these representations of ani-
mals were not employed as columns to
support an entablature, but merely as or-
naments.
In Stewart's antiquities of Athens, we
find a most beautiful specimen of Caryatic
figures supporting an entablature, con-
sisting of an architrave cornice of a very
elegant profile. Among the Roman an-
tiquities, there are likewise to be found
various fragTiients of male figures, which
may be conjectured, from their attitudes
and ornaments, to have been the supports
of the entablatures of buildings.
Besides Persians and Caryatides, it is
sometimes customary to support the en-
tablatures witli figures, of which tlie up-
per part is the head and breast of the hu-
man body, and the lower part an invert-
ed frustrum of a square pyramid, with the
feet sometimes projecting out below, as
if the body had been partly cased : figures
of this form are called terms or tennini,
wliich owe tiieir origin to tlie stones used
by the ancients in marking out the limits
of property belongingto individuals. Nu-
nia Pompilius, in order to render these •
boundaries sacred, converted the Termi-
nus into a deity, and built a temple on the
Tarpeian Moiuit, which was dedicated to
him, whom he represented by a stone,
which, in course of time, was sculptured
into the form of u human head and should-
ers, and other parts, as has already been
defined. He was on particular occasions
adorned with garlands, with which he ap-
peared of a very pleasant figure. Persian
figures are generally charged with a Do-
ric entablature ; Caryatic figures with
Ionic or Corinthian, or with aji Ionic archi-
trave cornice ; and the Termini with an
entablature of any of tlie three Grecian
orders, according as they themselves are
decorated. Male figures may be intro-
duced with propriety in arsenals or galle-
ries of annouT; in guard rooms, and other
military places, where they might repre-
ARCHITECTURE.
sent the figiires of captives, or else of
martial virtues, such as Strength, Valour,
Wisdom, Prudence, Fortitude, and the
like. As tliese figures should be of a
striking character, tliey may be of any co-
lossal size tliat will agree witiv the archi-
tecture of the otlier parts of the buildings.
In composing Caryatides, the most grace-
ful attitudes and pleasant features should
be chosen : and, to prevent stiiTness, their
di-apery and features should be varied
from each other, in the different figures
of the range ; yet a general form of figure
should be preserved throughout the
wliole of them.
Caryatides should always be of a mode-
rate size, otherwise they might appear lii-
deous to the fair sex, and destroy those
endearments so fascinating in the sex 1*6-
presented by them. They may be em-
ployed, as Le Clerc observes, to sustain
the covering ofa throne, and represented
under tlie figures and symbols of heroic
virtues : if to adorn a sacred building,
they must have an affinity to religion; and,
when placed in baiiqueting rooms, ball
rooms, or other apartments of recreation,
they should be of kinds proper to inspire
mirtli and promote festivity. As Termini
»re suscei)tible of a variety of decorations,
they may be employed as embellishments
for gardens and fields, representing Jupi-
ter as protector of boundaries, or some
of the rural deities, as Pan, Flora, Pomo-
na, Vertumnus, Ceres, Priapus, Faunus,
Sylvauus, Nymph.s, and Satyrs.
They arc also much employed in cliim-
laey-pieces, and otlier interior composi-
tions.
Orders above Orders. When two or more
orders are placed one above the other,
the laws of solidity require that tlie
strongest should be placed lowermost ; and
also, that their axes should be in the saine
vertical lines. When the columns of
the orders are of tlic same tliameter,
their altitudes increase from the 'I'uscan,
Doric, and Ionic, to the Corinthian ; and,
consequently, in tliis progression, the Tus-
can is stronger than the Doric, tlie Doric
stronger than the Ionic, and the Ionic
stronger than the Corinthian: tlicrcfore, if
the Doric be the lowest order, the Ionic
is the succeeding order ; and if there be
a tliinl order, the Corinthian is in conse-
quence the next. But since the different
stories ofa building should i-athcr be ofa
decreasing progression upwaitls, tlian
even of an equal altitude to each other, it
follows that the superior columns sliould
not onlvbe diminished, in order to lessen
the insisting weight from the inferior, hut
VOL. I.
also to accommodate the heights of win-
dows.
The rule given by Vitruvius (b. v. c. 7.)
for i)Iaciiig one order above another, i«,
to make tlie columns of the superior or-
der a fourth part less in height than those
of the inferior.
Scamozzi's rule is, to make the diame-
ter at the bottom of tlie shaft of the supe*
rior order equal to the upper diameter
of the inferior order.
Let us now suppose that the Ionic of
lune diameters is to be raised upon Uie
Doric of eight diumeters, as in the Romaii
Doric ; according to the rule given by Vi-
truvius, the bottom diameter of the Ionic
will be two-tliii-ds of that of the Doric, a
quantity much less tlian is to be found in
any ancient or modem examples of the
diminution of the Doric shaft; wliich di-
minution is the lower diameter of the su-
perior order, by Scamozzi's rule.
In insulated columns, when the diminu-
tion of the superior oixler is very great,
the intercolumn becomes so wide, and tlie
entablature so smalJ, and consequently
weaker, that it is in danger of breaking ;
antl if a thir<l range is added, this defect
must be increased. The Vitruvian rule is
tlierefore not so applicable as the Scamoz-
zi»ii, which, for the above reasons, is uni-
versally esteemed the best, and is the
same as if the several shafts had been cut
out from one long tapering tree ; on the
other liand, when the diminution of the
inferior diameter of the superior order is
too httle, or nothing, tlie columns will not
only be too high for tlie windows, but the
lower order will be loaded with unneces-
sary weight. Let the stronger order be
made the superior; for example, let the
Doric be placed upon the Ionic, and al-
lowing tlie shaft of it to diminisli five-
£ixths of its bottom diameter, the height
of the Doric column will be only 6 2-ods
diametej-s of the Ionic below : this wouM
not only make a complete Attic of the
Doric, but would render the application
of the orders in this inverted way useless,
as they could not be made to accommodate
tlie stories of the building, nor could the
upper ranges support their own entabia*
tures, which must be the consequence
in insulated columns.
When tlic front ofa building is to hare
two or more orders in the altitude ,the suc-
cession ought to be complete, otherwise
the harmony will be destroyed by the vio-
lent contnist of the parts. When columns
are attached, arecedure of the superior
order will not ofl'end tlie eye in any grenl
degree, nor will the solidity of the struc«
Tt
ARCHITECTURE.
tare be impaired ; this is to beseen in the
theatre of MarceUus ; but when the sto-
ries of orders are insulated, it is necessary
that the axis of the superior and inferior
coUimns should be in the same vertical
lines. If the upper order only insists in
tile middle of that below in two equidis-
tant parts from the middle, the portions
of the entablature of the lower order, in
which there is no superior order, are
generally finished with a ballustrade,
level with the sills of the windows.
In England we have few examples of
more tlian two ranges of columns in the
same front ; for when there are three, it is
difficult to preserve the character of each
order in the intercolumnial decorations,
without some striking defects. The first
and second orders should stand upon a
plinth, and the third also, when there is
one, the point of view regulating the two
upper plinths. In this case pedestals
should be omitted in the upper orders,
and if there is one, or a ballustrade under
the windows, the base and cornice should
have but a small projection, and should
be continued to profile upon the sides of
the columns. In raising the stories of ar-
cades upon each other, with orders deco-
rating the piers, the inferior columns
should be placed upon a plinth,andthesu-
perior ones upon a pedestal, in order that
the arches may obtain a just proportion.
Pediments. A pediment is a part of a
building having a horizontal cornice be-
low, and two equally inclined ones, or an
arched cornice, above, joined at the ex-
tremities of the horizontal one; the cor-
nices including a plane surface within,
called the tympanum, which is therefore
either a triangle or the segment of a circle.
This definition does not comprehend
every species of pediments which have
been absurdly introduced ; but it may be
said to be the only genuine one, as pedi-
ments represent the ends of roofs, and
were originally intended to discharge tlie
ram from the middle of the building, by
comjjelUng it to descend and fall over the
flanks or extremes, and not over the front,
which must be the case with every other
figure that can be introduced, except
those of a polygonal form, which present
their interior angles to the horizontal
cornice, or the exterior ones upwards.
To find the pitch of the pediment Vitru-
vius directs as follows : divide between
the extremities of the cymatium of the
corona into nine equal parts, and one
makes the height of the tympanum ; but
this rule is not correct, as the tympanum
will vary its angles according as there
are more orless mouldings of the inclined
cornices witliin the extremities of the cy-
matium of the corona ; for since the mid-
dle part by this rule is invariable, and the
brosider the parts are of the inclined cor-
nices within each extremity of the cyma-
tium of the corona, or rather within the
under edge of the fillet of the syma upon
each inclined cornice, the less is the base of
the tympanum, and consequentlythe ver-
tical angle less obtuse, and the base angles
less acute ; but if this height extended to
the meeting of the two under sides of the
fiDetsof the syma, or crowning moulding,
then the figure of the tjTnpanum would be
invariable. The Vitruvian rule has been
thought by many to be too low; but it is to
be recollected, that that of die Parthenon
at Athens, which has an octostyle portico,
is nearly of this proportion ; that of the
temple of Theseus, which has an hexa-
style portico, is about one-eighth ; that of
the Ionic temple on the Ilyssus, and of
the Doric portico, which are both tetra-
style, are about one-seventh ; the tympa-
nilm of the pediment of tlie door on the
Tower of the Winds is about one-fifth of
the span. The edifices here mentioned
are all Athenian buildings. From this
comparison it would appear, that a kind
of reciprocal ratio subsists between the
extension of the base of the tjnmpanum
and its height. Indeed, if a fixed ratio
were appUed to windows, the pediment
would frequently consist of a cornice,
without the tympanum. It is therefore
with great reason that we often make the
pitch ot pediments of windows more than
those which crown porticos, or the fronts
of buildings. The plinths by which pedi-
ments are sometimes decorated are call-
ed acroterions, or acroters : the two
which present triangular faces at the ex-
tremes have their heights, according to
Vitruvius, half of that of the tj-mpanum,
and the middle one saddled on the sum-
mit is one-eighth part higher than those
at the extremes. Pediments owe their
origin most probably to the inclined roofs
of primitive huts. Among the Romans
they w.ere only used as coverings to their
sacred buildings, till Caesar obtamedleave.
to cover his house with a pointed roof,
after the manner of temples. In Gre-
cian antiquity we meet only with tri-
angular pediments, and in Roman build-
ings we meet with both the triangular and
circular. In rows of openings, or niches,
both kinds of pediments were employed
in tlie same range, and disposed in alter-
nate succession. The horizontal cornices
of pediments should never be discontinu-
ARCHITECTURE.
ed, as majr be s«en in many of the street
houses of I^ondon, in order to give room
for a fan light, and to lessen the expenses
of the frontispiece, by introducing short-
er columns and a less massy entablature :
for since the horizontal cornice represents
the tie-beam, and tlie biclined ones tlie
rafters, the columns will appear to have a
tottering effect, by spreading them out at
the top beyond the extremities of their
bases.
Vitmvius observes, that the Greeks
never used mutules, modillions, or den-
tils, in the front, in wliich the end of the
roof, or fastigium, appears, because that
the ends of the rafters and the ends of
the laths which support the tiles only ap-
pear at the eaves of the building. Now,
as mutules and dentils ori^natedfrom the
projecting ends of the rafters and laths,
following the course of nature, it would
have been absurd to introduce them into
the pediment.
However just this reasoning appears,
we find, from the remains of Grecian an-
tiquity, this assertion only verified in the
inclined cornices of the pediment : for
mutules are constantly employed in the
horizontal cornice ; but neither mutules,
modillions, nor dentils, on the sloping
sides : at least, when any of the edifices in
Greece appear with those innovations,
they are introduced during the time it
was a province of the Roman empire. Of
this practice at Rome, the Pantheon and
the frontispiece of Nero are examples of
modillions ; and the temple of Fortune
one where dentils are used. In the in-
clined cornices of pediments the sides of
the modillions and dentils are planes, per-
pendicular to the horizon and to the front
of the edifice ; and in the same vertical
planes with those of the modillions or
dentils of the horizontal cornice.
Bulustradei. A balustrade is a range
of small columns, called balusters, sup-
porting a cornice, used as a parapet,
or as a screen to conceal the whole
or a part of the roof: it is also some-
times used as a decoration for termi-
natingtlie building. Balustrades are em-
ployed in parapets on the mar^ns of
stairs, or before windows, or to inclose
terraces or other elevated places of resort,
or on the sides of the passage way of
bridges. It is remarkable, that there are
no remains of balusters to be seen in any
ancient building. In the theatres and am-
phitheatres of tne Romans, the pedestals
of the upper orders were always continu-
ed through the arcades, to serve as a pa-
rapet for the spectators to lean over. The
lowermost seats next to the arena in the
ampitheatres, and those next to the or-
chestra in the theatres were guarded by
a parapet, or podium The walls of an-
cient buildings generally terminated with
the cornice itsslf, or with a blocking
course, or with an Attic. In the monu-
ment of Lysicrates at Athens, which is a
small beautiful building, tlie top is finish,
ed with fynials, composed of honeysuc-
kles, solid behind, and open between each
pair of fynials : each plant or fynial is
bordered with a curved head, and the [bot-
tom of each interval with an inverted
curve. Perhaps terminations of this na-
ture might have been employed in many
other Grecian buildings, as some coins
seem to indicate ; but this is the only ex-
isting example of the kind. The temples
in Greece are mostly finished with the
cornice itself This was also the case
with many of the Roman temples ; but as
there are no remains of balustrades in
ancient buildings, their antiquity may be
doubted : they are, however, represented
in the works of the earliest Italian wri-
ters, who perhaps may have seen them in
the ruins of Roman edifices. When a
balustrade finishes a building, and crowns
an order, its height should be proportion-
ed to the architecture it accompanies,
making it never more than four-fifths, nor
less than two-thirds, of the height of the
order, without reckoning the zocholo, or
plinth, on which it is raised, as the balus-
trade itself should be completely seen at
a proper point of view. Balustrades that
are designed for use should always be of
the height of parapet walls, as they an-
swer the same purpose, being nothing
else than an ornamental parapet This
height shoi^ld not exceed tliree feet and
a half, nor be less than three feet. In the
balusters, the plinth of tlie base, the most
prominent part of the swell, and the aba-
cus of their capital, are generally in the
same straight line ; their distance should
not exceed half the breadth of the abacus
or plinths nor be less than one-tliird of
this measure. On stairs or inclined planes
the same proportions are to be observed
as on horizontal ones. It was formerly
customary to make the mouldings o^ghe
balusters follow the inclination of the
plane ; but this is difficult to execute, and,
when done, not very pleasant to the eye :
though in ornamental iron-work, where it
is confined to a general surface, passing
perpendicularly by tlie ends of the steps,
it has a verj' handsome appearance. The
breatlth of pedestals, when placed over
an order, is regulated by the top of the
ARCHITECTURE.
shafts, the die being always equal thereto.
When balustrades are placed upon the
entablature of an order, over the inter-
columns or interpilasters, and the base
ftnd cornice of the balustrade continued,
80 as to break out and form pedestals over
the columns or pilasters, the breadth of
the die of the pedestals should be equal
to the breadth of the top of the shafts ;
and where there is no order, the breadth
of the die is never more than its height,
and very seldom narrower ; and the dies
of the pedestals are frequently flanked
with half dies, particularly when the range
of balusters is long. This is not only
apparently necessaiy, but is in reality use-
ful in shortening the range, and forming
abetter support for the ends of the rail.
JltHcs. An Attic is a part of a building
standing on the cornice, similar in form to
that of a pedestal ; and is either broken
or continued. The use of an attic is to
conceal the roof, and to give greater dig-
nity to the design. The Romans employ-
ed attics in their edifices, as may be seen
in the remains of the triumphal arches,
and piazza of Nerva. In the arch of Con-
fitantine, pedestals are raised over the co-
lumns as high as the base of the attic,
and these pedestals are again surmounted
with insulated statues. In the ruins of
Athens there are no attics to be found :
there is one, however, over a Corinthian
colonade at Thessalonica, with breaks
forming dwarf pilasters over the columns ;
and with statues placed in front of the
?ilasters, as in the arch of Constantine.
'he attic carried round the two courts of
the grrcat temple of Balbec is also broken
into dwarf pillasters over the columns and
f)ilasters of the order ; and the dwarf pi-
asters have blocking courees over them,
on which statues are supposed to have
been placed. Attics are very dispropor-
tional in the ruins of these ancient edifi-
ces, some of them being nearly one-half
of the height of the order. The moderns
make their height equal to that of the
entablature ; as to the proportion of the
height of tlie members it may be the same
as that for pedestals.
Doors. Doors are apertures in exterior
walls, used for pxssage into public and
private buildings ; and in the interior, for
communication from one apartment to
another. In the fourth book of V^itnivius
rules are laid down for Doric, Ionic, and
Attic doors, all of which ha^•e apertures
narrower at the top than at the bottom.
These trapazoidal closures of apertures
have the property of shutting themselves,
\rtucli, perhaps, might have occasioned
the introduction of thisfoi-m, and are use-
ful in modem times for raising the door
above the floor in the act of opening, in
order to keep it clear of the carpet. Ex-
amples of them are to be found among
the ruins of ancient edifices ; they have
also been introduced by a few modern
architects. The apertures of doors of
small dimensions are most commonly
closed with hntels. Doors, in general,
are regulated in their apertures by the
size of a man, so as never to be smaller
than that he might pass freely through
them ; they are seldom less than two feet
nine inches in width, by six feet six inches
in height, except in confined situations,
and where utility is beyond any other con-
sideration.
Doors of entrance vary in their dimen-
sions, according to the height of the storj',
or magnitude of the building, in which
they are placed. In small private houses
foifi" feet may be the greatest width, and
in most cases tliree feet six inches will be
sufl[icient. The lintels of doors should
range with those of the windows; and the
width of their aperture should not be less
than that of the windows. A good pro-
portion of doors is, that where its dimen-
sions has the ratio of three to seven ;
their height should never be less than
twice, nor more than twice and a half,
their breadth. In the entrance doors of
public edifices, where there is a frequent
ingress and egress of people, and often
crowded, their width may be from six to
ten feet Inside doors, or doors of com-
munication, should be in some mea.sure
proportioned to the height of the stories ;
however, there is a certain hmit for the
dimensions of their apertures, which they
should not exceed ; for the difficulty of
shutting the door will be increased by its
magnitude ; therefore the apertures of
doors, which are intended to shut in one
breadth, should never exceed three feet
six inches. In palaces and in noblemen's
houses, where much company resort, and
in state apartments, all the doors are fre-
quently thrown open ; they are made
much larger than other doors, being from
four to six- feet in width, with folding
leaves. The proportion of the apertures
of such doors will often be of a less height
than that of twice the breadth, as all the
rooms in the same story have a communi-
cation with one another, the whole of the
doors in that story will have one common
height.
The apertures of exterior doors placed
in blank arcades are regulated by the
imposts, the top of the aperture being
ARCHITECTURE.
generally made level with the springing
of the arch ; or if the door has dressings
which include a cornice, the top of the
cornice ought to be on the same level
with the springing of the arch. Witlj re-
gard to the situation of the principal en-
trance, it is c\-ident that the door should
be in the middle, as it is not only more
symmetrical, but will communicate more
easily with all the parts of tlie building.
In principal rooms, doors of communica-
tion should at least be two feet distant
from the walls, if possible, that furniture
may be placed close to the door-side of
the room. The most common method of
adorning doors is with an architrave sur-
rounding tile sides of the aperture, or
with the architrave surmounted with a
cornice, forming an architrave cornice, or
with the architrave frize and cornice form-
ing a complete entablature. Sometimes
the ends of the cornice are supported
with consoles, placed one on each side of
the architrave ; and each console is most
commonly attached to the head of a pi-
laster ; sometimes the surrounding archi-
trave is flanked with pilasters of the or-
ders, or of some other analogical form.
In this case, the projections of their bases
and capitals are always within that of the
architrave : the architrave over the capi-
tals of the pilasters is the same as that of
the head of the door, and the parts ex-
actly of tlie same height, and projections
pronling upon the sides of the surround-
ing architrave. Sometimes, either with
or without these dressings, the door is
also adorned with one of the five orders,
or with columns supporting a regular en-
tablature, frequently surmounted with a
pediment. Doors are also sometimes
adorned with rustics, which may either
be smooth, hatched, frosted, or vermicu-
lated ; but their outline must be sharp.
The rustics arc disposcdincontiguity with
each other, or arc repeated by equal in-
tervals ; as to the shafts of columns, the
rustic cinctures may either be cyUndrical
or with rectangular faces. In doors with
rectangular apertures and nisticated
heads, the rustics are drawn from tlie
vertex of an equilateral triangle within
the aperture. The entniuce doors of
grand houses are often adorned with por-
ticos, frequently in the manner of Grecian
temples ; sometimes the plan of the por-
tico may be circular, which should never
have less than three intercolumniations,
as the entablature would appear to over-
hang its base, in such a degree as to of-
fend the eye of a beholder.
Windovf A window is an aperture In
a wall for the admission of light. The
size of windows depends on the climate,
the aspect, the cubature, the proportion,
the destination, and the tliickness of the
walls of the place to be lighted : as also
on the number and distribution of win-
dows in that place. It is not very easy,
even with these data, to determine, with
mathematical exactness, the necessary
quantity of light; but in private houses,
where beauty and proportion are requir-
ed, the width of the windows depends on
the height of the principal stor)' ; other-
wise the apertures will be disproportion-
ate figures of themselves, and also to
the whole facade in which they are
placed.
The apertures of windows should not
only be of shapely figures, and propor-
tioned to the building, but the piers also
should, in some measure, be i-egulated
by the breadth of the apertures ; at least,
certain proportionable hmits of this
breadth ought to be assigned to that of the
piers, so as not to ofi'end the eye by their
being too clumsy or too small, and at the
same time permit a less or greater quan-
tity of light, for a greater or less depth
of rooms. As to the size of the piers,
considerable latitude may be taken ; but
in general, they should not be of lesrf
breadth than the apertures, nor more than
twice tliat breadth. In a small building,
with only three rooms and three windows
in the length, tlie piers will necessarily
be large.
In buildings with a great number of
windows in the lengfth, where there are
at least three windows in one or more
principal rooms ; and where there are no
breaks, the breadtlis of tlie piers may be
from once the breadth of the window to
once and a half that breadth ; but if tliere
are columns, pilasters, or breaks, the
breadth of the pier may be from once to
twice that of the apertures, according as
the breadth of the pilasters or columns
may require, so as to leave a proper re-
pose of walls upon tlie sides.
The sills of windows should be from
three feet to three feet six inches distant
from the level of the floor, forming a pa-
rapet for leaning upon : these limits are
the natural heights of the breasts of win-
dows; but it is now common, even in
ordinary buildings, to make them from two
feet to two feet six inches high only. In
noblemen's houses the sills are frequent-
ly upon the same level witli the floor, and
sometimes rise a step or two higher.
These circumstances will alter the pro-
portion of the M indows, and make them
ARCHITECTURE.
much higher than the double square.
The width of all the windows must be
the same in the same facade ; but the
differentheightsof the stories will require
different heights of windows. Were it
required to find the quantity of light
for a room of given dimensions, it is
evident that this will depend upon the
area of the inlet and the cubature of
the room ; therefore, supposing that an
aperture containing 20 square feet is suf-
ficient for a room 12 feet square and 10
feet high, that is 1400 cubic feet, the
quantity of light will easily be ascertain-
ed for a room of any other given dimen-
sions. Let a room be supposed 25 feet
long, 20 feet broad, and 14 feet high, the
cubature will be seven thousand feet;
then, because the cubature of rooms
should be as the area of the inlets, the
proportion will stand thus :
1440:7000: :20
20
1440) 140000 {97 the area of the
12960 inlet required,
10400
10080
35o
Or, instead of working the proposition,
divide the cubature of the room by 72,
thus:
72) 7000 (97 as before.
648
520
504
16
This quotient, divided into three parts,
gives nearly 32 feet for each window,
which is very sufficient for light ; and af-
ter deducting 12 feet, the breadth of
three windows, 13 feet will remain for the
four piers, which is a very good propor-
tion : there is also abundant room left for
any kind of furnishing above the win-
dows.
An odd number of windows, either in
the same length of front, or in the same
length of principal rooms, is always to be
preferred to an even number ; for, since
It is necessary to have the door in the
middle of the front, an even number of
windows would occasion a pierto be above
the opening of the door, contrary either
to regularity, or to the laws of solidity ;
and in rooms nothing is more gloomy
than a pier opposite the centre of the
floor. Windows placed in blank arcades
should have the under sides of their lin-
tels in the same horizontal plane with the
springing of the arch ; or if the windows
have a cornice, the springing of the arch
ought to be carried as high as the top of
the'tomice.
The aperture of the windows may be
from tvvo-fiftlis to three-foui-ths of the
breadth of the arcade. In the principal
floor, the windows are generally orna-
mented ; the most simple kind of which
is, that with an architrave, surrounding
the jambs and lintels of the aperture, and
crowned with a frize and cornice. In
cases where the aperture is high, in order
to make the dressing of a good composi-
tion, the sides of the architrave are fre-
quently flanked with pilasters or consoles,
or with both ; and sometimes with co-
lumns, when there is a set-ofl' or proper
base, so as not to have a false bearing.
When the principal rooms are in the one
pair of stairs, the windows of the ground
floor are sometimes left entirely plain, and
at other times they are surrounded with
an architrave ; or the rusticated base-
ment, where there is one, terminates up-
on their margins without any other finish.
The windows in the third story are fre-
quently plain, and sometimes surrounded
with an architrave. When the windows
in the principal story have pediments, the
windows of the story immediately above
have Infrequently their surrounding archi-
traves crowned with a frize and cornice.
The sills of all the windows in the same
floor should be upon the same level. The
sills of the windows in the ground story
should be elevated 5 or 6 feet at the least
above the pavement. . In the exterior of
every building the same kind of finish or
character should be preserved through-
out the same story. Mixtures of win-
dows should be avoided as much as pos-
sible ; or, where there is a necessity for
introducing Venetian windows, they ought
to stand by themselves as in breaks.
Gates. A gate is an aperture in a wall,
which serves for the passage of horse-
men and carriages. They are employed
as inlets to cities, fortresses, parks, gar-
dens, palaces, and all places to wmch
there is a frequent resort of carriages.
In gates which are closed at the top, the
apertures being always wide, are general-
ly made with arched heads : the usual
proportion of the arcade is that which has
its height double to its breadth, or a tri-
fle more.
The usual ornaments of gates are rus-
tics of several kinds, such as columns, pi-
lasters, entablatures, pediments, attics,
blocking courses, imposts, archivolts.
ARCHIT PICTURE.
consoles, masks, niches, &c. In gates
which are not closed at the top, the
breadth of the piers may be from two-
fifths to a quarter of their height, reckon-
ing- from the bottom of the plinth to the
top of the cornice.
The rustics may either be plain, frost-
ed, or vermiculated. The sm;illest width
that can be given to the aperture of a gate
is nine feet, which is but just sufficient
for the free passage of coaches : but if
waggons and loaded carts are to pass, it
must not be less than ten or eleven feet ;
and if the gate is for the entrance of a
city, it should not be of a less width tlian
eighteen or twenty feet. The composi-
tion of grates should be characteristic of
the place to which they are to open.
Gates of cities and fortresses should have
the appearance of strength and majesty ;
their parts should be large, few in num-
ber, and of bold relief. The same ought
likewise to be observed in the gates of
parks, public walks, or gfardens; these suc-
ceed better when composed of rustic work
and of the massive orders, than when
they are enriched with nice ornaments
or deUcate profiles. However, triumphal
arches, entrances to palaces, to mi%nifi-
cent villas, town or country houses, might
with propriety be composed of the more
delicate orders, and be adorned in the
highest degree.
The gates of parks and gardens are
commonly shut with iron folding grates,
either plane or adorned : those of palaces
should likewise be so, or else be left open
all the day.
seiches. A niche is a recess in & wall,
for the purpose of enshrining a statue or
some other ornament, or as an ornament
to the wall itself. Among the works of
the Romans, niches have either that of a
circular or rectangular plan : tlie heads
of tliose wliich have circular plans are al-
most always spherical. In the middle of
the attic of the piazza of Nerva, at Rome
there is a niche, with a rectangfular eleva-
tion, and a cylindrical back and head :
those upon elliptic plans were not much
used by the ancients. In Wood's Ruins
of Palm)T-a there are, however, two ex-
hibited, with elliptic heads within the en-
trance portico of the temple of the Sun;
but no plan is shewn. Niches upon rec-
tangular plans have most frequently
horizontal heads : there are a few to be
found with cylindrical heads : tliose upon
circular and rectangulai plans are, for the
most part, placed alternately, for the sake
of variety. The plans of niches witli cy-
lindrical backs should be semicircular,
when the thickness of walls will admit of
it ; and the depth of those upon rectangu-
lar plans should be the half of their
breailth, or as deep as may be necessary
for the statues they are to contain ; their
heights depend upon the character of the
statues, or on the general forms of groups
introduced; seldom e.xceeding twice and
a half of their width, nor les than twice.
Niches for busts should have nearly the
same proportion with regard to one ano-
tlier; their heights, in some cases, may
be something more than their breadtli.
«om e niches may be formed with cy-
lindrical backs and spherical heads ; some
of them may be entirely formed with
hemispherical backs ; others of spheroi-
dal backs, with the transverse or conju-
fate axis of the elipsis vertical, as may
e most siutable to the character of the
thing to be enshrined : those with sphe-
roidal backs may have their horizontal
sections all circles of different diameters,
and, consequently, their sections through
the vertical axes all equal semi-ellipses,
similar to each other ; or all their horizon-
tal sections may be similar ellipses, and
the sections through the vertical axis of
the niche will be dissimilar elhpses of
equal heights, at least for one half of the
niche; but spheroidal niches with such
•sections are difficult to execute, and not
so agreeable to the eye as those with cir-
cular horizontal sections. Niches for
busts may be of any of these last forms,
or of any other form used by the an-
cients.
Niches are susceptible of the same de*
corations as windows ; and whether their
heads be horizontal, cylindrical, or spheri-
cal, the inclosure may be rectangular. In
the ruined edifices of antiquity, taber-
nacles are a very frequent ornament, and
these often disposed with triangular and
arched pediments alternately -. the cha-
racter of tlie architecture should be the
same as that which is to be placed in the
same range witb them. Niches are some-
times disposed between columns and pi-
lasters, and sometimes ranged alternately
in the same levels with windows ; in either
case they should be ornamented or plain,
as the space will admit.
If the intervals between the columnsor
pilasters be verj- narrow, the niches will
be mucl) better omitted, than to make
them either diminutive, or of a dispro-
portionate figure. When they are rang-
ed with windows, their dimensions shoukl
be the same as the aperture of the win-
dows. Niches being intended as reposi-
tories for statues, vases, or other works of
sculpture, must be contrived tosetoflT
the things they are to contain to the best
ARCHITECTURE.
fldvantagpe, and therefore no ornaments
whatever should be introduced : the bo-
dy and head of the niche being as plain as
possible, every kind of ornament, whe-
ther mouldings or sculpture, tends to con-
fuse the outline.
Stahtes. Besides decorations of mould-
ings, columns, and pilasters, architecture
is indebted to sculpture for a great part
of its n>agnificence ; and as the human
body is justly esteemed the most perfect
original, it has been customaiy, in every
period, to enrich different parts of build-
ings with representations tliereof. Thus
the ancients adorned their temples, basi-
licos, batlis, theatres, and other public
structures, witli statues of tlieir deities,
philosophers, hei"oes, orators, and legis-
lators ; and the modems still prese. vethe
same custom, placing in their churches,
palaces, houses, squares, gardens, and
public walks, the busts and statues of il-
lustrious personages ; or has reliefs and
groups, composed of various figures, re-
f)resenting memorable occurrences, col-
ected fi-om the histories, fables, or iTa-
ditions of particular times. Sometimes
the statues or groups are detached, and
raised on pedestals, and placed contiguous
to the walls of buildings, by flights of
steps or stairs, at the angles of terraces in
the middle of rooms, or of courts, and
public squares, but most frequently they
are placed in niches. The size of the sta-
tue depends upon the dimensions of the
luche : it should neither be so large as to
seem crammed into it, nor so small as to
be lost in it. The distance, between the
outline of the statue and the sides of the
niche, should never be less than one-third
of a head, nor more, than the half, whe-
ther the niche be square or arched ; and
when it is a square, the distance from the
top of the head to the soffit of the niche
sliould not exceed tlie distance left on the
sides. The statues are generally raised
on a plinth, the height of which may be
from one-third to one-half of the head ;
and sometimes, where the niches are ve-
ly large, in proportion to the architec-
ture tliey accompany, as may be the case
where an order comprehends but one
story. The statues may be raised on
small pedestals to a proper height, and
by this means the figure will not only
have a better proportion to the niche but
also to the order, to which it would other-
wise appear too trifling. Statues are not
only placed in niches, but they are also
placed on the tops of walls, and before the
dwarf pilasters of attics, as in the arch of
Constantine, and the Corinthian colonade
at Thessalonica.
If there are two rows of niches in the
same building, care must be taken to
keep the statues of theirproper attitudes.
The character of the statue should always
correspond to the ai-chitecture with which
it is suiTounded. Thus, if the order be
Doric, Jupiter, Hercules, Pluto, Neptune,
Mars, Esculapius, or any male figures,
representing beings of a robust and grave
nature, may be inti-oduced. If Ionic, then
Apollo, Bacchus, Ceres, Minerva, Mer-
cury : and if Corinthian, Venus and the
(Jraces, Flora, or otliers of a delicate kind
and slender make, may very properly
have place.
Proportions of rooms. The proportions
of rooms depend much on their use and
dimensions ; but with regai-d to the beau-
ty, all figures, from the square to a sesqui-
lateral, may be employed : some have
even extejided the length of the plan to
double its breadth, but tliis disparity of
dimensions rendei-s it impossible to pi*o-
poi-tion the height to both length and
breadth, though galleries are frequently
three, four, or even five squares in length;
but as the eye only takes in a portion of
this length, the comparison is merely
made in respect of the breadth. The
height of rooms depends upon the dimen-
sions of their plans and the form of the
ceilings. In rooms witli flat ceilings, if
their plan be a square, their height
may be from two-tliirds to five-sixths of
the side ; and if an oblong, it may be equal
to the width. In covered rooms, if the plan
be a square, the height may be equal to
the side ; if oblong, it may be equal to
the breadth only ; or with a fifth, a quar-
ter, or a tliird, of the diflTerence of the
length and breadth. In galleries, the
height may be from one and a-third to
one and three-fifths of the breadth. These
are the general relative dimensions of
i"ooms ; but good proportions are not al.
ways attainable, particularly in houses of
great mag^tude ; since the same com-
mon height is that of all the rooms, what-
ever be uie difference of tlieir plans with
regard to their size ; however, to keep
the best possible proportions, the princi-
pal rooms may have flat ceihngs, and the
middle-sized ones may be reduced by
coving the ceilings with a flat in the mid-
dle ; or by groins, or domes, as may an-
swer their heights : but if the loftiest of
the.se coved figures leaves still too great
a height, recourse must be had to mez-
zanines; which are not only necessary
for this purpose, but may always be em-
ployed with advantage, as they afford ser-
vant's lodgings, baths, powdering-rooms»
wardrobes, and other conveniences. AH
ARCHITECTURE.
rooms of inferior classes may have mez-
zanines or intersoks.
In buildings, where beauty and magnifi-
cence ai"e preferred to economy, tlie iialls
and galleries may be raised, making tliem
occupy two stories. Saloons are frequent-
ly raised tliree stories, or the whole hciglit
of the building, and have galleries around
their interior at the height of the ftooi-s,
for communicating with the various parts
of the building.
When rooms are adorned with an en-
tire order, the entablature may occupy
in height from one-sixth to one-seventh of
that of the room ; if tlie entablature be
without columns, it may have from one-
seventli to one-eighth. If a cornice, frize,
and astragal, are executed, its height may
be equal to a tenth ; and if only a cornice,
its height may be from a twentieth to a
tliirtietii part of tliat of the room. In
general, all interior proportions and deco-
i-ations must be less, and more delicate
than those of the exterior. Architraves,
in most cases, should not be above one-
seventh of the widtli.
Ceilinga. The figures of ceilings are
either flat or coved : coved ceilings eidier
have a concavity around tlie margins, and
are flat in the middle, or have a vaulted
surface. (See Vaults). Ceilings, that
are coved and flat, may occupy from
one-fiftli to a fourth part of tiie height
of the room : the principal sections of
vaulted ceilings may be of various seg-
ments, equal to, or less than semicircles,
as may be most suitable to tlie height of
the room. Flat ceilings are adorned with
large compartments, or foliages, and other
ornaments, or with botii. Compartment
ceilings are either formed by raising
mouldings on the surface, or by depress-
ing tlie punnels within the moulded inclo-
sure, which may be partly i-aiscd upon,
and piu^ly recessed witliin tlie framing
or entirely recessed: the figures of the
panncis may either be polygonal, circulai",
or elliptical. The ceilings of the porti-
cos and of die interior of ancient temples
are comparted, and die pannels deeply
recessed ; die prominent parts between
them representing die ancient manner of
fi-aming the beams of wood which com-
posed tlie floors; the mouldings on the
sides of the pannels are sunk, by one,
two, or several degrees, like inverted
steps, and the bottoms of pannels arc most
frequently decorated widi roses ; the
figures ot these compartments are mostly
equilateral, and equiangular. Triangles
were seldom used, but we fmd squares,
hexagons, and octagons, in great abun-
dance. The framing around tl'
VOL. I
in Homan antiquity is constantly parallal,
or of equal breadth, therefore, when
squares are introduced, there is no other
variety; but hexagons will join in conti-
guity with one another, or foim the in-
tci-sticcs into lozenges, or equilateral tri-
angles. Octagons naturally fonn two va-
rieties, viz. that of their own figure, and
squares in tiie interstices : this kind of
compartment is called coflTering, and the
recessed parts cofiTei's, which are used not
only in plain ceilings, but also in cylindri-
cal vaults. The borders of the coflTer-
ing are generally terminated with belts,
charged most frequently with fohage ;
and sometimes again die foliage is bor-
dered wiUi guillochis, as in the temple of
Peace at Rome. In the ceiling of the
entire temple at Balbec, coflTers are dis-
posed around the cylindrical vault, in one
row rising over each intercohimn ; and
between every row of cofteiK is a project-
ing belt, ornamented with a giiillochi,
corresponding with two semi-attached co-
lumns in the same vertical plane, one co-
lumn supporting each springing of the
belt. The moderns also follow the same
practice in their cupolas and cradle
vaults, ornamenting them with coflTei-s
and belts : the belts are ornamented with
frets, guillochis, or foliages; small pannels
are ornamented with roses, and large ones
witli foliage, or historical subjects, in a
variety of different manners.
The gi'ounds may be gilt and the or-
naments white, partly coloured, or streak-
ed with gold ; or the ornaments may be
gilt and the grounds white, pearl, straw-
colour, light-blue, or any tint that may
agree best with tlie ormunents. Some
ceilings are painted either wholly, or in
various compartments only : when a ceil-
ing is painted in representation of a sky,
it ou^ht cither to be upon a plane or
spheric surfiice. A ceiling coved and
flat, widi tlie plane painted to represent
the sky, is extremely improper, as die
cove represents the half of an arch upon
every side of the room, it will seem as if
falling, from Uie want of an apparent sup-
port in the middle, unless the ceiling rise
from a circular plan. Ceilings coved and
Hat ai-e much employed in modem apart-
ments : tliey seem to be a kind of medi-
um between the horizonl:il and the vari-
ous arched forms practised by the ai]>
cients : they do not require so much
height as the latter, but they are neither
so graceful nor so gi*and. N'aulted ceil-
ings arc more expensive Uian plane ones,
but tliey are also susceptible of a greater
variety of embellishments.
'' ' ■ ' ' i"? an opening
ARCHITECTURE.
tlirougb a wall upwards, beginning at one
side of a room, and ending at the top of
a wall : its use is to wann the room, and
give passage to the smoke. That part of
the opening wliich faces the room is tlie
place where the fire is put, and conse-
quently is called the fire place : the tube
or hollow proceeding from the fire-place
upwards, for giving vent to smoke, is call-
ed the funnel, or Hue: the stone or mar-
ble laid level with the floor immediately
before the fire-place is called the hearth
or slab ; and the one under the fire-place
the back or inside heai-th. The project-
ing parts of tlie walls on each side of the
fire-place, forming also parts of the sur-
face of the room, and standing at the ex-
tremities of the hearth, are called jambs :
the head of the fire-place in the surface
of a room, resting upon the jambs, is called
the mantle : tlie mantle, and that part of
the cliimney resting upon it, forming a
part of the side of the room, and also the
whole side of the flue to the top, is called
the breast; the side of the flue opposite
4.0 the breast is called the back ; and the
sides of the fire-place contained between
the jambs and the back are called covings.
When there are two or more cliimnies in
the same wall, the flues of which approach
very near to each other, the thin division
which separates one flue from another is
either called a partition, or a with ; that
part of the opening or horizontal section
opposite to the mantle of a fire-place is
called the throat ; and tliat turret above
the roof of a house, containing one or
more flues, is called the shaft.
In stone walls, the most common dimen-
sions of the sections of flues are from 12
to 13 inches square, for fire-places about
3^ feet wide in front; and tliose in brick
walls 14 inches by 9 inches. The area of
tlie section of the flue should always be
proportioned to the area of the fire usual-
ly put in the fire-place, that is, nearly
equal to the area of the horizontal section
of the fire itself, excepting at tlie throat
The throat should be numediately overthe
fire, and its horizontal dimensions in the
thickness of the wall should not exceed
4^, or 6 inches at most The fuel grate,
or stove, should be brought as near to the
throat as conveniency may require. The
coving should be placed bevelling nearer
together at the back than at the jambs,
making an exterior angle with the front
of the jambs, and an interior angle with
the back, of 135 degrees each. The
back and covings^forming the sides of the
fire-place should be of white materials,
such as white stone, or brick covered
with plater, which are most convenient-
ly put up after the house is built. Mo.?t
metals are unfavourable for this pur-
pose. The top of the throat should be
quite level, forming an abmpt plane.
Some of the principles in the construction
of cliimnies are veiy well ascertained,
others are not easily discovered till tried.
The more the air that goes into the flue
is i-arefied, with the more force it will
ascend, and the higher the flue the gi-eat-
er also will this force be ; therefore the
fire should have as little vacancy on either
side as possible, and the flue, when con-
venient, should be can*ied as high as pos-
sible, and not have too wide an aperture
at the top '1 he situation of doors in a
room, the grate being placed too low, and
other tilings, often occasion smoke ; but
whatever be the cause of it, if once dis-
covered the evil may easily be remedied.
Circular flues are more favourable for
venting tlian those whose sections arc
rectangulai'.
Vaults. A vault is an interior roof over
an apartment, rising in a concave direc-
tion from the walls which support it,
either meeting tlie vertex in a point or
line, as when the section of the arch is
Gothic ; or one continued arch from the
one abutment to tlie other, as when the
section is a semicircle, or a segment less
than a semicircle.
The vertical sections of the intradoes
of vaults may be formed by an infinite va-
riety of curves ; but the most elegant
forms are either circular or elliptic ; which
forms of sections have been generally
adopted by the ancients of remote antiqui-
ty, by our ancestors throughout the mid-
dle ages, and by European nations at the
present day. We shall therefore confine
ourselves to those vaults which have their
extradoes of circular and elhptic sections.
A cyhndrical vault is a plain vault, the
figure of the extradoes of which is a por-
tion of a cylindric surface, terminating on
the top of the walls which support it in a
horizontal plane, parallel to the axis of
the cyUnder. This is also called a cradle
vault.
A cylindroidal vault is a plain vault, the
figure of the extradoes of which springs
from a horizontal plane ; its section per-
pendicular to those lines is every where a
semi-eUipsis, equal and similar through-
out, and its base is that of either axis ; or
it is sometimes a segment of an ellipsis,
less than a semi-ellipsis, having an ordi-
nate parallel to the axis for its base.
A dome may be defined to be a vault
rising from a circular, elliptical, or po-
lygonal plan or base, such that all hori-
zontal sections of the intradoes are similar
ARCHITECTURE.
figures, liavingf tlieir centres in the same
vertical line or axis, and such that the
j)i:u»s of any two sections may have tlie
sides of similar inscribed figures parallel
to each other, or tliat the fi^ires of tliese
plans may be concentric. It the dome is a
portion of a sphere, that is, if its base be a
circle, and its vertical section through tlic
centre of its base the segment of a cii'cle,
then it is also called a cupola.
When the portion of a sphere, or cupo-
la, springs from a wall on a polygonal plan,
and the vertical axisof tl»e sphere passes
tiirough the middle of tlic plan, then the
spandrels, or triangrdar spheric portions,
compreliended between the sprin^ng
lines and a horizontal plane passing
tiirough the different summits of the walls,
arc called pendentives.
"When two or more plain vaults pene-
trate or intersect each otlier, the figure
of the inti-ados formed by the several bran-
ches iscalled a groin, or cross vault.
When two opposite equal branches
meet other two opposite equal branches
in two intersecting vertical phmes, pass-
ing tiirough the diagonal lines, joining
the four exterior angles of tlie plane, tlie
groin may be called an equal pitched
(juadrilateral groin.
If two opposite branches of an equal
pitched groin have cylimlrical intradoes
and their plan of less breadth than tliat
of the other two branches, the groin may
be called cylindro-cylindroidal, or cylin-
droido cyUndric groin, accoixling as the
cylindric branches or the other two are
of the greatest breadth.
When a groin consistuig of four bran-
ches is made by two equal portions of
cylindric surfaces, with tlie axis of tlie one
cutting tliat of the otlier, it is called an
equal pitched cylindric groin.
When two opposite branches of a cylin-
dric groin are of less breadth than tlie
other two, it may be called an unequal
pitched cylindric groin. This is called
by workmen a Welsh groin.
When the branches of a cyUndric groin
are of equal breadth in the plan, the groin
may be called an equilateral cylindric
groin.
It is not easy to gfive a geometrical de-
finition that will extend to all properties
of vaulting, called, by writers of tlie first
eminence, groins. The first given is al-
most universal. It applies not only to
plain vaults intersecting eacli other, but
also to those that arc annular, or in the
form of semi-cylindric rings, intersected
by cylindric or cylimlroidal plain vaults,
the axis of which tends to that of the an-
nulus. It does not, however, compreliend
that species used in King Henry VH's
chapel, Westminster, and King's College
chapel, Cambridge.
This species of groins, instead of the
horizontal sections of the cuned surfaces
presenting exterior right angles, as is ge-
nerally the case, present convex arclies
of circles. There is yet one property
that is common to every species of groins,
that is, the several branches intersect and
form aixhes upon each inclosing wall,
and tlie perpendicular surface of the wall
upon each side is continued till it is inter-
cepted by tlie intradoes of the arches ;
consequently the upright of each wall is
equal in height to the summit of the arch-
es. Hence flie difference between groins
and domes. A groin is a branched \ault,
and each branch terminates against the
enclosing walls; whereas a dome is a
vault without branches, and the curves
spring from the wall, or w;dls, from all
points around its bottom circumference,
whether tlie walls stand upon a polygonal,
circular, or eUiptic plan.
The Greeks, it would appear, had few
or no arches or vaults much prior to the
reign of Augustus, from which time they
sometimes employed plain vaults witli
cylindrical intradoes ; we also find tliat
tliey used quadrilateral, equal pitched
groined vaults, with cyUndrical or cylin-
droidal intradoes, or mLxed of botli, over
the passages of tlie theatres and gym-
nasia.
The Romans, as would appear also,
did not empoly vaults more early than the
Greeks. The Pantheon, one of tlie earli-
est remaining structures with arclics, was
probably built by Agrippa, the son-in-law
of Augustus, tliough some maintain that
he only added the portico ; but of this
tliere is no proof, as no mention is made
of this celebrated buildingbefore his time.
We find from \'itnivius (lib. iii. c. 3,) that
the floors of temples were frequently sup-
ported by vaults, and (lib. v. c. 1,) that
the roofs of basilicas were vaulted of the
tortoise form, which he distinguishes by
the name of testudo. This form of vault-
ing is very flat, with four cur>'ed sides
springingfrom each of the four w^alls. And
it approaches nearly to tliat of a flat dome
upon a rectangular plan.
We also find, from tlie remains of Ro-
man buildings, the ceilings of their apart
mcnts vaulted. The side apartments, or
chapels, of the Temple of Peace, and of
tlie baths of Dioclesian, have vaults with
cylindrical intratloes, while thegfreat rec-
tangular apartment in each of thes^ edifi-
ARC m^^:M^'m*'^9^ ARC
ces is vaulted in the groined form ; and
it is remarkable that the groins are not
formed by the intradoes of the vaults in
the chapels, tor the summits of the vaults
in these rise but a small distance above
the spring: ngs of the middle groins. It
maj- also be remarked, that the piers be-
tween the chapels have small arcades,
the summits of which are considerably
below the cylindrical intradoes of the
side vaults. This circumstxmce is not
peculiar to these buildings, as is to be
found in many others. This is to be seen
distinctlj- in the plates of the Temple of
Peace, by Desgodetz. The Romans em-
ployed annulai- vaults, as in the temple
of Bacchus ; and in this, as in the temple
of Peace, and the batlis of Dioclesian, the
summits of the arcades supporting the
cylindric wall and dome of the central
apai'tments do not intersect tlie annular
intradoes, but the convex side of the cy-
lindric w all which supports this annular
intrados, and consequently do not foiin
groins. The intradoes of the Roman
domes are of a semicircular section, as
may be seen in the Pantheon, the temple
of Bacchus at Rome, the temple of Jupi-
ter, and vestibule of the palace of Diocle-
sian, at Spalatro, in Dalmatia, wliile the
vertical section of the extradoes through
the axis is a much less segment, as the
Pantheon at Rome, and the vestibule and
palace of Dioclesian, exhibit. We have
no instances among the Roman or Grecian
buildings of pendentives or spandrels
which ai-e supported by four pillars, or
by quadranguJar or polygonal walls, and
which support themselves on a spheric
dome or cylindrical wall. Pendentives ri-
sing from four pillars, and a dome from
the top of the pendentives, were first put
in practice, it is said, in the celebrated
church of Sancta Sophia at Constantino-
ple.
In the reclangtilar buildings of the mid-
dle ages, quadrangular, equal pitched
groins were generally used ; and in cir-
cular buildings we have annular groins,
as in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
at Cambridge, and Temple Church, Lon-
don. We have also mentioned those cu-
rious groins which are exhibited in the
ceilings of King's College Chapel, Cam-
bridge; St. George's Chapel, Windsor;
and King Henry the Seventh's Chapel,
Westminster, of modern invention.
In the present daj-, every species of
vaulting, that were either used by the an-
cients or tlu'oughout tlie middle ages, are
employed, both for the sake of variety,
and for eleg^ce.
It does not appear that the ancients
were acquainted with cylindrical, unequal
pitched groins, at least by way of orna-
ment ; this form is, however, veiy beauti-
ful, as the arcades above the passage
through the front of Somerset-House
clearly exhibit.
ARCHYTAS, ofTarentum, in biogra-
phy, a celebrated mathematician, cosmo-
grapher, and Pythagorean philosopher,
of whom Horace says,
Jifaris ac terrte, mimeroqne caren-
tU arena
Mcnsorem coldbeiit, Archyta, &c.
He flourished about four hundred years
before Christ, and was the master of Pla-
to, Eudoxus, and Philolaus. He gave a
method of finding two mean proportion-
als between two given lines, and thence
the duphcation of the cube, by means of
the conic sections. His skill in mecha-
nics was such, that he was said to be the
inventor of the crane and the screw ; and
he made a wooden pigeon that could fl^
about, when it was once set off ; but it
could not rise again of itself, after it
rested. He wrote seVerai works, though
none of them are now extant, particularly
a treatise IIe^/ T8 nav?as, -Oe Univei'so,
cited by Simplicius in Arist. Categ. It
is said he invented the ten categories.
He acquired great reputation both in his
legislative and military capacity ; having
commanded an army seven times witliout
ever being defeated. He was at last ship-
wrecked, and drowned in the Adriatic sea.
Archytas was distinguished through
life by modesty and self-command. He
maintained, tliat virtue was to be pursued
for its own sake in every condition of life ;
that all excess is inconsistent with virtue;
that the mind is more injured by prospe-
rity than by adversity ; that there is no
pestilence so pernicious to human happi-
ness as pleasure ; and that the love oi it
is a disease destructive to the human
mind.
ARCTIC, in astronomy, an epithet giv-
en to the noith pole, and likewise to a cir-
cle of the sphere parallel to the equator,
and 23 degrees 30 minutes distant from
the north pole.
ARCTIUM, \)xe burdoch, in botany, a
genus of the Sy ngenesia Polygamia Equa-
lis class of plants; the common calyx of
which is globose and imbricated ; the
compound flower is tubulated and uni-
form, with equal hermaphrodite corollulse:
the proper flower is monopetalous and
tubulous, with a slender and very long
ARC
ARC
tube ; there is no pericarpium ; the cup is
connivent and the seed single, vertically
pyramidical, and crowned with a simple
down, shorter than the seed. There are
two species; viz, the Laffa and Bar-
dana.
AliCTOMYS, tlie marmot, in natural
history, a genus of the Mammalia class
of animals, of which the generic charac-
ter is, front teeth two in each jaw, strong,
sharp, and cuneated ; grinders in the up-
per jaw, five on each side, in the lower
jaw four ; clavicles or collar bones per-
fect. This genus differs but htlle from
the Mus trioe, so that naturalists have
sometimes doubted whether they should
be separated into distinct genera. They
are diurnal animals ; feed on roots, grain,
and fruits, which they often collect in
heaps. They reside in subterraneous
holes, and become torpid in the winter.
The head is gibbous, or rounded, with
short ears, or none; body thick; tail
short ; hairy ; fore feet four-toed, with a
very short thumb ; hind feet five-toed ;
cceciim large. There are eleven species,
of which we shall notice the following:
1. Arctomys marmota, or Alpine marmot :
ears short, round ; body brown, beneath
reddish. It inhabits dry open places, on
the summits of the Alps and Pyrenees ;
feeds naturally on roots, herbs, and in-
sects ; when tamed it will eat any thing
that is offered ; drinks little ; basks in the
sun ; lives among small tribes, with a cen-
tinel placed, to give notice of danger,
which is done with a hiss ; forms a bur-
row, with many cliambers and entrances,
for the summer ; another lined with soft
grass, in which it remains torpid durirtg
winter ; it eats with its fore paws ; walks
on its heels, often erect ; is easily caught
when out of its burrow ; in a tame state
Very destructive of food, cloatlis, and fur-
niture ; hardly kept awake in winter,
even in warm chambers ; gjravid seven
weeks, and brings from two to four at a
time. These animals make no provision
for the winter, but as soon as the I'rosts
set in they carefully stop up the entrances
to their mansions, and gradually fall into
a state of torpidity, in which they con-
tinue till the beginning of spring, when
they awake and commence their excur-
sions. Before they retire to winter quar-
ters they grow excessively fat, and appear
very emaciated on first emerging fmm
them. If carefully dug up during the
winter, they may be conveyed away in
their sleeping state, and when brought
into a warm chamber gradually awaken.
A. Empetra, orQuebec marmot, israthcr
larger than a rabbit, with short ears and a
round head. It inhabits Hudson's Bay and
Canada. A. monax, or ground-hog, is
found in various parts of North America,
and in its habits and manners is very like
that already noticed. 'I'he marmot, when
taken young, may be easily domesticated,
and taught to perform various gesticula-
tions, such as holding a stick, dancing,
&c. See Plate II. Mammalia, in which
will be seen the hamster and lemming,
sometimes called the Lapland marmot;
descriptions of these will be tbund in the
article Mus. A bobac, or grey marmot,
is a native of the higjj, but milder and
sunny sides of mountainous countries,
which abound with free-stone rock.s,wliere
it is found in dry situations. It frequents
Poland and Russia, among the Carpathian
hills : it swarms in the Ukraine, about the
Boristhenes, and between tljis river and
the Don, and along the range of hills
which extend to the Wolga. It is found
about the Yaik, and inhabits the southern
desert in Great Tartary. It is not to be
seen in Siberia, on account of its northern
situation, and rarely reaches in Kamschat-
ka as high as 55". The colour is grey
above, with the throat, inside of the limbs,
and under parts of tl»e body, fulvous or
ferniginous ; the tail is short, rather slen-
der, and full of hair. Its manner of life
resembles the xVlpine marmot. The holes
of these animals are lined with the finest
hay, and in such quantities, that, it is said,
enough has been found in a single recep-
tacle to feed a hoi"se for a night. A. ci-
tillus, or variegated marmot, is the most
beautiful of all the species : in size it
differs very much : some are as large as
the Alpine marmot, and others not larger
tlian a common water rat. The variega-
ted marmot inhabits Bohemia and other
parts of Germany, from the banks of the
Wolga to India and Persia, through Sibe-
ria and Great Tartary to Kamschatka, and
even the continent of America. It is not
certain that these sleep in the winter like
others of the Arctomys genus. They
breed in the spring, and protluce from
five to eight at a time. They arc said to
be irrascible and qiiarrelsome among
themselves, and their bite is verj' severe.
They feed not only on animal food, but
on small birds and other animals, which
thev will kill. They are easily tamed, and
will grow familiar in a few days. They
arc extremely clean, and after feeding ge-
nerally wash their faces, and clean their
fur. Like other domestic animals, they
are fond of being caressed, and will feed
from the hand. Their sleep is profound
ARD
ARD
during tlie whole night, and in cold and
rainy weather thi-ough the greater part of
the day. See Plate 11. Mammalia, flg. 1,
2, and 5.
ARCTOPUS, in botany, a genus of the
Polygamia Dioecia class of plants, tlie
general umbel of which is long and une-
qual J tlie partial umbel is shorter ; the
involucra consists of five leaves ; the co-
rolla of five petals ; the fruit is single and
bilocular, and stands under the recepta-
cle of the floscule ; the seed is single,
cordated, and accuminated. There is
but one species.
ARCTOTHECA, in botany, a genus of
the Syngenesia Necessaria; receptacle
cellular and chaffy ; calyx imbricate.
There is but one species.
AUCTOTIS, in botany, a genus of the
Syngenesia Necessaria class of plants,
the common calyx of wliich is roundish
and imbricated ; the compound flower is
radiated ; the hermaphrodite corollulae
are tubulous and numerous in the disk :
the proper hermaphrodite flowers are
funnel-shaped ; there is no pericarpium ;
the seed is single, roundish and hsury.
This genus is separated into the following
divisions : A. receptacle villous, 31 spe-
cies; B. receptacle chaffy, 11 species;
C. doubtful, 18 species.
AUCTURUS, a fixed star of the first
magnitude, in the skirt of Bootes, so
called from the circumstance of its being
near the tail of the Bear. It has been
thought to be tlie nearest fixed star to
our system visible in the northern hemis-
phere, because the variation of its place,
in consequence of a proper motion of its
own, is more remarkable than that of any
other of tlie stars ; and by comparing a
variety of observations respecting the
quantity and direction of the motion of
this star, he infers, that the obliquity of
the ecliptic decreases at tlie rate of 58"
in 100 years, a quantity that nearly cor-
responds to the mean of the computations
framed by the celebrated Euler and La-
lande upon the more unerring principles
of attraction.
ARC'l'US, in astronomy, the Greek
name for the Ursa Major and Minor.
ARDEA, in natural history, a genus of
birds of tlie order of Grailae. The cha-
racters of tiiis genus are, a long, strong,
sharp-pointed bill; nostrilslinear; tongue
pointed ; toes connected by a membrane
as far as the first joint ; the middle claw
of some of the species, of which there
are 79, pectinated. This genus is sepa-
rated into five divisions, viz. A. crested ;
bill hardly longer than the head; B.
cranes, bald; C. storks, orbits naked;
D. herons, middle claw serrate inwardly ;
E. bill gaping in the middle.
Some ornithologists have separated the
herons from the storks and cranes; others,
preferring the Linnsean system, class the
whole under one genus, which, according
to Gmelin, consists of nearly 100 species,
though Eatham enumerated but 79. They
are widely distributed over various parts
of tlie globe, differing in size, figure, and
plumage, and with talons adapted to their
various places of residence, or their pecu-
liar pursuits. But, notwithstanding the
variety in their bills and plumage, the
manners of all are nearly the same, so
also is their character, which is stigmatiz-
ed witli cowardice and rapacity, indo-
lence, and yet insatiable hunger ; and it
has been observed, that, from the meagre-
looking form of their bodies, one would
suppose the greatest abundance almost
insufficient for their support.
Ardea pavonia. This is as large as the
common heron ; the length two feet nine
inches ; the bill is two inches and a half
long, straight, and of a brownish colour :
irides grey ; the crown of the head covered
with soft black feathers like velvet ; on the
hind part is a tuft composed of hair, or
rather bristles, arising near each other at
the base, and spreading out on all sides in a
globular form; this is four inches in length,
and of a reddish brown colour ; the sides of
the head are bare of feathers, being cover-
ed only by a fleshy membrane of a reddish
colour at the lower part, and in shape not
unlike a kidney ; on each side of the throat
hangs a kind of wattle ; the general colour
of the bird bluish-ash ; the feathers on the
fore part of the neck are very long, and
hang over the breast ; wing coverts white ;
the greater onesincline to rufous,and those
farthestfrom the body to black; the greater
quills and tail are black, and the seconda-
ries chesnuts ; the legs and the bare part
above the knee are dusky. The female
is black where the male is blue-ash ; and
the wattles on the throat are wanting ; the
long feathers on the breast are also less
conspicuous. This beautiful species is an
inhabitant of Africa, particularly the coast
of Guinea, as far as Cape Verd ; at this
last place they are said to be wonderfully
tame, and will often come into the court-
yards to feed with the poultry. Why the
name of Balearic crane has been given to
this bird is not well ascertained, as it is
certainly not met with in the Balearic
Islands at this day. These birds are often
kept in our menageries, and with shelter
at night often live a good while. Their
ARDEA.
chief food is supposed to be worms, and
such otlier things as the hcrontribe usually
ieed on ; also vegetables of all kinds. It
often sleeps on one leg, runs very fast,
and is said not only to riy well, but to
sustain it for a long time together. The
flesh of this bird is saitl to be very tough.
Ardea virgo, or the Numidian crane.
Size of the crane ; length three feet three
inches : the bill straight, two inches and a
half long, greenish at the base, then yel-
lowish, with the tip red ; irides crimson.
The crown of the head is ash-colour; the
rest of the heail, the upper part of the
neck behind, and all the under parts to
the breast, black ; on the last, Uie feathers
are long and hang downwards ; the back,
rump, and tail, and all the under part
from the breast, are of a bluish ash-colour ;
behind each eye springs a tuft of long
white feaUiers, which decline downwards,
and hang in an elegant manner ; the quills
and tail are black at the ends ; the legs
are black. This species is found in many
Carts of Africa and Asia. In ti»e first it has
een met with on the coast of Guinea ;
but is most plentifid about Bildulgerid,
(the ancient Numidia), and Tripoli ; from
thence along the coasts of the Mediter-
ranean Sea, and pretty common in Egj'pt.
They are also at Aleppo, and in the
southern plain about tlie Black and Cas-
pian Seas; and are seen frequently be-
yond Lake Baikal, about the rivers Se-
lejiga and Argun, but never venture to
the northward. In all places they prefer
marshes and the neighbourhood of rivers,
as their food is fish, hke most of the heron
genus. It is frequently kept in menage-
ries, being endowed witli great gentle-
ness of mannera, added to its being an
elegant bird. At various times it puts it-
self into strange and uncouth attitudes,
and especially tiiose which imitate danc-
ing : and Keysler mentions one in the
Great Duke's Gallery at Florence, which
had boen taught to dance to a certain
tune when played or sung to it. The
name this bird is known by in the east
is Kurki, or Querky. See Plate II. Aves,
fig. 7.
Ardea grus. This is a large bird, not
unfrequently weighing ten pounds, and
measures more than five feet in lenglh.
This species seems far spread, being met
with in great flocks throughout northern
Europe and Asia, in Sweden, Russia
throughout, and Siberia as far as the river
Anad\r, migrating even to the Arctic Cir-
cle. In Kamtschatka only seen on the
southern promontory ; are mig^tory, re-
turning northward to breed in the spring,
and generally clioosing the same places
which had been occupied by them the
season before. In the winter they inhabit
the warmer regions, such as Egypt, Alep-
po, India, &c. they are also met with at
the Cape of Good Hope, changing place
with the season. In their migrations fre-
quently fly so high as not to be visible,
their passage only being known by the
noise they make, being louder than that
of any other bird. In France they are
seen in spring and autumn; but for the
most part are mere passengers. We are
told that they frequented tne marshes of
Loncolnshire and Cambridgeshire, in
vast flocks, formerly ; but the case is al-
tered, as of late none have been met with,
except, a few years since, a single bird
shot near Cambridge. VVe are told that
they make their nests in marshes, and
lay two bluish eggs. The young birds
are thought very good food. They feed
on reptiles of all kinds, and in turn on
green corn ; of which last they are said
to make so great havock, as to ruin die
farmers wherever the flocks of these de-
predators alight.
Ardea ciconia, or white stork, is the
size of a turkey, inhabits in turns the
various parts of the old continent, avoid-
ing ahke the extremes of heat and cold,
being never met with between the tro-
pics, nor scarcely ever seen more north
than Sweden, or in Kussia beyond 50**.
It never frequents Siberia, though it is
sometimes found in Bucharia, where it
makes its nest, tending towards the south
in autumn, to winter in Egypt. It is rare-
ly met with in England, though well
known in France and Holland. They
every where build on the tops rf houses,
andtlie good natured inhabitants provide
boxes for them to make their nests in ;
they not only do this, but are particularly
careful that the birds sufl^er no injury, re-
senting it as done to themselves. At Bag-
dad they are to be seen on every house,
wall, and tree, quite tame. At Persepohs
the remains of the pillars serve them to
build on, every pillar having a nest. They
are thought to have two broods in a year,
tlie first towards the north, the latter in
warmer places; and are seen in vast
flocks during their migrations. The fe-
male makes a large nest, and lays from
two to four eggs. The young are hatch-
ed in a month ; the male and female watch
them by turns till they can provide for
themselves. The stork sleeps on one leg,
and snaps with its bill in a singular man-
ner. Its food consists in snakes and other
reptiles; hence the veneration of all per-
sons for this bird, which frees them from
such pest«
ARE
ARE
Aidea stellaris, or bittern. This is an
elegant species, and is somewhat less than
the heron; length two feet six inches;
thebill brown, beneatli inclining to green;
irides yellow ; the head feathers are long,
and those of the neck loose and waving ;
the crown of the head black ; the lower
jaw on each side dusky ; the plumage in
general is beautifully variegated; the
ground a fen-uginous yellow, palest be-
neath, marked with numerous bars,
streaks, and zigzag Unes of black ; the legs
are pale green ; claws long and slender ;
and the inner edge on the middle claw
serrated. The female is less, darker co-
loured, and the feathers on the head and
neck less flowing than in the male. This
is a common bird, we believe, in most of
the temperate parts of the continent of
Europe ; in some of tlie colder, migrato-
ry; with us it remains the whole year;
frequents marshy places, and especially
where reeds grow, among which it makes
its nest, in April, which is chiefly com-
posed of a bed of rushes, &c. The female
lays four or five eggs, of a pale greenish
ash colour; the young are hatched in
twent5'-five days. It is an indolent bird,
stirring very little in the day unless dis-
turbed ; though if once roused is not dif-
ficult to shoot, as it flies heavily. In the
evening, after sun-set, it is seen to soar
aloft in a spiral ascent, till quite out of
sight, and this chiefly in autumn, making
a singular kind of noise ; it has also ano-
ther noise, Uke that of a bellowing buJU,
beginning in February, and ceasing after
breeding-time ; but this is done while on
the ground. If attacked by dogs or men,
it defends itself well ; and is said to strike
at the eyes of the enemy. The food is
frogs, mice, and other reptiles, which it
swallows whole, as well as fish. Latham
remembers to have found two middle-
sized trouts in the stomach of one, per-
fectly whole. It is reckoned pretty good
eating. See Plate III. Aves, fig. 7. and
Plate IV. fig. 1.
ARDISIA, in botany, a genus of the
Pentandria Monogynia class and order.
Calyx five-leaved ; corol. salver-shaped,
with the border reflected; antherae large,
erect ; stigma simple ; drupe superior ;
one-seeded. There are nine species.
ARDUINA, in botany, a genus of the
Pentandria Monogynia class and order.
Corol. one-petalled ; .stigma bifid ; berry
two-celled; seeds solitarj-; a shrub of the
Cape of Good Hope.
ARE, in French measure, is a superfi-
cial unit, or a square, the side of which is
100 metres in length, or 10,000 square
metres ; the rectilineal metre being 3.281,
feet, the are wLU be 1076.49 square feet.
The tenth of an are, called dcciare, is a
superficies 100 metres long, and 10
broad; or 1000 square metres = 1076.49 ;
and the centiare equal to 100 square me-
tres, is 1076.49 square feet. See Mea-
SUBE.
AREA, in geometrj', denotesthe super-
ficial content of any figure ; thus, if we
suppose a parallelogram six Inches long,
and four broad, its area will be 6 x 4 = 24
square inches.
ARECA, in botany, a genus of plants,
the characters of which are not perfectly
ascertained; tlie calyx of the male flower
is a bivalve spatha, the spadix is ramose ;
the corolla consists of three acuminated
petals; the stamina are nine filaments, of
which the three exterior ones are the
longest ; the female flowers are in the
same spadix and spatha; the corolla is
like the male corolla ; the fruit is a sub-
oval fibrose drupe, surrounded at the base
with an imbricated calyx, and containing
an oval seed.
There ai-e three species, of which the
orAzxformls is the cabbage-tree of the
East Indies. The oleracea is found in the
West Indies, the green tops of which are
cut and eaten as a cabbage.
ARENARIA, sand-ivort, in botany, a
genus of the Decandria Trigynia, Calyx
five-leaved, spreading ; petals five, en-
tire ; capsule superior, one-celled, many-
seeded. There are 36 species.
ARENARIUS, the name of a book of
Archimedes, in which is demonstrated,
that not only the sands of the earth, but
even a greater quantity of particles than
could be obtained In the immense sphere
of the fixed stars, might be expressed by
numbers. In a way Invented and described
by himself
AREOMETER, an instrument by which
the density and graxnty of fluids are mea-
sured. The Invention of this instrument
Is ascribed to Hypatia, the daughter of
Theo, in the fourth century. It is usually
made of glass, consisting of a round hol-
low ball, which terminates in a long slen-
der neck, hermetically sealed at top,
there being first as mucli running mer-
cury put into it as wiU serve to balance,
or keep It In an erect position. The neck
or stem is divided into degrees, and by
the depth of its descent into any liquor
the lightness of that liquor Is estunated,
for the fluid in which it sinks least is the
heaviest; and that in which it sinks low-
est is lightest. See HroRosiETss.
•f<
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